a5100 16-50mm Mirrorless Digital Camera with 3-Inch Flip Up LCD (White)

I own 4 of these, the video is amazing, very little morie, great in low light. The still quality is great too. I basically look at cameras like it's a chip with a lens. I would rather own a bunch of affordable bodies, keep the lenses I like on them, and never change the lens in the field. This strategy greatly reduces the chance of dirt on my sensor. I personally don't like to look at an image with the sky with dirt all over the image, and the further you stop a lens down the greater the dirt on the sensor will show. I also use a Sony DSC-HX60 for timelapse shots, they are cheap, look great and travel small. All the Sony cameras I have tried, to use apps, especially timelapse required a firmware upgrade, and a Play Store account with funds to load the apps. I wish they had it upgraded as of May 2015, the version I received is 1.0 ,and the apps need 1.1. So to me, rather then putting all my eggs into a A7s, I would rather own five of these. To have a pristine sensor is paramount, especially when shooting video and panning. It took forever but Sony finally did deliver a nearly perfect sensor for video with this camera. I do go through cameras fairly regularly, so will I own this in 2 to 3 years, probably not, but I have to say for today this is the best price performance camera bar none. I also had a a6000, not worth the extra dollars to me, inferior video quality, poor layout of battery SD card placement. I also dont really care about the viewfinder it has, you have to be straight on to use it any way. Just get a nice loupe, and enjoy the excellent screen on the a5100. Also sometimes my subjects like to see what they look like on camera, try that on the a6000 while shooting.

If you're a streamer on Twitch or Youtube or want to make Youtube videos, this is a great mirrorless camera at it's price point. It does 1080p 60fps extremely well. Lots of in camera functions and features to get the shot correctly. A very familiar and easy to use GUI even for me as I used to be a Canon exclusive guy. Has nearly all the same benefits of a dSLR (Interchangeable lenses, etc) With a dummy battery, this thing works great as webcam/stream cam and has a 100% clean HDMI output, so you don't have to worry about onscreen info ruining the shot. You just need to go into settings and set the HDMI output correctly. Doesn't over heat. I have not tested it outside in direct sunlight, nor have I tested in doors in direct sunlight. I HAVE used it for 12+ hours straight in my home office and haven't had an issue. Typical HVAC settings and in a room with only blinds on the windows (no blackout curtains) and it doesn't overheat. I use an external microphone (AT2035) so I can't comment on the on-board mic. But, picture quality is great.

This camera is great. I love photography and I didn't totally know what to expect from a non DSLR but it takes great photos and is so versatile!!! I have a Nikon d5300 and I find myself grabbing this little guy a lot of the time instead. The sensor is better and if you're not wanting a ton of control or in a sitatuion where you don't want to be constantly adjusting in a manual mode, this camera is perfect. It has a great auto mode and it automatically edits pictures to make them look better - I've yet to seen it edit in such a way that I don't like either, it just makes every picture look more real. Great camera for selfies because of the screen that flips up and you can produce great images and zoom fairly far, all in a compact bundle. The camera is front heavy from the lens but I'm still able to fit it in my small purse so it's great for Traveling, not to mention that you can transfer the photos straight from the camera to any device you have which only compounds in the 'good for traveling and selfies' status this camera has. Definitely not as small as other point and shoots that don't have a detachable lens but the trade off is well worth it and it's still way smaller than a DSLR. Great purchase, highly recommend!!

I absolutely love this camera. Granted, I have a lot to learn about taking photos outside of the auto mode, but you will be able to take great photos straight out of the box. It's fairly intuitive, I've figured out most functions just playing around with it. I have arthritis in my hands so I was concerned with getting a bulkier DSLR camera. This fits the bill, but is smaller and lighter. I use the strap around my neck just in case it would slip, but it's unlikely the way it's designed. I love the white color, a little different than your standard black camera. The battery lasts awhile, I took shots continuously at a recent concert with no problem. It comes with everything you need to start shooting and downloading into your computer is a breeze. The only drawback so far is for the life of me I can't figure out how to send photos directly to my iPhone. Still working on that, but other than that one issue this is a great entry level camera for folks like me.

NOTE: see updates at the end of review This is my first 'real' camera and my first foray into photography. I spent a long time comparing this camera (Sony a5100) to other Sony mirrorless models, specifically the a6000 and a6300. What sold me on the a5100 was the advertised touchscreen. In my mind, I imagined using it to adjust focus the same way I do on my phone camera; in this regard, I was extremely disappointed. The touchscreen on this camera feels like its from 2012, and is pretty much completely useless. Another key aspect for me was size & weight, since I value mobility. In this regard, the camera excels; my lens often weighs as much or more than the camera, and the total weight is rarely much over 1lbs. I don't do a lot of video recording, and when I do I use my phone anyway, so I did not need any of the better video/audio connectivity features of the a6000 or a6300, and don't currently have plans for using flashes either, so I don't really need the flash hotshoe they offer either. I've also never been big on viewfinders, especially since I often wear glasses. The LCD monitor on the a5100 has been completely adequate so far, especially if you enable "Sunny Day Mode" in the setting to boost its brightness. I got this one with the kit lens, and quickly became dissatisfied with it. I immediately replaced it with a Sigma 30mm f2.8 lens ($180), then later with a Sigma 30mm f1.4 ($350). This combination has been working really well for me, and feels perfect for taking around the city for street photography. I end up leaving it set to auto-ISO in M (manual) mode, turning the shutter speed up until I get a good balance of exposure vs. camera shake & motion elimination, and then tweaking the aperture as needed. For reference, I am using prime/fixed lenses here with no stabilization, so camera-shake sets in very quickly and I try to keep the shutter set to at least 1/500. A summary of thoughts on this camera; The Good: - relatively inexpensive - very light - good option if you dont need any of the features offered by a6000 or a6300 - LCD screen looks great and functions well, even if the flip-up mode is a gimmick - app for your phone lets you wirelessly sync JPEGs (not RAWs) to your mobile device - the '?' button gives you a description of every single menu item, so helpful for a complete beginner! - I have had no trouble finding lots of options for lenses and accessories The Bad: - touchscreen is completely useless, just forget its there, its an anti-feature - atrocious battery life; when they say "300 pictures", *they mean it*. I end up around 50% battery after 150 or less pictures, sometimes this works out to costing 1% battery life per minute if I am taking a lot. You need to constantly monitor your battery life on this camera if you plan to be out all day - you need to spend a LOT of time learning the menu's, there are a lot of settings divided up over many sub-menus in non-intuitive ways - it can end up taking a lot of button presses and menu digging to adjust settings, so do not plan on doing this "on the fly", you really need to take the time to learn what settings you need, and then plan & configure them *before* you start shooting - there is no in-body stabilization (a premium feature), so you need to keep this in mind when using lenses that lack their own stabilization - sometimes I end up fighting with the auto-focus to get the right focus point, supposedly there is a way to 'nudge' it or make fine adjustments, but I haven't figured out how to use it, I mostly just keep it set to center-focus instead, but that does make certain framing situations more difficult (e.g. off-center subjects, or multiple subjects not in the center of the frame) - the built-in flash seems pretty horrible, and does not seem to be very adjustable; you can aim it but it snaps back to its original position when you let go. In conclusion, I am pretty satisfied with this camera so far (2 months, 2500 shots, and several trips and photo-outings). It has some short-comings, but none of them are really worth the upgrade for me to the a6000, a6300, or a more expensive camera. Included a pic of the camera with kit lens, and a couple shots I've taken with it (using the described Sigma lenses). UPDATE: Coming up on almost 7 months with the camera and there are some more observations & thoughts; - the battery life increased dramatically after I disabled Pre-AF. I think this feature was constantly refocusing the camera while I was walking around; focusing is the largest drain on battery, and it gets worse with larger heavier lenses. It also helped for me to enable Power Saver standby modes. When the camera is 'asleep' in these modes, the battery can actually last more than a day on standby, as long as you don't hit any buttons accidentally to wake it up. - I am really regretting the lack of a viewfinder. I miss so many shots because I can't see clearly enough if I've got the right focus spot. It's been getting increasingly annoying to frame everything with the LCD alone. I end up having to bring the camera up to my face to get the most clear view of the LCD while shooting, at that point I really wish I just had a viewfinder. - Speaking of focus, it's the number 1 reason why I miss shots. And even with a large lens like my f1.4, trying to get quick focus on moving subjects in low light is very difficult. Don't plan on shooting any fast moving objects at night unless the area is extremely well lit. - the lack of features on this camera have been catching up to me and I'm eager to upgrade to something like the a6500 instead. UPDATE 2: I eventually did upgrade to the A6500 and it solved pretty much every problem I had with this camera. To anyone shopping today, I cannot help but suggest the A6500 since it's almost perfect. The IBIS in particular opens up a lot of new doors for low light and night photography. If the price on the A6500 (used) is still too much for you then I would suggest any Sony A6xxx series with a viewfinder instead of this A5100. The inclusion of a viewfinder is probably the single most important feature that is lacking in the A5100.

I’m so happy with my camera!! It arrived fast and is exactly as described. I was worried because most sellers don’t ship to my location, but these guys did. The camera was packaged safely, and everything worked perfectly. I would definitely order from this company again and recommend them to others. Thank you so much!!

UPDATE 8/25/18: I sent it in for repair and it still did the same thing the day I received it back. I contacted Amazon and they send me a replacement. I was PRAYING it would be a good one! I started using it and the SAME overheating issue happened just seconds into recording! UGH! So far Sony has never responded to me about this issue. BIG disappointed! UPDATE 6/12/18: I changed my 5 stars to 2. Here's why... I've had this camera for 6 months (purchased in Jan). I use this now mostly for video tutorials for my YouTube Channel. I watched/read a lot of good reviews & the one downside was that it does not have an output for external microphones so it's sorta echos when you're far away. This was minor for me (even though) I would prefer to have one. THE BIGGEST ISSUE I have is that it overheats. This started about 2 months ago. While recording the, camera overheats and shuts down. When it shuts down, it does NOT save your recording. This means that I've lost it all. This is very frustrating. I have to remember to stop it every so often so that it saves and re-record. So i'm recording in short intervals. I tried to contact Sony directly. Nothing. I tried to contact Sony through Amazon's "support" button (message) feature. Nothing. So, I'm frustrated that I spent $$$ on something that I'm prob not going to use anymore. I will be looking for a new video recorder! First impression: So far so good. I’ve had it for only 3 days. I purchase this to carry around since my Nikon D850 was too heavy for lugging around daily. I LOVE that it’s lightweight. We were out all day and I had it on a strap (not the one it cane with) around my neck & barely noticed it (where my Nikon would have started giving me neck/shoulder pains after an hour). The quality is great so far. I’m used to fixed prime lens so I didn’t care too much for the kit lens. I’ve ordered a prime lens and it won’t be here for another couple of days. I compared the a5000, a5100, & a6000 before deciding to go with the a5100. I compared all specs side by side and decided for myself I wanted the a5100. I plan to use it for everyday photos & product photos so I don’t need anything too costly. I also compared it to the Mark 3 Olympus and I chose the Sony based on 1) size 2) weight 3) crop sensor 4) look (yes, I care about how it looks lol). 5) megapixels & even though it didn’t have 4K video, I didn’t plan on vlogging so it didn’t matter too much. Will update soon!

I waited until the price dropped below $450 on sale to purchase because these cameras can be pricey. Make sure you purchase from an authorized seller or your warranty may not be honored. This is a great mirrorless digital camera for beginners. Even with just the "kit lens", I have been able to take great portraits. This is a very popular camera, so you can always find guides and video tutorials online if you need help. I also like the Sony PlayMemories Mobile app because it's easy to transfer my photos from the camera to my phone. I purchased a 64GB SD card and I've had no problem taking photos and videos. I chose this one over the A6000 because it is slightly cheaper without sacrificing photo and video quality. I also like that this one has the screen that flips up for "selfies". The one down side is that there is no electronic viewfinder, you must look at the screen to see your shot. In the sun, it can be a problem so that is something to think about if you're deciding between these two models.

Really good camera. If you're in the market for a camera, you should definitely go this route instead of a DSLR.

La cámara salió defectuosa desde que la compré, se apagaba a los 20 minutos de uso y cuando la volvía a prender se apagaba a los 10 minutos y así iba disminuyendo el tiempo que duraba prendida. Después de 3 años ya no prendió. La llevé a un centro oficial de SONY y me dijeron que era un falso de la palanca de zoom. Ya no hay piezas para ese modelo por lo que no tiene arreglo. En resumen fue dinero tirado a la basura, no la compren. Ya no hay refacciones para la cámara.

It's a compact mirrorless digital camera with the option of interchangeable lens. It's compact size makes it ideal for street photography without disturbing the subject by the presence of a large camera body. Easy to carry everywhere. Sony's 24.3 megapixel image is great with real to life colour science. Good image details even if zoomed 50 % in photo editing softwares. Raw still shooting available. Full HD video available with flip LCD screen. If you are looking for an entry level mirrorless digital camera to learn photography without spending much money, this is a great camera even in 2020. Above all its a Sony product. It will not let you down. Note: Since the camera body is smaller it's ideal to attach a safety wrist strap with the camera. Read user manual before installing the lens, charging and to explore the functions and menus. It's a very helpful tip for beginners. Also, while closing the lens cap please be careful not to make scratches on the lens front area. Avoid long video recording as it may cause internal heating. But it's not a fault. Focus is great. Kit lens is ideal for beginners. Read photo books by master photographers...get inspired...start taking photos. All the best.

Fantastic photos for a great price

this camera fits perfectly into any bag, it produces great photo quality for the purposes of social media, and really good video once you learn to use it. I really like how portable it is, but still feels heavy and high quality. I think it would probably be quite fragile so I am quite careful with it, but as anyone should be with a piece of technology. overall, excellent value for money, i would highly recommend this camera for people starting out on youtube, however i feel like there are a few accessories that i would need to purchase. DOWNSIDES: battery lasts long but i would consider buying another battery, it has no external microphone jack and the audio isnt flawless but for my purposes, it is good enough.