Canon SX500 IS vs Sony A7R
80 Imaging
39 Features
40 Overall
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78 Imaging
73 Features
76 Overall
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Canon SX500 IS vs Sony A7R Key Specs
(Full Review)
- 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
- 3" Fixed Screen
- ISO 80 - 1600
- Optical Image Stabilization
- 1280 x 720 video
- 24-720mm (F3.4-5.8) lens
- 341g - 104 x 70 x 80mm
- Released August 2012
- Refreshed by Canon SX510 HS
(Full Review)
- 36MP - Full frame Sensor
- 3" Tilting Display
- ISO 100 - 25600
- No Anti-Alias Filter
- 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
- 1920 x 1080 video
- Sony E Mount
- 465g - 127 x 94 x 48mm
- Released February 2014
- Successor is Sony A7R II

Canon SX500 IS vs Sony A7R Overview
Its time to look much closer at the Canon SX500 IS and Sony A7R, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Pro Mirrorless by brands Canon and Sony. There is a sizable difference among the sensor resolutions of the SX500 IS (16MP) and A7R (36MP) and the SX500 IS (1/2.3") and A7R (Full frame) feature different sensor sizing.

The SX500 IS was manufactured 18 months prior to the A7R making the cameras a generation away from each other. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Canon SX500 IS being a Compact camera and the Sony A7R being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.
Before getting through a detailed comparison, below is a short highlight of how the SX500 IS matches up vs the A7R in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Canon SX500 IS vs Sony A7R Gallery
The following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Canon PowerShot SX500 IS & Sony Alpha A7R. The entire galleries are provided at Canon SX500 IS Gallery & Sony A7R Gallery.
Reasons to pick Canon SX500 IS over the Sony A7R
SX500 IS | A7R |
---|
Reasons to pick Sony A7R over the Canon SX500 IS
A7R | SX500 IS | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | February 2014 | ![]() | August 2012 | More modern by 18 months |
Display type | Tilting | ![]() | Fixed | Tilting display |
Display resolution | 1230k | ![]() | 461k | Clearer display (+769k dot) |
Common features in the Canon SX500 IS and Sony A7R
SX500 IS | A7R | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Focus manually | ![]() | More precise focusing | ||
Display dimension | 3" | ![]() | 3" | Identical display measurement |
Selfie screen | ![]() | Neither comes with selfie screen | ||
Touch friendly display | ![]() | Missing Touch friendly display |
Canon SX500 IS vs Sony A7R Physical Comparison
When you are aiming to carry around your camera frequently, you'll need to think about its weight and measurements. The Canon SX500 IS comes with outside dimensions of 104mm x 70mm x 80mm (4.1" x 2.8" x 3.1") with a weight of 341 grams (0.75 lbs) and the Sony A7R has proportions of 127mm x 94mm x 48mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 1.9") along with a weight of 465 grams (1.03 lbs).
See the Canon SX500 IS and Sony A7R in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.
Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are employing during that time. Underneath is the front view size comparison of the SX500 IS and the A7R.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the SX500 IS and A7R is 80 and 78 respectively.

Canon SX500 IS vs Sony A7R Sensor Comparison
Often, it's hard to picture the contrast in sensor sizes merely by checking out a spec sheet. The pic here should offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the SX500 IS and A7R.
As you can see, the two cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The SX500 IS featuring a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony A7R will produce greater detail due to its extra 20MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop images much more aggressively. The more aged SX500 IS will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Canon SX500 IS vs Sony A7R Screen and ViewFinder


Photography Type Scores
Portrait Comparison

Street Comparison

Sports Comparison

Travel Comparison

Landscape Comparison

Vlogging Comparison

Canon SX500 IS vs Sony A7R Specifications
Canon PowerShot SX500 IS | Sony Alpha A7R | |
---|---|---|
General Information | ||
Manufacturer | Canon | Sony |
Model type | Canon PowerShot SX500 IS | Sony Alpha A7R |
Category | Small Sensor Superzoom | Pro Mirrorless |
Released | 2012-08-21 | 2014-02-13 |
Body design | Compact | SLR-style mirrorless |
Sensor Information | ||
Powered by | Digic 4 | Bionz X |
Sensor type | CCD | CMOS |
Sensor size | 1/2.3" | Full frame |
Sensor measurements | 6.17 x 4.55mm | 35.9 x 24mm |
Sensor surface area | 28.1mm² | 861.6mm² |
Sensor resolution | 16MP | 36MP |
Anti alias filter | ||
Aspect ratio | 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 | 3:2 and 16:9 |
Peak resolution | 4608 x 3456 | 7360 x 4912 |
Highest native ISO | 1600 | 25600 |
Min native ISO | 80 | 100 |
RAW support | ||
Autofocusing | ||
Focus manually | ||
Touch to focus | ||
Continuous autofocus | ||
Autofocus single | ||
Autofocus tracking | ||
Selective autofocus | ||
Autofocus center weighted | ||
Autofocus multi area | ||
Autofocus live view | ||
Face detection focus | ||
Contract detection focus | ||
Phase detection focus | ||
Total focus points | 1 | 25 |
Lens | ||
Lens mount type | fixed lens | Sony E |
Lens zoom range | 24-720mm (30.0x) | - |
Maximum aperture | f/3.4-5.8 | - |
Macro focusing distance | 1cm | - |
Number of lenses | - | 121 |
Focal length multiplier | 5.8 | 1 |
Screen | ||
Screen type | Fixed Type | Tilting |
Screen diagonal | 3 inches | 3 inches |
Screen resolution | 461 thousand dot | 1,230 thousand dot |
Selfie friendly | ||
Liveview | ||
Touch operation | ||
Screen tech | TFT Color LCD | Xtra Fine LCD |
Viewfinder Information | ||
Viewfinder type | None | Electronic |
Viewfinder resolution | - | 2,359 thousand dot |
Viewfinder coverage | - | 100% |
Viewfinder magnification | - | 0.71x |
Features | ||
Min shutter speed | 15s | 30s |
Max shutter speed | 1/1600s | 1/8000s |
Continuous shutter speed | 1.0fps | 4.0fps |
Shutter priority | ||
Aperture priority | ||
Expose Manually | ||
Exposure compensation | Yes | Yes |
Custom white balance | ||
Image stabilization | ||
Built-in flash | ||
Flash distance | 5.00 m | no built-in flash |
Flash options | Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync | no built-in flash |
External flash | ||
AE bracketing | ||
WB bracketing | ||
Max flash sync | 1/1600s | 1/160s |
Exposure | ||
Multisegment | ||
Average | ||
Spot | ||
Partial | ||
AF area | ||
Center weighted | ||
Video features | ||
Video resolutions | 1280 x 720 (25 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) | 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p), 1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p) |
Highest video resolution | 1280x720 | 1920x1080 |
Video format | H.264 | MPEG-4, AVCHD |
Microphone jack | ||
Headphone jack | ||
Connectivity | ||
Wireless | Eye-Fi Connected | Built-In |
Bluetooth | ||
NFC | ||
HDMI | ||
USB | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) | USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) |
GPS | None | None |
Physical | ||
Environmental seal | ||
Water proofing | ||
Dust proofing | ||
Shock proofing | ||
Crush proofing | ||
Freeze proofing | ||
Weight | 341 gr (0.75 lbs) | 465 gr (1.03 lbs) |
Dimensions | 104 x 70 x 80mm (4.1" x 2.8" x 3.1") | 127 x 94 x 48mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 1.9") |
DXO scores | ||
DXO Overall rating | not tested | 95 |
DXO Color Depth rating | not tested | 25.6 |
DXO Dynamic range rating | not tested | 14.1 |
DXO Low light rating | not tested | 2746 |
Other | ||
Battery life | 195 images | 340 images |
Style of battery | Battery Pack | Battery Pack |
Battery ID | NB-6L | NP-FW50 |
Self timer | Yes (2 or 10 sec, Custom) | Yes (2 or 10 sec; continuous (3 or 5 exposures)) |
Time lapse recording | With downloadable app | |
Type of storage | SD/SDHC/SDXC | SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo |
Storage slots | One | One |
Launch pricing | $299 | $1,898 |