Sony a6500 Ergonomic evaluation and score 4 July 2019

In my post of  12 June I wrote about the a6500…….

“The a6500 ……feels like a half finished project, flashy/brilliant in some abilities but borderline unusable in others with an interface which needs a complete root-and-branch redesign.”

This post presents a more formal examination of some of the issues particularly those affecting the user experience which can be frustrating.

Setup Phase

The a6500 uses an older version of the Sony menu system with no My Menu. This is disappointing to put it mildly.

There are too many items altogether with numerous redundant and or confusing items. Focus and autofocus options are confusing. I found options for display settings in 6 different places scattered about the submenus.

Like items are separated, unlike items together. Sony has attempted to gather similar items together but the project is only partly successful and needs much more work.

Navigation and the graphical user interface are good.

Setup score 9/15

Prepare Phase

This is better managed. Between the Mode Dial with the MR settings, Fn button, C1, C2, left right and C3 buttons getting ready for changed conditions is decently easy to achieve.

Prepare score 13/15

Capture Phase, Holding

This camera has a short handle which cannot accommodate a five finger grip. This works well enough with the kit 16-50mm zoom or the 20mm f2.8 pancake  with which the camera feels more like a compact than a full featured ILC. But with any of the larger zooms there is insufficient grip. This has led to an aftermarket for accessory handles and grips of various kinds.

The thumb support is good.

Holding score 9/20

Capture Phase, Viewing

Neither the monitor screen nor EVF provide a level of viewing experience appropriate to this camera’s price point.

The monitor swings up/down but is not fully articulated. Camera data is superimposed over the lower section of the preview image making it hard to see.

Touch screen function is provided but its operation is sluggish and laggy, more a hindrance than a help.

The EVF has a high spec on paper but out in the real world the view is unconvincing, giving an odd, pixelated appearance especially in bright light with specular highlights. This persisted despite my attempts to improve the viewing experience at all six ! separate menu locations having some reference to viewfinder quality.

EVF blackout at high frame rates is minimal. Overall the EVF works more convincingly at high continuous frame rates than with single shot operation.

Viewing score 12/20

Capture Phase, Operation

The camera generally operates more effectively at continuous high frame rates than with single shot operation. In either single or continuous operation shutter response is very fast with almost no perceptible lag.  EFCS is well implemented and effective.

Otherwise there are many frustrating issues with operation.

Each AF Area size is a different mode. This is weird. Even the RX models allow the AF area size to be changed with the rear dial once the AF frame is active.

There is no front dial and the top rear dial is a bit too stiff for smooth operation. The lower rear dial is not near the thumb.

There is no separate AF lock button. There is no thumb stick. Exposure compensation cannot auto cancel if required. The location of the movie button makes movie start/stop un-necessarily awkward.

The cross keys have the dual function problem seen on several Sony models. I have described this elsewhere. It can be frustrating to have the intention of  moving the AF area position only to discover that one has changed white balance or some other parameter.

Operation score 13/25

Review Phase

Sony generally gets Review Phase right and the a6500 is no exception.

Review score 5/5

Total score 61/100

Comment

The a6500 is Sony’s premium APS-C interchangeable lens model with a price to match. Unfortunately the user experience falls way behind the technology.

61/100 is a low score for a premium ILC.

The camera feels to me like a half finished project. Some features and capabilities work extremely well, others are either missing or poorly implemented.  

When using this camera I never felt a sense of pleasure at operating a well designed piece of equipment. Rather I constantly felt I had to overcome obstacles placed in my way by the recalcitrant user interface just to get the job done.