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Sony RX10 vs Sony W290

Portability
58
Imaging
51
Features
76
Overall
61
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 front
Portability
94
Imaging
34
Features
28
Overall
31

Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 Key Specs

Sony RX10
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Expand to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-200mm (F2.8) lens
  • 813g - 129 x 88 x 102mm
  • Released March 2014
  • Refreshed by Sony RX10 II
Sony W290
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.3-5.2) lens
  • 167g - 98 x 57 x 23mm
  • Released February 2009
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Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 Overview

Following is a extensive overview of the Sony RX10 vs Sony W290, former is a Large Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both built by Sony. There is a considerable difference among the resolutions of the RX10 (20MP) and W290 (12MP) and the RX10 (1") and W290 (1/2.3") feature different sensor dimensions.

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The RX10 was released 5 years after the W290 which is a fairly large difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Sony RX10 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony W290 being a Compact camera.

Before we go through a more detailed comparison, below is a brief overview of how the RX10 matches up versus the W290 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Sony RX10 over the Sony W290

 RX10 W290 
ReleasedMarch 2014February 2009More modern by 62 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1290k230kClearer screen (+1060k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony W290 over the Sony RX10

 W290 RX10 

Common features in the Sony RX10 and Sony W290

 RX10 W290 
Manual focus More accurate focusing
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen sizing
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither offers Touch friendly screen

Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is planning to carry around your camera frequently, you are going to need to consider its weight and size. The Sony RX10 offers exterior measurements of 129mm x 88mm x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") and a weight of 813 grams (1.79 lbs) while the Sony W290 has specifications of 98mm x 57mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") and a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

See the Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are using at that moment. Following is the front view scale comparison of the RX10 compared to the W290.

Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability grade of the RX10 and W290 is 58 and 94 respectively.

Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 top view buttons comparison

Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it is difficult to imagine the gap in sensor sizes just by looking through specs. The pic here will provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the RX10 and W290.

All in all, both the cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The RX10 because of its bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow depth of field easier and the Sony RX10 will provide you with more detail as a result of its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures much more aggressively. The more modern RX10 should have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.

Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 sensor size comparison

Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Sony RX10
Portrait photography with Sony W290
70
focusing manually
sensor resolution is decent (20 megapixels)
good sensor size (1")
offers face detect autofocus
delivers RAW formats
27
manual focus
manual mode not available
external flash not possible
MP count low (12 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
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Street Comparison

Sony RX10 Street photography factors
Sony W290 Street photography factors
72
screen tilts
has image stabilization (Optical)
good sensor size (1")
delivers RAW formats
weather proof
56
built in image stabilization (Optical)
no articulating screen
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Sony RX10 Sports photography highlights
Sony W290 Sports photography highlights
67
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (20 megapixels)
good sensor size (1")
weather proof
good battery life (420 per charge)
does not have phase detect autofocus
25
built in image stabilization (Optical)
continuous shooting slow (2.0 fps)
no shutter priority mode
MP count low (12MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Sony RX10 Travel photography advice
Sony W290 Travel photography advice
58
good battery life (420 per charge)
weather proof
sensor resolution is decent (20MP)
built-in flash
reasonably wide (24mm)
no Timelapse function
does not posses selfie friendly screen
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
57
flash built-in
fairly wide (28mm)
does not have Timelapse function
MP count low (12 megapixels)
display is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony RX10 Landscape photography factors
Sony W290 Landscape photography factors
63
focusing manually
reasonably wide (24mm)
screen size is decent (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (20 megapixels)
good sensor size (1")
delivers RAW formats
weather proof
good battery life (420 per charge)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
no Timelapse function
41
manual focus
fairly wide (28mm)
screen size is good (3")
built in image stabilization (Optical)
can't switch lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
manual mode not available
MP count low (12 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
does not have RAW support
does not have Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony RX10 Vlogging factors
Sony W290 Vlogging factors
30
reasonably wide (24mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detect autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
does have microphone support
slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
does not posses selfie friendly screen
28
fairly wide (28mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.3)
display is not selfie friendly
low video resolution (1280 x 720 resolution)
does not have external microphone port
Photography Glossary

Sony RX10 vs Sony W290 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony RX10 and Sony W290
 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290
General Information
Company Sony Sony
Model type Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290
Type Large Sensor Superzoom Small Sensor Compact
Released 2014-03-20 2009-02-17
Body design SLR-like (bridge) Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Bionz X -
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CCD
Sensor size 1" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 13.2 x 8.8mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 116.2mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 20MP 12MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 5472 x 3648 4000 x 3000
Highest native ISO 12800 3200
Highest enhanced ISO 25600 -
Lowest native ISO 125 80
RAW pictures
Lowest enhanced ISO 80 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detect autofocus
Contract detect autofocus
Phase detect autofocus
Total focus points 25 9
Lens
Lens support fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 24-200mm (8.3x) 28-140mm (5.0x)
Max aperture f/2.8 f/3.3-5.2
Macro focusing range - 10cm
Focal length multiplier 2.7 5.8
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 1,290 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech WhiteMagic -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 1,440 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.7x -
Features
Min shutter speed 30s 2s
Max shutter speed 1/3200s 1/1600s
Continuous shutter speed 10.0 frames per sec 2.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 10.20 m 3.90 m
Flash settings Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p) 1280 x 720 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video format MPEG-4, AVCHD MPEG-4
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 813 grams (1.79 lb) 167 grams (0.37 lb)
Dimensions 129 x 88 x 102mm (5.1" x 3.5" x 4.0") 98 x 57 x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 69 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 22.9 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.6 not tested
DXO Low light rating 474 not tested
Other
Battery life 420 shots -
Style of battery Battery Pack -
Battery ID NP-FW50 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, Internal
Storage slots One One
Retail cost $698 $230