New Model Adds Five-Axis Image Stabilization, Touch-Screen Autofocus Adjustments to Features of Predecessor

Sony announced the $1,400 α6500, its new top-of-the-line E-mount APS-C mirrorless camera.

Scheduled to ship in November, the α6500's design is set to improve on the $1,000 α6300 by adding five-axis image stabilization (with E-mount lenses and A-mount lenses with a compatible adapter) and touch-screen autofocus adjustment for stills as well as video.

The α6500 borrows the α6300's 4D Focus autofocus system, which Sony said will allow video shooters to focus images exceptionally quickly with 425 phase-detection autofocus points.

Like its predecessor, the α6500 shoots 4K UHD video (3840×2160) at up to 30p to the XAVC S file format at bit rates up to 100 Mbps. The 4K image is generated from a full-width sensor readout without pixel-binning, which is downsampled from 6K to 4K. HD images (1920×1080) can be recorded at up to 120p, and a new Slow/Quick image mode supports frame rates ranging from 1fps to 120fps in eight increments. S-Log3 gamma and S-Gamut recording are both available.

Sony released a demo reel of video footage captured with the camera on YouTube.

Also built into the camera this time around is the ability to extract and save still images from video footage.