Last Updated on December 6, 2023 by Sharon Advik
Sony A6100 Review:
My personal opinion about the Sony A6100:
It’s typical for beginning photographers to make mistakes because that’s how we learn.
My grandfather has always inspired me to do good things for my soul and let me be free.
I decided to forgo visiting my grandfather because of my workload.
He comforts me by sharing his motivational photographic tales and long-ago professional experiences.
He gave me a Sony A6100 camera this time.
I took it and walked to the fields since the lovely weather inspired me to photograph nature’s splendor.
It worked well because the contrast-detection AF system improved overall accuracy while effectively using the focal plane phase-detection system to provide a more stable AF.
Description:
The Sony a6100 is an APS-C-format mirrorless camera with a flexible feature set and remarkably compact design.
It is suitable for both still and video applications.
With the help of a 24.2MP CMOS sensor and a BIONZ X processor, it can take high-resolution still pictures with a wide sensitivity range and little noise—a combination of the sensor and processor.
The Sony a6100 is an APS-C-format mirrorless camera with a flexible feature set in a remarkably compact body.
It is suitable for both still and video applications.
With the help of a 24.2MP CMOS sensor and a BIONZ X processor, it can take high-resolution still pictures with a wide sensitivity range and little noise.
The sensor and CPU combination enables rapid continuous photography with up to 11 fps for use with moving subjects and UHD 4K video recording.
Real-time Eye AF and the ability to track a subject are good things about quick shooting.
These features help ensure that a wide range of subjects is in sharp focus.
The a6100 has a 1.44m-dot OLED electronic viewfinder for sharp eye-level viewing, which complements the imaging capabilities.
Additionally, a 3.0″ 921.6k-dot LCD with a 180° tilting design for working from high, low, and front-facing angles is offered.
Also, built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi allow it to control the camera from a connected mobile device and share photos wirelessly.
Specifications:
| Brand | Sony |
| Wi-Fi | Yes |
| Shipping | Same Day From Lahore |
| Mic | Yes |
| Video Resolution | 4K |
| Sensor Size | 23.5 x 15.6 mm |
| Still Image Resolution | 24 Megapixels |
| LCD Screen Type | Tilting Touchscreen LCD |
| Memory Card Type | Dual Slot SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) |
| LCD Size/Resolution | 3.0″ |
| Bodies/Kits | 16-50mm Lens Kits |
| Swivel/Tilt LCD | Info n/a |
| Weather Resistant | No |
| 100% Optical Viewfinder | Info n/a |
Features:
Exmor CMOS Sensor with 24.2MP:
A new APS-C-format 24.2MP Exmor CMOS sensor produces smooth, subtle images with minimal noise and excellent sensitivity from ISO 100 to ISO 32000, which can be further increased to ISO 51200 for working in low light conditions.
The sensor has a distinctive design that uses thin copper wiring, improved circuit processing, and an improved front-end LSI to raise readout rates, decrease noise, and improve light-gathering capabilities for video recording.
Additionally, the sensor and BIONZ X processor combo offer a high continuous shooting rate of 11 fps with AF and AE and allow the creation of 14-bit raw files for an overall tone and color spectrum.
Recording UHD 4K Video in XAVC S Format:
Based on the Super35mm recording area and effective 6K resolution, internal recording of UHD 4K movies is possible at multiple frame rates up to 30 fps.
Oversampling produces more detail, and full pixel readout, devoid of pixel binning, is also possible, resulting in higher-quality imagery with fewer artifacts.
Both resolutions use the 100 Mbps XAVC S format wrapped in an MP4 file with 4:2:0 sampling.
Full HD 1080p recording is also possible at frame rates up to 120 fps.
With the frame rate set to 30p or 24p, the high-speed, 120 fps recording also allows for 4x and 5x slow-motion movie recording.
In addition to high-resolution internal recording, uncompressed HDMI output permits the use of an optional external recorder for a clear 4K recording with 4:2:2 sampling.
By capturing a frame grab from a video and saving it as a separate file, 4K video recording makes it possible to create 8MP stills as the film is being played back.
4D FOCUS:
A solid 4D FOCUS system nearly covers the full sensor surface and uses 425 on-chip phase-detection points and 425 contrast-detection areas to provide fine focusing in as little as 0.02 seconds.
High-density Tracking AF Technology, skilled at tracking moving targets in various lighting settings, is made possible by the hybrid AF system’s density of focusing points.
Real-time Eye AF is a feature that may be utilized in both AF-S and AF-C modes to focus on detected subjects’ eyes when taking pictures of people or animals.
Phase-detection points let A-mount lenses work with the optional LA-EA3 or LA-EA1 lens mount adapters in full AF mode.
The apt 4D FOCUS system also supports several focusing functions for enhanced accuracy, such as Lock-on AF, which keeps focusing on moving subjects by using a configurable frame that is placed over the desired moving subject, and Expand Flexible Spot, which makes use of nearby focus points to keep the focus on moving subjects even if the initially chosen topic loses focus.
Autofocus and the Focus Magnifier function can be used together for critical focus when zooming in on small details of a
subject.
The a6100 has autofocus and a Peaking MF function that helps with manual focus control by highlighting clear contrast boundaries.
Body Design and Wi-Fi Built-In:
The bright, high-resolution SVGA Tru-Finder 1.44m-dot OLED electronic viewfinder provides eye-level monitoring.
A 3.0″ 921.6k-dot LCD touchscreen may be rotated 180° upward or 74° downward to accommodate working from high and low angles.
The screen also uses White Magic technology, which has RGBW pixels that make it brighter to be used outside.
Through the touchscreen interface, you may use the Touch Focus control to select a focus point immediately and the Touchpad feature to choose a focus point on the screen while using the viewfinder.
During video recording, integrated 3.5mm microphone ports provide more audio control.
When used with the LCD screen, the NP-FW50 lithium-ion battery that comes with the camera can take about 420 photos before it needs to be charged again.
A battery and a USB connection to a computer or portable battery can power the a6100.
The battery can be charged using this connector as well.
The a6100 can rapidly send images to mobile devices for direct online sharing on social networking, via email, and to cloud storage sites, thanks to built-in Wi-Fi.
NFC (Near Field Communication) also supports a simple one-touch connection between the camera and compatible mobile devices.
Once connected, the phone can control the camera’s shutter from a distance and show a live-view image on its screen.
Location data can be acquired thanks to Bluetooth connectivity.
16 to 50 mm lens:
The adaptable E PZ 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS lens, which has a 24-75mm equivalent focal length range, is included with the camera body.
To reduce the impression of camera shake, this wide-to-short telezoom now features power zoom control in addition to Optical SteadyShot picture stabilization.
Comparison of the Sony a6100:
Sony A6100 vs. Sony A6400:
Camera Body:
The camera bodies of these two Sony cameras may differ the most immediately upon opening.
Both cameras are built of different materials, although they have nearly identical sizes, an LCD screen that can be tilted, and the same layout.
The Sony a6100 is slightly lighter than the A6400 and mainly comprised of polycarbonate.
It lacks weatherproofing (396g).
The Sony a6400 weighs 403g and has a more robust magnesium alloy casing with basic weatherproofing.
(While you probably won’t notice the 7g, it might be a noticeable difference for some people.)
Depending on the lenses you use with the a6100 or a6400, you might also want to consider getting an extra hand grip from Sony.
This will be very helpful if you often attach heavier zooms to your camera.
Shutter Life:
How many pictures your camera can take is determined mainly by its shutter life.
According to Sony, the a6100’s mechanical shutter will last 100,000 clicks.
On the other hand, the Sony a6400 is rated for twice as many shutter cycles, at 200,000.
The shutter rating does provide an overall estimate, but it’s not a guarantee that you’ll take that many photos before your shutters need to be maintained.
Resolution of the electronic viewfinder:
The viewfinder on both cameras has the exact physical specifications, including a 0.39-inch OLED panel, 0.70x magnification, and a 23mm eye-point.
The Sony a6100’s EVF has a resolution of 1,440,000 dots, which is somewhat low in a market where the industry average is typically 2.4 million dots.
The Sony a6400, on the other hand, has a much more typical EVF with 2,359,296 dots and a higher resolution.
Even though neither camera has an optical viewfinder, the higher resolution of the a6400 may be vital if you use manual focus.
Those are pretty much all the physical distinctions.
Let’s now examine the internal components of the two cameras.
Processor:
The Sony a6400’s processor is slightly faster than the Sony a6100’s.
This increases the buffer size and the ISO range and enables phase detection focusing while shooting videos. Additionally, it has a bit of reduced battery life.
Sony Alpha A6000 vs. A6100 Mirrorless Cameras:
Sony A6000 vs. A6100: Design:
The a6000 series cameras from Sony haven’t undergone many design changes since 2014.
That has both positive and negative characteristics.
The camera bodies are small and readily fit in a coat pocket or purse, which is positive (when a small lens like the 3X zoom is attached).
A deep right-hand grip provides a stronghold.
Usually, a pair of adjustment wheels and a few programmed buttons can be used to make quick changes at any time.
When the rear LCD is quickly washed out in bright light, the 0.39-inch OLED electronic viewfinder is handy. (Viewfinder resolution remains at 800 x 600, which is sufficient.)
That rear LCD is about 3 inches long, 640 x 480 pixels high, and dim.
Sony A6000 vs. A6100: Photo Quality:
The cameras’ image quality and color are remarkably similar in bright light.
Still-life pictures of fresh fruit, where both cameras almost perfectly captured the colors, are a good example.
While both cameras have about 24MP resolution, the a6100 has a more sophisticated sensor with greater ISO light sensitivity.
The use of copper wiring, which carries the signal more effectively and enables pixels to have more surface area, is one of the sensor’s enhancements.
This is paired with a more recent Bionz X processor, which has improved noise suppression and detail preservation.
As a result, the camera can now take clear pictures at ISO 6400 instead of ISO 1600 for the original a6000.
This is a significant improvement for taking pictures in low light, especially if you want to print or crop the images a lot.
Sony A6000 vs. A6100: Autofocus:
When the a6000 debuted in 2014, it created a sensation since it could shoot 11 frames per second while automatically adjusting the exposure and focus for each frame.
The a6100 maintains this general shooting speed while making significant improvements to ensure your subject is focused.
The a6100 contains a staggering 425 of each type of autofocus point, compared to the a6000’s 179 phase-detection and 25 contrast-detection AF points.
The a6100 has sophisticated autofocus algorithms that are uncannily effective at swiftly identifying and locking on the subject of a photo when combined with a more recent image processor.
The a6100 also has a touchscreen LCD that lets you tap on an image preview area to set the focus for a quick shot or choose a subject the camera will follow, like the bird in this series of photos.
Sony A6000 vs. A6100: Video Quality:
Rich colors and fine details may be captured on HD video with the a6000.
It’s more than good enough for video blogging and sharing on social media, like posting family videos on Facebook.
The primary improvement of the a61000 is the ability to shoot in 4K/UHD (at either 30fps or a cinematic 24fps).
This helps make professional videos or even independent films.
Another significant pro update is the stereo microphone input jack on the a6100, which lets you record high-quality sound with any external microphone.
The a6000 can only be used with four external microphones made by Sony.
These microphones connect to the camera via the multi-interface hot shoe on the top.
However, because of its more modern sensor and CPU, the a6100 offers superior low-light performance to the original a6000, even when recording in HD.
Additionally, it has quicker autofocus, which is essential for recording action footage.
This HD video of birds in a park demonstrates how the a6100 skillfully balances light and dark to create a clear, uniformly illuminated video.
Sony A6000 vs. A6100: Battery Life:
Mirrorless cameras struggle with endurance since you need to keep the power-guzzling LCD on to preview your images.
Even though it is smaller, Sony’s OLED electronic viewfinder for the eyepiece uses more power than the back LCD.
310 photos can be squeezed out of the a6000 when using the OLED viewfinder for preview and 360 when using the rear LCD.
If you enjoy taking lengthy photo shoots, we advise purchasing a spare battery because that’s pretty tight.
Sony A6100 review: Is this going to be your next family camera?
Aimed directly at beginners and those who desire appealing images but don’t necessarily consider themselves photographers, the Sony a6100 is a 24MP APS-C mirrorless camera.
If you let the autofocus system do its job and focus instead on what you’re shooting, it’s one of the most accessible cameras.
The a6100’s features aren’t state-of-the-art, and its price reflects this.
But its straightforward, efficient autofocus technology makes it simple to take the photos you desire so that it may be a better bargain than its less-priced competitors.
On paper, it resembles the budget-friendly a6000 quite a bit, but in practice, it is a much superior camera.
Image quality:
Essential experiences and knowledge:
JPEG image quality is generally outstanding, featuring appealing color and superb detail retention.
Despite slightly destructive raw compression, raw performance is strong.
The 16–50mm power zoom, often included with the camera, is small and easy to use, but it isn’t always reliable, so it’s essential to think about your other options.
The majority of modern cameras are capable of producing outstanding images because of ongoing iterative advancements and a market contraction that has all but eliminated small-sensor cameras.
Most of our earlier worries about JPEG color from a few camera makers, like Sony, have been put to rest.
Raw performance is consistently good in detail capture, dynamic range, and noise, and the variations in color rendition are decreasing.
Currently, there aren’t many cameras or brand names delivering subpar results.
Lenses:
Even when the Sony a6000 was released in 2012, we criticized the Sony 16-50mm power zoom for its poor image quality.
Time has not altered that conclusion: while there will undoubtedly be some copies that are better than others, even with the best examples we have seen, it may be polite to state that convenience is given precedence above image quality.
The kit lens accomplishes its job of offering a compact, functional solution, but it’s essential to think about what more is available if you want to get the most out of the camera.
The 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 offers a lot of flexibility, enhances image quality, and increases consistency, but it also adds a lot of weight and expense.
There is also an excellent 16-55mm F2.8 lens, but its price—nearly twice as much as the a6100 itself—will likely prevent most people from purchasing it.
Autofocus:
The AF system of the a6100 is powerful and may be straightforward, but it was developed from earlier, weaker systems that allowed a wide variety of focus area settings.
On the a6100, you can’t turn these off like on more expensive models, but you can ignore them for most shots and situations.
Therefore, even if you have a choice of Wide, Zone, or Center, Flexible Spot, and Expanded Flexible Spot AF area modes, along with Tracking variants of each, it is typically simpler to set the camera to either Tracking: Flexible Spot M or Tracking: Wide.
The a6100 lacks any settings that would allow you to fine-tune the AF behavior to suit particular sports (there are times when you want the camera to refocus on something closer than the subject it’s tracking, and other times you want it to ignore the distraction), which will ultimately limit your ability to capture a child’s soccer game or, possibly, wildlife.
However, it will operate without you needing such settings for most of the stuff you will shoot.
The only option you’ll probably want to adjust is the Human vs. Animal detection setting.
The capability to alter the color of the AF region is another function Sony has acknowledged as being necessary for other models but has not included here.
The AF point is shown as a grey box, similar to older versions, which can make it challenging to see.
When you only press the shutter button halfway, it lights up green, so you can always see what it is tracking.
Video:
The video on the A6100 is quite striking.
If you prefer the quicker 30 fps capture, it can shoot highly detailed 4K footage from a cropped area of its sensor.
It’s essential to be aware that if you move the camera around or your subject moves quickly across the frame, there will be a noticeable “jello” effect.
Although it lacks this flaw, the 1080 (Full HD) mode is much less detailed (more than just the difference in pixel output).
To record a 4K video at the best quality, you’ll need a card with a U1 rating.
Setting [Setup | Auto Power Off Temp] to “High” will increase the capture period by around 30 minutes, depending on the ambient temperature, allowing you to capture clips for as long as possible.
Sony advises using a tripod since the camera body will grow hot.
This disqualifies it from being used to capture lengthy videos, like school performances.
Another option is S&Q (Slow and Quick), which can record Full HD video at up to 120 frames per second and replay it in 1/5th or 1/4 speed slow-mo or at one frame per second sped-up by up to 60 times.
Conclusion:
Once you learn how to use it, the Sony a6100 is among the most incredible family or travel cameras we’ve ever used.
We made the same statement regarding Sony’s RX100 VI, and our justification was the same: the autofocus technology is straightforward and efficient.
Combined with a touchscreen, no camera makes it so simple to get so many of your images in focus, regardless of the situation.
Although the camera and its menus may initially seem intimidating, with a few configuration adjustments, much of this can be disregarded.
This lets you focus on your subject while the camera covers the rest.
It’s impossible to understand how effortless the Sony a6100 makes it to take dependably in-focus photographs, especially of people, until you’ve tried shooting with the camera.
The a6100 can shoot excellent-looking photographs with appealing color like all recent cameras can (even though it doesn’t offer the in-camera Raw conversion function provided by its peers if you feel you should have used a different color mode).
These images are easily transferable to a smartphone, which is excellent if your phone supports NFC and a little more awkward if it doesn’t.
You may focus on your subject while the camera covers the rest.
The tracking autofocus of the a6100 gives it a clear advantage in usability over competitors who can capture technically superior (more flexible, less jello-prone) footage.
The a6100 is also a reasonably decent video camera.
One of the most important factors to consider with interchangeable lens cameras is the lens you intend to use.
It’s worth considering whether a second lens will enhance your experience if you want to get the most out of the camera because the included lens is tiny, practical, and quite flexible. Still, it won’t win any awards for quality.
Final Remarks:
The entry-level mirrorless camera, the a6100, is constructed around one of the best autofocus systems (as of late 2019).
With a few tweaks, it could become one of the best point-and-shoot cameras on the market, able to take good pictures in various situations.
Related posts:
I am a Professional and Certified Digital Photographer born in the USA. I have been in this field of photography for 22 years, and in these years, I have used many photography lenses and Cameras, which I want to share here on this website about my experience. The idea for Bestoflens.com is to provide honest information about different Lenses and Camera products in the format of a “Best lenses for AYZ” list. I want this website to be the last destination for people to pick the best Cameras and lenses to fit their needs. You can find our unbiased reviews here on Bestoflens.