Nikon D3100 vs Sony A7S

Sony A7S advantages over Nikon D3100

• Focus peaking
  Peaker vs Non-peaker
  Your camera will highlight what's in focus
• Larger sensor
  35mm vs APS-C
  More sensor area. Bigger is (generally) better.
• Bigger pixels
  ~ 8.40 vs 5.01 microns
  Better low-light and dynamic range (all else equal)
• In-camera panoramas
  Yes vs No
  Stitches multiple shots into a panoramic photo
• Tiltable Screen
  Tiltable vs Fixed
  Tilt the screen for shooting flexbility
• Built-in Wi-Fi
  Wi-Fi vs None
  Share your photos wirelessly
• NFC
  Yes vs No
  Simplifies pairing your camera with supported phones
• Higher effective ISO

  Higher effective ISO

  Maximum effective ISO is an estimate of the highest sensitivity at which a camera can capture excellent quality photos.

  Cameras with higher effective ISO will be better choices for indoor photography, night shooting, and indoor sports photography, especially if you intend to make large prints.

  You can learn more at our glossary entry.

  Maximum effective ISO test data courtesy of DxO Mark.

  A7S test data on DxO Mark D3100 test data on DxO Mark
  3,702 vs 919 iso
  Take photos in low light with less noise
• More dynamic range

  More dynamic range

  Cameras with more dynamic range allow you to take photos with dramatic differences in highlight and shadow areas while retaining detail in both.

  Think of a brilliant sunset on a rocky beach: Bright sunset in the background, with dark rocks in the foreground. High dynamic range means more of the extremes will be faithfully reproduced.

  Dynamic range test data courtesy of DxO Mark.

  A7S test data on DxO Mark D3100 test data on DxO Mark
  13.2 vs 11.2 evs
  Retain detail in highlight and shadows
• Thinner
  48 mm vs 74 mm
  Thinner
• External Mic Jack
  Jack vs No jack
  Improved sound fidelity when shooting video
• More dots on screen
  922k vs 230k dots
  Can mean greater resolution or a brighter screen
• Less shutter lag
  0.18 vs 0.28 sec
  Focus and take a photo quickly (wide angle)
• More viewfinder magnification
  0.71x vs 0.53x
  Get a bigger view of the scene through the eye-level viewfinder
• Shoots 60p video
  Yes vs No
  A faster framerate can give you more editing options
• Headphone jack
  Yes vs No
  Monitor audio recording while you shoot video
• Faster JPEG shooting
  5.0 fps vs 2.9 fps
  Faster JPEG shooting (burst mode)
• Slow-motion videos
  Yes vs No
  Shoot slow-motion videos
• Faster shutter
  1/8000 vs 1/4000 sec
  Shoot wide open in bright light
• Higher extended ISO
  409600 vs 12800 ISO
  Higher extended ISO can give more low-light flexibility