Canon EOS M5 vs Sony a5100 — Which Is Better?

The Canon EOS M5 and the Sony a5100 are both mirrorless cameras, and the a5100 is the much smaller, lighter body. It measures 110 x 63 x 36 mm and weighs 283 g, against 116 x 89 x 61 mm and 427 g for the M5, a 144 g difference that suits the a5100 to a coat pocket or small bag.

Resolution gives neither camera an advantage. Both use APS-C CMOS sensors, and their output is near-identical at 24.2 MP on the M5 and 24.3 MP on the a5100, so neither offers extra cropping room. The M5's 9 fps burst gives it the edge for moving subjects like running children or pets, against 6 fps on the a5100. The a5100 answers with 179 autofocus points against 49, spreading its focusing coverage wider across the frame.

Only the M5 has a viewfinder, a 2,360,000-dot electronic unit for eye-level framing, while the a5100 confines all framing to its rear LCD. The lens mounts differ too, pairing the M5 with Canon EF-M lenses and the a5100 with Sony E, so a lens bought for one will not fit the other directly. Neither body offers in-body stabilisation, so steady handheld work in dim light depends on the lens you attach.

For casual clips and vlogs, both cameras record video to the same headline limits, sharing a Full HD maximum resolution and a 60 fps maximum frame rate. The a5100 additionally writes AVI files alongside MP4, while the M5 records in MP4.

The M5's useful extra is a built-in interval timelapse. It captures a sunset or rolling clouds without an external timer, a feature the a5100 does not offer.

The M5 is the better camera for controlling your shots. Its 3.2-inch screen carries 1,620,000 dots against 921,600 on the a5100's 3-inch panel, showing finer detail in playback and manual-focus checks. It also supports an external flash for stronger or bounced lighting, while the a5100 has only its built-in flash.

Several controls are shared. Both have a tilting touchscreen that simplifies low-angle and selfie framing, and both offer Wi-Fi for sending images to a phone. Neither has GPS for location tagging, and neither is weather sealed.

The a5100 is the stronger pick for a long day of shooting. Its NP-FW50 battery is rated at 400 shots against 295 for the M5's LP-E17, and neither camera charges over USB, so pack a spare battery.

Both use a single SD, SDHC or SDXC card slot, so neither offers a second card for backup or overflow. The a5100 also accepts Memory Stick Pro Duo and Pro-HG Duo media, useful if you already own Sony cards.