Sony has unveiled world's smallest interchangeable lens camera that boasts a big APS-C sensor plus a built-in flash and Wi-Fi - The Sony Alpha 5100 / Sony A5100 / Sony α5100.
The Sony A5100 comes with a 24.3-megapixel APS-C sized Exmor CMOS sensor and BIONZ X processor, fast Hybrid AF with 179 focal plane phase-detection AF points and a new tilting touchscreen that flips 180 degrees and provides the majority of the control options for the camera.
It is also a touchscreen and supports touch to focus to pinpoint the focus on the desired subject quickly.
The A5100 also comes with Wi-Fi and NFC so that it can quickly connect to other devices like mobiles. And since it shoots HD video recorded as MP4 files it should be easy to transfer and play them on a mobile using Wi-Fi Direct, a wide sensitivity range of ISO 100-25600, full HD movie recording in a choice of three formats (including the new, pro-friendly XAVC S, which captures up to 50Mbps of data).
The A5100 has also gotten some upgrades in the realm of video capture. It can churn out footage with a data rate of over 50 Mbps while maintaining full AF performance.
The only differences with the α6000 is that the α5100 is smaller and as such sacrifices a few features, such as the electronic viewfinder, hotshoe, microphone jack, mode control dial, adjustment dial and Function button.
The Sony 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.
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.
