Samsung HZ10W vs Sony NEX-5N

Its time to look a bit more in depth at the Samsung HZ10W and Sony NEX-5N, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless by rivals Samsung and Sony. There exists a large gap among the sensor resolutions of the HZ10W (10MP) and NEX-5N (16MP) and the HZ10W (1/2.3") and NEX-5N (APS-C) come with different sensor sizing.

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The HZ10W was launched 3 years before the NEX-5N and that is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Samsung HZ10W being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-5N being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief summary of how the HZ10W grades versus the NEX-5N in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Samsung HZ10W & Sony Alpha NEX-5N. The complete galleries are available at Samsung HZ10W Gallery & Sony NEX-5N Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to lug around your camera regularly, you're going to have to think about its weight and proportions. The Samsung HZ10W enjoys external dimensions of 105mm x 61mm x 37mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.5") and a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs) and the Sony NEX-5N has measurements of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") along with a weight of 269 grams (0.59 lbs).

Look at the Samsung HZ10W and Sony NEX-5N in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you select at that time. Following is the front view size comparison of the HZ10W compared to the NEX-5N.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the HZ10W and NEX-5N is 90 and 89 respectively.

Normally, it is very tough to picture the gap in sensor measurements just by looking through specs. The visual underneath will help provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the HZ10W and NEX-5N.

All in all, the 2 cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The HZ10W featuring a smaller sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF trickier and the Sony NEX-5N will render greater detail utilizing its extra 6MP. Higher resolution can also let you crop photographs far more aggressively. The older HZ10W will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.