Sony a5100 vs Sony A57

Below is a thorough review of the Sony a5100 vs Sony A57, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR and they are both sold by Sony. There exists a crucial gap between the image resolutions of the a5100 (24MP) and A57 (16MP) but they feature the exact same sensor dimensions (APS-C).

Photography Glossary

The a5100 was announced 24 months later than the A57 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Sony a5100 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A57 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before diving through a step-by-step comparison, below is a concise synopsis of how the a5100 scores vs the A57 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha a5100 and Sony SLT-A57. The whole galleries are viewable at Sony a5100 Gallery and Sony A57 Gallery.

If you're aiming to lug around your camera, you will want to consider its weight and volume. The Sony a5100 has got outside dimensions of 110mm x 63mm x 36mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.4") with a weight of 283 grams (0.62 lbs) whilst the Sony A57 has sizing of 132mm x 98mm x 81mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.2") with a weight of 618 grams (1.36 lbs).

Check the Sony a5100 vs Sony A57 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are utilising at that time. Below is the front view physical size comparison of the a5100 against the A57.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the a5100 and A57 is 89 and 64 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to visualise the difference between sensor measurements only by going over specifications. The graphic underneath will provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the a5100 and A57.

To sum up, the 2 cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements but not the same MP. You should anticipate the Sony a5100 to deliver more detail with its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will also help you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more modern a5100 is going to have an edge when it comes to sensor innovation.