Canon SX210 IS vs Sony a5000

Below is a in depth assessment of the Canon SX210 IS versus Sony a5000, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Canon and Sony. There is a substantial difference among the resolutions of the SX210 IS (14MP) and a5000 (20MP) and the SX210 IS (1/2.3") and a5000 (APS-C) use totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The SX210 IS was manufactured 4 years before the a5000 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Canon SX210 IS being a Compact camera and the Sony a5000 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before diving through a complete comparison, below is a short introduction of how the SX210 IS scores versus the a5000 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Canon PowerShot SX210 IS & Sony Alpha a5000. The entire galleries are provided at Canon SX210 IS Gallery & Sony a5000 Gallery.

If you are planning to lug around your camera often, you are going to need to consider its weight and proportions. The Canon SX210 IS comes with outer measurements of 103mm x 61mm x 38mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.5") with a weight of 220 grams (0.49 lbs) whilst the Sony a5000 has measurements of 110mm x 63mm x 36mm (4.3" x 2.5" x 1.4") with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Take a look at the Canon SX210 IS versus Sony a5000 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have at that moment. The following is the front view size comparison of the SX210 IS compared to the a5000.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the SX210 IS and a5000 is 90 and 89 respectively.

Often, it's hard to envision the difference in sensor measurements only by going through specifications. The graphic here should provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the SX210 IS and a5000.

Plainly, each of these cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The SX210 IS because of its smaller sensor will make getting shallower DOF harder and the Sony a5000 will provide more detail due to its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop photos a little more aggressively. The older SX210 IS will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.