Today we're taking a look at the Sony A6100.
Thanks to Camera Craft in Rockford Illinois
for letting me try this camera out at their
shop.
I'll be comparing this camera to the Canon
EOS M50.
They have quite a few similarities in their
feature set.
So I'm going to look at these two cameras
together.
We'll be looking at the cameras from a hybrid
perspective.
Basically that means photo and video work
at the same time.
So if you are into both, I think these two
cameras will be a nice fit if you're just
getting started.
If you want something lower end on this spectrum
of cameras that can do both very nicely.
Both cameras have the 24 megapixel aps-c sized
sensor.
Of course, one is Sony, one is Canon.
Canon has the dual pixel autofocus, but Sony's
autofocus is extremely fast and definitely
improved of their 6000 camera.
I really don't think you'll have any concerns
with autofocus with either camera.
Keep in mind that the Sony is newer.
This 24 megapixel sensor that is in the Sony
is in their A6400 and 6600, so you'll be getting
the same image quality between those three
cameras.
On the photo side of things I don't think
you'll find any issues with either camera
while taking photos.
The general layout of the two cameras is similar
in some ways.
On the top you've got the mode dial and also
the one dial for adjusting settings.
With the Sony you have the on/off switch right
by the shutter button, but with the Canon
there's an additional switch.
Either camera will work nicely with one hand
so you can turn on the camera, turn off the
camera and press the shutter with that one
hand.
Looking at the size of the two cameras they're
both similar.
they are not super large in either direction,
but the Canon of course has that large bump
on the top for the viewfinder.
With the Sony it's integrated into the side.
But either way it will depend on you and how
you prefer your camera to be laid out.
So you want to try them in person if you can
and just see which one works out better.
Both cameras do have a viewfinder, however
with the Sony it's not great quality.
It's around 1.4 megapixels.
It looks okay.
It's good that it is in there at all.
With the Canon an extra megapixel in there,
so 2.4 million and it's relatively decent.
I wouldn't say that one is great either, but
it works well enough.
Now, I'm definitely used to it.
I did a quick test with the sensor on the
viewfinders to see how quickly they switch
between the screen and the viewfinder.
So I was holding my finger to each viewfinder
and then taking it off and seeing how quickly...
I do think the Sony is faster with switching
automatically between the screen and the viewfinder.
With the back screens you definitely implementation
on each camera.
With the Canon you have the flip-out screen
that fully articulates.
And the Sony has a flip-up 180 degrees.
You do have a lot of range with the Sony,
but if you are trying to shoot verticals,
I think the Canon setup would be better.
I did have the Sony at +1 brightness on the
screen, so just keep that in mind and with
the Canon I have a matte screen protector.
Sony's touch screen implementation is very
limited in this camera like all of their cameras.
Can't change settings with the touch screen.
However you can touch to focus.
With the Canon M50 you have a full touch implementation.
That means you can change settings, change
pretty much anything you want.
It's like a smart phone.
Both cameras do have a microphone port.
So with the A6100 you're going to be able
to add an additional microphone for vlogging
or any other type of filming that you want
to do with a nice microphone.
However, just keep in mind that when you flip
the screen upwards fully to do vlogging you're
going to have an issue with placing your microphone.
So you're going to need some type of bracket
system to place your microphone on the camera.
With the M50 you don't have that issue because
of how it's setup.
I've used quite a few different Sony cameras,
but I don't use them long enough to really
get used to their controls.
So it took me quite a while to figure out
how to get to certain settings.
How to adjust certain settings.
You have the top dial for adjustments for
whatever mode you're in like aperture priority.
Also, you have the back dial which can adjust
a second settings.
The Fn button is very important on the Sony
camera.
That allows you to access a lot of features
without going into the main menu.
Like what type of autofocus setting you want
to use, or the 2-second timer, stuff like that.
The hand grip on the Sony A6100 is pretty
decent.
However I do prefer the M50.
A lot of this is up to personal preference.
With the A6100 it's wider but it's shorter.
With the M50 it's thinner but it's longer.
So depending on your hands one might work
better or worse, but both of them are pretty
decent for small cameras.
I'm not going to complain.
The tripod socket on the A6100 is very nicely
placed.
Right in line with the lens.
So with panorama situations, which it does
have a dedicated mode.
I did quickly try that out handheld.
It worked decently well for how sloppy I was
using it.
Panoramas will be nice.
Also, with quick release plates, you're probably
not going to have any issues on the A6100,
which is very nice.
With the M50 it 's positioned decently well,
but with how the battery door is...
It's very long and it does interfere with
with a lot of my quick release plates.
Placement of the video record button on the
A6100 is not ideal.
It's in an awkward spot.
It's okay.
It's nice that it at least has a dedicated
button for video recording.
Placement of the memory card slot on the A6100
is not ideal.
It's pretty difficult to access.
My fingers are very thin but still it's hard
to get that card out of the camera.
Not ideal.
With the M50 it is similar.
It's not great, but definitely a little bit
better for the placement of the memory card.
The A6100 has a built-in flash with a dedicated
button you press to have it pop-up.
With the M50 it also has a flash, but you
have to manually pull the flash up to get
it to work.
I do think the A6100 is a little bit more
convenient.
Both of them seem fine.
It's nice that they do have that built-in
flash.
The A6100 uses the NP-FW50.
It's used in a lot of their cameras.
However, the A6600, which is quite a bit more
expensive uses their newer z-type battery.
So you're going to have a lot of power with
that camera.
This camera however is pretty decent with
how many photos it is estimated to take per
charge.
Now with these videos there's no way for me
to test the actual amount of photos that it
can take and it really depends on how long
you have the screen on and things like that.
But the ratings on the two cameras...
For the Sony you've got 380 to 420 photos
per charge and 70 to 125 minutes of video
per charge.
On the Canon you've got 235 to 370 and 85
to 130 minutes for video recording.
I do think the Sony will last a little bit
longer on the batteries than the M50.
The nice thing about the Sony that it has
over the M50 is that it can be charged through
the USB port.
Overall build quality...
I do think the A6100 is a little better.
It just feels more solid in the hands than
the M50, but really at this level you're not
going to get amazing build quality with either
camera.
The A6100 and the M50 do not have built-in
stabilization in the cameras.
So if you want that feature you will definitely
want to look at higher levels of camera to
get that.
These cameras are often sold with a kit lens,
so we're going to look at the kit lenses a
little bit.
The Sony is definitely a lot smaller, which
is super convenient with a camera like this.
Also it has a metal mount, that's very nice
to see.
Interesting feature of the Sony is that it
has a motor based zoom.
So you use a little dial to zoom in and out.
Also, a quick note.
We'll look at the app, but basically you can
use that in the app, which is pretty neat.
Even though the A6100 is on the low end of
this lineup now, it definitely still has a
lot of features.
I just barely just scratched the surface when
I was looking at them.
The camera has face and animal eye detection.
Of course, I wasn't able to check the animal
stuff, but I did try to check out the face
detection.
In the camera with the menu system there just
so many things that say face on it.
I wasn't really sure if I was setting it up
right.
Seemed to work some of the time, but I think
when you understand the camera and you really
learn how to use it, it should be very good.
What I tried was AF-C tracking with the Flexible
spot M.
Basically that allows you to adjust the spot
if you want through the touch screen but it
will also prioritize the faces based on some
of the other settings.
One thing to take note of is just a small
quirk is with the animation in the interface.
The A6100 does have that.
So when you change a dial it kind of shows
you it moving from one setting to the next.
With the M50 it does a lot less of that, which
is very nice.
When having the screen flipped up 180 degrees
towards the lens.
If you're doing selfie photos the camera will
automatically do a 3 second timer, which is
nice to have in there.
One big feature that the Sony A6100 has that
the M50 does not have is memory recall.
Basically, you can push settings into groups.
If you want a sports mode.
If you want a more for certain types of photography,
you can push all of those settings into those
little groups and recall that.
So know that it is in there, not in the M50.
I did try out the WIFI capabilities on the
A6100 with Sony's Imaging Edge app.
It was very quick to connect.
The camera itself shows a little QR code.
You use the phone to take a picture of that
through their app and it very quickly connects,
no issues with that.
Features wise in the app it seems pretty decent.
I was surprised it had full zoom with the
lens, that specific lens that has the motor
to zoom.
So if you want to zoom through the app that's
very convenient to do.
I didn't notice any way to do selectable focus,
but it could have been how I had the camera
setup.
So one I had the app connected I could switch
modes on the camera itself and it would show
up in the app.
So I went from video to manual photo mode
and I was also now able to adjust shutter
speed, aperture, ISO.
I do think the app needs more work but it's
got a good start to it.
Let's go over the video features of the A6100
also with comparison to the M50.
I do think the A6100 here definitely has an
edge to the M50 on video.
You can do 4k video with the full sensor and
also it has full autofocus.
In the M50 you have a large crop on 4k and
it uses contrast detect autofocus, which is
not good at all.
So I don't think the M50 is a good option
for 4k video.
Also, the A6100 has zebras in video mode.
That basically allows you to check your exposure
on screen.
It's very convenient to have in there.
M50 does not have that feature.
The A6100 has levels for audio in video.
Before recording and while recording.
That's super convenient with video stuff.
The M50 does not have that.
Let's take a look at the video samples I took
with the camera...
Here's a quick vlogging test.
Sorry, I did mess up with the M50 in this
situation.
I did not have image stabilization in the
lens on or the digital.
My mistake.
However, I did want to put it in here with
the A6100 clip.
I did take a few sample photos with the A6100.
We'll do a full view of each photo and also
a 100% crop.
I also took a few photos with the M50 and
the A6100 side by side.
You can look at those together.
My personal thoughts on the camera.
I do think it definitely has more features,
especially in video mode that the M50.
With the making of this video has a price
premium over the M50.
Does not have any rebates of course it's a
new camera.
However if you do like the screen implementation
of the M50 or the user interface with the
full touch of the M50 those are things to
consider.
It's going to be based on personal preference.
With photography especially, lenses are very
important.
So when we look at the systems themselves...
You've got the E-mount which is APS-C and
full-frame together and the EF-M mount which
is just APS-C.
Canon hasn't done a lot of support with the
EF-M mount.
There are definitely quite a few decent lenses.
The 32, the 22, I have both of those and the
11-22.
Those are my three favorites.
Also, Sigma just released three different
prime lenses.
I haven't had a chance to test them out, but
that definitely adds to the EF-M system.
Now there really aren't many long range lens
options, especially fast lenses for EF-M.
You can of course adapt lenses to that mount
but the same thing with the Sony.
A6100 has a large amount of lenses available,
especially on the full-frame side of course.
So you'll get native lenses but they'll be
full-frame.
They do have some APS-C lenses, but not a
huge amount either.
Also, companies like Sigma do have those lenses
available for the E-mount.
I think in general on a mount perspective
you're going to have more options with E-mount,
quite a few more options.
So with these two cameras, A6100 and M50,
I think price is a large consideration with them.
So currently the M50 is a better buy.
It is of course missing some features and
things like 4k is definitely lacking in that camera.
So depending on a specific feature or two,
you probably want to go with the A6100 instead.
So look at which features will work out for
you specifically and the price.
That was a look at the Sony A6100 with comparison
to the Canon EOS M50.
Hope you enjoyed the video.
Again, thanks to Camera Craft in Rockford
Illinois for letting me try this camera out
at their shop.
Thanks again!
I'm Scott from Photography Banzai.
