Canon EOS M10 vs. Sony Alpha a5100

Comparison

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EOS M10 image
vs
Alpha a5100 image
Canon EOS M10 Sony Alpha a5100
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Megapixels
18.00
24.30
Max. image resolution
5184 x 3456
6000 x 4000

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
22.3 x 14.9 mm
23.5 x 15.6 mm
Sensor resolution
5196 x 3464
6058 x 4012
Diagonal
26.82 mm
28.21 mm
Sensor size comparison
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.

Learn more about sensor sizes »

Actual sensor size

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
vs
1 : 1.1
(ratio)
Canon EOS M10 Sony Alpha a5100
Surface area:
332.27 mm² vs 366.60 mm²
Difference: 34.33 mm² (10%)
Alpha a5100 sensor is approx. 1.1x bigger than M10 sensor.
Pixel pitch
4.29 µm
3.88 µm
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.

The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Difference: 0.41 µm (11%)
Pixel pitch of M10 is approx. 11% higher than pixel pitch of Alpha a5100.
Pixel area
18.4 µm²
15.05 µm²
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.

Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Relative pixel sizes:
vs
Pixel area difference: 3.35 µm² (22%)
A pixel on Canon M10 sensor is approx. 22% bigger than a pixel on Sony Alpha a5100.
Pixel density
5.43 MP/cm²
6.65 MP/cm²
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.

Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Difference: 1.22 µm (22%)
Sony Alpha a5100 has approx. 22% higher pixel density than Canon M10.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Canon M10
Sony Alpha a5100
Crop factor
1.61
1.53
Total megapixels
18.50
24.70
Effective megapixels
18.00
24.30
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
Yes
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 100-12800 (expandable to 25600)
Auto, 100-25600
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
n/a
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot, Partial
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±3 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
None
White balance presets
6
10
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
1,040,000 dots
921,600 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (30p/25p/24p)
1920x1080 (60p/60i/30p/24p)
Storage types
SD/SDHC/SDXC
SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
LP-E12 lithium-ion battery
NP-FW50
Weight
301 g
283 g
Dimensions
108 x 66.6 x 35 mm
109.6 x 62.8 x 35.7 mm
Year
2015
2014




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vs

Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Canon M10 diagonal

w = 22.30 mm
h = 14.90 mm
Diagonal =  22.30² + 14.90²   = 26.82 mm

Sony Alpha a5100 diagonal

w = 23.50 mm
h = 15.60 mm
Diagonal =  23.50² + 15.60²   = 28.21 mm


Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

M10 sensor area

Width = 22.30 mm
Height = 14.90 mm

Surface area = 22.30 × 14.90 = 332.27 mm²

Alpha a5100 sensor area

Width = 23.50 mm
Height = 15.60 mm

Surface area = 23.50 × 15.60 = 366.60 mm²


Pixel pitch

Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel pitch =   sensor width in mm  × 1000
sensor resolution width in pixels

M10 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 22.30 mm
Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels
Pixel pitch =   22.30  × 1000  = 4.29 µm
5196

Alpha a5100 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor resolution width = 6058 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.50  × 1000  = 3.88 µm
6058


Pixel area

The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²

You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area =   sensor surface area in mm²
effective megapixels

M10 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 4.29 µm

Pixel area = 4.29² = 18.4 µm²

Alpha a5100 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.88 µm

Pixel area = 3.88² = 15.05 µm²


Pixel density

Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel density =  ( sensor resolution width in pixels )² / 1000000
sensor width in cm

One could also use this formula:
Pixel density =   effective megapixels × 1000000  / 10000
sensor surface area in mm²

M10 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 5196 pixels
Sensor width = 2.23 cm

Pixel density = (5196 / 2.23)² / 1000000 = 5.43 MP/cm²

Alpha a5100 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 6058 pixels
Sensor width = 2.35 cm

Pixel density = (6058 / 2.35)² / 1000000 = 6.65 MP/cm²


Sensor resolution

Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.

1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.

2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
(X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000    →   
X =  effective megapixels × 1000000
r
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:

Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X

M10 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 22.30 mm
Sensor height = 14.90 mm
Effective megapixels = 18.00
r = 22.30/14.90 = 1.5
X =  18.00 × 1000000  = 3464
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3464 × 1.5 = 5196
Resolution vertical: X = 3464

Sensor resolution = 5196 x 3464

Alpha a5100 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.30
r = 23.50/15.60 = 1.51
X =  24.30 × 1000000  = 4012
1.51
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 4012 × 1.51 = 6058
Resolution vertical: X = 4012

Sensor resolution = 6058 x 4012


Crop factor

Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.
Crop factor =   43.27 mm
sensor diagonal in mm


M10 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 26.82 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.61
26.82

Alpha a5100 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.21 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.53
28.21

35 mm equivalent aperture

Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).

M10 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Canon M10, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Canon M10 is 1.61

Alpha a5100 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Sony Alpha a5100, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Sony Alpha a5100 is 1.53

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