Canon EOS 5DS vs Sony Alpha 5100

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS 5DS and the Sony Alpha 5100, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS 5DS was introduced in February 2015 and Sony Alpha 5100 was introduced in August 2014. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS 5DS over Sony Alpha 5100.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 5100 over Canon EOS 5DS.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS 5DS has a 3.2" Fixed screen with 1,040k dot resolution and Sony Alpha 5100 has a 3.0" Tilting screen with 922k dot resolution. Tilting screen makes Sony Alpha 5100 very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Sony Alpha 5100 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Sony Alpha 5100) allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Optical (pentaprism) Viewfinder on Canon EOS 5DS

Canon EOS 5DS has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. It has a 100% coverage and 0.71x magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Sony Alpha 5100.

Canon EOS 5DS features a 50.6 megapixel Full Frame CMOS sensor with dimensions of 36 x 24 mm and a total area of 864 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400 and expands to 100 - 12,800 in boosted mode. Sony Alpha 5100 features a 24.3 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 243.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS 5DS is equipped with Dual DIGIC 6 processor and can take pictures up to 8688 x 5792 resolution. Sony Alpha 5100 is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 6000 x 3376, 4240 x 2832, 4240 x 2400, 3008 x 2000, 3008 x 1688 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS 5DS has Canon EF lens mount and Sony Alpha 5100 has Sony E lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Canon EOS 5DS its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to APS-C sensor in Sony Alpha 5100 its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

No Image Stabilization

The cameras do not have image stabilization. On Canon EOS 5DS it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Sony Alpha 5100 nothing can be done. On Sony Alpha 5100 it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Canon EOS 5DS nothing can be done.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Sony Alpha 5100

Sony Alpha 5100 has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

NFC on Sony Alpha 5100

Sony Alpha 5100 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS 5DS has a Mini HDMI and Sony Alpha 5100 has a Micro HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS 5DS comes with LP-E6 battery pack with battery life of 700 shots and Sony Alpha 5100 comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 400 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS 5DS has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) and one for CompactFlash (UDMA 7). Sony Alpha 5100 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 5100 has Electronically controlled Vertical-traverse Focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Canon EOS 5DS, and up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha 5100. Canon EOS 5DS can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps. Sony Alpha 5100 can shoot continuously up to 6.0 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS 5DS has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 61 (41 cross-type) focusing points and Sony Alpha 5100 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 179 focusing points. Canon EOS 5DS has detection range from -2 to +18 EV and Sony Alpha 5100 has detection range from -1 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS 5DS and Sony Alpha 5100 range from 0 to +20 EV and -1 to +20 EV respectively and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Canon EOS 5DS and ±3 EV range on Sony Alpha 5100. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS 5DS and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 5100.

Flash

Sony Alpha 5100 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 4.00 m at ISO 100. Canon EOS 5DS has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Canon EOS 5DS and 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha 5100.

Canon EOS 5DS body has dimensions of 152 x 116 x 76 mm (5.98 x 4.57 x 2.99") and Sony Alpha 5100 body has dimensions of 110 x 63 x 36 mm (4.33 x 2.48 x 1.42"). Canon EOS 5DS weighs 930 g (2.05 lb / 32.80 oz) and Sony Alpha 5100 weighs 283 g (0.62 lb / 9.98 oz).

Canon EOS 5DS

Sony Alpha 5100

152 mm

116 mm

110 mm

63 mm

116 mm

63 mm

76 mm

36 mm