Updated (February, 2013): Compare the Nikon D5200 vs Sony SLT A58

Nikon D5100
Winner
Nikon D5100

77

vs
Sony SLT A57

68

Sony SLT A57
Runner-up
 
 
 
 

Reasons to buy the Nikon D5100

Low light performance
 Low noise at high ISO
1,183 ISO
Overall image quality
 Great image quality
80.0
Color depth
 Great color depth
23.5 bits
Dynamic range
 Wide dynamic range
13 EV
 

Reasons to buy the Sony SLT A57

Dynamic range
 Wide dynamic range
13 EV
Viewfinder size
 Large viewfinder
0.72x
Image stabilization
 Image stabilization
Sensor shift
Light sensitivity
 High ISO
16,000 ISO
 
Differences | Recommendations | Similarities | Competitors | Appearance | Discussion

differences

Advantages of the Nikon D5100
Low light performance Significantly lower noise at high ISO 1,183 ISO vs 785 ISO
Help
 The D5100 has a slight edge (0.6 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance
Overall image quality Better image quality 80.0 vs 75.0
Help
 Around 10% better image quality
Lens availability Much more lenses available 169 lenses vs 92 lenses
Help
 More than 80% more lenses available
Viewfinder Has an optical viewfinder Pentamirror vs Digital
Help
 Optical viewfinders save battery life and are more detailed
Battery life Longer battery life 660 shots vs 550 shots
Help
 20% more shots per battery charge
Size Smaller 127x96x78 mm vs 132x98x81 mm
Help
 Around 10% smaller
Weight Lighter 560 g vs 618 g
Help
 Around 10% lighter
Thickness Thinner 3.1" vs 3.2"
Help
 Almost the same
Nikon D5100 Learn more about
the Nikon D5100

Advantages of the Sony SLT A57
Viewfinder size Much larger viewfinder 0.72x vs 0.51x
Help
 Around 2x larger viewfinder
Continuous shooting Shoots much faster 12 fps vs 4 fps
Help
 3x faster continuous shooting
Image stabilization Image stabilization Sensor shift vs None
Help
 Helps eliminate blur caused by small camera movements
3D Takes 3D photos Yes vs No
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 Combines multiple photos into a 3D image
Panorama Can create panoramas in-camera Yes vs No
Help
 Stitches together multiple photos for a wide perspective
Autofocus Faster video autofocus Phase detection vs Contrast detection
Help
 Shoot videos without worrying about focus
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 16,000 ISO vs 6,400 ISO
Help
 The SLT A57's maximum light sensitivity is 1.3 f-stops better
Viewfinder coverage Significantly better viewfinder coverage 100% vs 95%
Help
 Around 10% better viewfinder coverage
Lens focus motor Has a built-in focus motor Yes vs No
Help
 Autofocuses with all autofocus lenses
Cross type focus points More cross-type focus points 3 vs 1
Help
 Grab focus in difficult situations
Focus points More focus points 15 vs 11
Help
 Set focus accurately within the frame
Sony SLT A57 Learn more about
the Sony SLT A57
vs

recommendations

Relative to the best recent entry-level DSLRs, and ignoring price

Nikon D5100 Nikon D5100
77 vs 68
Explain scores
Sony SLT A57 Sony SLT A57
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Nikon D5100.

similarities

Compared to recent entry-level DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Dynamic range Good dynamic range Help
13 EV
Screen flips out Flip-out screens Help
Great for movies
Movie continuous focus Focus continuously recording movies Help
Makes it easy to get in-focus movies
Supports 24p 24p support Help
For that film look
Sensor size Large sensors Help
D5100:APS-C 23.6x15.6mm
SLT A57:APS-C 23.5x15.6mm
Lowest price Inexpensive Help
D5100:$496.95
SLT A57:$499.00
Fastest shutter speed Slow max shutter speed Help
1/4000 of a second
True resolution Capture low resolution images Help
D5100:16.1 MP
SLT A57:16 MP
Weather sealed Neither is weather sealed Help
Need to shelter it from weather

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D3200

Nikon D3200

Entry-level DSLR

$547 with 18-55mm lens
True resolution Takes much higher resolution photos
Size Is slightly smaller
Light sensitivity (boost) Slightly lower boost light sensitivity
Sensor size Has a marginally smaller sensor
Compare the D3200 vs the D5100
Compare the D3200 vs the SLT A57
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$549 body only

$595 - $599 with 18-55mm lens
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Light sensitivity (boost) Slightly lower boost light sensitivity
Size Is slightly larger
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the D5100
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the SLT A57
Nikon D5200

Nikon D5200

Entry-level DSLR

$697 body only

$797 with 18-55mm lens
True resolution Takes much higher resolution photos
Focus points Has much more focus points
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Compare the D5200 vs the D5100
Compare the D5200 vs the SLT A57
Canon Rebel T4i

Canon Rebel T4i

Entry-level DSLR

$580 - $799 body only

$740 - $899 with 18-55mm lens
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Touch screen Has a touch screen
Size Is slightly larger
Sensor size Has a significantly smaller sensor
Compare the Rebel T4i vs the D5100
Compare the Rebel T4i vs the SLT A57
Nikon D3100

Nikon D3100

Entry-level DSLR

$447 - $740 with 18-55mm lens
Size Is slightly smaller
Lowest price Is slightly less expensive
Light sensitivity (boost) Slightly lower boost light sensitivity
Sensor size Has a marginally smaller sensor
Compare the D3100 vs the D5100
Compare the D3100 vs the SLT A57
Nikon D90

Nikon D90

Entry-level DSLR

$600 - $899 body only

$740 - $1,099 with 18-105mm lens
Viewfinder Has higher quality type of viewfinder
Shutter lag Has slightly less shutter lag
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Weight Is significantly heavier
Compare the D90 vs the D5100
Compare the D90 vs the SLT A57
Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$897 body only

$997 with 18-105mm lens
Weather sealed Has a weather sealed body
Viewfinder Has higher quality type of viewfinder
Lowest price Is significantly more expensive
Weight Is significantly heavier
Compare the D7000 vs the D5100
Compare the D7000 vs the SLT A57

Nikon D5100 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

No significant competitors found that are specific to the Nikon D5100.

Sony SLT A57 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages

No significant competitors found that are specific to the Sony SLT A57.

appearance

Nikon D5100 Sony SLT A57
Nikon D5100 Sony SLT A57
Nikon D5100

discussion

Showing 10 comments

Ben (4:42 AM, April 20, 2013)
I think if they had an actual value for shutter lag in the A57, took out popularity as a weighted portion of the score (i wouldn't say a Toyota is better than a Porsche because there are more Toyotas), and fixed their viewfinder weight where the EVF gets a "0," the Sony wins handily.
 
Avatar for Mr. Ry Mr. Ry (5:59 AM, January 27, 2013)
again...
NikonD5100 advantages
Significantly more lenses available 169 lenses vs 92 lenses More than 80% more lenses available
dude..
its because VR and Non VR type of lenses..
Sony dont have option for VR and Non VR lenses..
so, again..
comparison on this point, is not comparable
 
Avatar for Mr. Ry Mr. Ry (5:53 AM, January 27, 2013)
"This site is biased and unfair."

I totally agree with you
 
davisdurand (0:25 AM, October 05, 2012)
The U.S.'s most famous consumer magazine rates the D5100 well below the A57. I can't figure out why you and so many others usually overhype the overpriced Nikons.
 
Avatar for Gopinath Janyavula Gopinath Janyavula (4:47 PM, August 28, 2012)
Very biased conclusion. The A57 scores higher in 11 areas including in body stabilization and focus points and frame rate, autofocussing during video recording, etc. Very disappointing to see this site showing so much bias.
 
quail (11:29 PM, June 14, 2012)
This site doesn't make fair reviews, they are always in favor of nikon even you can see a big difference between these camera in paper and reality.
 
quail (11:26 PM, June 14, 2012)
This site is totally inclined towards nikon..
 
Aliqamar_101 (5:17 PM, June 04, 2012)
When is the DXO mark Released for SONY A57 ??
 
Eezif (2:53 AM, May 15, 2012)
+1
 
Arbitraging (4:31 AM, May 10, 2012)
What kind of scoring is this when 6 of the highest points of the A57 categories are 0? Couldn't you figure this out some of these categories? And how is it that both cameras get the same score for shooting different video framerates? The higher framerate should get the most points. Did you forget to account for the fact that the Nikon can't autofocus while shooting videos? This site is biased and unfair.