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So after I had a little bit of time to test the A6500 with native Sony lenses and quickly determined that it was the fastest Sony Mirrorless I've used for auto focus (yes, both full frame and crop sensor) I decided to try it with a Canon lens and the Sigma MC-11 Adapter.

Now recently I've released review videos using the A7Rii with the Metabones Mark 4 and Sigma MC-11 adapters with Canon mount lenses. To date the A7Rii and the A6300 have been the best camera bodies for using these lenses....well, not any more.

The A6500 is a special camera for auto focus guys and gals. I'm telling you. IT IS. I noticed it the second I picked it up and started shooting with it. But my review and video for the native lenses will come a little later. This is about Canon adapted lenses.

Previously as shown in the review videos the coverage on adapted lenses extends to just about the middle 60% of the sensor. I was sincerely shocked to find that the Sigma MC-11 Adapter with the Canon 50mm f/1.2 lens covered the ENTIRE sensor. Top to bottom, left to right. THE WHOLE DAMN THING.

SHOCKED. It honestly shoots like native glass and I'm not kidding. Don't believe me? Watch the video where I reel off 115 consecutive images in Hi+ continuous mode shooting WIDE OPEN at f/1.2 and every shot is in focus. It is RIDICULOUS!!!!

More tests to come, so make sure to check back for more videos and reviews!!

The images below were taken with the A6500 using the Canon 50mm with the Sigma MC-11 Adapter. All were taken in cameras as jpegs as currently (as of the time of writing this review) there is no profile available to import Raw files on the A6500.

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So I got to test the Sony A6500 for the first time today. One of the newest and most talked about feature on the A6500 is the touch screen. It's the first time a touch screen has been put on one of the semi-pro (A6000, A6300) or pro level (A7 series) camera lines.

Many people have been asking for this feature to be added to the Sony mirrorless line for a very long time. While some cameras in the Sony NEX series had some touch screen capabilities on them, none of the recent Sony mirrorless cameras over the last 2.5 years have included the feature. I for one did not see a huge NEED for touch screen and was perfectly happy with my cameras not having the feature. But clearly many people wanted it, and Sony listened.

So when I got my hands on the camera this was one of the very first things I tested. I went down to La Jolla Cove near San Diego with my crew and a beautiful model named Kelsey Barker. I set the camera up on my Feisol tripod and tested it both in stills and movie mode.

It was pretty impressive. The stills mode was very nice and I could see using it for portraits work where instantaneous focus isn't required. In my opinion this will be for making sure you get the focus EXACTLY where you want it, and I'll also note this is a faster option than going through the menu to select a Flexible spot point.

Where the touch screen truly shined was in video (movie) mode. As someone who uses my A7 and A6000 series camera for filming my Youtube Channel this is going to be a big deal for us. The focus was very smooth as it transitioned between areas of focus that were pointed out on the screen. All of this is illustrated in the video included in this blog post, so please make sure to watch it.

When the A6500 was announced many people asked if it was worth the upgrade over the A6300 which is only 9 months old. I'm on record as saying this camera excited me more than anything for what it would do on the video end of things....and so far with the touch screen, my excitement is real for this camera and it's possibilities. I now truly hope the future iterations of Sony mirrorless cameras will have the touch screen option on them.

While professional videographers may argue over whether or not they would use auto focus in their work, for a lot of folks like me who are more hybrid photographers/videographers, having that touch screen and being able to get a beautifully transitioned rack focus is pretty special.

I can't wait to play with it more...:)

**Links to Gear:

Using the Sony A6500 with Canon Lenses- is this the best Sony Mirrorless for Adapted Lenses?

The images below were taken with the A6500 using the Canon 50mm with the Sigma MC-11 Adapter. All were taken in cameras as jpegs as currently (as of the time of writing this review) there is no profile available to import Raw files on the A6500.

Sony A6500 REAL World Hands on Touch Screen Test for Stills and Video using the Sony 85mm G Master