Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 III

On this page, we will be reviewing the Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 III, one being a Entry-Level Mirrorless and the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom and both of them are manufactured by Sony. There is a crucial difference among the resolutions of the NEX-5 (14MP) and RX10 III (20MP) and the NEX-5 (APS-C) and RX10 III (1") offer different sensor measurements.

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The NEX-5 was revealed 6 years prior to the RX10 III and that is a fairly serious gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX10 III being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before getting into a step-by-step comparison, here is a simple view of how the NEX-5 scores against the RX10 III for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Sony Alpha NEX-5 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III. The full galleries are available at Sony NEX-5 Gallery and Sony RX10 III Gallery.

If you're aiming to carry your camera often, you should factor in its weight and dimensions. The Sony NEX-5 has got physical measurements of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") having a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs) while the Sony RX10 III has dimensions of 133mm x 94mm x 127mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.0") accompanied by a weight of 1051 grams (2.32 lbs).

See the Sony NEX-5 vs Sony RX10 III in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are using at that moment. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the NEX-5 against the RX10 III.

Looking at size and weight, the portability grade of the NEX-5 and RX10 III is 89 and 53 respectively.

In many cases, its hard to imagine the gap in sensor sizing purely by viewing technical specs. The photograph here will help give you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the NEX-5 and RX10 III.

As you can tell, both of the cameras have different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The NEX-5 with its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony RX10 III will provide you with extra detail because of its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older NEX-5 will be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.