Sony A500 vs Sony RX100

On this page, we are matching up the Sony A500 and Sony RX100, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Large Sensor Compact and they are both created by Sony. There is a substantial difference between the sensor resolutions of the A500 (12MP) and RX100 (20MP) and the A500 (APS-C) and RX100 (1") provide totally different sensor measurements.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

The A500 was unveiled 4 years before the RX100 and that is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a complete comparison, here is a quick view of how the A500 scores vs the RX100 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100. The full galleries are provided at Sony A500 Gallery & Sony RX100 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to carry your camera often, you are going to need to consider its weight and proportions. The Sony A500 enjoys outside dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") and a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs) while the Sony RX100 has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") along with a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Examine the Sony A500 and Sony RX100 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are using during that time. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the A500 compared to the RX100.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the A500 and RX100 is 63 and 91 respectively.

In many cases, it is very tough to envision the difference between sensor sizing merely by looking at specs. The graphic here will help give you a far better sense of the sensor dimensions in the A500 and RX100.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The A500 having a larger sensor will make achieving bokeh less difficult and the Sony RX100 will give greater detail having an extra 8MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop pics more aggressively. The older A500 is going to be behind when it comes to sensor tech.