Sony a5100 16-50mm Interchangeable Lens Camera with 3-Inch Flip Up LCD (Black)

CUSTOMER REVIEW



I'll be comparing the a5100 to the NEX-3N, which I still have and love (see my review from last year). I skipped the a5000 because it was too close to the 3N in feature set, so I was really hoping for vast improvements with the a5100. If you read the highlights and tech specs, sure, it sounds like it would blow the 3N away in about every category. Upon closer inspection and use, it really is more of an iterative evolution of the 3N and 5 series core.



Great points:

- you can now set min/max ISO, unlike the 3N

- zebra pattern for making exposure decisions

- wifi remote control, but feature set and ability to set focus very limited in the PlayMemories app

- fit, finish, and design are more modern (chamfered edges, matte textured plastics)

- PDAF of 179 points



Terrible miscues:

- touch screen lcd seems to be limited to only 'touch focus' or 'touch shutter'; you can't navigate menus or options with touch!?!

- shutter sound still goes 'ker-chunk'; I've learned to live with this on the 3N, but I was truly hoping for a completely silent mode



Other things to note:

- the menus are improved and more organized, but again, I wanted to touch and select menu options, not dial it in with the controller!

- battery life is 400 CIPA which is decent, not as good as the 480 CIPA of the 3N, but still decent

- the 921K resolution of the screen is better, of course, but to me, it seemed just marginally better than the 460K res of the 3N

- the IQ is great as usual, but between the 24MP of the a5100 and the 16MP of the 3N, it really didn't matter to me.. more ability to crop, sure, but they're both APS-C sized sensors and the quality of both is essentially equally good

- the 179 point PDAF was indeed very fast and you can see these tiny little green square boxes dance on the LCD like fireflies when PDAF is at work, but you only take advantage of this in the AF-A and AF-C modes (AF-A seems to start with CDAF, then switches to PDAF upon movement, while AF-C uses PDAF exclusively and continuously)... now, since I've become accustomed to DMF mode on the 3N and hardly use AF-C, I realized that these 179 points were not as important to me as I initially thought.. in fact, AF-S/DMF/M modes all focus with about the same speed as the 3N because these modes use CDAF

- one aside is that I also own a Canon SL1, and the touch screen on that camera is very responsive and works like you would expect.. navigate menus, change options, select focus, etc. ... I guess I have a high standard for how a touch screen on a camera should function



In sum, if the 3N ever disappears from the channels and my personal copy breaks down, I would definitely go for the a5100, because it embodies the heart and soul of the 3N: extreme portability with APS-C IQ, 180 degree tilt LCD for selfies, awesome travel companion. For now though, I'm still happy with the NEX-3N.