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Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10

Portability
89
Imaging
54
Features
58
Overall
55
Sony Alpha NEX-5 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 front
Portability
58
Imaging
51
Features
76
Overall
61

Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 Key Specs

Sony NEX-5
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 287g - 111 x 59 x 38mm
  • Introduced June 2010
  • Replacement is Sony NEX-5N
Sony RX10
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Boost to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8) lens
  • 813g - 129 x 88 x 102mm
  • Announced March 2014
  • Later Model is Sony RX10 II
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Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 Overview

Let's take a deeper look at the Sony NEX-5 and Sony RX10, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the other is a Large Sensor Superzoom and both are designed by Sony. There exists a significant gap among the image resolutions of the NEX-5 (14MP) and RX10 (20MP) and the NEX-5 (APS-C) and RX10 (1") offer different sensor dimensions.

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The NEX-5 was announced 4 years before the RX10 and that is a fairly sizable gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX10 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going right into a comprehensive comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the NEX-5 grades against the RX10 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Sony NEX-5 over the Sony RX10

 NEX-5 RX10 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 over the Sony NEX-5

 RX10 NEX-5 
AnnouncedMarch 2014June 2010Fresher by 46 months
Display resolution1290k920kCrisper display (+370k dot)

Common features in the Sony NEX-5 and Sony RX10

 NEX-5 RX10 
Manually focus More precise focus
Display typeTiltingTiltingTilting display
Display size3"3"Same display sizing
Selfie screen Missing selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither contains Touch friendly display

Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 Physical Comparison

When you are planning to carry your camera frequently, you should factor its weight and volume. The Sony NEX-5 has got outside dimensions of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") accompanied by a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs) whilst the Sony RX10 has sizing of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") and a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs).

Check the Sony NEX-5 and Sony RX10 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you select at that time. Here is a front view overall size comparison of the NEX-5 against the RX10.

Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the NEX-5 and RX10 is 89 and 58 respectively.

Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 top view buttons comparison

Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is hard to imagine the difference in sensor sizing only by researching specs. The visual below will offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the NEX-5 and RX10.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras come with different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The NEX-5 with its larger sensor is going to make shooting shallower DOF simpler and the Sony RX10 will provide you with more detail with its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will also help you crop pics a good deal more aggressively. The older NEX-5 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.

Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 sensor size comparison

Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony NEX-5 as a Portrait photography camera
Sony RX10 as a Portrait photography camera
72
focusing manually
good resolution (14 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
70
manual focus
MP count decent (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
comes with face detection autofocus
delivers RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Sony NEX-5
Street photography with Sony RX10
76
has a tilting screen
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
no image stabilization
72
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor size (1")
delivers RAW files
weather proof
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Sports Comparison

Sony NEX-5 Sports photography details
Sony RX10 Sports photography details
52
good resolution (14MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
no image stabilization
no phase detect autofocus
67
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (20 megapixels)
decent sensor size (1")
weather proof
better than average battery life (420 CIPA)
does not have phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Sony NEX-5 Travel photography features
Sony RX10 Travel photography features
59
good resolution (14 megapixels)
does not have Time Lapse function
display is not selfie friendly
58
better than average battery life (420 per charge)
weather proof
MP count decent (20MP)
has built in flash
really wide (24mm)
does not have Time Lapse function
screen isn't selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony NEX-5 Landscape photography highlights
Sony RX10 Landscape photography highlights
68
focusing manually
switch lenses (Sony E mount)
good sized screen (3")
good resolution (14MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
no image stabilization
does not have Time Lapse function
63
manual focus
really wide (24mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
delivers RAW files
weather proof
better than average battery life (420 per charge)
cannot switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
does not have Time Lapse function
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Sony NEX-5 Vlogging features
Sony RX10 Vlogging features
28
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
display is not selfie friendly
no image stabilization
does not have mic port
30
really wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does have external mic jack
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
screen isn't selfie friendly
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Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony NEX-5 and Sony RX10
 Sony Alpha NEX-5Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10
General Information
Make Sony Sony
Model Sony Alpha NEX-5 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10
Class Entry-Level Mirrorless Large Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2010-06-07 2014-03-20
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Chip Bionz Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C 1"
Sensor dimensions 23.4 x 15.6mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 365.0mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 14MP 20MP
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4592 x 3056 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 12800 12800
Max enhanced ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 200 125
RAW images
Minimum enhanced ISO - 80
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Number of focus points 25 25
Lens
Lens mount Sony E fixed lens
Lens focal range - 24-200mm (8.3x)
Max aperture - f/2.8
Amount of lenses 121 -
Crop factor 1.5 2.7
Screen
Screen type Tilting Tilting
Screen sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 920 thousand dot 1,290 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Screen technology - WhiteMagic
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,440 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.7x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 30 seconds 30 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/3200 seconds
Continuous shutter speed 7.0 frames per second 10.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 12.00 m 10.20 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash sync 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format AVCHD MPEG-4, AVCHD
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 287g (0.63 lbs) 813g (1.79 lbs)
Physical dimensions 111 x 59 x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") 129 x 88 x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 69 69
DXO Color Depth score 22.2 22.9
DXO Dynamic range score 12.2 12.6
DXO Low light score 796 474
Other
Battery life 330 shots 420 shots
Style of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model NPFW50 NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 images)) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One One
Price at release $599 $698