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Sony A290 vs Sony RX10

Portability
66
Imaging
54
Features
47
Overall
51
Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 front
Portability
58
Imaging
51
Features
76
Overall
61

Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 Key Specs

Sony A290
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 549g - 128 x 97 x 86mm
  • Announced June 2010
  • Older Model is Sony A230
Sony RX10
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Push to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8) lens
  • 813g - 129 x 88 x 102mm
  • Revealed March 2014
  • Replacement is Sony RX10 II
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Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 Overview

Lets look a little more closely at the Sony A290 vs Sony RX10, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom and both are designed by Sony. There is a big difference between the sensor resolutions of the A290 (14MP) and RX10 (20MP) and the A290 (APS-C) and RX10 (1") offer totally different sensor sizes.

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The A290 was revealed 4 years prior to the RX10 which is quite a big gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX10 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before diving right into a thorough comparison, here is a simple overview of how the A290 scores versus the RX10 for portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Sony A290 over the Sony RX10

 A290 RX10 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 over the Sony A290

 RX10 A290 
RevealedMarch 2014June 2010Newer by 46 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display size3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")
Display resolution1290k230kClearer display (+1060k dot)

Common features in the Sony A290 and Sony RX10

 A290 RX10 
Manual focus More accurate focus
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch friendly display Absent Touch friendly display

Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is intending to travel with your camera, you'll have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Sony A290 comes with physical measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") accompanied by a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs) while the Sony RX10 has dimensions of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") and a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Look at the Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you select at that moment. Here is a front view physical size comparison of the A290 versus the RX10.

Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the A290 and RX10 is 66 and 58 respectively.

Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 top view buttons comparison

Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 Sensor Comparison

Often, its difficult to see the gap between sensor dimensions purely by reading specs. The pic underneath may offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the A290 and RX10.

All in all, both cameras come with different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The A290 using its larger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF less difficult and the Sony RX10 will offer greater detail because of its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop photos a good deal more aggressively. The more aged A290 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.

Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 sensor size comparison

Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A290 Portrait photography features
Sony RX10 Portrait photography features
65
has manual focus
resolution is good (14MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
provides face detect autofocus
supports RAW files
no liveview feature
70
has manual focus
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
decent sensor size (1")
offers face detect focusing
supports RAW formats
Photography Glossary

Street Comparison

Sony A290 Street photography info
Sony RX10 Street photography info
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
supports RAW files
no articulating screen
72
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor size (1")
supports RAW formats
weather proof
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Sports Comparison

Sony A290 as a Sports photography camera
Sony RX10 as a Sports photography camera
55
image stabilization (Sensor based)
resolution is good (14 megapixels)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
has phase detect autofocus
no liveview feature
max fps low (3.0 fps)
not so great battery pack (290 per charge)
67
image stabilization (Optical)
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
decent sensor size (1")
weather proof
good battery pack (420 CIPA)
does not have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony A290
Travel photography with Sony RX10
53
resolution is good (14MP)
has built in flash
missing Timelapse function
not so great battery pack (290 CIPA)
does not feature selfie friendly display
58
good battery pack (420 shots)
weather proof
resolution is good (20 megapixels)
flash built-in
fairly wide (24mm)
no Timelapse recording
display is not selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A290 Landscape photography factors
Sony RX10 Landscape photography factors
58
has manual focus
switch lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
resolution is good (14MP)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
supports RAW files
small screen (2.7 inches)
no liveview feature
not so great battery pack (290 shots)
missing Timelapse function
63
has manual focus
fairly wide (24mm)
screen size is good (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
resolution is good (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
supports RAW formats
weather proof
good battery pack (420 per charge)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f2.8)
no Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A290 Vlogging features
Sony RX10 Vlogging features
9
can't record video
30
fairly wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detect focusing
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pixels)
comes with microphone support
slow max aperture (f2.8)
display is not selfie friendly
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Sony A290 vs Sony RX10 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A290 and Sony RX10
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A290Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10
General Information
Make Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10
Class Entry-Level DSLR Large Sensor Superzoom
Announced 2010-06-09 2014-03-20
Physical type Compact SLR SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Bionz Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C 1"
Sensor measurements 23.5 x 15.7mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 369.0mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4592 x 3056 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 3200 12800
Max enhanced ISO - 25600
Lowest native ISO 100 125
RAW format
Lowest enhanced ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points 9 25
Lens
Lens support Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-200mm (8.3x)
Largest aperture - f/2.8
Total lenses 143 -
Crop factor 1.5 2.7
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display diagonal 2.7" 3"
Display resolution 230k dots 1,290k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech - WhiteMagic
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440k dots
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.55x 0.7x
Features
Min shutter speed 30 seconds 30 seconds
Max shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/3200 seconds
Continuous shutter rate 3.0 frames per sec 10.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 10.00 m (at ISO 100) 10.20 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Max flash synchronize 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
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 549 gr (1.21 lbs) 813 gr (1.79 lbs)
Physical dimensions 128 x 97 x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") 129 x 88 x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 66 69
DXO Color Depth rating 22.6 22.9
DXO Dynamic range rating 11.5 12.6
DXO Low light rating 615 474
Other
Battery life 290 photos 420 photos
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID NP-FH50 NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo, SD/SDHC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Single
Cost at release $600 $698