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Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III

Portability
63
Imaging
52
Features
52
Overall
52
Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III front
Portability
53
Imaging
52
Features
77
Overall
62

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III Key Specs

Sony A500
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 630g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Introduced August 2009
  • Replacement is Sony A560
Sony RX10 III
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Expand to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-600mm (F2.4-4.0) lens
  • 1051g - 133 x 94 x 127mm
  • Introduced March 2016
  • Older Model is Sony RX10 II
  • Newer Model is Sony RX10 IV
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Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III Overview

Lets look a little more closely at the Sony A500 and Sony RX10 III, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom and both are created by Sony. There is a huge difference between the image resolutions of the A500 (12MP) and RX10 III (20MP) and the A500 (APS-C) and RX10 III (1") boast different sensor size.

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The A500 was revealed 7 years before the RX10 III and that is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX10 III being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before delving into a detailed comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the A500 grades against the RX10 III with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Sony A500 over the Sony RX10 III

 A500 RX10 III 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 III over the Sony A500

 RX10 III A500 
IntroducedMarch 2016August 2009Fresher by 80 months
Display resolution1229k230kCrisper display (+999k dot)

Common features in the Sony A500 and Sony RX10 III

 A500 RX10 III 
Manually focus More precise focus
Display typeTiltingTiltingTilting display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display size
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen
Touch display Lack of Touch display

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III Physical Comparison

For anybody who is going to carry your camera frequently, you have to take into account its weight and proportions. The Sony A500 enjoys physical dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs) whilst the Sony RX10 III has measurements of 133mm x 94mm x 127mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.0") with a weight of 1051 grams (2.32 lbs).

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

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are utilizing at the time. Below is a front view measurements comparison of the A500 and the RX10 III.

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability score of the A500 and RX10 III is 63 and 53 respectively.

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III top view buttons comparison

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, it's difficult to picture the contrast between sensor sizing simply by reading through specifications. The photograph underneath will give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the A500 and RX10 III.

To sum up, each of these cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The A500 using its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF easier and the Sony RX10 III will give greater detail because of its extra 8MP. Greater resolution will let you crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older A500 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III sensor size comparison

Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III Screen and ViewFinder

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

Portrait Comparison

Sony A500 Portrait photography factors
Sony RX10 III Portrait photography factors
63
focusing manually
decent sensor size (APS-C)
features face detection focusing
delivers RAW files
MP count low (12MP)
71
manual focus
decent megapixels (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
includes face detection focusing
saves RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Sony A500 as a Street photography camera
Sony RX10 III as a Street photography camera
74
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
64
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor size (1")
saves RAW formats
weather proof
more heavy than average (1,051 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Sony A500 Sports photography features
Sony RX10 III Sports photography features
51
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
sensor has phase detect AF
very slow continuous shooting (5.0 frames/s)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
not so great battery life (520 per charge)
70
long zoom range (24-600mm 25.0 x zoom)
silent mode (1/32,000s)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
includes tracking autofocus
weather proof
great battery (420 CIPA)
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony A500
Travel photography with Sony RX10 III
43
built-in flash
does not have Timelapse function
not so great battery life (520 CIPA)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
does not posses selfie friendly display
55
great battery (420 per charge)
weather proof
decent megapixels (20 megapixels)
has built in flash
pretty wide (24mm)
long reach (600mm)
does not have Timelapse mode
more heavy than average (1,051g)
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.4)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A500 Landscape photography factors
Sony RX10 III Landscape photography factors
60
focusing manually
switch lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
MP count low (12MP)
not so great battery life (520 shots)
does not have Timelapse function
63
manual focus
pretty wide (24mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
saves RAW formats
weather proof
great battery (420 per charge)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.4)
does not have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A500 Vlogging info
Sony RX10 III Vlogging info
9
no video shooting
28
pretty wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
includes face detection focusing
high res video (3840 x 2160 resolution)
comes with external microphone jack
somewhat slow max aperture (f2.4)
screen is not selfie friendly
more heavy than average (1,051g)
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Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A500 and Sony RX10 III
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A500Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III
General Information
Manufacturer Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III
Type Entry-Level DSLR Large Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2009-08-27 2016-03-29
Body design Compact SLR SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Chip Bionz Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C 1"
Sensor measurements 23.5 x 15.6mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 366.6mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 20 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4272 x 2848 5472 x 3648
Highest native ISO 12800 12800
Highest boosted ISO - 25600
Lowest native ISO 200 125
RAW files
Lowest boosted ISO - 64
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 9 25
Lens
Lens support Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-600mm (25.0x)
Max aperture - f/2.4-4.0
Macro focusing range - 3cm
Amount of lenses 143 -
Crop factor 1.5 2.7
Screen
Screen type Tilting Tilting
Screen sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 230 thousand dot 1,229 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.53x 0.7x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30 seconds 30 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/2000 seconds
Maximum silent shutter speed - 1/32000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 5.0fps 14.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 12.00 m 10.80 m (at Auto ISO)
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
External flash
AEB
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 - 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Highest video resolution None 3840x2160
Video file format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone 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 proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 630 gr (1.39 lb) 1051 gr (2.32 lb)
Physical dimensions 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") 133 x 94 x 127mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.0")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 64 70
DXO Color Depth rating 21.8 23.1
DXO Dynamic range rating 11.6 12.6
DXO Low light rating 772 472
Other
Battery life 520 photos 420 photos
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID NP-FM500H NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse recording
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
Launch pricing $638 $1,398