Sony A500 vs Sony RX10 III

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.

Photography Glossary

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.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III. The full galleries are provided at Sony A500 Gallery and Sony RX10 III Gallery.

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.

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.

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

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.