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Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5

Portability
65
Imaging
73
Features
93
Overall
81
Sony Alpha A9 front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-5 front
Portability
89
Imaging
54
Features
58
Overall
55

Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5 Key Specs

Sony A9
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 51200 (Expand to 204800)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 673g - 127 x 96 x 63mm
  • Released April 2017
  • Renewed by Sony A9 II
Sony NEX-5
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 287g - 111 x 59 x 38mm
  • Launched June 2010
  • Replacement is Sony NEX-5N
Photography Glossary

Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5 Overview

Below is a in-depth comparison of the Sony A9 and Sony NEX-5, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Entry-Level Mirrorless and both are offered by Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the A9 (24MP) and NEX-5 (14MP) and the A9 (Full frame) and NEX-5 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor measurements.

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The A9 was announced 6 years later than the NEX-5 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Sony A9 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before going right into a more detailed comparison, here is a short highlight of how the A9 scores vs the NEX-5 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Sony A9 over the Sony NEX-5

 A9 NEX-5 
LaunchedApril 2017June 2010More recent by 84 months
Screen resolution1440k920kCrisper screen (+520k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-5 over the Sony A9

 NEX-5 A9 

Common features in the Sony A9 and Sony NEX-5

 A9 NEX-5 
Manual focus Dial accurate focus
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen measurements
Selfie screen No selfie screen

Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5 Physical Comparison

For those who are intending to lug around your camera, you'll need to factor its weight and proportions. The Sony A9 has got outer measurements of 127mm x 96mm x 63mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.5") having a weight of 673 grams (1.48 lbs) and the Sony NEX-5 has measurements of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") and a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs).

Compare the Sony A9 and Sony NEX-5 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are utilising at that moment. The following is a front view size comparison of the A9 against the NEX-5.

Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A9 and NEX-5 is 65 and 89 respectively.

Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5 top view buttons comparison

Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it is very tough to see the contrast in sensor measurements just by looking through specs. The graphic underneath might offer you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the A9 and NEX-5.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The A9 with its bigger sensor will make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Sony A9 will provide you with more detail with its extra 10 Megapixels. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures more aggressively. The newer A9 is going to have an advantage with regard to sensor technology.

Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5 sensor size comparison

Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A9 Portrait photography advice
Sony NEX-5 Portrait photography advice
83
you can focus manually
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
great sensor size (Full frame)
supports face detect focus
delivers RAW files
72
manual focus
decent MP (14 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Sony A9 Street photography highlights
Sony NEX-5 Street photography highlights
79
screen tilts
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
great sensor size (Full frame)
delivers RAW files
features focus via touch
environment proof
great high ISO (51,200)
76
screen tilts
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
lack of image stabilization
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Sports Comparison

Sony A9 Sports photography information
Sony NEX-5 Sports photography information
86
high shutter speed (1/8,000s)
silent shutter (1/32,000s)
high max frames per second (20.0 fps)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count decent (24MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
supports tracking focus
environment proof
better than average battery life (650 shots)
supports phase detect auto focus
52
decent MP (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
lack of image stabilization
no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony A9
Travel photography with Sony NEX-5
73
better than average battery life (650 per charge)
environment proof
has bluetooth
features focus via touch
megapixel count decent (24 megapixels)
screen isn't selfie friendly
59
decent MP (14MP)
lack of Timelapse mode
does not have a selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A9 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony NEX-5 as a Landscape photography camera
85
you can focus manually
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count decent (24MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
great high ISO (51,200)
delivers RAW files
environment proof
better than average battery life (650 CIPA)
2 card slots
68
manual focus
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
decent MP (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
lack of image stabilization
lack of Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A9 Vlogging highlights
Sony NEX-5 Vlogging highlights
36
screen is touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
supports face detect focus
good video quality (3840 x 2160 pxls)
comes with microphone support
screen isn't selfie friendly
28
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
lack of image stabilization
lack of external microphone support
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Sony A9 vs Sony NEX-5 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A9 and Sony NEX-5
 Sony Alpha A9Sony Alpha NEX-5
General Information
Manufacturer Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha A9 Sony Alpha NEX-5
Class Pro Mirrorless Entry-Level Mirrorless
Released 2017-04-19 2010-06-07
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Powered by BIONZ X Bionz
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Full frame APS-C
Sensor measurements 35.6 x 23.8mm 23.4 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 847.3mm² 365.0mm²
Sensor resolution 24 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 6000 x 4000 4592 x 3056
Max native ISO 51200 12800
Max enhanced ISO 204800 -
Lowest native ISO 100 200
RAW photos
Lowest enhanced ISO 50 -
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 693 25
Lens
Lens mount type Sony E Sony E
Number of lenses 121 121
Crop factor 1 1.5
Screen
Type of screen Tilting Tilting
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Resolution of screen 1,440 thousand dots 920 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 3,686 thousand dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.78x -
Features
Min shutter speed 30s 30s
Max shutter speed 1/8000s 1/4000s
Max silent shutter speed 1/32000s -
Continuous shutter rate 20.0 frames/s 7.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 12.00 m
Flash modes Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction, Wireless, Hi-speed sync Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Max flash synchronize - 1/160s
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution 3840x2160 1920x1080
Video file format MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264 AVCHD
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 673g (1.48 lbs) 287g (0.63 lbs)
Physical dimensions 127 x 96 x 63mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.5") 111 x 59 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 92 69
DXO Color Depth rating 24.9 22.2
DXO Dynamic range rating 13.3 12.2
DXO Low light rating 3517 796
Other
Battery life 650 photographs 330 photographs
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID NP-FZ100 NPFW50
Self timer Yes (2, 5, 10 secs + continuous) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 images))
Time lapse feature
Storage type Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC slots (UHS-II compatible) SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Two One
Price at release $4,498 $599