Sony has launched what it is calling “the world’s smallest interchangeable lens camera,” the Sony A5100, with a pocket-friendly price tag and some impressive specs.
The Sony A5100 slots in just below the Sony A6000, which launched earlier in the year, and features many of the same core components.
It features a 24.3-megapixel APS-C Exmore CMOS image sensor and a Bion X image processor – both of which you’d expect to find further up the range.
All this comes in a very small chassis that Sony reckons is the smallest of its kind, meaning the smallest with this large an image sensor.
Another of the features Sony seems keen to brag about is the Sony A5100’s lightning-quick autofocus capabilities, complete with 179 focal plane phase detection.
One feature the A5100 has that the A6000 doesn’t is a touchscreen monitor that can be flipped around 180 degrees, and there’s also tap-to-focus. Unlike the Sony A6000, of course, you don’t get a built-in electronic viewfinder.
Also unlike the A6000, you don’t get any physical controls on the rear of the device, suggests that the A5100 is intended as a first CSC for those more used to taking snaps on their smartphones.
Speaking of smartphone technology, the Sony A5100 comes with Wi-Fi and NFC for one-touch sharing.
On the video front, the A5100 supports the XAVC format, which allows you to shoot 1080p Full HD footage at 50Mbps for superior quality results.
The Sony A5100 is available for pre-order now, and will go on sale in Europe in mid-September. It’ll be priced at a very reasonable $699 with a 16-50mm kit lens. That works out to around £418, but expect to pay north of £500 when it lands in the UK.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
