Samsung CL80 vs Sony a5100: A Hands-On Comparison for Enthusiasts and Professionals

Choosing the right camera can be a tough call, especially when options span from compact, pocket-friendly shooters to versatile, mirrorless systems. Today, I’ll break down two distinct yet intriguing candidates from different camera eras and classes: the 2010 Samsung CL80 ultracompact and the 2014 Sony a5100 entry-level mirrorless. Both represent affordable gateways to photography but serve very different user needs and shooting styles.

Having tested thousands of cameras over my 15-plus years in the field, I’ll guide you through their technical nuances, real-world performance, and suitability across genres like portraits, landscapes, wildlife, and more. I’ll also share practical insights from hands-on experiments and lab tests to help you see beyond spec sheets and marketing jargon. Whether you’re a beginner stepping up your game or a pro scouting a secondary or travel camera, this detailed comparison will help you decide which might fit best - or if both have roles to play in your gear lineup.

Let’s dive in.

First Impressions: Size, Build, and Handling

When I first held these two cameras, the sheer difference in design philosophies was striking.

The Samsung CL80 is a true ultracompact - a sleek, pocketable snapper that wants to slide effortlessly into your daily carry. Its dimensions of 104x58x20 mm and lightweight 160g frame make it ultra-portable. The fixed 7x zoom (31-217 mm equivalent) lens sits snugly into the body, and the 3.7-inch fixed touchscreen has a very basic 230k-dot resolution, which, frankly, feels dated even by 2010 standards.

In contrast, the Sony a5100 steps into a more substantial rangefinder-style mirrorless silhouette, sporting a larger APS-C sensor and interchangeable Sony E mount lenses. At 110x63x36 mm and 283g, it’s still compact but feels far more substantial and ergonomic - especially when grasping bulkier prime or zoom lenses. The 3-inch tilting touchscreen with a sharp 922k-dot resolution provides a modern, tactile interface that’s smooth and responsive.

In terms of sheer build quality, both are plastic-bodied without weather sealing - budget models never quite covered for the elements here. However, the a5100’s heft and grip outline make it much better suited for extended handheld shooting, while the CL80 leans heavily on convenience and pocketability.

Ergonomics winner? Sony a5100, without question, especially if you plan on shooting more than snapshots or selfies.

Sensor and Image Quality: CCD vs. CMOS

Let’s get to the heart of image quality:

• Samsung CL80 uses a tiny 1/2.3” CCD sensor with 14 megapixels.
• Sony a5100 boasts a much larger APS-C CMOS sensor with 24 megapixels.

The sensor size difference alone - 28.07 mm² vs 366.60 mm² - is staggering and a key reason the Sony produces vastly superior image quality.

Shooting in my test lab, the CL80’s smaller sensor showed limited dynamic range and noise control, which is typical for compact cameras reliant on CCD technology from that period. Skin tones were occasionally prone to slight banding and lack of detail in shadows or highlights. Low-light shots suffered from visible grain and color smearing starting at ISO 800, limiting usable ISOs to the base range.

By contrast, the a5100’s APS-C sensor shines with excellent dynamic range (DxOmark rates it at 12.7 EV), richer colors, and detailed textures throughout its ISO range, going up to 25600 natively, with usable results even beyond ISO 3200 due to superior noise reduction algorithms.

In practical terms, for portraits and landscapes, the Sony’s superior sensor translates to cleaner files, more editing latitude, and generally more professional results.

Shooting Experience: Controls and User Interface

Now, how do you interact with these cameras during real shoots?

The Samsung CL80’s user interface is touch-based, yet it offers minimal direct physical controls - no manual exposure modes or aperture/shutter priority options here. It betters equips novices or casual users with simple point-and-shoot convenience but frustrates enthusiasts craving more creative control. Its touchscreen is responsive but low resolution, making image review less enjoyable.

The Sony a5100, on the other hand, features physical dials, custom buttons, and menus offering full manual control over exposure modes - shutter priority, aperture priority, and full manual. This empowers photographers to adapt to any lighting condition and style. The excellent tilting LCD facilitates waist-level or selfie-style shooting, an often undervalued feature.

Both cameras lack an electronic viewfinder (a slight downside if shooting in bright daylight), but the a5100’s larger, sharper screen compensates greatly.

For users wanting precision and tactile clubs-for-thumbs control, the Sony wins hands down. The CL80 is more “point and shoot with a screen tap.”

Autofocus Systems: Speed, Accuracy, and Tracking

Autofocus can make or break your shooting rhythm, especially for action and wildlife photography.

The CL80 relies on contrast-detection AF, which worked okay for static subjects but was sluggish to lock focus and prone to hunting in low light or complex scenes. Face detection is absent, further limiting portrait efficiency. Center-weighted metering and no real focus point selection make composition tricky for advanced users.

By comparison, the a5100 features a hybrid AF system combining phase-detection and contrast detection with 179 AF points, enabling fast, precise, and continuous autofocus tracking of moving subjects, including face detection. My testing of wildlife and sports scenarios demonstrated its remarkable ability to maintain sharp focus on erratically moving birds or athletes.

In street and candid photography settings, the Sony’s quick AF responsiveness allowed me to capture fleeting moments with confidence.

Bottom line: For any discipline requiring speed and flexibility, especially wildlife or sports, the a5100 delivers a distinctly superior autofocus experience.

Lenses and System Flexibility

The Samsung CL80 is locked into its fixed 31-217mm (7x zoom) lens with a modest aperture range of f/3.3-5.5 - fine for casual walks and travel snapshots but limiting for creative exploration. It has no expansion options, no manual focus ring, and no raw shooting support.

The Sony a5100 boasts the Sony E-mount lens ecosystem, which, even by 2014 standards, includes over 120 lens options ranging from wide-angle primes, fast standard zooms, telephoto zooms, and specialized macro lenses. This diversity opens incredible creative doors and workflows - from low-light portraits with creamy bokeh to sharp landscape snaps with ultra-wide coverage.

Though the a5100 body lacks in-body stabilization, many native lenses include optical image stabilization. The Sony also supports manual focus clearly, allowing more creative control.

Overall, lens flexibility is a major deciding advantage in the Sony’s favor.

Performance in Photography Genres

Here’s a genre-by-genre breakdown based on my months of field use:

Portraits

• CL80: Limited control, no face/eye detection autofocus, small sensor limits shallow depth of field. Skin tone reproduction is decent but can feel flat.
• a5100: APS-C sensor, face detection AF, excellent color and tonality, ability to separate subject with wide aperture primes. The clear portrait winner.

Landscapes

• CL80: Simplistic, limited resolution (14MP) and narrower dynamic range restricts shadow recovery. No weather sealing.
• a5100: Higher resolution, superior dynamic range, tilting screen for compositional ease. Fine for landscape shooters though no environmental sealing requires care.

Wildlife

• CL80: Contrast-detect autofocus too slow, fixed lens limits reach and sharpness. Not recommended.
• a5100: Fast hybrid AF, continuous tracking, ability to attach telephoto zoom lenses. Great entry-level wildlife tool.

Sports

• CL80: No burst mode or tracking AF. Not viable.
• a5100: 6 fps continuous shooting with tracking AF. Good for amateur sports and action photography.

Street

• CL80: Compact, quick startup, discrete size. Good basic street camera.
• a5100: Larger, but silent shutter and quick AF compensate. More creative flexibility.

Macro

• CL80: Macro focusing down to 5cm, usable but limited by lens sharpness.
• a5100: Depends on lens choice; specialized macro lenses available with superior optics.

Night/Astro

• CL80: Noise very noticeable at high ISO; limited long exposure options.
• a5100: Native high ISO up to 25600, supports manual exposure down to 30 secs. Clearly better.

Video

• CL80: 720p max in Motion JPEG, low bitrates, no mic or headphone ports. Basic video only.
• a5100: Full HD 1080p up to 60 fps, better codecs (AVCHD, XAVC S), tilting screen aids framing. No mic port but good quality.

Travel

• CL80: Slick ultracompact size great for packing light.
• a5100: Compact mirrorless, more versatile for varied scenes but heavier.

Professional Work

• CL80: No RAW, limited control, not suited for pro workflows.
• a5100: RAW support, manual modes, better image files. Suitable as a lightweight secondary camera.

Samsung CL80 front Samsung CL80 screen back Sony a5100 front Sony a5100 screen back

In side-by-side image comparisons, the difference in sharpness, color accuracy, and noise handling is plainly visible. The a5100’s images maintain clarity even at ISO 1600, whereas the CL80’s output becomes noticeably muddy.

Battery Life and Connectivity

The CL80’s battery life isn’t specified in official specs, but based on experience with similar compact cameras, you can expect around 150-200 shots per charge - a limitation for extended outings.

The a5100’s NP-FW50 battery delivers around 400 shots per charge, doubling usability for day-long sessions.

Connectivity is another differentiator: The Sony a5100 comes with built-in Wi-Fi and NFC, enabling easy photo transfers and remote shooting via smartphone apps - a big plus for social media content creators.

The Samsung CL80 has no wireless features but offers an HDMI port and USB 2.0 for wired connections.

Price and Value Assessment

At launch and in the current used market, the Samsung CL80 is priced around $400 and the Sony a5100 at $450. Despite the close sticker prices, the Sony offers vastly more in image quality, control, and system capabilities.

For cheapskates only wanting a selfie-friendly compact with a big zoom and touchscreen, CL80 can be a pocketable travel companion. But for anyone serious about photography versatility or image quality, the a5100 is the clear value winner - especially when you factor in lenses and the ability to grow your system.

Final Verdict: Which Should You Choose?

When to pick the Samsung CL80:

• You want an easy-to-carry, no-fuss point-and-shoot with a decent zoom.
• You value pocket portability above all else.
• You shoot casual snapshots and don’t need manual controls or RAW.
• Price-sensitive users who want simple family or travel photos without complexity.

When the Sony a5100 is your go-to camera:

• You want superior image quality straight out of camera.
• You seek manual control and creative flexibility.
• You plan to shoot portraits, landscapes, wildlife, or sports.
• You want an expandable system with access to dozens of lenses.
• You shoot video and want HD capabilities with decent codecs.
• You require better battery life and wireless connectivity.

Closing Thoughts From My Testing Journey

I still remember the day I first tucked the CL80 into my hiking jacket - its ultra-slim profile was impressive back in 2010, and it made for unpredictably spontaneous snapshots. But as I compared shots against the Sony a5100’s crisp, colorful files from a recent urban shoot, the gulf became undeniable. The a5100’s sensor and autofocus elevate it far beyond mere convenience.

For those prioritizing serious photographic growth or professional-level results on a budget, the a5100 is my strong recommendation. However, if you stubbornly cling to minimalist setups or yearn for the simplest zoom compact, the CL80 still has a cozy niche.

Whichever you choose, understanding their strengths - and limitations - means your next camera will truly be an ally in telling your visual stories.

If you’re now leaning toward the Sony a5100 and want some lens suggestions or advice on diving into the mirrorless world, feel free to drop a comment or reach out - I’ve tested plenty of kits that pair beautifully with it.

Happy shooting!