If you have not already done so, it’s a great idea to get familiar with the body and physical controls of whatever camera you are using, especially if you are new to prosumer cameras or coming from an entirely different system. Below is a rundown of the body and controls on the Sony Alpha a5100.


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Let’s start with the top of the camera:

  1. When oriented with the lens facing away, the pop-up flash release button (lightning bolt icon) is on the very left.
  2. Centered with the lens is the popup flash. Only use the flash release button to open the popup flash.
  3. To the left and right of the popup flash are the left and right-channel microphone ports.
  4. At the right is the shutter button.
  5. To the front of the shutter button is the zoom toggle.
  6. To the back left of the shutter button is the power on/off switch.
  7. Behind the shutter button and at an angle from the top of the camera is the MOVIE button. Pressing this button with the camera on will begin recording video.


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At the back of the camera:

  1. The left-hand side consists of the touchscreen display that tilts 180º up so that you can see the screen even when in front of the camera. Use a fingernail to swing the display up from the bottom left corner.
  2. At the top of the right side is the MENU button. Press this button to enter the Settings menu, or to return to the previous screen in any menu.
  3. Below is the Control wheel with directional buttons. The wheel both rotates for selection and settings adjustment, and can be clicked in four directions. At the center is the select button. When in shooting mode, clicking the wheel’s directional buttons allows adjustment for the most common settings.
  4. Towards the bottom you will find the Playback button to the left, and the Guide/Delete button to the right. The Playback button will launch the photo viewer, and the Guide/Delete button launches the in-camera guide.

Sony-a5100-Side-Ports-224x391On the left-hand side of the camera body and behind the cover are the IO ports: MicroHDMI, the MicroUSB multiport, and the SD card slot.

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On the bottom you will find the battery door with latch mechanism, behind which lies the battery.

And finally, on the front of the camera and to the bottom left of the lens mount is the lens release button.