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sony a5100 milc (black) kit, fair - $400 (Santa Monica)
condition:
fair
make / manufacturer:
sony
model name / number:
a5100
size / dimensions:
110 × 63 × 36 mm / 283 g
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sony nEx alpha ilce-5100 ɑ5100 24mp aps-c e-mount mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (black) kit with 3.5-5.6/16-50 I aps-c power-zoom optical steadyshot pancake kit lens and accessories, fair condition
INCLUDED SALE CONTENTS
-- sony ɑ5100 (black)
-- sony e 16-50i (black)
-- 40.5-49mm step-up filter ring (c'mon what's a 40.5?)
-- 2x genuine sony np-fw50 battery
-- usb 5V to 8V step-up dc adapter to dc5521 m barrel plug cable
-- dc5521 f barrel plug cable to dummy battery (combined length 190cm, extendable - bring tape)
-- generic white 50cm usb-a to micro-b-usb charging and data transfer cable, not shown in images (no charger included, camera charges the battery through usb)
-- generic camera pouch (case logic)
-- note: the rig build with this camera shown in one of the photos is for demonstrative purposes only
OVERVIEW / GENERAL
-- made in thailand, both
-- introduced in 2014, lens in 2012, but this was probably initially bought together as kit
-- plastic body, metal mount, metal tripod socket covered by plastic body resulting in cracks (get a longer 1/4-20 screw and tighten into top of mount to avoid this)
-- lens has a metal barrel and metal mount, plastic internals, possibly a mixture of types of glass (even our expensive glasses are now made of resin)
-- step up from nex-5t (model-wise)
-- comes in black, brown, white
-- as with other similar bodies, price ranges between 250-400 usd depending on availability and condition (over 800 new)
-- bought the kit used from europe in october 2023, not sure if it was from the original owner but he was a cinematographer and used it as one of his main cameras
-- used on shoots every few months rigged out or barebones for photography, stored in open space around the house and in the studio, or in a glass cabinet
-- never disassembled to my knowledge, lens has been repaired by previous owner and the metal barrel ring slightly dented afterwards
-- lens has had a recent rerelease costing around 400 usd, with the only apparent 'improvement' being a rebrand from the shiny external plastic finish to a matte finish to be more inline with sony's current 'brand language' - the original version sells used for around 100
-- selling off my old gear: i was not able to get the gm5 when it was 400 and was hoping to find it for less, and now it's selling for 700-1400 from hoarders and market manipulators, so i'll have to manage with the 400g om-5 until i can get it and use the s52 and the bgh1 for pro shoots - the 5d2 as the first video dslr is no longer living up to modern-day requirements and the a5100 has its limitations; also aps-c lenses are still significantly larger and heavier than mft and i'm trying to pack lightly
-- published this sale on multiple sites so get it while it's hot
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION
-- aps-c sensor (and compatible lens) size, for better or worse.
-- integrated flash: better to have and not need, but i could say i like the one of my previous nex-5t where you could choose to mount a tiny proprietary one or add a hotshoe and use whatever flash you want - also the response speed is limited to around 1/200s shutter speed; obviously the ones with an internal flash and hotshoe combo are the only winners here.
-- shutter count around 47k/100k (estimate life expectancy, and insignificant for video - important note: no disabling efcs).
-- no viewfinder! - bummer (but, selfie flip-up screen).
-- english language available and selected.
-- 1080p24 manual exposure video!
-- no sd card included - maximum video bitrate is 50mbit/s or 6.25MB/s, so a v6 minimum is necessary, v10 (u1/c10) suggested; v30 and above is excessive for video writing, but can allow for faster reading with an external card reader; v30 is optimal for raw photo bursts (with a maximum 35MB/s output).
-- setting camera between ntsc/pal changes led electrical flicker (i struggled with figuring this out for months) and the allowed video framerates (24-30-60 or 25-50); setting to ntsc though (the north-american electrical standard), forces a display message at the beginning of turning on the camera with black background covering almost the entire screen until a button is pressed.
-- note: the portrait images were shot with this camera but through other lenses; the image with the shadow was shot at a high shutter speed (1/2500) but it seems like iso might have an effect on the way the image is produced - the palm trees were shot at 1/1250s.
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
-- tiny camera, great capability - 110 × 63 × 36 mm (4.33 × 2.48 × 1.42 inches) / 283 g (10 oz) including battery - smaller than the gx85, barely 1cm wider than the gm5! (but with aps-c lenses).
-- great for travel and walk-around.
-- nice for video, not unheard of to rig out.
-- one of the best pancake lenses for any mount - ø65 × 30 mm for a total of 65mm thickness with the camera (collapsed and without filters) - all that and stabilization, wow!
BRUTALLY HONEST CONSIDERATIONS
-- tiny camera: very good pocketable combination with pancake lenses, especially the 16-50, 2.8/16 or 2.8/20 and the...
-- e-mount: huge range of third party lenses and oldest best developed mount system of the whole mirrorless atmosphere.
-- aps-c: good middle ground between mft and full-frame providing outstanding depth of field considering its small size.
-- sony nEx: one of the first modern well-developed mirrorless systems contributing to the high availability and low prices on the used market. sony had a head start in this department and thus were the best on many fronts, mainly video and autofocus.
-- lens issues: when i bought it i was told the lens was repaired. it was working normally until i dropped it and it slightly dent it somewhere around the metal ring - this caused it to get stuck upon turning on and extending, and i used the step-up ring to manually help pull it out. it has not had this issue since then. the zooming is comparably loud (plastic grinding noise) but works normally, except for a jerk between 17 into 16 mm during a "slow" zoom. the plastic shiny ring on the outer front part of the lens has become unglued, but it makes no technical difference, and barely any cosmetic difference. note that the camera or lens anyway are not weather-sealed.
-- overheating: good for burst video, bad for long-duration video and overheats within 15 minutes of prolonged recording in mild ambient temperature. i think all compact bodies have this issue, even more depending on the higher quality video it captures. the issue can be partly mitigated with a clip-on cooling fan or hdmi recorder - i have used it in the so-called "webcam mode" with a clean hdmi feed into a capture card for hours without it turning off or degrading the quality in any way.
-- autofocus performance: video af is good with native aps-c lenses, slower with non-native and full-frame or adapted lenses. i have mostly used manual focus lenses for video.
-- shadows in photos with high shutter speed: apparently there is no way to disable efcs which is the only type of shutter configuration it has and i think it might be the cause of the shadows the camera renders when taking photos at the highest shutter speeds.
-- speaker not working: the lack of a full mechanical shutter also urged sony to add a partial shutter sound which i've read can only be disabled through hacking the firmware with some custom code but that's not a problem here since the camera's speaker stopped working a while back.
-- bottom plastic cracked: this has been in my possession for the last two years. the bottom plastic was already cracked due to overtightening and it further degraded when i had it mounted to my video rig - a common problem with similar models since the rim of the 1/4-20 thread is under the plastic.
-- port door loose: i have run electrical tape to try to prevent further degradation, and around the port flap which would not stay closed with the top part for the computer connection and charge port still accessible.
-- sd slot grinding: i also avoid taking out the card as it seems to latch onto the electrical contact pins or another element in the camera to avoid damaging it - a workaround is to use a microsd adapter and pull out the microsd card without fully taking out the adapter, even though it's hard to grip.
-- battery tab sticking out: one of the batteries suffered a light drop, this caused a locking tab to come out of its place towards the exterior of the battery. i tried to put it back in place but don't want to risk breaking the body. it doesn't interfere in any way with charging or insertion into the camera.
-- micro-d-hdmi: notorious for being an unstable connector, flimsy and easy to break. personally i have not had any issues with it or physically damaged it in any way.
-- no noise: silent while on, as opposed to a few other cameras (something new to me).
-- lineup superiority: surprisingly superior to the a6000, but in my experience not to the previous gen nex-5t, regardless of the improved autofocus.
-- no s-log, the portrait color profile with all values decreased is the flattest possible profile which allows more room for color grading; i wouldn't expect it to add any dynamic range though so make sure you expose correctly.
-- 50mbit/s compressed video: 8-bit 4:2:0, no raw (10-bit wasn't mass implemented in consumer cameras until just a few years ago) so don't expect wonders and better expose correctly.
-- honestly the lens is an outstanding portrait zoom and makes me regret having barely used it as such before letting it go.
EXTERNAL CONDITION / COSMETICS
-- bottom panel cracked due to poor design - tripod socket rim lay underneath the plastic housing of the body which exerts pressure onto the chassis - a common problem with similar models.
-- insignificant scratches on screen but no coating delamination issue.
-- minor wear on plastic of body. all grips intact with no unsticking or bubbling.
-- slight cosmetic wear on lens paint.
-- cosmetic ring unglued from front of lens.
-- no unsticking or bubbling of grip vinyl.
INTERNAL CONDITION / COMPONENTS
-- dust particles in lens, unaffecting image quality; no further remarks on lens elements.
-- no marks on sensor, no burnt, damaged or color skewed pixels.
FUNCTIONALITY / INTERFACE / MECHANICS
-- all connection ports fully functional. battery port works normally, dummy battery cable slot functions normally.
-- flash extends normally.
-- all buttons, dials, and switches work normally without anything to note.
-- sd card slot tugs onto the card when taking it out, workaround mentioned above.
-- lenses sit fully flush into camera with no play or give and camera lens mount is completely stable; off-brand mount adapters may exhibit some play.
-- lens is operationally functional with no remarks aside from the dent and extrusion issue mentioned above, no loose elements or shaking, power-zoom rocker works normally.
-- note: the lens does focus-by-wire - no mechanical manual focus and no manual focus button, though the camera can allow manual focus-by-wire, and the camera can also program the ring to be used for zoom; there is no physical focus, zoom (it's a power-zoom), or aperture setting and everything is controlled electronically by the camera; in regards to the zoom method the manual zoom 18-55 is superior, but the more compact size always wins in the long run.
-- one important factor, mostly insignificant to this lens is that for transport and storage lenses should be left with open aperture blades, and electronic sony cameras all rather close the aperture blades when the camera is shut off; a way to bypass this would be to remove the lens while the camera is still on; this ensures that the aperture blades are tight and allowed the least amount of movement and also ensures that for storage the lens could get light (when of course placed by a window) for the uv rays to prevent mold and fungus formation - keep in mind prolonged direct sunlight into the camera on the other hand, with the lens practically being a magnifying glass, could probably damage the sensor, burn a hole in the back cap, or start a fire in your house (almost happened to me once, with a pitcher of water under the window of all things).
-- autofocus performance is decent considering the wide focus depth and the camera's superior pdaf which allows for quick autofocus response and superior video autofocus tracking.
-- focus throw is nothing to write home about but i think it is decent enough to be able to control it manually, probably too wide to go from 0 to infinity with a single hand movement.
-- powerzoom is definitely slow compared to lenses with physical manual zoom but is fast enough to work with, and it does slower zoom depending on the amount the zoom rocker is pushed (the one on the lens can be pushed less for slower zoom only during filming video).
-- the macro range is not outstanding but cheap plastic macro extenders with electrical contacts (i got mine for 20 bucks) allow the lens to focus so close that it needs additional light because it blocks light to the object.
-- the lens has stabilization and i have not tested it in intense action but it definitely make a difference during movement.
-- the only noise the camera makes aside from the lens noise during zoom is the subtle efcs shutter sound during photo actuations (enforced by japanese law), but any attempt to produce sound an almost inaudible one-time popping sound is can be heard at the beginning and end of the sound duration - it might be an electrical issue with the speaker, i don't know much about that.
PERFORMANCE / CAPACITY
-- battery life is nothing to write home about but it does last for a walk-around shoot going into standby without having to turn off the camera; it has probably often been used with external power by its previous owner as i have during my filming (npf battery).
-- there is some vignette of the lens in the wide end, not sure if the camera corrects for it but the setting for lens corrections is enabled - have not noted whether the raw photo is much different in this regard to the processed jpg.
-- the lens is a kit lens and has imperfections as far as sharpness, chroma, coma and other undesired optical effects go, but in my opinion it's pretty miraculous for a pancake - definitely one of my favorite lenses and one i'll miss once i step away from aps-c (but the 12-32 is probably going to become my next fav).
-- nothing to note about color cast/tint, glare, blur/smearing, spots/dimming, flares, sunstars, bokeh issues, or any inaccurate/inconsistent focus/zoom distance.
-- there might be some focus decentering/offset, as mentioned above a kit lens with its imperfections; the quality control on cheaper lenses is also much looser and such defects are usually left ignored and unregulated, but manufacturers have been known to take back lenses and fix them for such imperfections for more expensive products.
DURABILITY / LONGEVITY
-- don't let it drop to the ground as many times and you'll get many more years out of it.
ACCESSORIES / ELEMENTS
-- i will be selling a 2.8/16 separately, which is another outstanding pancake.
-- i noticed that the only cage produced for this lens is the smallrig 2226 but of course it has not been in production for a long time and you are probably not going to find anyone that has it; there are surely generic cages and mounting systems that would not pose an issue, just keep in mind that you'll need some sort of anti-twist mechanism, like a parallel nato rail or something to hold the long lateral side of the base of the camera in place because one mounting point is definitely not enough for the camera to not twist and turn from the cage or plate - hence the destroyed bottom panel of the camera from overtightening to mounting plates; i had it propped up in the s5iix cage before i got that camera, but i'm sure any of the zv/a6000 series camera cages might be appropriate.
-- automatically-opening lens cap like in the p&s cameras available branded jjc on amazon and ebay for around $10-15, keep in mind it has been reported to struggle to open in colder weather; i am not sure how exactly it opens and is attached to the lens but it's probably a simple mechanical design (it's plastic).
-- all included accessories are in normal working condition; the usb-a end of the step-up adapter cable is loose and wobbles inside the plastic housing with the whole usb port assembly, but i have not opened it to insulate it - no practical issues if you manage to not bump the cable during use.
-- removed metal triangle strap split rings in favor of an easily removable and more durable 1/4-20 shoulder strap adapter - the strap heavily interferes with tripod use and creates a fall hazard (keep away from table edges and high-traffic areas, and tighten all joints).
COMPATIBILITY / CONNECTIVITY
-- micro-b-usb cable provided for charging and file transfer (old connection standard, don't expect wild speeds, but hey, apple's new 2026 phone still has usb 2.0).
-- connect directly to camera via wi-fi with sony's connect app (image edge mobile, or whatever they might have rebranded it to by this time) for wireless access to camera controls and for monitoring or perhaps even streaming; i have used only hdmi for continuous monitoring.
ADDITIONAL REFERENCE / TECHNICAL DETAILS
-- all technical specifications, manuals, and guides available online in sony's archive and other "manualslib"-style sites with notable resources being cameradecision, apotelyt, wikipedia, bhphotovideo, and dpreview.
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED!!!
i know what it is to anticipate a shipment, especially of something you're eager to work with and you are hoping will truly improve your experience. i'm sure few people purchase used without giving much thought to the main factor that is a significant discount from the retail price, thus carefully comparing prices and observing quality of the article at hand determining the value-to-price ratio for you. if you feel a whim of doubt you most probably wouldn't be reading this and you already know whether you want to make the purchase but just need that extra reassurance to give you peace. this is why i document the quality of every article very carefully and thoroughly, give you detailed honest information and photos of the condition of the items, the general functionality, method of use and things that i might not like about them, without trying to elusively hide anything and mislead you leaving you with a cold wave of buyer's remorse. ethics are an important factor with small techies and traders. please feel free to ask any questions and i will help you any way i can, even if you just need general information about the items and can't buy it at this point. i want to make you feel compelled to praise the quality of my customer service. don't make this an impulse purchase but something you are sure you will truly enjoy and cherish!
P.S.
thank you for taking interest in my small garage sale! as embarrassing as it is i have long paled by the ebay veteran that is my father making thousands of online sales of his art and maintaining a proud 100% rating since the early years of the world wide web!
!!! REDUCE !!! REUSE !!! REPAIR !!!
Please take a moment to consider if it's possible to use your older devices and other belongings just a bit longer and whether you could find them an alternative use or pass them on to someone who might need them. If repair or component replacement is no longer an option, and if they are unusable and no parts of them are salvageable, then consider finding them an alternative use leaving their recycling and disposal as a last resort. Consider eliminating single-use materials and the purchase and disposal of non-biodegradable waste from your daily life. Recycling is not always an option and many materials are not recyclable, especially with modern consumer technology, avoided like an anthill where unprofitable. The continuous mindless production of e-waste and use of greenwashing for PR campaigns by corporate giants will lead to devastating results if we don't act against it. Vote with your wallet. Enjoy what you have and make it more special! Thank you for your interest.