Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Detailed Comparison

Welcome everyone! In today’s comparison, we’ll be comparing another pair of well-known cameras; the Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2.

These cameras are praised by many for their amazing functionality and features. Each camera has its own unique features and flaws.

In this article, we’ll be helping you decide which of these two cameras best meets your requirements. So, without further ado, lets jump right into it.

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Comparison Overview

Not everyone has the time to read through an entire comparison, and we understand that. This section and the following two are for those who want to make a quick but informed decision about which camera you should choose.

However, to get a deeper understanding of these two cameras, we recommend reading through the whole article.

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Overall rating of the features of each product

Each camera has features which make it unique. Let’s take the a6500 first. For such a small sized camera, the Sony a6500 is packed with a ton of cool features such as a high frame rate, high sensor resolution, and an amazing AF system known as 4D Focus.

However, like all cameras, this one has its flaws. Unfortunately, the a6500 has only 1 SD card slot, meaning that data storage is limited to the use of only 1 memory card.

Furthermore, when it comes to the feel of the Sony a6500 body frame, it’s not very ergonomically friendly. Despite these issues, the a6500 is a wonderful camera you can use for a variety of shooting situations.

Next, we have the Fujifilm XT-2. It also has its own advantages over the a6500. For instance, the XT-2 has a higher continuous shooting speed than the a6500 does. It also has a larger LCD and a wider variety of image file formats. Now on to the negatives.

 The battery of the XT-2 is even worse than that of the a6500. This was a big disappointment to those who were looking forward to the XT-2’s release.  Furthermore, the XT-2 has a video recording limit of 10 minutes.

This is the main reason why this camera is unpopular among videographers.

Overall, despite the flaws the XT-2 has, it’s an amazing camera with a great deal of features and capabilities which make it suitable for diverse types of photography such as portrait, sports, and landscape (this one is not really advisable, as the XT-2 has no environmental sealing).

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Opinion of the price/value ratio

When you look at the pricing, the a6500 is the more affordable camera. The Sony a6500 is a compact mirrorless camera which you can take about with you on-the-go photography. It has tons of other features as well.

 Overall, when you look at the value which the a6500 gives you, we can see that it is well priced. The XT-2 on the other hand is more expensive than the a6500, but not by a lot.

When you look at the features in general, the a6500 seems to give you better value for the pricing than the Fujifilm XT-2 does.

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Strengths of each brand in the market

Sony

Sony is a multinational company, which was founded in May 7, 1946. Sony is not only in the photography industry. Its influences are seen in diverse industries such as gaming, music, communication, movie, and even finance.

Fujifilm

Fujifilm was founded in 1934 as the founding filmmaking company of Japan. Today, it has become a global presence in other industries such as graphic arts, optical devices, and healthcare.

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Comparison Table

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – What situation is each best for?

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Common Features

Great sensor resolution

Both the a6500 and the XT-2 have an image resolution of 24 megapixels. However, there are some differences worth mentioning.

The a6500 comes with the newly built 24megapixel APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor, which features enhanced circuit processing which reduces the depth of the wiring layer to improve the collection of light, and copper wiring.

In combination with the new front-end LSI, and the BIONZ X image processor, it greatly reduces noise throughout a wide sensitivity range of ISO 100-512005.

On the other hand, we have the XT-2. The Fujifilm XT-2 has a 24.3megapixel CMOS X-Trans III APS-C sensor which gives you amazing image quality. Its random pixel array minimizes false colors effectively, without using an optical low-pass filter.

 When merged with an XF lens, the XT-2’s sensor gives you images with a perceived resolution which is much larger than the number of pixels which were actually used. This includes other features such as high-speed continuous shooting, outstanding read speed, superb video recording, high-precision AF tracking, and highly faster live view refresh rate.

Has an electronic viewfinder

The Sony a6500 features a 2.36 million-dot XGA OLED Tru-Finder electronic viewfinder which has the ability to give you continuous live shooting at a speed of up to 8 frames per second with Autofocus/Auto exposure tracking. Thanks to general improvements in the EVF algorithm, this makes tacking fast moving subjects a lot easier.

 This offers photographers a shooting experience with the immediacy of an optical viewfinder, while still providing you with the advantages of an EVF, which includes white balance, a live preview of exposure, and several other camera settings.

 This continuous live view shooting can be set in 3 stages to match various subjects: 4 frames per second, 6 frames per second, and 8 frames per second.

The 2.36-million-dot high-resolution organic electronic viewfinder which is featured in the Fujifilm XT-2, has a horizontal viewing angle of 31 degrees, a display time lag of just 0.005 seconds, and a magnification ratio of 0.77x.

The viewfinder, which is 2 times brighter than the previous model, also has a function which adjusts brightness automatically making it easy to see in all conditions, which includes intense backlighting.

 It removes false colors completely, and gives you performance which rivals an optical viewfinder, but with the extra benefit of displaying a live view which shows your exposure settings.

Strong and durable body

The compact body of the Sony a6500 can stand against the troubles which com with shooting out of doors. Thanks to its internal structure which is made of hard and rigid magnesium alloy, you can shoot in harsh weathers and environments without being worried about moisture and dust damaging the camera.

Sealing is also provided around the dials, ports, doors, and main buttons to enhance your camera’s protection against moisture and dust. Other sealed areas include the terminal area and media compartment.

The body of the XT-2 is also built with magnesium alloy, also making it resistant to dust and moisture.

High autofocus

With an astounding 325 focus points, the XT-2’s AF system is without a doubt one of the most advanced AF systems available today.

Combined with an updated algorithm and a faster image processor, this new autofocus system is wonderful in terms of the performance of its autofocus.

The a6500 features its unparalleled 4D FOCUS system, gives you the ability to lock focus on a subject in as little time as 0.05 seconds.

It also features 425 compactly placed autofocus points (Currently the highest number of AF points in the world) which are placed densely over 84% of the image area.

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Unique Features

Sony a6500

Incredible autofocus

The a6500 features an unparalleled AF system known as 4D FOCUS. This new autofocus system gives you the ability to lock focus on a subject at an amazing speed of 0.05 seconds. It also features 425 compactly placed autofocus points (Currently the highest number of AF points in the world) which are placed densely over 84% of the image area.

Longer battery life (than the Fujifilm xt2)

Sony a6500 is powered by a battery which according to CIPA standards, gives you 350 shots. Bearing in mind that the standard battery life of mirrorless is 359 shots, the battery life of the a6500 is a bit below average. However, for long photo trips, investing in spare batteries would be a smart move.

Has a built-in flash

The Sony a6500 is enabled with a built-in flash, and also has a flash shoe for mounting external flashes.

one amazing thing about A6500’s built-in flash is that the head of the flash can be manually tilted upwards using your finger. You can use this to bounce the light of the flash to give your subject better lighting.

However, it’s not a very strong flash so the surface you use for bouncing has to be quite close to the camera.

Has a touch screen

Nowadays, many cameras seem to have this feature, so it doesn’t seem like a big deal. However, of the two cameras in today’s comparison, only the a6500 has this feature.

However, you can’t use it to scroll though menus. It can only be used to select the object which you want to focus on easily.

Fujifilm XT-2

Dual SD card slots

The XT-2’s body features two SD card slots for more data storage. With this, when your memory card gets filled up, you can simply put another one in the other slot.

To give you a greater understanding of how important this feature is, let’s paint this scenario. Let’s assume that you are working on a project for yourself with a camera which has only one SD card slot.

If it gets full, it’s just going to annoy you a bit, but if you are doing a job for a client, that’s a whole other matter.

If the memory card gets full while you are working for a client, there’s pretty much nothing you can do to fix this. This can cost you some serious money.

Higher shutter speed

Fujifilm XT-2 has the ability to shoot continuously at maximum speed of 14 frames per second and a maximum shutter speed of 1/8000 sec. In addition, the XT-2 has an electronic shutter which can shoot silently at maximum speed of 1/32000 sec.

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm Xt-2 – Unique Pros

Sony a6500

Higher Autofocus

The a6500 features the world’s fastest AF system known as 4D FOCUS. It has 425 compactly placed autofocus points, and can focus on a subject at a speed of 0.05 seconds.

Built-in image stabilization

This is another point in favor of the Sony a6500. When taking photos, every photographer tries his or her best to hold the camera steady.

However, many times, you will shake or shiver a bit, and every photographer knows that those little shakes can affect the outcome of your image.

Even though you shake, image stabilization smooths those blurry parts of the photo. Giving you clear pictures.

Enabled with a touchscreen

The Sony a6500’s touchscreen gives you the ability to easily select the object which you want to focus on.

Fujifilm XT-2

Headphone port

With a headphone, you can have more control over any audio which your camera picks up. However, for you to be able to connect your headphone to a camera, the camera needs to have a headphone port.

Extra memory card slot

As said before, this feature provides you with a place to put an extra SD card in case the one you are using gets full.

Faster continuous shooting speed

The XT-2 gives you 14 frames per second when on continuous shooting mode, while the a6500 gives you only 11fps. With this, you can shoot photos of subjects which move around a lot, and capture beautifully precise moments.

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Unique Cons

Sony a6500

Only 1 SD card slot

Sadly, the a6500 has only 1 slot for an SD card. This means that if you are shooting and your memory card gets full, you won’t be able add an extra one.

This situation gets even worse when you are shooting for a client. If this happens, there is pretty much nothing you can do to fix it. This can make you lose a lot of money.

Not really ergonomically friendly to use

When it comes to the general feel of the camera when shooting, the a6500 isn’t as good as many would like it to be.

Fujifilm XT-2

No image stabilization

Shaking while shooting is almost unavoidable. That is where the image shooting stabilization comes in. It removes the effect which those shakes have on your camera. Unfortunately, the XT-2 doesn’t have this feature.

Video recording limit of 10 minutes

This is definitely the most annoying problem about this camera, and also why it’s unpopular among videographers.

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Common Pros

Image resolution of 24 megapixels.

Both of the cameras in today’s comparison have a sensor resolution of 24MP. This gives your images incredible detail.

Those who probably find it useful the most are portrait photographers, because the subject’s face needs to have as much details as possible. In addition, images of this resolution can be used for enlargements.

Environmental sealing

This particular feature is quite important. Travel or landscape photographers shoot in rough environments or weather conditions. The dust and moisture.

Has an EVF

Having an electronic viewfinder is very helpful when you are shooting out of doors, or in a brightly lit environment.

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – Common Con

Unimpressive battery life

The a6500 and the XT-2 each have battery lifespans which are below that of the average mirrorless camera.

Sony a6500 Vs Fujifilm XT-2 – How users feel about both

Final Note

And there you have it. That brings us to the end of this comparison article.

 Let’s just do a quick recap of everything we have gone through. The Sony a6500 is a compact mirrorless camera with 425 autofocus points. It also has a sensor resolution of 24 megapixels.

Furthermore, it has a high-speed continuous shooting rate which makes it easier to photograph moving subjects.

It also has image stabilization which ensures that you get images which have no blur. However, it has only one SD card slot, and isn’t very ergonomically friendly to use.

One flaw which both cameras share is a less than average battery life. Lastly, it’s more affordable than the XT-2, and gives you good value for the price.

The XT-2 on the other hand, has 325 AF points, and dual SD card slots. It has a faster continuous shooting rate than the a6500, and a headphone port.

It also has an image resolution of 24 megapixels, and a viewfinder. The major flaw which this camera has is that it has no image stabilization.

Another fault which the XT-2 has is the video recording limit of 10 minutes. This makes the XT-2 very unpopular among videographers.

Overall, both the Sony a6500 and the XT-2 are amazing cameras. To pick the right one, you need to know precisely what kind of features you want.