Nikon
D3100
 vs
Sony
SLT-A55

Updated (April, 2012): Compare the Nikon D3200 vs Sony SLT A57

Sony SLT-A55

62
Winner

Sony SLT-A55
"The A55 feels like a cross between a good midrange DSLR and a high-end 'bridge' model, but its focus system and large, high-resolution viewfinder surpass our expectations of both types of camera."
dpreview.com | talking about the SLT-A55's feel
"The Sony Alpha SLT A55 is completely new designs which offer several key advantages over 'traditional' DSLR technology."
dpreview.com | talking about the SLT-A55's overall-performance

Reasons to buy the Sony SLT-A55

Overall image quality
 Great image quality
73.0
Movie format
 Full HD
1080p @ 30fps
Color depth
 Great color depth
23 bits
Dynamic range
 Wide dynamic range
12.4 EV
Screen resolution
 High resolution screen
921k dots
Image stabilization
 Image stabilization
Sensor shift
Nikon D3100

54
Runner-up

Nikon D3100
"The D3100 offers little to complain about in terms of image quality, and its new 14Mp sensor delivers very good results."
dpreview.com | talking about the D3100's image-quality
"It's almost impossible to pick up without your hand falling into a sensible position with the key controls at your fingertips."
dpreview.com | talking about the D3100's button-layout

Reasons to buy the Nikon D3100

Movie format
 Full HD
1080p @ 24fps
Supports 24p
 24p movies
For that film look
Movie continuous focus
 Movie continuous focus
Makes it easy to get in-focus movies
Badge
 Autofocuses shooting video
Contrast detection

differences

Advantages of the Nikon D3100
Low light performance Lower noise at high ISO 919 ISO vs 816 ISO
Help
 The D3100 has a slight edge (0.2 f-stops) in low noise, high ISO performance
Supports 24p Supports 24p Yes vs No
Help
 Get that real film feel
Viewfinder Has an optical viewfinder Pentamirror vs Digital
Help
 Optical viewfinders save battery life and are more detailed
Lens availability Significantly more lenses available 169 lenses vs 92 lenses
Help
 More than 80% more lenses available
Startup delay Less startup delay 400 ms vs 900 ms
Help
 2.2x less delay when turning on
Battery life Longer battery life 550 shots vs 350 shots
Help
 Around 60% more shots per battery charge
Thickness Significantly thinner 2.9" vs 3.3"
Help
 More than 10% thinner
Size Smaller 124x96x73 mm vs 124x92x85 mm
Help
 Around 10% smaller
Lowest price Slightly cheaper $499.99 vs $598.00
Help
 The best price we've seen is $98 cheaper (around 20% less)
Nikon D3100 Learn more about
the Nikon D3100

Advantages of the Sony SLT-A55
Screen resolution Much higher resolution screen 921k dots vs 230k dots
Help
 More than 4x higher resolution screen
Dynamic range More dynamic range 12.4 EV vs 11.3 EV
Help
 1.1 f-stops more dynamic range
Continuous shooting Shoots much faster 10 fps vs 3 fps
Help
 Around 3.5x faster continuous shooting
Image stabilization Image stabilization Sensor shift vs None
Help
 Helps eliminate blur caused by small camera movements
Overall image quality Better image quality 73.0 vs 67.0
Help
 Around 10% better image quality
External mic jack Has an external mic jack Yes vs No
Help
 Record high quality audio with an external microphone
Panorama Can create panoramas in-camera Yes vs No
Help
 Stitches together multiple photos for a wide perspective
3D Takes 3D photos Yes vs No
Help
 Combines multiple photos into a 3D image
Light sensitivity Better maximum light sensitivity 12,800 ISO vs 3,200 ISO
Help
 The SLT-A55's maximum light sensitivity is 2 f-stops better
Screen flips out Has a flip-out screen Yes vs No
Help
 Flip-out screens can be helpful when composing tricky shots or taking movies
HDR Has in-camera HDR Yes vs No
Help
 Combines multiple exposures to capture high dynamic range
GPS Has a GPS Yes vs No
Help
 Automatically geotags your photos when traveling
Color depth Better color depth 23 bits vs 22.5 bits
Help
 Distinguishes 0.5 more bits of color
Autofocus Faster video autofocus Phase detection vs Contrast detection
Help
 Shoot videos without worrying about focus
Shutter lag Less shutter lag 220 ms vs 279 ms
Help
 More than 20% less delay when taking photos
Lens focus motor Has a built-in focus motor Yes vs No
Help
 Autofocuses with all autofocus lenses
True resolution Higher true resolution 16 MP vs 14.2 MP
Help
 Capture more than 10% more detail in your photos
Focus points More focus points 15 vs 11
Help
 Set focus accurately within the frame
Cross type focus points More cross-type focus points 3 vs 1
Help
 Grab focus in difficult situations
Light sensitivity (boost) Better boost ISO 25,600 ISO vs 12,800 ISO
Help
 The SLT-A55's boost ISO is 1 f-stop better
Sensor size Larger sensor APS-C 23.5x15.6mm vs APS-C 23.1x15.4mm
Help
 Almost the same
Sony SLT-A55 Learn more about
the Sony SLT-A55
vs

recommendations

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

Nikon D3100 Nikon D3100
54 vs 62
Explain scores
Sony SLT-A55 Sony SLT-A55
Green arrow Snapsort recommends the Sony SLT-A55.

advice

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2 people recommend the Nikon D3100:

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1
votes
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One person recommends the Nikon D3100:

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similarities

Compared to recent entry-level DSLRs

Common Strengths Common Weaknesses
Movie format Full HD (1080p) video Help
D3100:1080p @ 24fps
SLT-A55:1080p @ 30fps
Movie continuous focus Focus continuously recording movies Help
Makes it easy to get in-focus movies
Weight Light weight Help
D3100:505 g
SLT-A55:500 g
Fastest shutter speed Slow max shutter speed Help
1/4000 of a second
Storage slots Fewer storage slots Help
1
Weather sealed Neither is weather sealed Help
Need to shelter it from weather

dxomark

DXOMark

competitors

Shared Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D5100

Nikon D5100

Entry-level DSLR

$500 - $597 body only

$600 - $697 with 18-55mm lens
Low light performance Is significantly less noisy at high ISO
Overall image quality Has slightly better image quality
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the D5100 vs the D3100
Compare the D5100 vs the SLT-A55
Canon Rebel T3

Canon Rebel T3

Entry-level DSLR

$333 body only

$489 - $500 with 18-55mm lens
Battery life Has a slightly longer battery life
Thickness Is thicker
Sensor cleaning Lacks a self cleaning sensor
Compare the Rebel T3 vs the D3100
Compare the Rebel T3 vs the SLT-A55
Canon EOS Rebel T2i

Canon Rebel T2i

Entry-level DSLR

$544 - $949 body only

$649 - $867 with 18-55mm lens
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Size Is slightly smaller
Sensor size Has a marginally smaller sensor
Autofocus Lacks autofocus
Compare the Rebel T2i vs the D3100
Compare the Rebel T2i vs the SLT-A55
Canon Rebel T3i

Canon Rebel T3i

Entry-level DSLR

$619 - $700 body only

$745 - $1,000 with 18-55mm lens
True resolution Takes slightly higher resolution photos
Thickness Is thicker
Weight Is slightly heavier
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the D3100
Compare the Rebel T3i vs the SLT-A55
Nikon D3200

Nikon D3200

Entry-level DSLR

$699 - $700 with 18-55mm lens
True resolution Takes much higher resolution photos
Compare the D3200 vs the D3100
Compare the D3200 vs the SLT-A55
Nikon D90

Nikon D90

Entry-level DSLR

$897 body only

$1,047 with 55-200mm lens
Viewfinder size Significantly larger viewfinder
Viewfinder Has higher quality type of viewfinder
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the D90 vs the D3100
Compare the D90 vs the SLT-A55
Nikon D7000

Nikon D7000

Entry-level DSLR

$1,000 body only

$1,100 with 55-200mm lens
Low light performance Is slightly less noisy at high ISO
Overall image quality Has slightly better image quality
Lowest price Is slightly more expensive
Thickness Is thicker
Compare the D7000 vs the D3100
Compare the D7000 vs the SLT-A55

Nikon D3100 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Nikon D3000

Nikon D3000

Entry-level DSLR

$449 with 18-55mm lens
Sensor size Larger sensor
Size Smaller
Low light performance Significantly more noise at high ISO
Movie format Does not take movies
Compare the D3000 vs the D3100

Sony SLT-A55 Competitors

Advantages

Disadvantages
Sony SLT A57

Sony SLT A57

Entry-level DSLR

$698 - $700 body only

$798 - $800 with 18-55mm lens
Supports 24p Supports 24p
Continuous shooting Shoots faster
GPS No built-in GPS
Size Larger
Compare the SLT A57 vs the SLT-A55
Sony SLT-A65

Sony SLT A65

Entry-level DSLR

$898 body only

$998 with 18-55mm lens
True resolution Much higher true resolution
Supports 24p Supports 24p
Low light performance More noise at high ISO
Size Larger
Compare the SLT A65 vs the SLT-A55
Sony Alpha DSLR-A580

Sony Alpha DSLR-A580

Entry-level DSLR

$949 with 55-200mm lens
Low light performance Significantly lower noise at high ISO
Overall image quality Better image quality
GPS No built-in GPS
Continuous shooting Shoots significantly slower
Compare the Alpha DSLR-A580 vs the SLT-A55

appearance

Nikon D3100 Sony SLT-A55
Nikon D3100 Sony SLT-A55
Nikon D3100 Sony SLT-A55

discussion

Showing 9 comments

Bana (3:14 AM, September 27, 2011)
Thanks for taking the time to compare these two..i'm currently trying to decide between the two - I'm a complete raw beginner, so this article has me leaning toward the A55, but i'll still head into the camera shop to get a hands-on feel and some advice from the staff there...appreciate these resources on the web.
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (0:38 AM, September 06, 2011)
Glad we could help
 
Hsaldana3 (8:13 PM, September 03, 2011)
This is an excellent site for giving useful information about cameras. It helps us to take good decisions when buying a camera. For me it was very useful to read the comparison between two cameras I'm interested on.  Congratulations to site owners! 
 
Geminieagle18 (8:46 PM, June 22, 2011)
The A55, hands down is a better camera, with video and still images.
 
Geminieagle18 (8:45 PM, June 22, 2011)
It should be shown how much of the score is based on popularity, the sony A55 is in my opinion the best camera available under $1,000.  Your evaluations show that, but the score do not give a true reflection of the camera quality, they are tainted by "popularity"...I don't think that should even be a consideration!
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (1:49 PM, June 20, 2011)
The Sony A55 is the better camera, but the D3100 is much more popular.  
 
Khalid Gohar (6:34 PM, June 18, 2011)
which one is better d3100 or a55
 
Avatar for Snapsort Snapsort (6:44 PM, May 24, 2011)
Thanks for the suggestion, changing how we score popularity is on our radar. 
 
hand (6:36 PM, May 24, 2011)
Just a suggestion on this popularity issue. Maybe users should be able to adjust the weight of a factor depending on what is imprtant to them. It also means cameras like the sony don't lose out! :)