Sony NEX-7 vs Sony RX100 VA

Following is a extensive comparison of the Sony NEX-7 versus Sony RX100 VA, former is a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Large Sensor Compact and both of them are sold by Sony. The sensor resolution of the NEX-7 (24MP) and the RX100 VA (20MP) is fairly well matched but the NEX-7 (APS-C) and RX100 VA (1") boast different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The NEX-7 was brought out 7 years earlier than the RX100 VA which is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Sony NEX-7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony RX100 VA being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going into a thorough comparison, here is a simple introduction of how the NEX-7 scores vs the RX100 VA with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha NEX-7 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 V(A). The entire galleries are available at Sony NEX-7 Gallery & Sony RX100 VA Gallery.

In case you're aiming to carry around your camera frequently, you will want to think about its weight and dimensions. The Sony NEX-7 offers external dimensions of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") along with a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs) and the Sony RX100 VA has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") and a weight of 299 grams (0.66 lbs).

Compare the Sony NEX-7 versus Sony RX100 VA in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary depending on the lens you are using at that time. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the NEX-7 versus the RX100 VA.

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the NEX-7 and RX100 VA is 84 and 89 respectively.

In many cases, it's tough to visualize the gap between sensor sizes purely by looking at specs. The picture here may give you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the NEX-7 and RX100 VA.

As you can plainly see, both the cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The NEX-7 because of its larger sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF simpler and the Sony NEX-7 will give greater detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also make it easier to crop photos way more aggressively. The more aged NEX-7 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.