Sony A6500 vs Canon T6i

I wouldn't suggest either one. I say go Fujifilm.

Pay a little more than A6500 and get the Fujifilm X-T2, Fuji lenses are cheaper and smaller without any loss in quality. If you find the X-T2 too expensive, wait a month for the X-T20, it'll retail at $1,200.

Canon does have more lenses but that's only relevant for professional wildlife and sports photographer.

Fujifilm is amazing for portraits and night photography. I mainly use mine for weddings and portraits.

Sony

Because of the sensor

A camera is nothing but a box with obsolesce programed in without decent lens choices so I would also suggest either canon or fujifilm. Also to note stick a big lens on a mirrorless camera and any size benefit is pretty much negated.
I think one should always think lens over camera body. The lens is the one component you will have for decade. Imo the body is just the box at the end of a lens that captures the image created by the lens. Always think lens first over sensors and other gizmos a given body may have.

Sony E-Mount may have less choices available but it is arguably one of the fastest and continue growing system and it already has an good selection that any of the popular range are already covered.

While lens choices is a factor but I can tell you that the 6500 comes with a lot of handy features that you can't find on T6i or many other DSLR for the matter.

One good video to watch about the a6500 is below

There's a big price difference between the two. If you're willing to spend the money for the A6500, you should consider a Canon 6D.

betamaxman wrote: ↑ A camera is nothing but a box with obsolesce programed in without decent lens choices so I would also suggest either canon or fujifilm. Also to note stick a big lens on a mirrorless camera and any size benefit is pretty much negated.
I think one should always think lens over camera body. The lens is the one component you will have for decade. Imo the body is just the box at the end of a lens that captures the image created by the lens. Always think lens first over sensors and other gizmos a given body may have.

it's really a two-way street
what good is quality glass on an average system?

Sony sensors in the recent years are unrivaled
for videos currently you can't do better (6K downsampled + IBIS = hardly going to be obsolete any time soon)

GH5 is going to take it to the next level.

twitchyzero wrote: ↑ what good is quality glass on an average system?

A two way street with one lane a raceway speedway, that being the lens.
The good quality glass on an average system will achieve will far outweigh the benefit an outstanding camera could ever make with poor glass attached too it.
It's the lenses folks that make the difference, always has been and always will be.

Canon T6i is not in the same league as an A6500. On the Sony you can pull out cleaner shadow detail while maintaining decent skin tones due to better sensor and the A6500 is great for vids, and 4K.
You'll also have a higher keeper rate for focused action shots and more to choose at 11fps vs 5ps.
(I'm not pushing you towards the A6500, just pointing out the differences, and it matters less since your subjects are static, I myself shoot Canon 5DIV and 6D).

What's your budget and what kind of portraits/night photography? Lenses are definitely more expensive on the Sony side, compare WA 10-18mm and the basic 50mm 1.8 for either.
There is also a greater assortment of used Canon lenses in the kijiji market, where I've bought most of my L lenses.

Cameras only do so much, composition and editing takes it to the next level.

hdom wrote: ↑ ... One good video to watch about the a6500 is below

Great review, honest but since he talks a lot about himself shooting weddings and having his 2 Sony's, I find I relate to Tyler more comparing 5DIV > A7RII when it comes to wedding stills, speed (5:10) and usability/reliability (13:10). And instead of running all over his house for his battery chargers, why doesn't he get one power strip lol?

betamaxman wrote: ↑ It's the lenses folks that make the difference, always has been and always will be.

until you need to shoot in high-contrast scenes or low-light performance.

twitchyzero wrote: ↑ until you need to shoot in high-contrast scenes or low-light performance.

True, taking the extreme and unorthodox example of pushing +6EV between a D5500 and T6i, you can be completely underexposed, or exposed for the high contrast bright areas but not dark, and pull up those darks very well in post.



Demonstrating my previous point, A6500 vs T6i:

Lol, ok nice comparison between a $1500 and up sony and a $750 to $900 t6i but with no mention of what lens is on either one. Now find me one with a nikon d500 and the a6500 and list what lens is on each. I know op is talking t6i but both he and everyone else is comparing apples and oranges as per price range. But I don't think it would be hard to find a lens with the rest of the money that would make up the difference for low light performance and also add more pluses for when low light is not an importance, especially in the real world. But if mirrorless is his desire he is far better off with fujifilm and it's better collection of lenses than with the sony, at least imo. Or that d5500 (missed it at first) as nikon also has a wide selection of lenses, even possibly better than canon.

twitchyzero wrote: ↑ until you need to shoot in high-contrast scenes or low-light performance.

Like I said, a fast lens of which there will be many examples for the money saved can make up the difference.

Asking which lens is kind of irrelevant, the tester isn't purposely trying to screw Canon.
Eg; this is what I see in practical use no matter which lens I put on my 5DIV, and then the same one on my 6D:



If the argument is then "a higher priced camera should have better DR", the lower priced D5500 beats a 6D:



... which is why someone wants good dynamic range when...

twitchyzero wrote: ↑you need to shoot in high-contrast scenes

betamaxman, I'm not saying you're original point of lens choice isn't important, it's very important, but so is a sensor's DR in certain circumstances.

AncasterRFD wrote: ↑ Asking which lens is kind of irrelevant, the tester isn't purposely trying to screw Canon.
Eg; this is what I see in practical use no matter which lens I put on my 5DIV, and then the same one on my 6D:



If the argument is then "a higher priced camera should have better DR", the lower priced D5500 beats a 6D:



... which is why someone wants good dynamic range when...



betamaxman, I'm not saying you're original point of lens choice isn't important, it's very important, but so is a sensor's DR in certain circumstances.

Touche, but like you I guess I am saying sort of the same but in reverse, lol if that makes sense.
I just get more goose bumps over a really good lens than I do over a really good body is I guess what I'm trying to say.

Q: I'd like to buy one of these two cameras to use in taking portrait and night photos. Which one?
A: Get camera A because it has 4K video.

^That is not the case at all. While the a6500 does 4K video but it is also does a good job with portrait (Face Detection, Eye Focus, Clear Image Zoom) and night (High effect ISO, High Dynamic Range) photos.

hdom wrote: ↑ ^That is not the case at all. While the a6500 does 4K video but it is also does a good job with portrait (Face Detection, Eye Focus, Clear Image Zoom) and night (High effect ISO, High Dynamic Range) photos.

Oh my, please don't use face detection or eye focus if you're serious about portraits.

Are we getting down into the weeds a bit too much here?

OP said that this is his first SLR and so shouldn't it really about the camera system and not the initial body to purchase? What camera system will allow OP to enjoy photography (especially the portraits and night shots they want to take) and then discover what else is in store down the line when they grab more lenses...

I also recommend Fuji... but I'm biased. And I'm not a professional photographer. At work we have a few Canons to use, and I will take the portability, awesome out-of-camera jpgs, and just the general fun I have shooting w/ my Fuji X-T1 than the 70D or t6i. I've never shot Sony, but a friend of mine loved his a6000, until his workplace got a Canon 5D to play with...

The Fuji X-A1 was my first interchangeable lens camera, and I can totally attest to the person who said that lens > body. Despite the fact that this camera was super entry-level, I was still able to produce beautiful (IMO) photos while still learning how to shoot. And it's just gotten better as I upgraded.