Sony A850 vs Sony RX100

Here is a detailed assessment of the Sony A850 versus Sony RX100, one being a Advanced DSLR and the other is a Large Sensor Compact and they are both created by Sony. There exists a sizeable gap among the sensor resolutions of the A850 (25MP) and RX100 (20MP) and the A850 (Full frame) and RX100 (1") possess different sensor measurements.

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The A850 was introduced 3 years prior to the RX100 and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony RX100 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving in to a thorough comparison, below is a simple summation of how the A850 grades vs the RX100 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100. The whole galleries are provided at Sony A850 Gallery and Sony RX100 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry your camera, you need to factor in its weight and size. The Sony A850 has physical dimensions of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") and a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs) and the Sony RX100 has specifications of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") and a weight of 240 grams (0.53 lbs).

Compare the Sony A850 versus Sony RX100 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you select at that moment. Below is the front view measurements comparison of the A850 vs the RX100.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A850 and RX100 is 54 and 91 respectively.

Quite often, its hard to visualize the difference in sensor sizing only by looking through a spec sheet. The photograph underneath might provide you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the A850 and RX100.

As you can see, both cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The A850 using its larger sensor is going to make achieving bokeh simpler and the Sony A850 will result in greater detail using its extra 5 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also enable you to crop photos much more aggressively. The older A850 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor technology.