Ricoh CX4 vs Sony A560

Its time to look a bit more in depth at the Ricoh CX4 versus Sony A560, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Ricoh and Sony. There is a huge difference among the resolutions of the CX4 (10MP) and A560 (14MP) and the CX4 (1/2.3") and A560 (APS-C) posses different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The CX4 was unveiled within a month of the A560 so they are both of a similar generation. Both cameras have different body design with the Ricoh CX4 being a Compact camera and the Sony A560 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before delving straight to a detailed comparison, here is a concise synopsis of how the CX4 matches up against the A560 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Ricoh CX4 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A560. The full galleries are available at Ricoh CX4 Gallery and Sony A560 Gallery.

If you're going to lug around your camera often, you will need to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Ricoh CX4 provides physical dimensions of 102mm x 59mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") accompanied by a weight of 205 grams (0.45 lbs) while the Sony A560 has dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs).

Check the Ricoh CX4 versus Sony A560 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have at that time. Below is a front view scale comparison of the CX4 compared to the A560.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the CX4 and A560 is 92 and 64 respectively.

Generally, it is difficult to picture the contrast in sensor measurements merely by checking out specs. The graphic below might provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the CX4 and A560.

All in all, each of the cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The CX4 using its smaller sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony A560 will provide more detail having an extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop photographs more aggressively.