Sony NEX-5T vs Sony RX100 III

Below is a comprehensive comparison of the Sony NEX-5T and Sony RX100 III, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Large Sensor Compact and they are both designed by Sony. The resolution of the NEX-5T (16MP) and the RX100 III (20MP) is fairly close but the NEX-5T (APS-C) and RX100 III (1") enjoy different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The NEX-5T was introduced 8 months earlier than the RX100 III which means that they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Sony NEX-5T being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX100 III being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before diving through a in depth comparison, below is a quick overview of how the NEX-5T scores against the RX100 III in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha NEX-5T & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III. The whole galleries are provided at Sony NEX-5T Gallery & Sony RX100 III Gallery.

If you're aiming to lug around your camera, you should take into account its weight and dimensions. The Sony NEX-5T offers outer dimensions of 111mm x 59mm x 39mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") having a weight of 276 grams (0.61 lbs) and the Sony RX100 III has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") having a weight of 290 grams (0.64 lbs).

See the Sony NEX-5T and Sony RX100 III in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you are using at the time. Underneath is the front view physical size comparison of the NEX-5T and the RX100 III.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the NEX-5T and RX100 III is 89 and 89 respectively.

Generally, it's difficult to visualize the difference in sensor measurements purely by researching technical specs. The graphic below should provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the NEX-5T and RX100 III.

As you have seen, the 2 cameras posses different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The NEX-5T having a larger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony RX100 III will render more detail using its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The older NEX-5T will be disadvantaged in sensor technology.