Nikon D5100 vs Sony ILCE-QX1

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D5100 and the Sony ILCE-QX1, 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.

Nikon D5100 was introduced in April 2011 and Sony ILCE-QX1 was introduced in September 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 Nikon D5100 over Sony ILCE-QX1.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony ILCE-QX1 over Nikon D5100.

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

Nikon D5100 has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 921k dot resolution and Sony ILCE-QX1 has a [] Fixed screen with 0k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Nikon D5100 selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Sony ILCE-QX1 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 ILCE-QX1) 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 (pentamirror) Viewfinder on Nikon D5100

Nikon D5100 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. It has a 95% coverage and 0.78x (0.52x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Sony ILCE-QX1.

Nikon D5100 features a 16.2 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.6 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 368.2 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400 and expands to 100 - 25,600 in boosted mode. Sony ILCE-QX1 features a 20.1 megapixel APS-C [] sensor with dimensions of 23.2 x 15.4 mm and a total area of 237.2 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 16,000.

Nikon D5100 is equipped with EXPEED 2 processor and can take pictures up to 4928 x 3264 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3696 x 2448, 2464 x 1632 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Sony ILCE-QX1 is equipped with Bionz X processor and can take pictures up to 5456 x 3632 resolution.

Lens Mount

Nikon D5100 has Nikon F lens mount and Sony ILCE-QX1 has Sony E (NEX) lens mount. They both have APS-C sensor but because of a small size difference their crop factors (also called lens multiplier) differ from each other. Nikon D5100 has the crop factor of 1.5x which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5. Sony ILCE-QX1 has the crop factor of [] which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times [].

No Image Stabilization

The cameras do not have image stabilization. On Nikon D5100 it means that you need lenses with optical image stabilization for vibration reduction. As for Sony ILCE-QX1 nothing can be done.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Sony ILCE-QX1

Sony ILCE-QX1 has a built-in Wi-Fi 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 ILCE-QX1

Sony ILCE-QX1 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 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D5100 comes with EN-EL14 battery pack with battery life of 660 shots and Sony ILCE-QX1 comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 440 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon D5100 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot. Sony ILCE-QX1 has a single microSD/microSDHC/microSDXC/Memory Stick Micro card slot.

Shutter

Nikon D5100 has Electronically controlled vertical-travel focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Nikon D5100, and up to 1/4000 sec on Sony ILCE-QX1. Cameras can shoot continuously up to 4.0 fps.

Focusing

Nikon D5100 has 11 (1 cross-type) focusing points and Sony ILCE-QX1 has 25 focusing points. Nikon D5100 has detection range from -1 to +19 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon D5100 ranges from 0 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon D5100 and ±2 range on Sony ILCE-QX1. You can also do exposure lock and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D5100 and exposure bracketing on Sony ILCE-QX1.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 12.00 m at ISO 100 on Nikon D5100. Nikon D5100 also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Nikon D5100.

Nikon D5100 body has dimensions of 128 x 97 x 79 mm (5.04 x 3.82 x 3.11") and Sony ILCE-QX1 body has dimensions of 74 x 70 x 53 mm (2.91 x 2.76 x 2.09"). Nikon D5100 weighs 560 g (1.23 lb / 19.75 oz) and Sony ILCE-QX1 weighs 216 g (0.48 lb / 7.62 oz).

Nikon D5100

Sony ILCE-QX1

128 mm

97 mm

74 mm

70 mm

97 mm

70 mm