Ricoh GR II vs Sony A500

Below, we are evaluating the Ricoh GR II and Sony A500, former being a Large Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by competitors Ricoh and Sony. There is a noticeable difference between the resolutions of the GR II (16MP) and A500 (12MP) but they feature the exact same sensor size (APS-C).

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

The GR II was brought out 5 years later than the A500 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Ricoh GR II being a Large Sensor Compact camera and the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going through a in depth comparison, below is a brief summation of how the GR II scores vs the A500 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a sample of the gallery pics for Ricoh GR II & Sony Alpha DSLR-A500. The entire galleries are viewable at Ricoh GR II Gallery & Sony A500 Gallery.

For anyone who is planning to carry your camera, you are going to need to factor in its weight and measurements. The Ricoh GR II has outside dimensions of 117mm x 63mm x 35mm (4.6" x 2.5" x 1.4") along with a weight of 251 grams (0.55 lbs) whilst the Sony A500 has proportions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs).

Compare the Ricoh GR II and Sony A500 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you choose at that moment. Following is the front view dimensions comparison of the GR II against the A500.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the GR II and A500 is 89 and 63 respectively.

In many cases, its tough to picture the gap between sensor sizing purely by reading a spec sheet. The visual underneath will provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the GR II and A500.

Clearly, each of these cameras have got the exact same sensor measurements but different megapixels. You can expect to see the Ricoh GR II to offer more detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images much more aggressively. The younger GR II provides an edge when it comes to sensor tech.