Sony Alpha 9 III vs Sony Alpha NEX-5
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| SonyAlpha 9 III | SonyAlpha NEX-5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | January 2024 | June 2010 |
| Image and sensor | ||
| Camera type | Mirrorless | Mirrorless |
| Sensor format | Full frame | APS-C |
| Sensor type | Stacked Exmor RS CMOS with global shutter | Exmor APS HD CMOS |
| Sensor dimensions | 35.6 × 23.8 mm | 23.4 × 15.6 mm |
| Effective resolution | 24.6 MP | 14.2 MP |
| Largest image | 6000 × 4000 | 4592 × 3056 |
| RAW recording | Yes | Yes |
| Standard ISO range | 250–25600 | 200–12800 |
| Sensor detail | Approximately 25.2 million total pixels; integral memory and global exposure rather than sequential line exposure. | 14.6 million total pixels; charge-protection coating on the optical low-pass filter and electromagnetic vibration for dust reduction |
| Image formats | JPEG, HEIF and Sony ARW 5.0 RAW. | JPEG, RAW and RAW+JPEG; Sony's original Japanese launch table specifies ARW 2.2; some contemporary secondary specifications say ARW 2.1 |
| ISO detail | Standard ISO 250–25600 for stills and movies; stills expand to ISO 125–51200. | Standard ISO 200–12800; Auto ISO 200–1600 in Sony's launch release |
| Image processor | BIONZ XR with dedicated AI processing unit. | BIONZ |
| Lens and shooting | ||
| Lens mount | Sony E-mount | Sony E-mount |
| Stabilisation | Sensor shift | Optical lens stabilisation |
| Maximum continuous burst | 120 fps | 7 fps |
| Lens detail | – | Interchangeable E-mount; launch kits use E 16mm F2.8 and/or E 18–55mm F3.5–5.6 OSS. The launch LA-EA1 A-mount adapter supports manual focusing; later firmware changes are separate from the original launch specification. |
| Autofocus | Up to 759 still-image or 627 movie phase-detection points; sensitivity EV −5 to 20 with an F2 lens at ISO 100 equivalent. Current UK specification includes automatic subject selection and people, animals, birds, insects, cars, trains and aircraft; launch reviews precede later firmware enhancements. | Contrast detection; 25-point multipoint, centre and flexible-spot areas; single or continuous autofocus, direct manual focus and manual focus |
| Shutter | – | Electronically controlled vertical-traverse focal-plane shutter; 30 seconds to 1/4000 second plus Bulb; flash sync 1/160 second |
| Burst detail | Up to 120 fps full-resolution electronic bursts with AF/AE tracking under Sony test conditions; speed depends on lens compatibility and shooting settings. Pre-Capture retains up to one second before full shutter press. No mechanical shutter. | Speed Priority Continuous reaches approximately 7 fps with focus and exposure fixed at the first frame. Normal Continuous Advance reaches approximately 2.3 fps. Separate Hand-held Twilight and Anti Motion Blur modes combine six photographs into one output image. |
| Stabilisation detail | Five-axis sensor shift; 8.0-stop CIPA pitch/yaw claim with FE 50mm F1.2 GM and long-exposure noise reduction off. Active and Dynamic Active movie modes supported. | No sensor-shift stabilisation; Optical SteadyShot requires a compatible lens. The E 18–55mm OSS kit lens has optical correction; the E 16mm kit lens does not. |
| Flash | – | Supplied detachable flash mounts to the Smart Accessory Terminal; guide number 7 at ISO 100 in metres; approximately four-second recycle time |
| Exposure controls | – | Intelligent Auto, program, aperture priority, shutter priority and manual; scene modes, Sweep Panorama, DRO and three-exposure Auto HDR |
| Video | ||
| Highest video resolution | 3840 × 2160 at 120 fps | 1920 × 1080 |
| Video detail | Up to uncropped 3840 × 2160 120p NTSC or 100p PAL; 4K 60p uses 6K oversampling. Supports 10-bit 4:2:2, S-Log3 and S-Cinetone; All-Intra 4K tops out at 60p. External HDMI RAW output is separate from internal recording. | AVCHD 1920 × 1080 interlaced recording; Japanese launch model uses 60i (60 fields per second), with PAL 50i variants documented in the instruction manual. MP4 offers 1440 × 1080 or 640 × 480; the Japanese release gives 30p. The interlaced field rate is not a 60-full-frame-per-second claim. Approximately 29 minutes maximum continuous recording under the manual's conditions. |
| Audio | – | Built-in stereo microphone; AVCHD Dolby Digital two-channel audio or MP4 AAC-LC; optional Sony stereo microphone uses the accessory terminal |
| Screen and viewfinder | ||
| Viewfinder | Electronic | None |
| Screen size | 3.2″ | 3″ |
| Screen dots | 2,095,104 | 921,600 |
| Touchscreen | Yes | No |
| Tilting screen | Yes | Yes |
| Display detail | Four-axis LCD tilts and opens sideways; approximately 98° up, 40° down, 180° sideways and 270° rotation. | TruBlack wide TFT; tilts approximately 80° up and 45° down; 921,600 dots count RGB subpixels; no touchscreen (Photography Blog) |
| Viewfinder detail | 0.64-inch Quad-XGA OLED with 9437184 dots and approximately 0.90× magnification with a 50 mm lens at infinity; selectable up to 240 fps NTSC or 200 fps PAL. | – |
| Connections and design | ||
| Wi-Fi | Yes | – |
| Bluetooth | Yes | – |
| Battery life (maker's claim) | 530 photographs | 330 photographs |
| Body weight | 617 g | 229 g (better) |
| Release detail | Sony UK announced availability in January 2024; Japan's announcement specifies 26 January. The main date retains UK month precision. | Sony Japan specifies 3 June 2010 for NEX-5A, NEX-5K and NEX-5D kits. This is the original NEX-5, not the later NEX-5N, 5R or 5T. |
| Recording media | Both slots accept CFexpress Type A or UHS-I/UHS-II SD. | Memory Stick PRO Duo and PRO-HG Duo; SD, SDHC and SDXC |
| Ports | USB Type-C at 10 Gbps, Multi/Micro USB, full-size HDMI, 1000BASE-T Ethernet, sync terminal, 3.5 mm microphone and headphone sockets and digital-audio Multi Interface Shoe. | Mini-B USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, Mini HDMI Type C and proprietary Smart Accessory Terminal |
| Wireless connections | Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac at 2.4/5 GHz and Bluetooth 5.0. | – |
| Battery life detail | NP-FZ100; Sony UK CIPA approximately 530 photographs with LCD or 400 with viewfinder. Japan lists 520/410 respectively. USB Type-C Power Delivery charging and power supported. | NP-FW50; approximately 330 photographs under CIPA conditions, using the supplied fully charged battery and flash for half the shots |
| Charging | – | Supplied BC-VW1 external charger |
| Dimensions | Approximately 136.1 × 96.9 × 82.9 mm (width × height × maximum depth); grip-to-monitor depth 72.8 mm. | Approximately 110.8 × 58.8 × 38.2 mm (width × height × depth), excluding protrusions |
| Weight detail | Sony UK specifies approximately 617 g body only or 702 g with battery and memory card; Japan specifies 618/703 g respectively. Main figures use the UK specification. | Approximately 229 g camera only; 287 g including battery and Memory Stick PRO Duo; both exclude the lens |
| Materials | – | Magnesium-alloy front cover |
| Colours | – | Black or silver |
| In the box | NP-FZ100 battery, BC-QZ1 charger, power cord, cable protector, shoulder strap, body cap, accessory shoe cap and eyepiece cup, according to Sony UK. | NP-FW50 battery, BC-VW1 charger, USB cable, detachable flash and flash case, shoulder strap, software CD; lenses depend on kit |
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