Sony RX100 V vs Sony W620: A Definitive Hands-On Comparison for Enthusiasts and Professionals

In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital cameras, Sony has long maintained a strong presence in the compact camera arena, ranging from entry-level point-and-shoots to premium large sensor compacts. In this detailed comparison, I dive into two distinctly different models bearing the Sony Cyber-shot badge: the Sony RX100 V, a flagship large sensor compact announced in late 2016, and the much simpler, entry-level Sony W620 from 2012, a small-sensor compact designed for everyday casual shooting.

As a seasoned reviewer with hands-on testing experience across thousands of cameras, I aim to provide an exhaustive, nuanced comparison that goes well beyond datasheets. While these two cameras occupy very different ends of the compact spectrum, understanding their respective strengths, weaknesses, and ideal use cases can help photographers at all levels make informed decisions.

First Impressions: Building Blocks and Handling

Size and Ergonomics
At first glance, the RX100 V and W620 diverge significantly in physical design and user interface. The RX100 V is a robust, pocketable large sensor compact, measuring 102 x 58 x 41 mm and weighing 299 g. Its solid feel, complemented by a comfortable grip and professional-grade controls, marks it as a serious tool despite its compact footprint. In contrast, the W620 is ultra-light and slim at 98 x 56 x 20 mm and just 116 g, prioritizing portability and ease of carry in a minimalist hull.

The W620’s fixed-lens, simple body uses a straightforward control scheme aimed at casual users, with a fixed 2.7” low-resolution TFT LCD color screen. Meanwhile, the RX100 V features a higher-resolution 3-inch tilting display and an integrated high-quality electronic viewfinder (EVF), aiding greater compositional flexibility and eye-level accuracy in bright conditions.

Control Layout and User Interface
Handling finesse is a substantial gap between these two photosystems. The RX100 V is equipped with an extensive array of manual controls - shutter priority, aperture priority, full manual exposure, plus customizable buttons and dials - all driven by the speedy Bionz X processor. Its 315-point hybrid autofocus system gives the user exhaustive AF area choices and rapid focusing precision.

Conversely, the W620 dispenses with manual exposure modes entirely, relying purely on automatic settings with minimal customization. Its control scheme is kept simple and intuitive, but lacks provisions for fine-tuning exposure or focus beyond basic AF operation.

Sensor & Image Quality: The Core Differentiator

A camera’s sensor size and underlying technology predominantly dictate image quality, noise performance, and dynamic range capabilities. This difference is particularly stark between these two models.

Sensor Size and Technology
The RX100 V employs a 1-inch type (13.2 x 8.8 mm) BSI-CMOS sensor with 20 megapixels, a size that affords a substantial image quality upgrade over smaller sensors common in compact cameras. This sensor area of approximately 116.16 mm² is more than four times the surface area of the W620’s 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor (6.17 x 4.55 mm, 28.07 mm²) with 14 megapixels, and Sony’s move to back-illuminated technology improves low light sensitivity and signal-to-noise ratios.

The W620’s CCD sensor, introduced nearly half a decade earlier, cannot compete in terms of noise control or dynamic range; it yields acceptable results only under ample daylight conditions.

Image Resolution & Details
Measured maximum resolutions are 5472x3648 pixels (RX100 V) versus 4320x3240 pixels (W620). The RX100 V’s sensor, combined with its lack of anti-aliasing compromises, enables significantly higher resolving power and fine detail rendition. This detail is crucial in genres like landscape and macro photography.

ISO Performance & Dynamic Range
In practice, the RX100 V’s maximum native ISO is 12800 with boosted sensitivity up to 25600 ISO. Sony’s sensor and image processor maintain respectable image quality up to ISO 3200 and usable results beyond, with minimal color noise intrusion or chromatic aberrations. The W620 maxes at ISO 3200, but image degradation occurs rapidly after ISO 800 due to the smaller and noisier CCD sensor.

Dynamic range also favors RX100 V’s advanced sensor and 12.4 EV performance over the W620’s modest capability, critical for retaining shadow and highlight details in challenging lighting.

Autofocus & Shooting Performance

High-speed accurate autofocus and shooting rates revolutionize versatility, especially in action, wildlife, and sports photography. Here, the RX100 V offers clear performance superiority.

RX100 V Autofocus System
Sony’s RX100 V boasts a hybrid autofocus consisting of 315 phase-detection points and contrast detection, delivering blazing fast, reliable AF acquisition and continuous subject tracking. Face detection is integrated and competent, supporting fast eye AF for critical sharpness in portraits.

Burst shooting reaches a staggering 24 frames per second (fps) with autofocus tracking using its electronic shutter, making it one of the fastest compact cameras of its generation. This enables capturing fleeting wildlife behavior or sports action sequences with remarkable precision.

W620 Autofocus System
The W620’s contrast detection AF is rudimentary and markedly slower. It supports single-shot AF and basic face detection but struggles with continuous tracking or fast-moving subjects. It is designed for still, casual snapshots rather than dynamic tracking. Burst shooting is limited to a single frame per press.

Lens Optics and Telephoto Reach

Lens quality fundamentally shapes image sharpness, bokeh rendering, and framing versatility.

The RX100 V’s 24-70mm equivalent zoom with an unusually bright maximum aperture range of f/1.8–2.8 provides excellent low-light performance and shallow depth-of-field capabilities. This aperture supremacy supports beautiful bokeh effects, particularly beneficial in portraiture and macro work.

The W620 features a 28-140mm equivalent lens at f/3.2–6.5, offering greater telephoto reach per se but compromised by a slower aperture that restricts low-light operability and creative background separation.

Comprehensive Display and Viewfinder Systems: Practical Usability

Visual feedback from displays affects photographic workflow profoundly, especially in the field.

The RX100 V’s tilting 3-inch LCD with 1229k dots offers crisp image review and flexible shooting angles (critical for macro or covert street shots). The electronic viewfinder, with 2.36 million dots and full frame coverage, aids precise composition in bright sunlight or action.

The W620’s fixed 2.7-inch Clear Photo TFT LCD is adequate for casual framing but suffers from low resolution (230k dots) and lack of touch or tilting functionality. It lacks any viewfinder component, forcing reliance on the LCD for all shooting scenarios.

Battery Life, Storage, and Connectivity

Battery Endurance
Both models share similar rated battery life of approximately 220 shots per charge, which is somewhat modest for enthusiasts but manageable for casual users. Given the RX100 V’s more demanding EVF and processing power, battery performance is a sufficient trade-off for enhanced capabilities.

Media Support
The RX100 V supports SD/SDHC/SDXC cards alongside Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick Pro formats, enabling flexible high-speed storage. In contrast, the W620 accommodates SD/SDHC/SDXC microSD cards and the older Memory Stick Duo formats, reflecting its era’s transitional design.

Connectivity Options
Wireless connectivity is limited on both, but the RX100 V’s built-in Wi-Fi and NFC enable fast, seamless transfer and remote control via smartphone apps - features absent in the W620, which relies on the now-legacy Eye-Fi card integration and lacks Bluetooth or NFC.

Physical connections differ as well: RX100 V offers HDMI output for high-quality external monitoring, which the W620 omits.

Durability and Build Quality

Neither camera offers weather sealing or rugged protection such as dust, water, shock, or freeze resistance - understandable given their compact market positions. The RX100 V’s metal alloy body feels far more premium and durable than the W620’s plastic shell, which suits its casual snapshot niche.

Real-World Performance Across Photography Genres

Having framed the core technical disparities, let’s explore how these translate into photographic disciplines.

Sony RX100 V front Sony RX100 V screen back Sony W620 front Sony W620 screen back

Portrait Photography

Sony RX100 V excels at rendering accurate skin tones with its advanced sensor and color science, complimented by precise eye-detection autofocus and wide aperture lenses ideal for softly blurred backgrounds.

The W620, while sufficient for casual portraits, yields flatter images limited by lower resolution, limited dynamic range, and slower lens. Background bokeh is minimal due to the modest maximum aperture.

Landscape Photography

Landscape work benefits from the RX100 V’s superior resolution, higher dynamic range, and raw format support, enabling extensive post-processing latitude to recover highlights and shadows. Its compact size and tilting screen aid usability in varying shooting positions.

The W620 is handicapped by lower sensor capability, fixed LCD angle, and the absence of raw format support, thus limiting image flexibility and detail fidelity.

Wildlife and Sports Photography

The RX100 V stands out with immediate autofocus acquisition, high burst rates, and accurate tracking, enabling sharp capture of moving subjects even under low light. Its 24-70mm zoom is modest telephoto-wise but sharp and fast enough for many scenarios.

The W620’s slow autofocus, lack of continuous AF, and single-fps shooting make it ineffective for action photography.

Street Photography

The W620’s compactness, light weight, and inconspicuous profile can appeal to street photographers valuing discretion. However, the RX100 V, despite being larger, still remains pocketable and adds significant creative control and image quality enhancements.

Low-light street photography strongly favors the RX100 V due to its fast lens and better high ISO performance.

Macro Photography

Both cameras have a minimum focusing distance around 5 cm, but the RX100 V’s larger sensor, faster lens, and stabilized optics yield superior close-up sharpness and creative blur.

Night and Astro Photography

The RX100 V’s clean high-ISO performance, exposure modes, and raw capture allow for effective night and astro shooting, as long as the sensor limitations of small compacts are considered.

The W620’s smaller sensor and limited ISO sensitivity make such applications impractical.

Video Capabilities

The RX100 V supports 4K UHD video at 30p with 100 Mbps bitrate using the XAVC S codec, along with Full HD 1080p recording options and reliable optical image stabilization - features highly valued by videographers and vloggers.

The W620 tops out at 720p HD video, in the Motion JPEG format, without stabilization or microphone input. Video quality and flexibility are thus significantly inferior.

Travel Photography

Balancing weight, size, image versatility, and durability, the RX100 V is remarkably suited as a capable travel camera, offering premium image quality in a pocketable body albeit at a higher price point.

The W620 offers ultra-portability and ease of use at an affordable cost but sacrifices image performance and manual creativity - adequate only for casual travel snapshots.

Professional Workflows

Professionals needing reliability, file format flexibility (like RAW), and broad exposure control will find the RX100 V, with its robust manual modes, versatile file formats, and solid build, better suited as a backup or enthusiast tool.

The W620’s constraints preclude serious professional applications.

Technical Scoring and Analysis

The DXOmark ratings (though not exhaustive of subjective user experience) quantify the RX100 V’s clear superiority:

• Overall score: 70
• Color depth: 22.8 bits
• Dynamic Range: 12.4 EV
• Low light ISO: 586

The W620 lacks formal testing but given sensor and processor generation, scores would be considerably lower.

Price-to-Performance Ratio and Value Considerations

The RX100 V’s MSRP hovers around $998, reflecting its advanced sensor, optics, and feature set. For serious enthusiasts or professionals needing a compact secondary body with premium image quality, this represents near-best-in-class performance in its segment.

By contrast, the W620’s price point (~$102) places it firmly as an ultra-budget casual shooter. It delivers competent daylight image capture for absolute beginners or those requires a simple point-and-shoot, but compromises severely on image quality, speed, and expandability.

Final Verdict: Who Should Choose Which?

In Closing: The Sony RX100 V Transcends the W620’s Fundamental Limitations

This deep dive comparison reveals that while both cameras bear the Sony Cyber-shot name and serve compact photography niches, they inhabit vastly different strata of capability. The RX100 V embodies the pinnacle of compact design with professional-grade features, while the W620 remains a simple, entry-level device catering to casual shooters prioritizing budget and portability.

My hands-on experience confirms that investing in a camera like the RX100 V, despite a higher initial cost, yields substantial returns in image quality, shooting flexibility, and creative potential across nearly all photographic disciplines. On the other hand, the W620 is a perfectly acceptable choice for those constrained by budget or unfamiliarity with manual shooting concepts, serving as a gentle introduction to photography.

Ready to choose? Consider your primary photographic interests, budget limitations, and the importance of image quality and camera controls to your workflow. These insights will guide you toward the ideal Sony compact for your needs.