Sony Alpha 5100 Overview

Choosing not to wait for IFA 2014, which is set to take place in early September, Sony has debuted a new mirrorless camera with some great specs at a price we can all get in on. The Sony Alpha 5100, here to replace the NEX-5T, is quite the familiar product. Some noteworthy specs the Alpha 5100 offers include a 24.3-megapixel APS-C Exmor CMOS sensor with BIONZ X processor with a hybrid focusing system that can find your subject matter in just 0.07 seconds. In fact, these are the same features that can be found in the Sony Alpha 6000, which is a far more expensive counterpart. However all is not the same between the two units as Sony taken some features of the Alpha 6000 away while also adding some worthy features that the A6000 lacks.

Neal Manowitz, director of the interchangeable lens camera business at Sony:

Sony continues to innovate in the mirrorless camera space, offering products that are not only smaller and lighter than competitive DSLRs, but that consistently outperform them. The new α5100 is a primary example, offering world-class AF speed and performance in a palm-sized body at a great price. It’s powerful enough to satisfy the most experienced DSLR shooters, yet not too intimidating for the casual weekend photographer.

Unlike the Alpha 6000, the Sony Alpha 5100 lacks EVF but instead offers a 921k-dot display touch display which is unique to it. Due to the lack of EVF, the 3.0-inch touchscreen display is capable of flipping forward 180 degrees past the built in pop-up flash for self-portraits. If that’s not enough, thanks to the included Wi-Fi and NFC, users can pair their iOS or Android device and use the PlayMemories Mobile app to remotely operate their camera. The Sony Alpha 5100 also offers dual video recording, allowing you to simultaneously record two files (one in Full HD (AVCHD or XAVC S) and the other in lower resolution MP4 format ) to a single installed SD card.

Best of all, the Sony Alpha 5100 is lightweight, compact, and can sit in the palm of your hand. The Sony A5000 will launch in September for $700 which gets you a 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 power-zoom lens and body of course. Those with lenses already in their arsenal can get the Sony Alpha 5100 body for $550.

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Sony Debuts Ultra-Compact α5100 Interchangeable Lens Camera with Impressive Autofocus

by Communications 08/18/2014

New Mirrorless Camera Features Remarkable AF speed and tracking, 24 MP APS-C Size Sensor, BIONZ X™ Processor and more

SAN DIEGO, Aug. 17, 2014 – Sony Electronics has today introduced the stylish new α5100 camera, a new model packing pro-quality AF performance and image quality into a portable, lightweight package.The speedy new camera (model ILCE-5100) features the same Fast Hybrid AF system as the acclaimed α6000 model, which allows it to acquire focus in as little as 0.07 seconds1. It also shares the α6000’s image sensor – a 24.3 MP APS-C Exmor™ CMOS sensor – and powerful BIONZ X processor. This impressive combination of hardware ensures that the camera can capture still images and full HD videos in sharp focus with incredible detail.Unique to the new α5100 is its extremely compact design, placing it among the smallest and lightest interchangeable lens cameras in market today.“Sony continues to innovate in the mirrorless camera space, offering products that are not only smaller and lighter than competitive DSLRs, but that consistently outperform them,” said Neal Manowitz, director of the interchangeable lens camera business at Sony. “The new α5100 is a primary example, offering world-class AF speed and performance in a palm-sized body at a great price. It’s powerful enough to satisfy the most experienced DSLR shooters, yet not too intimidating for the casual weekend photographer.”

Fast Hybrid AF system

Borrowing from the award-winning α6000, the compelling Fast Hybrid AF system on the new α5100 camera features focal plane phase-detection AF points with an extremely wide autofocus coverage area (179 focal points) that is teamed with high-precision contrast-detection AF. This potent combination allows the camera to accurately track and respond to a subject moving through nearly the entire frame, whether shooting still images or full HD videos.

Additionally, the α5100 camera has an extremely responsive touch screen which works with the AF system to enable Touch Focus, allowing shooters to focus by simply touching the intended subject on any area of the LCD screen – even if it’s at the far edges.

The new α5100 model also comes equipped with Eye AF and Lock-on AF functions that debuted in the α7/ α7R, a Flexible Spot AF area function, and AF-A mode (automatic switching between AF-C and AF-S) that is also offered in the α6000.

HD Video Performance

The versatile α5100 supports full HD video shooting in AVCHD as well as the XAVC S2codec, which records video at a high data rate of 50 Mbps with advanced compression for impressive video quality. XAVC S paired with the advanced focusing system of the α5100 makes for a compelling HD video shooting solution that only a select number of cameras in market today – mirrorless or DSLR – can offer.

Additionally, with the power of the BIONZ X processor, the camera is able to read, process and output data from all of the sensor’s pixels during video recording, ensuring that it produces the highest quality video possible by eliminating aliasing, moiré and false color artifacts.

The new camera also features dual video recording, allowing it to simultaneously record two files – one in Full HD (AVCHD or XAVC S) and the other in lower resolution MP4 format – to a single installed SD card2. This gives videographers a high-quality file for viewing on large screens or working on in post-processing, as well as a smaller, lower data-rate version that is ideal for uploading and sharing.

Design, Controls, Wi-Fi® and New Accessories

The compact new mirrorless camera features a high resolution 921k dot WhiteMagic™ LCD screen that can tilt a full 180 degrees upright, ideal for self-portraits. On top of the camera body, there’s a zoom lever for convenient one-handed camera operation and a handy pop-up flash for tough lighting conditions.

The α5100 camera has built-in Wi-Fi, giving consumers one-touch connection with Xperia® or NFC-compatible Android™ smartphones or tablets for instant image transfer and sharing. A single touch also activates Smart Remote Control, giving users a live image preview through their compatible smartphone or tablet, and allowing them to use the smart device to release the camera’s shutter.

For devices without NFC one-touch capabilities, users can wirelessly transfer images and videos and activate Smart Remote Control through Sony’s free PlayMemories Mobile™ application, available for the iOS and Android platforms.

The camera is also compatible with downloadable Sony PlayMemories Camera Apps, adding a range of exciting and creative capabilities. Currently there are a total of 10 different applications available with several others to be released this spring. Learn more at www.sony.net/pmca .

New accessories that are compatible with the α5100 camera include the style-matching LCS-EBD body case – available in three color variations – as well as the compact, easy-to-carry RM-SPR1 remote.

Pricing and Availability

The Sony α5100 compact interchangeable lens camera will be available in September 2014 in black and white in a kit with a compact, versatile 16-50mm motorized zoom lens (model SELP1650) for about $700, or as body-only for about $550.

The new camera and all compatible lenses and accessories will be available at Sony retail stores (www.store.sony.com) and other authorized dealers nationwide.

Sony α Lenses Assortment

The α5100 camera is compatible with Sony’s ever-growing assortment of E-mount interchangeable lenses, and uses the same Sony E-mount as the acclaimed α6000, α7, α7R and α7S models, as well as all the previous α ‘NEX’ cameras. All Sony ‘FE’ and ‘E’ lenses are compatible with all E-mount cameras.

Outlined below, the E-mount family now includes 20 different models with several premium models from ZEISS® and Sony’s G Series Lenses: