Sony Alpha A5100 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body, - Bundle with Camera Case, 16GB Class 10 SDHC Card, Cleaning Kit, Memory Wallet, PC Software Package

SKU: ISOA5100A

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Reviews about this item

Review Summary

2024-09-25T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Just Great

I call this my my pocket camera. small, compact and oozing with power. just the job with a professional result. Cool man!

Davmac25

2023-09-18T20:00:00

Rated 3 out of 5

Decent and compact camera with bad UI

The camera is compact and versatile for what it is. Unfortunately the dim screen makes the lack of EVF challenging in direct sunlight. The UI is terrible. And the camera is fairly outdated and lacking many features.

jackjt8

2020-10-09T15:00:07

Rated 5 out of 5

Highly recommend

Great camera,I highly recommend

Seyi D.

2020-08-27T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Sony Mirrorless Camera

This is the best camera I have bought in a long time, the electronic view finder is best suited for me as I wear glasses, The lens is the best I have and can get the best wedding photographs and portrait for my portfolio, a Sony camera well worth the money, Thank you Sony for this excellent camera.

Darren68

2020-08-07T10:08:03

Rated 5 out of 5

Sony Alpha a5100

Bought this camera for my wife and she loves it. Its very easy to use like a point and shoot that you can change the lens!

CHUCK T.

2020-06-29T07:07:35

Rated 4 out of 5

A great simple camra

Happy with this camera for the non-photographer in our family

ARTHUR F.

2020-06-06T20:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Features similar to professional DSLR

I have nine wall sized prints made (at or over 36" X 25") from the camera-am running out of wall space. Great enlargements!

IowaIBO

2020-04-27T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Great camera

So glad I made this choice this camera is incredible I’m so happy with it

Saja91

2020-04-07T20:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

excelent quality

I bought this camera years ago always comes in handy for memories. only didn't give 5 stars because uploading videos is kind of a task

Krystal D.

2020-03-07T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

My account

I bought this 3 months ago. So far I'm very happy with it

Phillip306

2020-01-10T19:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

Poor quality zoom

WIFI wont connect to mobile phone and having to use remote function and code wont scan - returning to shop.

CMUR

2020-01-03T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Great value

Was looking for a lightweight camera for hiking. But still wanted good quality photos. This camera fits the bill perfectly. Great value for the price

Graeme G.

2019-12-27T10:52:27

Rated 5 out of 5

Superior camera but tough to use in bright sunlight

I really liked the a5100. It's size, image quality, and general performance were everything I wanted. However, I live in the Florida Keys, and without a viewfinder the LCD was just too difficult to see. I tend to shoot Manual, and the combination of strong sunlight, and small settings information on the LCD resulted in too much time being spent on trying to make/correct exposure settings. Loved everything else about it, but couldn't justify the expense of keeping it.

William B.

2019-12-20T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Sony a5100 with APS-C

Nice and compact with the full functions of a DSLR with touch screen and remote control by phone

Redscorpian

2019-09-01T20:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Great camera

I bout this camera on a sper of the moment and it was a good one

nill 9.

2019-07-18T20:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

Doesn't turn on!

I bought this a little over 3 months ago and now all of a sudden it stopped working and won't turn on. I use the camera not to often for the battery to have died already.

wd92

2019-06-06T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Quality.

Just bought A5100 and am well pleased. SLR quality with many features. Full auto through to manual it's a delight. At this price you can't beat it.

Tinsl

2019-05-28T20:00:00

Rated 3 out of 5

Ideal point & shoot but has major flaws

I am a self employed photographer and film maker. I bought this camera to use on a family holiday to Orlando. It is compact and full of features, however it came close to being thrown on a couple of occasions. We wanted to capture memorable occasions both in photo and video. This camera however cannot handle video at all. Don't get me wrong, it creates lovely images and AVCHID files but the camera literally cannot record film for any length of time. We missed out on the Disney parade as the camera shut down after about 15 minutes due to overheating. Granted the outside temp was 30+ degrees but I screened the camera from direct sunlight whilst filming. The camera would not switch back on for some time and we had to default to our iPhones. This continued throughout the holiday and ended up being left at the accommodation in the end. Either that, or it would have met its fate at the bottom of a lake. We put the fault down to the hot temperatures, but on returning to the UK I used the Sony on a tripod to film an outside concert. This was used alongside my main Nikon camera's, and even a DJI OSMO just to capture all angles. Of 4 cameras the Sony packed it yet again due to overheating. I even opened the battery compartment door to aid cooling, but only lasted little over 5 minutes before shutting down again. Overall, I am very disappointed in this camera and has changed my mind from changing from Nikon to the 7 series. If you want a compact camera for a holiday or point & shoot this is a decent camera. Just don't expect it to perform for extended filming. Literally nothing beyond 20 minutes, which is poor as it couldn't be used to film a party, wedding etc due to the overheating issue that needs resolving.

Skysnapper

2019-04-06T20:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

great features

I bought this about a month ago and I never knew it would be so small. The camera after a while feels like your holding a clutch! This little baby has everything worth your wild like the interchangeable lens, wifi, flip screen and apps! I didn't expect this camera to have that in it. I would say it's an intermediate camera. You have to play with the settings to get feel of what is going on with it. I had a small problem sometimes when I shoot with outside the camera goes black on me. It's not all the time but it's been on my mind lately. I think because it does get overheated. Although, it's a great camera to use.

DonishaC

2019-02-21T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Great little camera

Great little camera, loads of features, best in class.

FraserP

2019-02-05T19:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

ONE Star

Bought this camera brand new and has given me so many problems since then. Starting with the camera over heating after the 10 min. mark. It is not charging properly, and looses all my data from the memory cards. Bought this camera for vlogging purposes, never again. Still seeing what I am going to do since I have to keep uploading content every week.

Kirian_13

2019-01-10T14:22:04

Rated 5 out of 5

Fantastic value for money

Great camera for low light. The camera also has some very good and prime lens that are not super expensive.

Rajiv V.

2019-01-09T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

AMAZING

I bought this product not longer than a week ago and it's already blowing my mind. Exceptional!

ArtificiallyNando

2019-01-02T19:00:00

Rated 1 out of 5

Over Heats

I can not film for more than 20 minutes before my camera shuts off due to over heating. This is so frustrating and it's been more than 2 weeks so I cannot return the product either. A complete waste of money for me.

alexandriarose

2018-11-22T19:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Well balanced

Very great features for the intermediate to professional user. I love the affordability of this mirrorless Dslr. Professional quality at affordable price

PatchMan

2018-11-07T19:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Simple to use

The camera is simple to use although I found the screen scratched quite easily so would recommend fitting a saver film

alex0002

2018-10-30T16:29:41

Rated 5 out of 5

Great Picture Quality

Great camera for beginners. It was just what I was looking for so far I like every single feature, picture quality is great indoors and outdoors

Cynthia O.

2018-10-10T20:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

functional

I bought just a few weeks age. happy with camera but the manual is confusing.

a1bp

2018-10-05T20:00:00

Rated 4 out of 5

Nifty

First time buying a camera I love it. Great that we can link it with iphone

Damo1st

2018-09-29T20:00:00

Rated 5 out of 5

Great everything camera!

We bought this camera for our 2 week vacation overseas. It was perfect! We enjoyed using the selfie feature more than we thought. It took beautiful photos in all lighting. The only thing we couldn't figure out is how to take better photos of backlit scenes, but I think that's a user errors. It takes photos quickly. We couldn't be happier. Perfect for a a novice who wants great photos, and wants to learn more about photography without being overwhelmed.

ladyO

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Sony a5100 Specifications

  • Camera Type

    Interchangeable lens digital camera with built-in flash

  • Lens Compability

    Sony E-mount lenses

  • Sensor Type

    APS-C type (23.5 x 15.6mm) "Exmor" CMOS sensor

  • Pixels

    Effective: Approx. 24.3 megapixels
    Number of pixels (total): Approx. 24.7 megapixels

  • Image Sensor Aspect Ratio

    3:02

  • Color Filter

    R, G, B primary color

  • Anti-Dust System

    Charge protection coating on Optical Filter

  • Recording Format (Still Image)

    JPEG (DCF Ver. 2.0, Exif Ver.2.3, MPF Baseline compliant), RAW (Sony ARW 2.3 format)

  • Image Size (Pixels) [3:2]

    L: 6000 x 4000 (24M)
    M: 4240 x 2832 (12M)
    S: 3008 x 2000 (6.0M)

  • Image Size (Pixels) [16:9]

    L: 6000 x 3376 (20M)
    M: 4240 x 2400 (10M)
    S: 3008 x 1688 (5.1M)

  • Image Size (Pixels) [Sweep Panorama]

    Wide: horizontal 12,416 x 1,856 (23M), vertical 5,536 x 2,160 (12M), Standard: horizontal 8,192 x 1,856 (15M), vertical 3,872 x 2,160 (8.4M)

  • Image Quality Modes

    RAW
    RAW & JPEG
    JPEG Fine
    JPEG Standard

  • Picture Effect

    13 types: Posterization (Color), Posterization (B/W), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (R/G/B/Y), High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera(Normal/Cool/Warm/Green/Magenta), Soft High-key, Soft Focus(High/Mid/Low), HDR Painting(High/Mid/Low), Rich-tone Monochrome, Miniature(Auto/Top/Middle(H)/Bottom/Right/Middle(V)/Left), Watercolor, Illustration (High/Mid/Low)

  • Picture Effect

    13 types: Posterization (Color), Posterization (B/W), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (R/G/B/Y), High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera(Normal/Cool/Warm/Green/Magenta), Soft High-key, Soft Focus(High/Mid/Low), HDR Painting(High/Mid/Low), Rich-tone Monochrome, Miniature(Auto/Top/Middle(H)/Bottom/Right/Middle(V)/Left), Watercolor, Illustration (High/Mid/Low)

  • Creative Style

    Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Black & White, Sepia
    (Contrast (-3 to +3 steps), Saturation (-3 to +3 steps), Sharpness (-3 to +3 steps))

  • Creative Style

    Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Black & White, Sepia
    (Contrast (-3 to +3 steps), Saturation (-3 to +3 steps), Sharpness (-3 to +3 steps))

  • Dynamic Range Functions

    Off, Dynamic Range Optimizer (Auto/Level (1-5)), Auto High Dynamic Range (Auto Exposure Difference, Exposure Difference Level (1.0-6.0 EV, 1.0 EV step))

  • Color Space

    sRGB standard (with sYCC gamut) and Adobe RGB standard compatible with TRILUMINOS Color

  • Color Space

    sRGB standard (with sYCC gamut) and Adobe RGB standard compatible with TRILUMINOS Color

  • Delete

    Yes

  • Recording Format (Movie)

    XAVC S
    AVCHD format Ver. 2.0 compliant
    MP4

  • Video Compression

    XAVC S: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
    AVCHD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
    MP4: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264

  • Audio Recording Format

    XAVC S: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
    AVCHD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
    MP4: MPEG-4 AVC/H.26

  • Audio Recording Format

    XAVC S: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
    AVCHD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264
    MP4: MPEG-4 AVC/H.26

  • Movie Record (XAVC S) Apprx. 50Mbps

    1280 x 720 (120p, 50M)
    1920 x 1080 (60p, 50M)
    1920 x 1080 (30p, 50M)
    1920 x 1080 (24p, 50M)

  • Movie Recording System (AVCHD)

    1920 x 1080 (60p, 28M, PS) / Approx.28Mbps (Maximum bit-rate)
    1920 x 1080 (60i, 24M, FX) / Approx.24Mbps (Maximum bit-rate)
    1920 x 1080 (60i, 17M, FH) / Approx.17Mbps (Average bit-rate)
    1920 x 1080(24p, 24M, FX) / Approx.24Mbps(Maximum bit-rate)
    1920 x 1080(24p, 17M, FH) / Approx.17Mbps(Average bit-rate)

  • Movie Recording System (AVC MP4)

    1440 x 1080 (30fps) / Approx.12Mbps (Average bit-rate)
    VGA (640 x 480, 30fps) / Approx.3Mbps (Average bit-rate)

  • Movie Function

    Audio Level Display
    Audio Rec Level
    Dual Video REC
    AF Tracking Duration
    AF Drive Speed
    Auto Slow Shutter
    HDMI Info. Display (ON/OFF selectable)

  • HDMI Output

    1920 x 1080 (60p) / 1920 x 1080 (60i), YCbCr 4:2:2 8bit/ RGB 8bit

  • Media Slot

    Memory Stick PRO Duo
    Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo
    Memory Stick XC-HG Duo
    SD memory card SDHC memory card (UHS-I compliant)
    SDXC memory card (UHS-I compliant)

  • Noise Reduction

    Long exposure NR: available of shutter speeds longer than 1 sec.
    High ISO NR: Normal/Low

  • White Balance Modes

    Auto / Daylight / Shade / Cloudy / Incandescent / Fluorescent < Warm White / Cool White / Day White / Daylight> / Flash /Underwater/ Color Temperature <2500 to 9900K> & color filter / Custom

  • AWB Micro Adjustment

    Yes

  • Bracketing

    3 frames, H/L selectable

  • Bracketing

    3 frames, H/L selectable

  • Type 1

    Fast Hybrid AF (phase-detection AF/contrast-detection AF)

  • Focus Sensor

    Exmor CMOS sensor

  • Focus Point

    179 points (phase-detection AF)
    25 points (conotrast-detection AF)

  • Sensitivity range

    EV-1 to EV20 (ISO100 equivalent with F2.0 lens attached)

  • AF Mode

    AF-A (Automatic AF), AF-S (Single-shot AF), AF-C (Continuous AF), DMF (Direct Manual Focus), Manual Focus

  • Focus Area

    Wide (179 points (phase-detection AF), 25 points(contrast-detection AF)) / Zone / Center / Flexible Spot (S/M/L) / Lock-on AF ( Wide / Zone / Center / Flexible Spot (S/M/L))

  • Focus system

    Lock-on AF
    Eye AF (predictive control)
    Other features (predictive control, focus lock)
    AF illuminator (with built-in LED type)

  • AF Illuminator Range

    Approx. 0.3- approx. 3.0m (with E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens attached)

  • AF Micro Adjustment

    Yes, with LA-EA2 or LA-EA4 (Sold separately)

  • Metering Type

    1200-zone evaluative metering

  • Metering Sensor

    Exmor CMOS sensor

  • Metering Sensitivity

    EV-1 to EV20 (at ISO100 equivalent with F2.0 lens attached)

  • Modes

    Multi-segment
    Center-weighted
    Spot

  • Exposure Modes

    iAUTO
    Superior Auto
    Programmed AE (P)
    Aperture priority (A) Shutter-speed priority (S)
    Manual (M)
    Movie (Programmed AE (P) / Aperture priority (A) / Shutter-speed priority (S) / Manual (M))
    Sweep Panorama
    Scene Selection

  • Scene Selection

    Portrait
    Sports Action
    Macro
    Landscape
    Sunset
    Night Scene
    Hand-held Twilight
    Night Portrait
    Anti Motion Blur

  • Exposure Compensation

    Still images: +/- 3.0EV (1/3EV steps)
    Movies: +/- 2.0EV (1/3EV steps)

  • AE Lock

    Locked when shutter button is pressed halfway. (Auto/On/Off selectable)

  • ISO Sensitivity

    Still images: ISO 100-25600 (1/3 EV step)
    AUTO (ISO 100-25600, selectable lower limit and upper limit)
    Movies: ISO 100-12800 equivalent (1/3 EV step) / AUTO (ISO 100-12800 equivalent, selectable lower limit and upper limit)

  • LCD Screen

    Type: 7.5cm (3.0-type) wide type TFT
    Touch panel: yes
    Number of dots (total): 921,600 dots
    Brightness control: Manual (5 steps between -2 and +2), Sunny Weather mode
    Adjustable angle: Up by approx. 180 degrees
    WhiteMagic: Yes

  • Display Contents

    Graphic Display
    Display All Info
    No Disp. Info
    Histogram

  • Real-Time Image-Adjustment Display

    ON/OFF

  • Focus Check

    Yes Focus Magnifier (5.9x, 11.7x)

  • Zebra

    Yes

  • Peaking MF

    Yes (Level setting: High/Mid/Low/Off, Color: White/Red/Yellow)

  • Marker Display

    Yes (Center/Aspect/Safety Zone/Guideframe)

  • Grid Line

    Yes (Rule of 3rds Grid/Square Grid/Diag. + Square Grid/Off)

  • Face Detection

    Modes: On/On (Regist. Faces)/Off
    Face registeration: Yes
    Face selection: Yes
    Max. number of detectable: 8

  • Auto Object Framing

    Yes

  • Other Features

    Smile Shutter (Smile shutter, selectable from 3 steps)
    Touch Shutter
    Touch Focus
    Self-portrait Self-timer (Yes, 3 sec delay/OFF selectable)

    PlayMemories Camera Apps
    Shooting Tips
    Help guide
    Clock Function,Setting
    Area Setting
    Shop Front Mode
    Eye-Fi ready

  • Clear Image Zoom

    Still images: Approx. 2x
    Movies: Approx. 2x

  • Digital Smart Zoom (Still)

    M: Approx. 1.4x
    S: Approx. 2x

  • Digital Zoom (Still)

    L: Approx. 4x
    M: Approx. 5.7x
    S: Approx. 8x

  • Digital zoom (Movie)

    Approx. 4x

  • Shutter Type

    Electronically-controlled, vertical-traverse, focal-plane type

  • Shutter Speed

    Still images: 1/4000 to 30 sec, Bulb
    Movies: 1/4000 to 1/4(1/3 steps) up to 1/60 in AUTO mode (up to 1/30 in Auto slow shutter mode)

  • Flash Sync. Speed

    1/160 sec.

  • Electronic Front Curtaion Shutter

    Yes

  • Flash Type

    Built-in flash

  • Guide No.

    4 (in meters at ISO 100)

  • Flash Coverage

    16mm (focal-length printed on the lens body)

  • Control

    Pre-flash TTL

  • Flash Compensation

    +/- 2.0EV (1/3EV steps)

  • Flash Bracketing

    1/3, 1/2, 2/3, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 EV steps, 3/5 frames (1.0/2.0/3.0 EV : only 3 frames) selectable

  • Flash Modes

    Flash off
    Autoflash
    Fill-flash
    Slow Sync.
    Rear Sync.
    Red-eye reduction (on/off selectable)

  • Recycling Time

    Approx. 3 sec

  • Drive Modes

    Single Shooting
    Continuous shooting (Hi/Lo selectable)
    Self-timer (10/2 sec delay selectable)
    Self-timer (Cont.) (with 10 sec delay 3/5 frames selectable)
    Bracket: Single
    Bracket: Cont.
    White Balance bracket
    DRO bracket

  • Speed (approx., max.)½

    Continuous shooting: Hi: max. 6 fps / Lo: max. 3 fps

  • No. of Frame Recordable (approx.)

    JPEG Fine L: 56 frames
    JPEG Standard L: 75 frames
    RAW: 23 frames
    RAW&JPG: 22 frames

  • Playback

    Single (with or without shooting information, Y RGB histogram & highlight/shadow warning)
    12/30-frames index view
    Enlarged display mode (L: 16.7x, M: 11.8x, S: 8.3x, Panorama (Standard): 19.2x, Panorama (Wide): 29.1x)
    Image orientation (Manual/Off selectable)
    Slideshow
    Panorama scrolling
    Folder selection (Date/ Still/ MP4/ AVCHD/ XAVC S)
    Forward/Rewind (Movie)
    Delete
    Protect
    Auto Review (10/ 5/ 2 sec,

  • Wi-Fi

    View on Smartphone
    Send to Computer
    View on TV

  • NFC

    One-touch remote
    One-touch sharing

  • NFC

    One-touch remote
    One-touch sharing

  • PC Interface

    Mass-storage, MTP, PC remote

  • Multi / Micro USB Terminal

    Yes

  • Wireless LAN(built-in)

    Yes (Wi-Fi Compatible, IEEE 802.11b/g/n(2.4GHz band) )

  • HD Output

    HDMI micro connector (Type-D)
    BRAVIA Sync (Control for HDMI)
    PhotoTV HD
    4K Still Image PB

  • PC Remote

    Yes

  • Microphone

    Built-in stereo microphone

  • Speaker

    Built-in, monaural

  • Print

    Exif Print, Print Image Matching III, DPOF setting

  • Custom key settings

    Yes

  • Lens Compensation

    Peripheral Shading, Chromatic Aberration, Distortion

  • Battery

    One rechargeable battery pack NP-FW50

  • Buttery Duration Still

    Approx. 400 shots (CIPA standard)

  • Battery Duration Movies

    Approx. 75 min (CIPA standard)

  • Battery Duration Movies Continuous

    Approx. 110 min (CIPA standard)

  • Internal Battery Charge

    Yes

  • External Power

    AC Adaptor AC-PW20 (sold separately)

  • Power Consumption

    Still images: approx. 2.3W (with E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens attached), Movies: approx. 4.1W (with E PZ 16-50mm F3.5-5.6 OSS lens attached)

  • Dimensions (WxHxD)

    4.4 x 2.5 x 1.4" (109.6 x 62.8 x 35.7mm)

  • Weight

    10 oz (284g) with battery and Memory Stick PRO Duo

  • UPC Code

    840014130610

42 Accessories for Sony Alpha A5100 Mirrorless Digital Camera Body, - Bundle with Camera Case, 16GB Class 10 SDHC Card, Cleaning Kit, Memory Wallet, PC Software Package

  • All Accessories (42)
  • Batteries & Power Supply (8)
  • Filters (2)
  • Lenses (5)
  • Tripods (1)
  • Remote & Remote Accessories (1)
  • Cables & Adapters (2)
  • Lens Adapters (8)
  • Tripods & Monopods (2)
  • Batteries & Chargers (1)
  • Bags & Cases (5)
  • Cases, Bags & Sleeves (1)
  • Brackets & Mounts (1)
  • Microphones & Audio (2)
  • Rain Covers (3)

About Sony a5100

FEATURED REVIEWS

Bought it for the video capability

By kayenta

Sony XAVC codec is a great improvement over AVCHD. Adobe Premiere 5.5/6.0/CC has no problem accepting it.

Smart and Fast

By JToeppen

This is a fast light weight camera with a great sensor with high speed and low light capabilities. The fast high ISO are no noisey joke, one can take waterfall shots by moonlight and get nice starfields. Mirrorless has a clear form advantage and the reliability of the focus is very good, which is great, because you can not set it yourself. The manual modes are not very manual. However, the "superior auto settings" will bracket for you if necessary, and make that decision quickly, well under t...

View full Review

The Sony a5100 is built on an upgraded 24.3MP APS-C sensor, features Wi-Fi and NFC capabilities so it will work in tandem with a smart phone or tablet, and is loaded with many video and still imaging features. The A5100, which accepts Sony's E-mount lenses, replaces the NEX-5T in Sony's MILC lineup

Who it's for:

For snapshooters looking to upgrade from a smart phone or compact digital camera, the A5100 offers a large selection of interchangeable lenses, much better image quality, fast and responsive autofocus based on 179 wide-area focal plane phase-detection AF points, and 6fps continuous AF/AE shooting. The camera has a handy touch-screen interface that includes the ability to touch any part of the screen and the scene snaps into focus. Other AF features include Lock-on AF for active subjects, and Eye AF, which detects and focuses on a subject's eye-big plus when shooting portraits.

For DSLR owners, the A5100 is a rich-featured camera in a more compact body. The camera's sensor and many of its features are identical to those found on the more expensive Sony A6000 (which also has an eye-level viewfinder) but the interface is designed for intuitive operation, even for users who have little or no technical knowledge.

Sony A5100 vs. A5000 vs A6000

Let's see how the A5100 compares to other cameras in the Sony APS-sensor MILC lineup.

Vs. the Sony A5000: Both the A5100 and the older A5000 are positioned as step-ups from smartphones and compact digital cameras, and also as smaller alternatives to entry-level DSLRs. The A5100 offers a slightly higher-resolution sensor (24.3 vs. the a5000's 20MP); Sony also boosted the top ISO from 16,000 to 25,600 and added touch screen operation to the flip-up LCD. The AF system has been bumped up to a faster, hybrid Phase Detection/Contrast Detection system, with 179 Phase detection AF points and 25 contrast-detection AF points. The A5000 only had contrast detection. Burst rate is almost doubled, to 6fps with a maximum of 56 frames per burst, also twice the capacity of the A5000.

Vs. the Sony A6000: Both cameras share the same 24.3MP sensor, top ISO of 25,600, hybrid AF system, and large buffer capacity. The big advantage of the Sony A6000 is that it has a built-in eye-level electronic viewfinder, which can be a big plus especially when shooting in bright sunlight.

The Sony A5100 In Depth

Focus: Sony has come up with several ways to make its autofocus system stand out: It offers a dual-AF system that combines Phase detection and Contrast detection with 179 AF points that span almost the entire image (this works for both stills and movies), 6fps burst rate with AF tracking (great for capturing moving subjects). Touch-screen control lets you put your finger on the part of the image you want in focus and the image jumps into focus. In addition, the camera has lock-on AF, Eye AF (focuses on the closest eye in a portrait), and you can change the size of the AF spots or shoot with Zone AF.

Sony claims AF capture speed of 0.07 seconds, which is pretty darn close to instantaneous. If you prefer to focus manually, Sony offers Peaking MF, which highlights the in-focus areas of the image in real time, and a focus magnifier with 5.9x and 11.7x magnifications.

The Sensor: The A5100 utilizes a newly-developed 24.3MP Exmor APS HD CMOS sensor that employs the same gapless on-chip lens structure as the full-frame sensor in the A7R, which Sony says will improve overall image quality and especially low-light performance.

LCD Monitor: The 921,600 dot resolution 3-inch TFT LCD monitor flips out up to 180 degrees. So, even if you are using this camera instead of your Smart Phone, you can still shoot selfies. And speaking of smart phones...

Connectivity: Wi-Fi connectivity allows you to control your camera with your compatible Smartphone or Tablet. Frame an image on your smartphone's LCD, and simply click the camera's shutter you're your device. You can even transfer the images taken directly to your mobile device for quick editing and uploading. With NFC (near field communication) - connectivity has been simplified to one touch. Simply touch the camera to the compatible NFC enabled device to connect.

You can use your wireless connection to trick out your camera with PlayMemories Camera Apps, which give you greater control and choices for portrait, close-up, time-lapse and other types of photography. You can then share and save photos via Wi-Fi and view them on your smartphone or post them on social media without connecting to a computer.

Picture Effects and Creativity: The Sony A5100 has 13 Picture Effects: Posterization (Color), Posterization (B/W), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (R/G/B/Y), High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera(Normal/Cool/Warm/Green/Magenta), Soft High-key , Soft Focus(High/Mid/Low), HDR Painting(High/Mid/Low), Rich-tone Monochrome, Miniature(Auto/Top/Middle(H)/Bottom/Right/Middle(V)/Left), Watercolor, and Illustration(High/Mid/ Low). There are 5 levels of dynamic range optimization, and creative color intensity settings for Standard, Vivid, Portrait, Landscape, Sunset, Black & White and Sepia, as well as manual contrast, saturation and sharpness controls.

Making movies: Make movie magic with Full HD 1920 x 1080 video in cinematic 24p, or capture fast action at incredible 60p and 60i frame-rates.3 Made even easier with the 5100's 179 point AF (auto focus) system - tracking moving subjects is not a problem. Selectable in-camera - XAVC S for broadcast quality - high 50Mb/s bitrate, Blu-ray quality - AVCHD or simple and easier upload to the web - MP4 codecs are available. For serious videographers, uncompressed 8bit 4:2:2 clean-screen video files to external recording devices is possible via the HDMI connection.

You can choose 7 types of movie picture effects: Posterization (Color), Posterization (B/W), Pop Color, Retro Photo, Partial Color (R/G/B/Y), High Contrast Monochrome, Toy Camera(Normal/Cool/Warm/Green/Magenta), Soft High-key. Recording formats are AVCHD, XAVC S, and MP4, and compression modes are XAVC S: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, AVCHD: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, MP4: MPEG-4 AVC/H.264. The camera has a built-in stereo microphone.

Customization: You can reprogram the camera to do what you want. Two dials on top and a rear-mounted control wheel allow quick selection of shooting modes and camera settings. In addition to the Fn button, there are seven customizable buttons on this camera which can be assigned any of 47 functions.

Sony a5100 Features

  • Ultra-fast auto focus with 179 AF points and 6Fps
  • Capture life in high resolution with 24MP APS-C sensor
  • Instant sharing via smartphone with Wi-Fi and NFC
  • Record Full HD 1080/24/60P video up to 50MB/s
  • All the quality in half the size & weight of other DSLRs
  • Stunning low light photos with ISO range of 100-25600
  • Create easy selfies with flip-up touch-screen LCD
  • Enhance your camera with PlayMemories Camera Apps
  • Built-in pop-up flash brightens the scene
  • Easy one hand use with convenient power zoom lever

Key Features

  • Ultra-fastauto focuswith 179 AF points and 6Fps
  • Capture life in high resolution with 24MP APS-C sensor
  • Instant sharing via smartphone with Wi-Fi and NFC
  • Record Full HD 1080/24/60P video up to 50MB/s
  • All the quality in half the size & weight of other DSLRs
  • Stunning low light photos with ISO range of 100-25600

What's in the box:

  • Sony Alpha A5100 Mirrorless Digital Camera
  • AC-UB10 AC Adapter/ Charger
  • Rechargeable Battery NP-FW50
  • Shoulder Strap
  • Body Cap
  • Micro USB Cable
  • Sony 1 Year Warranty
  • Bundle Includes:
  • Camera Case
  • 16GB Class 10 SDHC Card
  • Cleaning Kit
  • Card Case
  • PC Software Package