Sony A500 vs Sony RX100 II

Here is a comprehensive comparison of the Sony A500 vs Sony RX100 II, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Large Sensor Compact and both are designed by Sony. There exists a crucial gap between the image resolutions of the A500 (12MP) and RX100 II (20MP) and the A500 (APS-C) and RX100 II (1") posses different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The A500 was manufactured 4 years before the RX100 II and that is quite a serious gap as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras feature different body design with the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX100 II being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before we go right into a thorough comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the A500 grades vs the RX100 II with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 II. The entire galleries are viewable at Sony A500 Gallery and Sony RX100 II Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to carry your camera often, you'll need to factor its weight and proportions. The Sony A500 enjoys physical dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") and a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs) whilst the Sony RX100 II has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 38mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.5") and a weight of 281 grams (0.62 lbs).

See the Sony A500 vs Sony RX100 II in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you are working with during that time. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the A500 and the RX100 II.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A500 and RX100 II is 63 and 89 respectively.

Sometimes, it's tough to visualize the contrast between sensor sizing just by looking at specifications. The graphic here will help give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the A500 and RX100 II.

To sum up, both of these cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The A500 due to its larger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF simpler and the Sony RX100 II will resolve extra detail due to its extra 8 Megapixels. Greater resolution will let you crop photos way more aggressively. The older A500 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.