Ricoh CX1 vs Sony NEX-5N

Here is a in depth overview of the Ricoh CX1 and Sony NEX-5N, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Ricoh and Sony. There exists a substantial gap between the sensor resolutions of the CX1 (9MP) and NEX-5N (16MP) and the CX1 (1/2.3") and NEX-5N (APS-C) posses totally different sensor dimensions.

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The CX1 was manufactured 3 years before the NEX-5N and that is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras have different body design with the Ricoh CX1 being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-5N being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a concise overview of how the CX1 scores versus the NEX-5N in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Ricoh CX1 & Sony Alpha NEX-5N. The entire galleries are available at Ricoh CX1 Gallery & Sony NEX-5N Gallery.

If you're planning to carry your camera, you will need to factor its weight and volume. The Ricoh CX1 provides outer measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 28mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") and a weight of 180 grams (0.40 lbs) while the Sony NEX-5N has sizing of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Analyze the Ricoh CX1 and Sony NEX-5N in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you have chosen at that moment. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the CX1 versus the NEX-5N.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the CX1 and NEX-5N is 93 and 89 respectively.

Normally, it's tough to envision the difference between sensor sizing purely by looking at specifications. The photograph here will provide you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the CX1 and NEX-5N.

To sum up, both the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The CX1 due to its tinier sensor will make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Sony NEX-5N will give you greater detail due to its extra 7 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older CX1 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.