Sony Alpha NEX-5 vs. Nikon D5200

Comparison

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Alpha NEX-5 image
vs
D5200 image
Sony Alpha NEX-5 Nikon D5200
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Megapixels
14.20
24.10
Max. image resolution
4592 x 3056
6000 x 4000

Sensor

Sensor type
CMOS
CMOS
Sensor size
23.4 x 15.6 mm
23.5 x 15.6 mm
Sensor resolution
4616 x 3077
6032 x 3995
Diagonal
28.12 mm
28.21 mm
Sensor size comparison
Sensor size is generally a good indicator of the quality of the camera. Sensors can vary greatly in size. As a general rule, the bigger the sensor, the better the image quality.

Bigger sensors are more effective because they have more surface area to capture light. An important factor when comparing digital cameras is also camera generation. Generally, newer sensors will outperform the older.

Learn more about sensor sizes »

Actual sensor size

Note: Actual size is set to screen → change »
vs
1 : 1
(ratio)
Sony Alpha NEX-5 Nikon D5200
Surface area:
365.04 mm² vs 366.60 mm²
Difference: 1.56 mm² (0.4%)
D5200 sensor is slightly bigger than Alpha NEX-5 sensor (only 0.4% difference).
Note: You are comparing cameras of different generations. There is a 2 year gap between Sony Alpha NEX-5 (2010) and Nikon D5200 (2012). All things being equal, newer sensor generations generally outperform the older.
Pixel pitch
5.07 µm
3.9 µm
Pixel pitch tells you the distance from the center of one pixel (photosite) to the center of the next. It tells you how close the pixels are to each other.

The bigger the pixel pitch, the further apart they are and the bigger each pixel is. Bigger pixels tend to have better signal to noise ratio and greater dynamic range.
Difference: 1.17 µm (30%)
Pixel pitch of Alpha NEX-5 is approx. 30% higher than pixel pitch of D5200.
Pixel area
25.7 µm²
15.21 µm²
Pixel or photosite area affects how much light per pixel can be gathered. The larger it is the more light can be collected by a single pixel.

Larger pixels have the potential to collect more photons, resulting in greater dynamic range, while smaller pixels provide higher resolutions (more detail) for a given sensor size.
Relative pixel sizes:
vs
Pixel area difference: 10.49 µm² (69%)
A pixel on Sony Alpha NEX-5 sensor is approx. 69% bigger than a pixel on Nikon D5200.
Pixel density
3.89 MP/cm²
6.59 MP/cm²
Pixel density tells you how many million pixels fit or would fit in one square cm of the sensor.

Higher pixel density means smaller pixels and lower pixel density means larger pixels.
Difference: 2.7 µm (69%)
Nikon D5200 has approx. 69% higher pixel density than Sony Alpha NEX-5.
To learn about the accuracy of these numbers, click here.



Specs

Sony Alpha NEX-5
Nikon D5200
Crop factor
1.54
1.53
Total megapixels
14.60
24.71
Effective megapixels
14.20
24.10
Optical zoom
Digital zoom
No
No
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400, 12800
Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200, 6400 (12800 with boost)
RAW
Manual focus
Normal focus range
Macro focus range
Focal length (35mm equiv.)
Aperture priority
Yes
Yes
Max. aperture
Max. aperture (35mm equiv.)
n/a
n/a
Metering
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Multi, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure compensation
±2 EV (in 1/3 EV steps)
±5 EV (in 1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps)
Shutter priority
Yes
Yes
Min. shutter speed
30 sec
30 sec
Max. shutter speed
1/4000 sec
1/4000 sec
Built-in flash
External flash
Viewfinder
None
Optical (pentamirror)
White balance presets
6
12
Screen size
3"
3"
Screen resolution
920,000 dots
921,000 dots
Video capture
Max. video resolution
1920x1080 (60i/50i/30p/25p/24p)
Storage types
SD/ SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
SD/SDHC/SDXC
USB
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
HDMI
Wireless
GPS
Battery
Lithium-Ion NP-FW50 rechargeable battery
Lithium-Ion EN-EL14 rechargeable battery
Weight
287 g
555 g
Dimensions
111 x 59 x 38 mm
129 x 98 x 78 mm
Year
2010
2012




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Diagonal

Diagonal is calculated by the use of Pythagorean theorem:
Diagonal =  w² + h²
where w = sensor width and h = sensor height

Sony Alpha NEX-5 diagonal

w = 23.40 mm
h = 15.60 mm
Diagonal =  23.40² + 15.60²   = 28.12 mm

Nikon D5200 diagonal

w = 23.50 mm
h = 15.60 mm
Diagonal =  23.50² + 15.60²   = 28.21 mm


Surface area

Surface area is calculated by multiplying the width and the height of a sensor.

Alpha NEX-5 sensor area

Width = 23.40 mm
Height = 15.60 mm

Surface area = 23.40 × 15.60 = 365.04 mm²

D5200 sensor area

Width = 23.50 mm
Height = 15.60 mm

Surface area = 23.50 × 15.60 = 366.60 mm²


Pixel pitch

Pixel pitch is the distance from the center of one pixel to the center of the next measured in micrometers (µm). It can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel pitch =   sensor width in mm  × 1000
sensor resolution width in pixels

Alpha NEX-5 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.40 mm
Sensor resolution width = 4616 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.40  × 1000  = 5.07 µm
4616

D5200 pixel pitch

Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor resolution width = 6032 pixels
Pixel pitch =   23.50  × 1000  = 3.9 µm
6032


Pixel area

The area of one pixel can be calculated by simply squaring the pixel pitch:
Pixel area = pixel pitch²

You could also divide sensor surface area with effective megapixels:
Pixel area =   sensor surface area in mm²
effective megapixels

Alpha NEX-5 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 5.07 µm

Pixel area = 5.07² = 25.7 µm²

D5200 pixel area

Pixel pitch = 3.9 µm

Pixel area = 3.9² = 15.21 µm²


Pixel density

Pixel density can be calculated with the following formula:
Pixel density =  ( sensor resolution width in pixels )² / 1000000
sensor width in cm

One could also use this formula:
Pixel density =   effective megapixels × 1000000  / 10000
sensor surface area in mm²

Alpha NEX-5 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 4616 pixels
Sensor width = 2.34 cm

Pixel density = (4616 / 2.34)² / 1000000 = 3.89 MP/cm²

D5200 pixel density

Sensor resolution width = 6032 pixels
Sensor width = 2.35 cm

Pixel density = (6032 / 2.35)² / 1000000 = 6.59 MP/cm²


Sensor resolution

Sensor resolution is calculated from sensor size and effective megapixels. It's slightly higher than maximum (not interpolated) image resolution which is usually stated on camera specifications. Sensor resolution is used in pixel pitch, pixel area, and pixel density formula. For sake of simplicity, we're going to calculate it in 3 stages.

1. First we need to find the ratio between horizontal and vertical length by dividing the former with the latter (aspect ratio). It's usually 1.33 (4:3) or 1.5 (3:2), but not always.

2. With the ratio (r) known we can calculate the X from the formula below, where X is a vertical number of pixels:
(X × r) × X = effective megapixels × 1000000    →   
X =  effective megapixels × 1000000
r
3. To get sensor resolution we then multiply X with the corresponding ratio:

Resolution horizontal: X × r
Resolution vertical: X

Alpha NEX-5 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.40 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 14.20
r = 23.40/15.60 = 1.5
X =  14.20 × 1000000  = 3077
1.5
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3077 × 1.5 = 4616
Resolution vertical: X = 3077

Sensor resolution = 4616 x 3077

D5200 sensor resolution

Sensor width = 23.50 mm
Sensor height = 15.60 mm
Effective megapixels = 24.10
r = 23.50/15.60 = 1.51
X =  24.10 × 1000000  = 3995
1.51
Resolution horizontal: X × r = 3995 × 1.51 = 6032
Resolution vertical: X = 3995

Sensor resolution = 6032 x 3995


Crop factor

Crop factor or focal length multiplier is calculated by dividing the diagonal of 35 mm film (43.27 mm) with the diagonal of the sensor.
Crop factor =   43.27 mm
sensor diagonal in mm


Alpha NEX-5 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.12 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.54
28.12

D5200 crop factor

Sensor diagonal in mm = 28.21 mm
Crop factor =   43.27  = 1.53
28.21

35 mm equivalent aperture

Equivalent aperture (in 135 film terms) is calculated by multiplying lens aperture with crop factor (a.k.a. focal length multiplier).

Alpha NEX-5 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Sony Alpha NEX-5, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Sony Alpha NEX-5 is 1.54

D5200 equivalent aperture

Aperture is a lens characteristic, so it's calculated only for fixed lens cameras. If you want to know the equivalent aperture for Nikon D5200, take the aperture of the lens you're using and multiply it with crop factor.

Crop factor for Nikon D5200 is 1.53

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