Sony NEX-3 vs Sony RX10 IV

Its time to look a little more in depth at the Sony NEX-3 versus Sony RX10 IV, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom and they are both offered by Sony. There is a sizeable difference among the resolutions of the NEX-3 (14MP) and RX10 IV (20MP) and the NEX-3 (APS-C) and RX10 IV (1") use totally different sensor sizing.

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The NEX-3 was unveiled 8 years before the RX10 IV and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX10 IV being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting in to a more detailed comparison, below is a quick view of how the NEX-3 grades versus the RX10 IV in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Sony Alpha NEX-3 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV. The full galleries are available at Sony NEX-3 Gallery and Sony RX10 IV Gallery.

In case you're looking to lug around your camera regularly, you will want to factor its weight and measurements. The Sony NEX-3 enjoys outside measurements of 117mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") accompanied by a weight of 297 grams (0.65 lbs) whilst the Sony RX10 IV has proportions of 133mm x 94mm x 145mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.7") having a weight of 1095 grams (2.41 lbs).

Check out the Sony NEX-3 versus Sony RX10 IV in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ dependant on the lens you have attached at that time. Following is the front view over all size comparison of the NEX-3 against the RX10 IV.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the NEX-3 and RX10 IV is 89 and 52 respectively.

Often, it is tough to visualise the difference in sensor measurements only by viewing specs. The visual below should give you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the NEX-3 and RX10 IV.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The NEX-3 using its larger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Sony RX10 IV will render more detail having an extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop pics much more aggressively. The older NEX-3 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.