Nikon D700 vs Sony a5100

Below is a in depth comparison of the Nikon D700 and Sony a5100, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Nikon and Sony. There is a considerable difference among the image resolutions of the D700 (12MP) and a5100 (24MP) and the D700 (Full frame) and a5100 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The D700 was unveiled 6 years prior to the a5100 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Nikon D700 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony a5100 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going in to a detailed comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the D700 grades against the a5100 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Nikon D700 & Sony Alpha a5100. The full galleries are provided at Nikon D700 Gallery & Sony a5100 Gallery.

When you are aiming to lug around your camera often, you will want to factor its weight and measurements. The Nikon D700 provides external dimensions of 147mm x 123mm x 77mm (5.8" x 4.8" x 3.0") accompanied by a weight of 1074 grams (2.37 lbs) and the Sony a5100 has proportions of 110mm x 63mm x 36mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.4") having a weight of 283 grams (0.62 lbs).

Compare the Nikon D700 and Sony a5100 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you choose at that moment. Following is the front view dimension comparison of the D700 vs the a5100.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability score of the D700 and a5100 is 54 and 89 respectively.

Usually, it is very hard to see the gap in sensor measurements merely by viewing a spec sheet. The photograph underneath will help give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the D700 and a5100.

Clearly, the two cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The D700 with its bigger sensor will make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Sony a5100 will render more detail having an extra 12MP. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The older D700 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.