Sony Alpha 7R II vs Sony NEX-5R

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 7R II and the Sony NEX-5R, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Sony Alpha 7R II was introduced in June 2015 and Sony NEX-5R was introduced in August 2012. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha 7R II over Sony NEX-5R.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony NEX-5R over Sony Alpha 7R II.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Sony Alpha 7R II and Sony NEX-5R have 3.0" Tilting screens with 1,229k dot and 920k dot resolutions respectively. Tilting screen makes cameras very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Sony NEX-5R also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Sony NEX-5R) allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Sony Alpha 7R II has a built-in 0.5" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,359k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.78x magnification.Sony NEX-5R does not have a built-in viewfinder but an optional electronic viewfinder can be attached.

Sony Alpha 7R II features a 42.4 megapixel Full Frame BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 24 mm and a total area of 861.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Sony NEX-5R features a 16.1 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.4 x 15.6 mm and a total area of 243.4 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600.

Sony Alpha 7R II has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Sony Alpha 7R II is equipped with BIONZ X processor and can take pictures up to 7974 x 5316 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like Full Frame (3:2 - 5168 x 3448, 3984 x 2656, 16:9 - 7952 x 4472, 5168 x 2912, 3984 x 2240), APS-C (3:2 - 5168 x 3448, 3984 x 2656, 2592 x 1728, 16:9 - 5168 x 2912, 3984 x 2240, 2592 x 1456) with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios. Sony NEX-5R is equipped with BIONZ processor and can take pictures up to 4912 x 3264 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4912 x 2760, 3568 x 2368, 3568 x 2000, 2448 x 1624, 2448 x 1376 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Cameras have Sony E lens mount. Due to Full Frame sensor in Sony Alpha 7R II its crop factor is equal to 1x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length. Due to APS-C sensor in Sony NEX-5R its crop factor is equal to 1.5x, this means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

No Low-Pass Filter on Sony Alpha 7R II

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Sony Alpha 7R II. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Sony Alpha 7R II

Sony Alpha 7R II has a built-in 5-Axis Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS) with 4.5 stops of compensation. This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi

Cameras have built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n 2.4 GHz on Sony Alpha 7R II) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

NFC on Sony Alpha 7R II

Sony Alpha 7R II has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Sony Alpha 7R II has a Micro HDMI and Sony NEX-5R has a Mini Type C HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 7R II comes with NP-FW50 battery pack with battery life of 290 shots and Sony NEX-5R comes with NPFW50 battery pack with battery life of 330 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 7R II has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo Hybrid (UHS-I) card slot. Sony NEX-5R has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 7R II has Electronically controlled Vertical-traverse Focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Sony Alpha 7R II, and up to 1/4000 sec on Sony NEX-5R. Sony Alpha 7R II can shoot continuously up to 5.0 fps. Sony NEX-5R can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 7R II has 399 focusing points and Sony NEX-5R has 99 focusing points. Sony Alpha 7R II has detection range from -2 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 7R II ranges from -3 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 7R II and ±3 EV range on Sony NEX-5R. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 7R II and and manual exposure adjustment on Sony NEX-5R.

Flash

Cameras have no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected to both of them via Hot Shoe to Sony Alpha 7R II and via Proprietary to Sony NEX-5R. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Sony Alpha 7R II and 1/160 sec on Sony NEX-5R.

Sony Alpha 7R II body has dimensions of 127 x 96 x 60 mm (5 x 3.78 x 2.36") and Sony NEX-5R body has dimensions of 111 x 59 x 39 mm (4.37 x 2.32 x 1.54"). Sony Alpha 7R II weighs 625 g (1.38 lb / 22.05 oz) and Sony NEX-5R weighs 276 g (0.61 lb / 9.74 oz).

Sony Alpha 7R II

Sony NEX-5R

127 mm

96 mm

111 mm

59 mm

96 mm

59 mm

60 mm

39 mm