Clicky

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA

Portability
92
Imaging
33
Features
34
Overall
33
Ricoh CX4 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V(A) front
Portability
89
Imaging
54
Features
77
Overall
63

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA Key Specs

Ricoh CX4
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-300mm (F3.5-5.6) lens
  • 205g - 102 x 59 x 29mm
  • Released August 2010
Sony RX100 VA
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Raise to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-70mm (F1.8-2.8) lens
  • 299g - 102 x 58 x 41mm
  • Announced July 2018
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA Overview

Its time to look more closely at the Ricoh CX4 and Sony RX100 VA, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Ricoh and Sony. There exists a huge gap between the image resolutions of the CX4 (10MP) and RX100 VA (20MP) and the CX4 (1/2.3") and RX100 VA (1") come with different sensor measurements.

President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

The CX4 was launched 9 years earlier than the RX100 VA which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Ricoh CX4 being a Compact camera and the Sony RX100 VA being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before delving straight into a full comparison, below is a short highlight of how the CX4 grades against the RX100 VA in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Ricoh CX4 over the Sony RX100 VA

 CX4 RX100 VA 

Reasons to pick Sony RX100 VA over the Ricoh CX4

 RX100 VA CX4 
AnnouncedJuly 2018August 2010Newer by 96 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1229k920kClearer screen (+309k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Ricoh CX4 and Sony RX100 VA

 CX4 RX100 VA 
Manually focus Dial accurate focusing
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen measurements
Touch friendly screen Lacking Touch friendly screen

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA Physical Comparison

For those who are looking to travel with your camera frequently, you are going to need to factor its weight and proportions. The Ricoh CX4 features outside measurements of 102mm x 59mm x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") and a weight of 205 grams (0.45 lbs) while the Sony RX100 VA has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") having a weight of 299 grams (0.66 lbs).

Take a look at the Ricoh CX4 and Sony RX100 VA in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Following is the front view physical size comparison of the CX4 compared to the RX100 VA.

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the CX4 and RX100 VA is 92 and 89 respectively.

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA top view buttons comparison

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA Sensor Comparison

Normally, it is difficult to picture the difference between sensor dimensions only by looking at a spec sheet. The image below will help provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the CX4 and RX100 VA.

Clearly, both cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The CX4 featuring a tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field more difficult and the Sony RX100 VA will resolve extra detail utilizing its extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The more aged CX4 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA sensor size comparison

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA Screen and ViewFinder

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Ricoh CX4 Portrait photography advice
Sony RX100 VA Portrait photography advice
26
focusing manually
manual exposure not available
no external flash support
low megapixels (10MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW files
66
manual focus
above average flash sync speed (1/2,000s)
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (1")
comes with face detection focusing
supports RAW files
can't use external flash
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Street Comparison

Ricoh CX4 Street photography information
Sony RX100 VA Street photography information
60
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than others (205g)
no articulating screen
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW files
86
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is good (1")
supports RAW files
lighter than competitors (299 grams)
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Sports Comparison

Ricoh CX4 Sports photography information
Sony RX100 VA Sports photography information
24
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
max frames per second very slow (5.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority mode
low megapixels (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no phase detect AF
70
quiet shutter (1/32,000 seconds)
high frames per second (24.0 fps)
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (1")
comes with tracking autofocus
sensor has phase detect AF
terrible battery pack (220 CIPA)
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Travel Comparison

Ricoh CX4 Travel photography info
Sony RX100 VA Travel photography info
66
lighter than others (205 grams)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (28mm)
very long reach (300mm)
low megapixels (10MP)
screen is not selfie friendly
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
76
lighter than competitors (299g)
megapixel count good (20MP)
has built in flash
selfie friendly display
fairly wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
terrible battery pack (220 CIPA)
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Ricoh CX4
Landscape photography with Sony RX100 VA
42
focusing manually
reasonably wide (28mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
can't change lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
manual exposure not available
low megapixels (10 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW files
66
manual focus
fairly wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
screen size is good (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
sensor size is good (1")
supports RAW files
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
terrible battery pack (220 per charge)
doesn't have Time Lapse function
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Vlogging Comparison

Ricoh CX4 Vlogging information
Sony RX100 VA Vlogging information
30
reasonably wide (28mm)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than others (205 grams)
sluggish max aperture (f3.5)
screen is not selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 pixels)
no external microphone jack
81
fairly wide (24mm)
great max aperture (f1.8)
selfie friendly display
has image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection focusing
video res high (3840 x 2160 pixels)
lighter than competitors (299 grams)
doesn't have external mic support
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Ricoh CX4 vs Sony RX100 VA Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Ricoh CX4 and Sony RX100 VA
 Ricoh CX4Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V(A)
General Information
Company Ricoh Sony
Model Ricoh CX4 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V(A)
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Large Sensor Compact
Released 2010-08-19 2018-07-13
Physical type Compact Large Sensor Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Smooth Imaging Engine IV Bionz X
Sensor type BSI-CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1"
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 10 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3 and 3:2 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 3648 x 2736 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 3200 12800
Highest enhanced ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 100 125
RAW pictures
Minimum enhanced ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points - 315
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 28-300mm (10.7x) 24-70mm (2.9x)
Maximal aperture f/3.5-5.6 f/1.8-2.8
Macro focus range 1cm 5cm
Crop factor 5.8 2.7
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Tilting
Display size 3 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 920k dots 1,229k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359k dots
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.59x
Features
Min shutter speed 8 seconds 30 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Max quiet shutter speed - 1/32000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 5.0 frames per sec 24.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 4.00 m 10.20 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync Auto, Flash On, Slow Synchro, Rear Sync, Flash Off
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize - 1/2000 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps) 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM
Highest video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) NP-BX1 lithium-ion battery & USB charger
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 205g (0.45 pounds) 299g (0.66 pounds)
Dimensions 102 x 59 x 29mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.1") 102 x 58 x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 220 pictures
Battery style - Battery Pack
Battery model DB-100 NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2, 10 or Custom) Yes
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC card, Internal SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Single
Price at release $211 $998