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Sony A500 vs Sony RX10

Portability
63
Imaging
52
Features
52
Overall
52
Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 front
Portability
58
Imaging
51
Features
76
Overall
61

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 Key Specs

Sony A500
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 630g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Launched August 2009
  • Refreshed by Sony A560
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
  • Introduced March 2014
  • Later Model is Sony RX10 II
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Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 Overview

The following is a extensive assessment of the Sony A500 and Sony RX10, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom and they are both built by Sony. There is a crucial difference among the image resolutions of the A500 (12MP) and RX10 (20MP) and the A500 (APS-C) and RX10 (1") feature different sensor size.

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The A500 was announced 5 years prior to the RX10 which is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX10 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting straight into a in depth comparison, below is a concise overview of how the A500 matches up versus the RX10 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Sony A500 over the Sony RX10

 A500 RX10 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 over the Sony A500

 RX10 A500 
IntroducedMarch 2014August 2009Newer by 55 months
Display resolution1290k230kSharper display (+1060k dot)

Common features in the Sony A500 and Sony RX10

 A500 RX10 
Manually focus Dial exact focus
Display typeTiltingTiltingTilting display
Display dimension3"3"Identical display size
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither has Touch friendly display

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is planning to travel with your camera frequently, you will have to consider its weight and dimensions. The Sony A500 has outer dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") along with a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs) while the Sony RX10 has dimensions of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") accompanied by a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Take a look at the Sony A500 and Sony RX10 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are working with at the time. Following is the front view sizing comparison of the A500 and the RX10.

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the A500 and RX10 is 63 and 58 respectively.

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 top view buttons comparison

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, its difficult to picture the difference in sensor dimensions merely by checking out a spec sheet. The image below may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the A500 and RX10.

As you can see, both the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor dimensions. The A500 having a larger sensor is going to make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Sony RX10 will show more detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged A500 will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 sensor size comparison

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A500 Portrait photography information
Sony RX10 Portrait photography information
63
focusing manually
decent sensor size (APS-C)
offers face detection focusing
saves RAW files
low MP (12 megapixels)
70
you can focus manually
good resolution (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
comes with face detection focus
saves RAW files
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Street Comparison

Sony A500 Street photography highlights
Sony RX10 Street photography highlights
74
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW files
72
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor size (1")
saves RAW files
weather sealing
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Sports Comparison

Sony A500 as a Sports photography camera
Sony RX10 as a Sports photography camera
51
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
has phase detect AF
painfully slow continuous shooting (5.0 frames/s)
low MP (12 megapixels)
bad battery (520 per charge)
67
image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (20 megapixels)
decent sensor size (1")
weather sealing
good battery (420 per charge)
has no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Sony A500 Travel photography information
Sony RX10 Travel photography information
43
has built in flash
no Timelapse function
bad battery (520 per charge)
low MP (12 megapixels)
display isn't selfie friendly
58
good battery (420 CIPA)
weather sealing
good resolution (20MP)
has built in flash
relatively wide (24mm)
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
display isn't selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A500 Landscape photography info
Sony RX10 Landscape photography info
60
focusing manually
switch lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW files
low MP (12MP)
bad battery (520 CIPA)
no Timelapse function
63
you can focus manually
relatively wide (24mm)
nice screen size (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (20 megapixels)
decent sensor size (1")
saves RAW files
weather sealing
good battery (420 CIPA)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
doesn't have Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A500 Vlogging advice
Sony RX10 Vlogging advice
9
no video
30
relatively wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
comes with external mic jack
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.8)
display isn't selfie friendly
Photography Glossary

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A500 and Sony RX10
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A500Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10
General Information
Company Sony Sony
Model Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10
Type Entry-Level DSLR Large Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2009-08-27 2014-03-20
Body design Compact SLR SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Chip Bionz Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C 1"
Sensor dimensions 23.5 x 15.6mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor surface area 366.6mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4272 x 2848 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 12800 12800
Max boosted ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 200 125
RAW support
Minimum boosted ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 9 25
Lens
Lens mounting type Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-200mm (8.3x)
Largest aperture - f/2.8
Amount of lenses 143 -
Crop factor 1.5 2.7
Screen
Range of display Tilting Tilting
Display size 3" 3"
Display resolution 230k dot 1,290k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display technology - WhiteMagic
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440k dot
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.53x 0.7x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/3200 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 5.0 frames per sec 10.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 12.00 m 10.20 m
Flash settings 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
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
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
Mic input
Headphone input
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 seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 630 gr (1.39 lb) 813 gr (1.79 lb)
Dimensions 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") 129 x 88 x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 64 69
DXO Color Depth score 21.8 22.9
DXO Dynamic range score 11.6 12.6
DXO Low light score 772 474
Other
Battery life 520 pictures 420 pictures
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model NP-FM500H NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Pricing at launch $638 $698