Nikon D5100 vs Sony A7

Sony A7 advantages over Nikon D5100

• 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
  ~ 5.97 vs 4.79 microns
  Better low-light and dynamic range (all else equal)
• In-camera panoramas
  Yes vs No
  Stitches multiple shots into a panoramic photo
• 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.

  A7 test data on DxO Mark D5100 test data on DxO Mark
  2,248 vs 1,183 iso
  Take photos in low light with less noise
• On-sensor phase detect
  Yes vs No
  Usually improves live view and video AF performance
• Thinner
  48 mm vs 79 mm
  Thinner
• More viewfinder magnification
  0.71x vs 0.52x
  Get a bigger view of the scene through the eye-level viewfinder
• More pixels
  24.3 vs 16.2 megapixels
  Higher resolution photos
• 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 3.9 fps
  Faster JPEG shooting (burst mode)
• Faster RAW shooting
  5.0 fps vs 4.0 fps
  Faster RAW shooting in burst mode
• Bigger RAW buffer
  28 vs 13 shots
  Larger buffer for RAW shots (burst mode)
• Faster shutter
  1/8000 vs 1/4000 sec
  Shoot wide open in bright light
• Higher extended ISO
  51200 vs 25600 ISO
  Higher extended ISO can give more low-light flexibility