If you were going to buy a lightweight stills camera right now, what would you get?

[Zymosis 0]

I've been considering the Sony A5100, and am curious what other small/light cameras I should take a look at.

Thanks!

[roostnureye 2]

Zymosis

I've been considering the Sony A5100, and am curious what other small/light cameras I should take a look at.

Thanks!

that and the a6000 are pretty standard right now.
I prefer the placement of the sd card on the 5100 myself.

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[stratostar 5]

I've been looking at the canon t5i. For many reasons, canon in my experience withstands the abuse very well, can use my other lenses and also my triggers, memory cards etc. it also very lite and fairly small. Always been happy with Sony as the only video cams I buy or use for free fall, so willing to bet they build tough still cams too.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[jtiflyer 0]

Sony A5100 should be at the top of any camera flyers list. Same focus speed as the A6000, only real difference is weight and slower FPS on the A5100.

[Zymosis 0]

What is it that makes the Sony cameras so well suited for skydiving, besides form factor? The autofocus? Anything else?

Is there any way to run an external flash with the a5100? If not that might push me towards the a6000 because it has a hot shoe.

[Zlew 0]

The only thing I like about my canons more than my Sonys is the selection of lenses I have for it. If you compare a consumer level Canon to a Sony 5100-

The pros of the A5100 (and 6k)

Size- Less than a pound, and physically closer to the size of my phone than my canons

Sensor- APS size, same as the non full frame canons (most of what you see in skydiving)

Auto focus- On sensor auto focus, almost 200 auto focus points (most low end canons you see are more like 9). SUPER fast auto focus for moving targets. Auto focus over basically the full screen

Fast- 6 or 10 FPS for the 5100 or 6000
Most lower end canons are more like 4fps

Price- Same as the lower end canons

Card door is on the side for the 5100

For studio and ground stuff, I love my canons. For the majority of free fall work, it is hard to beat the A5100 with a prime lens on it

[jtiflyer 0]

No hot shoe on the 5100, but so far I have not been in any jumping conditions that could not be overcome by the camera

[CTSkydiver 0]

I recently bought the A6300; but I could have gotten almost two A6000's for the same price. The A5100 does have easier access to the memory card; but like mentioned, no hot shoe for external flash or microphone, and other performance features lack a bit compared to the A6000.

As for the upgrades between the A6000 and A6300 justifying the incredibly significant price difference; there may not be enough, depending on what you want to do with it. The most significant upgrade I think is probably the all-metal body of the A6300 compared to the plastic of the A6000. Am hoping that means it should take a bit more abuse. The video upgrades are significant (adding 4K at 30p and 100mbps) and perhaps worth the price if you intend to use it as a video shooter often, but it's yet to be seen how much video I'll ever wind up shooting with the thing (since I also bought a AX-53 Handycam).

It's got an an improved sensor, improved image stabilization, and an even crazier-faster autofocus system that more than keeps up with its exceptionally fast burst rate of 11 frames per second. Finally, the bigger pixels on the new sensor are supposedly good for about 1-stop better performance in low-light. Nothing to compare to the A7IIS (which does an amazing job in just moonlight), but hopefully I'll see some really nice results on sunset loads.

[FM23 0]

I've jumped the A5000 for about a year and it's now failing me. I think it's the port of the camera. It may not be durable enough for the continued wind at the plug in point? I changed switches and now think it's the camera body so I'll try a new body this weekend but I wider if anyone has any protective measures/ideas?

Things are only as important as you want them to be.

[photognat 0]

It's probably the port, it wasn't really designed to put up with excessive vibration without any support. For belly stuff it's usually ok but any freeflying or wingsuiting are much harder on the port. I would just sell it and buy another one (used or new).

For the next one you can make a cable support with Sugru or plastimorph, like this.

[CTSkydiver 0]

FM23

... if anyone has any protective measures/ideas?

Use some dense adhesive foam and gaffer's tape to build protective walls around the camera's ports to protect them and the cables from bumps and wind. That's what I've done with my old cameras, anyway. Expect to do the same with my new ones.

[Zymosis 0]

So I ended getting an a6000 with the 16mm prime lens. And picked up an adapter so I can use my tongue switch. Wooo!

Is any way to hook up a remote status indicator like the Hypeye? Has anyone done or heard or something like this? Does the camera even have the proper outputs for something like that?

[photognat 0]

Here's what I do for a ghetto Hypeye:

If I'm shooting stills and I bite the switch, I can feel/hear the shutter clicking.

If I'm shooting video, I click what I think is the record button and then I hit the shutter button. If it's recording a video, the shutter won't click. If it clicks, you're not recording.

[Anachronist 2]

CTSkydiver

The most significant upgrade I think is probably the all-metal body of the A6300 compared to the plastic of the A6000. Am hoping that means it should take a bit more abuse.

Just a heads up, I too bought a A6300 and the magnesium body is pretty soft (softer than aluminium), should be fine with most mounts but when attaching an XShut it damaged the body around the tripod mount some. I picked up a cage from SmallRig for $50 to fix the problem and it is working well so far.

[Dos 2]

What about Panasonic Lumix GM5 and GX80 ?

For all I know, those are quite good cams for a decent price but I also know no bite switch would work with it (remote control "communicates" with the cam and is not a simple switch).

[stratostar 5]

Are you still happy with the 16mm lens? Can you post a couple shots taken with the set up? Got myself a A6000 and currently considering lenses.

Thx

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[roostnureye 2]

stratostar

Are you still happy with the 16mm lens? Can you post a couple shots taken with the set up? Got myself a A6000 and currently considering lenses.

Thx

i shoot with the 16mm also. great lense! i have used it for over the top wingsuit record formations and close ups. couldnt be happier. that thing focuses like nobodys business!

Flock University FWC / ZFlock
B.A.S.E. 1580
Aussie BASE 121

[sdctlc 0]

roostnureye

***Are you still happy with the 16mm lens? Can you post a couple shots taken with the set up? Got myself a A6000 and currently considering lenses.

Thx

i shoot with the 16mm also. great lense! i have used it for over the top wingsuit record formations and close ups. couldnt be happier. that thing focuses like nobodys business!

What switch are you using? I am looking to get a different still set up for 2017...

thanks
Scott

"He who Hesitates Shall Inherit the Earth!"

[stratostar 5]

I don't have a camera plug/switch as of yet. I have always used a blow switch and wired my own plugs on canons and Olympus cameras. However this Sony a6000 has a different type plug/switch into the body. I have yet to see it in person, looks to be a mini USB type plug/switch. Hypoxic and the ranch pro shop advertise having a 2.5 mm to Sony plug/switch adapter. I spoke to Trunk and he was hesitant to sell me one to use on my blow switch/trigger.

It this time I will get the camera kit end of this week and take a look at it. Do some more research, maybe buy Trunks cable and try to wire up my blow switch?

I'm interested to hear if anyone else is using a blow switch with this camera. I'm not a fan of bite or tongue triggers, they have a history of failing over time. I've had the same blow switch/trigger, going on 20 yrs, never failed. I've had wires and 2.5mm plugs fail always due to broken soldering or wires.

Like a lot folks I decided to go with this camera over a canon t6i mostly due to weight and my old guy neck, save the dlsr for those rare high dollar jumps. It has pretty good track record and skydiving reviews.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[stratostar 5]

Thanks for the info. Can you post a pic or two?

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo

[degeneration 5]

stratostar

I don't have a camera plug/switch as of yet. I have always used a blow switch and wired my own plugs on canons and Olympus cameras. However this Sony a6000 has a different type plug/switch into the body. I have yet to see it in person, looks to be a mini USB type plug/switch. Hypoxic and the ranch pro shop advertise having a 2.5 mm to Sony plug/switch adapter. I spoke to Trunk and he was hesitant to sell me one to use on my blow switch/trigger.

It this time I will get the camera kit end of this week and take a look at it. Do some more research, maybe buy Trunks cable and try to wire up my blow switch?

I'm interested to hear if anyone else is using a blow switch with this camera. I'm not a fan of bite or tongue triggers, they have a history of failing over time. I've had the same blow switch/trigger, going on 20 yrs, never failed. I've had wires and 2.5mm plugs fail always due to broken soldering or wires.

Like a lot folks I decided to go with this camera over a canon t6i mostly due to weight and my old guy neck, save the dlsr for those rare high dollar jumps. It has pretty good track record and skydiving reviews.

I've made quite a few Sony multi-terminal (the one that looks like the micro-usb) connector right angle cables for people to use with a blow switch with the Sony cameras, so I know for certain that there are people out there using them.

I made them a low profile right angled multi-terminal connector to plug into the Sony camera, with whatever length of cable they want, going into the two wires to connect to the terminals of the blow switch. The people I've made them for have added the crimping/connecting pieces for the blow controller onto the wires of my cable, as I've never seen or used a blow switch before so am not sure what bits are required to connect to the controller, and so far I've not had anyone come back to me saying it hasn't worked. But it would appear that it is certainly possible to use a blow switch with the Sony mirrorless range.

I also make the Sony to 2.5mm adaptor, at an extremely competitive price, if you decide to give that option a try.

Sky Switches - Affordable stills camera tongue switches and conversion adaptors, supporting various brands of camera (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Panasonic).

[stratostar 5]

Oh good info, thanks for the info, I'll take a look at your website, might send a PM if I have any questions, thank for the reply.

you can't pay for kids schoolin' with love of skydiving! ~ Airtwardo