A5100 and A6000 - which and why?

C

crashwins

Active member
The A7000 rumor seems to have come and gone..Getting a little tiresome, all these so-called "rumor" websites. But, alas, I can't complain, many are just circulating what they hear and that seems to vary.

I had the A6000 once and while I loved it, I wanted slightly improved video. I'm not rich (or talented) enough for the A7S or A7II to gain the improved codecs so was wondering what the consensus is on the A5100 for video now that it's been out a bit. I see some great vids on Vimeo, etc, with this camera, but not a lot of reviews out there on it.

Boiled down:

1) for "compressed" Vimeo posts, etc, will I get a noticeable difference with the A5100 over the A6K in video quality (when pushed a bit in post with LUTs and such)?
2) is the A5100 really just a POS and I'm being ridiculous?
3) should I cool it and wait a bit more for the A6Ks successor that will most certainly have the updated codec, possibly even SLOG?

Thanks for entertaining my dweebish question here and taking the time to read :)
 
They both are great, and very similar, but slightly different. The a5100 has a better codec, the a6000 has an EVF and more wheels/buttons.

Check the discussion on this thread.
 
Thanks for the link. So, I just posted a similar question to a video on Vimeo for the A5100 and the guy mentioned the A6K has XAVC now -- is this possible? Don't see anything about this mentioned.
 
I don't think that's the case. There was a rumor that it might get XAVC, but AFAIK it's still in rumorland.
(actually, more than a rumor it was just a wish, which surfaced when the RX10 got the XAVC-S update)
 
1) Probably not
2) Yes
3) It probably won't make a huge difference.

I bought an a5100 as a holiday snaps camera and I've used it as a b-cam on a few shoots too. As a primary camera it would be an absolute pain to work with. Terrible ergonomics for video, too much scrolling through menus and the screen is terrible outdoors. I was shooting outdoors the other day and while my main camera was set up on the tripod with the full rig, I used the a5100 to run around and grab some quick cut-aways. The screen, even when set to its brightest, was so hard to see that I literally couldn't tell if the REC lamp was on. I had to put it into Aperture priority and single-shot AF too because there was no way I could judge focus or exposure accurately enough for manual control either.

It's not too bad if you're just setting it on a tripod as an extra angle for a wedding or interview, but as a primary camera it is extremely difficult to work with. It's very small too so the usual LCDVF attachments wont work with it either. You'd need to add an EVF and by the time you do that, you're starting to get close to a7II price territory.

The a6000 would be a lot easier to work with, I'm guessing. That EVF would be invaluable. In all honesty you probably won't notice much difference between AVCHD and XAVC-S. Plenty of people are shooting excellent quality professional videos with AVCHD, and is more than sufficient for amateur/hobbyist use. If you want to shoot now, just get the a6000 and forget about XAVC-S. If you don't need to shoot anything in the near future then there's no harm in waiting, though personally I don't see XAVC-S alone as a reason to wait.
 
For the a5100 I would always use a loupe. The a6000 doesn't require that because it has a very nice EVF. So, for me, the a6000 is actually smaller.
 
I run a modified tilted eye loupe that works good and is easy to remove on the a5100. The XAVC s codec is far better then the a6000 AVCHD and the a5100 matches up very well with my A7s.
 

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Sony A5100 is a secret gem of affordable and pocketable S35 high-IQ videography

Sony A5100 is a secret gem of affordable and pocketable S35 high-IQ videography

rigs said:
I run a modified tilted eye loupe that works good and is easy to remove on the a5100. The XAVC s codec is far better then the a6000 AVCHD and the a5100 matches up very well with my A7s
Click to expand...
At last someone who has brain, and knows how to use the A5100, a brilliant tool. If not secret, would you, Rig, say a couple of words, how you modified the loupe to stay on the LCD when tilted? I love FD lenses, too :happy: Have you tried the Metabones Speed Booster? When I use AF lenses, I heavily rely on the incredibly snappy and accurate (face-tracking) AF-C of the A5100. The A5100 has the best AF-C for super-35 or FF video, I've ever seen, even better than the excellent Canon 70D's. When I use MF lenses, like your FD28mm, I love the touch-to-magnify function to verify focus WHILE recording video (only Sony cameras can do that). The A5100's IQ (both 24M stills and 50mbps 60fps XAVC-S) is brilliant, at least as great as the 10x more expensive (non-4K) C100/C300/FS100/FS700 cameras.
Here is my list of cons, though, to consider before buying A5100:
(1) Overheating: The A5100 is absolutely not OK for recording a concert. But, I could buy the Atomos Ninja Star or Ninja 2 as a workaround. Then I would lose 60fps, though, since Atomos doesn't support 60fps.
(2) No microphone jack: Since I want ultimate audio quality with external microphones, I use external recorders and sync audio with video in Adobe Premiere Elements. I use Zoom H1 (inexpensive, brilliantly easy to use with great sound) or Zoom H5 and Tascam DR-60D when I use multiple (XLR) microphones.
(3) No 4K - the cheapest APS-C/S35 4K camera is four times more expensive, three times bulkier and still has (severe/some) recording limitations 10-minute 4K and 30-min 1080p.
(4) The A5100 has 60 fps but no 120 fps - I have to be happy with 2x slomo only. Since the A5100 has 60fps I don't miss built-in ND filters for shallow DoF outdoors shooting, since at 60fps I can use any shutter faster than 1/120s without noticing the difference.
 
I use the SK-VF02 3.0x loupe I purchased from here http://prophotographygear.com/products/sk-vf02-3-0x-lcd-viewfinder-for-canon. The loupe has a plate that mounts to the bottom of the camera and 2 screws hold it to the plate.
SK-VF02_20VIEWFINDER_1.jpeg
I had to bend its frame on a 30 degree angle in a vise and mount a stop piece on its plate so the loupe would press snug against the LCD. I also use a glass screen saver on the LCD. I also use a Ceneroide EVF with the a5100 and a7s. But its a nice battery and cable free option to have. The focus zoom, focus peaking and zebras work great on the a5100 with the loupe. I also use a speedboaster with Sigma and tamron lenses and it works well with both camera. I work in TV broadcasting in Canada and I have used the a7s for several on air projects and plan to use the a5100 as a b camera in the future.

This thing rocks as a B camera. AI havnt notice any overheating with the a5100 most of my shots are under 1 minute at the most. I always have a sound man on location so mic jack isn't an issue for me. 4 k isnt a concern for a b cam we conform to 1080p for all our work. I think 60 fps is good enough for a b camera and its rock solid with the XAVC s codec. I also run my FD and EF mount lenses with a Fotodiox ND variable ND adapter that mounts on the rear of the lens and it works great.
 
Sony A5100 with Foldable LCD Optical Viewfinder and Ninja 2

Sony A5100 with Foldable LCD Optical Viewfinder and Ninja 2

rigs said:
I use the SK-VF02 3.0x loupe... I also use a Ceneroide EVF with the a5100 and a7s... I work in TV broadcasting in Canada and I have used the a7s for several on air projects and plan to use the a5100 as a b camera in the future. This thing rocks as a B camera. I havnt notice any overheating with the a5100 most of my shots are under 1 minute at the most. I always have a sound man on location so mic jack isn't an issue for me. 4 k isnt a concern for a b cam we conform to 1080p for all our work. I think 60 fps is good enough for a b camera and its rock solid with the XAVC s codec. I also run my FD and EF mount lenses with a Fotodiox ND variable ND adapter that mounts on the rear of the lens and it works great.
Click to expand...

Hi Rigs,
Thank you for the information. I love your story. When you use the A5100 as B came, I thought you use it for longer takes, and then you may experience the dreaded overheating. I didn't find any FD-NEX nor EF-NEX adapter with built in ND filter. Could you post a link? I'd appreciate it immensely.

After your message I bought a Swivi S4. Here are a couple of photos.
 

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rigs said:
I run a modified tilted eye loupe that works good and is easy to remove on the a5100. The XAVC s codec is far better then the a6000 AVCHD and the a5100 matches up very well with my A7s.
Click to expand...

Really interesting stuff. I'm starting to use my A7S more than my PMW-F5 because of the lower bulk and weight (and clients note minding), and I am interested in the 5100 as a C-camera or B-camera to the A7S. Can the loupe swing on a angle with the LCD? Or does it have to stay on that angle?
 
Miklos Nemeth said:
Hi Rigs,
Thank you for the information. I love your story. When you use the A5100 as B came, I thought you use it for longer takes, and then you may experience the dreaded overheating. I didn't find any FD-NEX nor EF-NEX adapter with built in ND filter. Could you post a link? I'd appreciate it immensely.

After your message I bought a Swivi S4. Here are a couple of photos.
Click to expand...

The Swivi looks cool thanks for sharing. Here is the link to the Fotodiox Throttle ND adpator for FD lens. https://www.fotodioxpro.com/vizelex...adapter-with-built-in-variable-nd-filter.html
and EF lens. https://www.fotodioxpro.com/vizelex...-adapter-with-builtin-variable-nd-filter.html
 
I have an A5100 and absolutely love it! Only thing holding me back from getting heaps more A5100 cameras for multi camera shoots is the timid limit issue and the occasional overheating.
 
A couple of things to note. On the positive side, the A6000 has a hot shoe that will take the K1M and possibly the K2M audio module. The down side the A6000, like the a7S is limited in it's framerate choices when in AVC mode. You either get 24 or 25 FPS or 60P or 60i and not 30 (29.97) FPS. This could be a big deal if you don't want to or cannot reconform your footage for a 30 frame deliverable. In my mind, that is a bigger issue than the difference between AVC and XAVC S, if the footage is properly exposed and destined for the web.

I suspect we will not see an update to the A6000 until the a7S receives an update to 10 bit, etc. Sony, in my view, wouldn't want to canabalize sales on the a7S.

Pretty interesting little cams if you are willing to work within their constraints.
 
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