Ricoh CX5 vs Sony A57

Its time to look closer at the Ricoh CX5 and Sony A57, one being a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Ricoh and Sony. There is a significant difference between the sensor resolutions of the CX5 (10MP) and A57 (16MP) and the CX5 (1/2.3") and A57 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor sizes.

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The CX5 was unveiled 14 months prior to the A57 making them a generation apart from each other. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Ricoh CX5 being a Compact camera and the Sony A57 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go right into a thorough comparison, here is a short synopsis of how the CX5 scores versus the A57 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Ricoh CX5 and Sony SLT-A57. The full galleries are viewable at Ricoh CX5 Gallery and Sony A57 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to lug around your camera frequently, you're going to have to consider its weight and size. The Ricoh CX5 provides outside measurements 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 A57 has specifications of 132mm x 98mm x 81mm (5.2" x 3.9" x 3.2") with a weight of 618 grams (1.36 lbs).

Examine the Ricoh CX5 and Sony A57 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you select at the time. Here is a front view dimensions comparison of the CX5 compared to the A57.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the CX5 and A57 is 92 and 64 respectively.

Generally, it is difficult to visualise the contrast between sensor measurements simply by looking at technical specs. The visual here will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the CX5 and A57.

As you have seen, the two cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The CX5 with its tinier sensor will make shooting shallow depth of field more difficult and the Sony A57 will give greater detail having an extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop images more aggressively. The older CX5 is going to be behind in sensor tech.