Samsung NX5 vs Sony RX100

The following is a complete analysis of the Samsung NX5 and Sony RX100, one is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Large Sensor Compact by rivals Samsung and Sony. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the NX5 (15MP) and RX100 (20MP) and the NX5 (APS-C) and RX100 (1") boast different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The NX5 was brought out 3 years earlier than the RX100 which is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Samsung NX5 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before getting into a in depth comparison, here is a quick overview of how the NX5 grades versus the RX100 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Samsung NX5 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100. The entire galleries are provided at Samsung NX5 Gallery and Sony RX100 Gallery.

For those who are going to travel with your camera often, you have to factor its weight and proportions. The Samsung NX5 provides outside measurements of 123mm x 87mm x 40mm (4.8" x 3.4" x 1.6") along with a weight of 499 grams (1.10 lbs) while the Sony RX100 has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") along with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Check the Samsung NX5 and Sony RX100 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you have chosen at the time. The following is a front view scale comparison of the NX5 against the RX100.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the NX5 and RX100 is 80 and 91 respectively.

Sometimes, it's difficult to visualize the gap between sensor dimensions just by reading through technical specs. The picture underneath should offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizing in the NX5 and RX100.

As you have seen, both of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The NX5 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field simpler and the Sony RX100 will give more detail having its extra 5 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The more aged NX5 is going to be behind in sensor tech.