Sony Alpha 6100 (A6100): review, Review and rating – Digital Camera

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Announced at the same time as the A6600, six months after the release of the A6400, the A6100 completes the trio of hybrids with APS-C sensors from the Sony catalog. No more A6000, A6300 or A6500! The APS-C range of Japanese does not adopt the same technique as its range 24×36 or that of the compact RX100 where the old references are kept at a reduced price.

His offer is thus clarified and gains consistency. Whatever the device, users can enjoy the latest autofocus technology with a module common to all three models including an autofocus tracking mode on the eyes of people and animals in photo. The three cameras also agree on the definition of their 24.2 MP sensor. The distinction is made elsewhere and lies in the stabilization of the sensor which only the A6600 benefits or the definition of the sights (1.44 Mpts for the A6100 and 2.36 Mpts on the A6400). The A6100 also offers reduced adjustment options with only three light metering modes, a smaller buffer than the A6400, no Log modes or video eye tracking, or adjustment. the behavior of autofocus in continuous mode. All this allows the A6100 to display a price lower than that of his companions of range by placing under the bar of 1,000 € bare case. Thus, it is in competition with Fujifilm X-T30, Canon EOS M6 Mark II or Nikon Z50 APS-C. In the range of micro 4/3, its price is between that Olympus OM-D E-M10 III and E-M5 III and substantially equivalent to that of the Panasonic Lumix G90.

No surprise when taking control of this A6100. This case is identical to the previous models in the range. Same size, same arrangement of keys and wheels, the only difference with the A6400 seems to be the replacement of the selector AE – AF / MF at the back of the device by a simple key AEL.

If the A6100 lacks a bit of charm for our taste, let's still recognize that the formula works well. Its grip is nice and the anti-slip coating of its handle is effective. The big hands will struggle to find room to fit all their fingers, but with the usual we get used to it and the compactness of the device remains an asset, especially if it is used with its particularly compact kit zoom him too.

Built-in flash, hot shoe, customizable keys, pan and time-lapse modes … the Sony A6100 has everything a user can expect. Note, however, that the shortcut key to video recording placed on the thumb rest, as on other models in this category, is not very accessible.

In use, the lower definition of its viewfinder, of only 1.44 Mpts without possible adjustment of the display frequency, however it fails. Not insurmountable for those who are not used to this type of aim, we must recognize that it is much less comfortable than on the higher-end models of Sony and it is pale face 2.36 Mpts Fujifilm X-T30, Nikon Z50 or Canon EOS M6 Mark II viewfinders, even if the viewfinder is a removable accessory on the latter.

The rear screen is tilting only, but unfortunately today is a constant on these ranges of compact hybrid devices and it is oriented upward on 180 ° and down on 76 °, a little more than that of the EOS M6 Mark II so. It is equipped with tactile features, for the selection of the AF point at least, because Sony persists in under-exploiting the possibilities offered by this type of accessory by omitting totally to offer a touch navigation in the general menu, or the simplified menu of the camera, or to allow the passage from one photo to another, or the zoom in the image in playback mode. Fortunately, the screen can still be used as a tactile joystick in electronic targeting to move the AF point in the field or switch to single-point mode when the autofocus setting is in automatic mode on the whole field.

The menu of the device is still not very user friendly and if professionals concede to accommodate themselves by customizing their case for reference as little as possible, we would have liked that Sony made an effort to seduce the general public. A more logical scheduling of the functions in the tabs would have been appreciable, and why not the choice between a simplified interface and a more expert mode as the competition knows how to do it.

While browsing the menu, we were able to highlight some notable differences between the A6100 and its elders. First, the number of light metering modes that is limited here to three with Multi, Center and Spot modes. No high light mode to avoid overexposure therefore, unlike the A6600 and A6400. In continuous autofocus mode with subject tracking, the sensitivity of the tracking can not be affected, while autofocus tracking on the eye is not available in video.Also note that if the A6100 has an electronic shutter system that allows you to shoot in a completely silent manner, the exposure time is limited to at least 1/4000 s. On the Fujifilm X-T30, it can go down to 1/32 000 s …

Finally, while all competitors of the A6100 have adopted a USB-C connection for fast charging of the battery, Sony has here retained the micro B USB port of its previous models. The battery life of the NP-FW50 is 380 views in electronic view and 420 views on the screen. Naturally, the device has a Wi-Fi connection for sharing images on a smartphone via the PlayMemories app.

Taking advantage of the same sensor and the same processor as the rest of the Sony APS-C range, the A6100 can boast the best-equipped autofocus in its class, tied with the X-T30, with 425 collimators per second. contrast and by phase correlation. The sensitivity of this autofocus is given for a range of -2 to +20 EV, which does not make it the most sensitive system in low light.

This technical data is verified in our laboratory tests where the A6100 is substantially equal to the A6400, but not as good as the Fujifilm X-T30 in low light. The worst results in these conditions are those measured with the Canon EOS M6 Mark II, which still catches up in high light.

Here, the 16-50 mm f / 3.5-5.6 motorized zoom proposed in kit makes the starting of the apparatus very slow whereas our measurements on the sequence of the consecutive views made it possible to highlight a behavior sometimes erratic of the device. Our measurements show time differences that can range from single to quadruple under identical Review conditions.

Burst, the promise of a mode Hi + to 11 fps in mechanical shutter is practically held knowing that our measurements were made with a card Sony SDXC UHS-II at 300 MB / s. But this measurement is true if the autofocus is set to AF-S mode, because in tracking the subject under the same conditions, the frame rate drops to only 7 fps, again with a clear difficulty of the camera in providing a regular frame rate. The follow-up of the subject is not perfect either and our field tests have revealed stalls.

We had praised the quality of the A6400 images at the time of his Review and the A6100 followed suit with success. It's simply the best sensor / processor pair quality in this category of devices – we have not yet tested the Z50.

The sensitivity range is here limited to 51,200 ISO for its upper level against 102,400 ISO on the A6400, but this detail is not important as it is not recommended to use these extreme values. As on the other products in the range, the image quality remains very good up to 1600 ISO or 3200 ISO. Beyond that, the A6100 struggles to transcribe the finer details. This is true for Jpeg processing of images in the camera.

In Raw, the smoothness is less marked and the noise more present, but the impression of sharpness is better. The use of the A6100 in Raw allows especially to take advantage of the great latitude of exposure of the sensor. Our tests show that the camera makes it possible to catch an awkward exposure or a strong difference of contrast on a stage.Our files developed with Lightroom show that it is possible to find details in highlights up to +3.3 EV with virtually no color drift. This is exceptional.

Under-exposure, it is only beyond -3 IL that the noise becomes very present, even if it is possible to find details in the lowlights at under-exposures higher than this value. Here again it is excellent and it shows the know-how of Sony in terms of sensor and image processing.

In the field, we have also been able to appreciate the good behavior of the exposure measuring cell or automatic white balance processing.

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Video is an area where Sony generally excels, and if it's all about image quality, this A6100 proves it again.

This excerpt from a 4K capture at 25p shows the ability of the camera to produce detailed images.On the other hand, we were less convinced by the Full HD mode at 100 fps and we noted a significant sensitivity to rolling shutter whatever the definition of capture.

The camera offers an autofocus mode with face detection. If it is not able to distinguish the eye of the subjects, its use remains pleasant and rather effective. We did find some stalls in our tests.

Despite this, the A6100 is not a camera designed for videographers. It does not offer recording in S-Log or HLG and if it has a jack to plug an external microphone, it lacks a headphone jack to control the sound recording.Finally, the lack of stabilization of the sensor is a handicap against an A6600 or a recent hybrid of the A7 range.

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