Leica V-Lux 5 vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III — Which Is Better?

The Leica V-Lux 5 and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III are both bridge cameras with fixed zoom lenses, so neither asks you to buy or carry separate glass. The V-Lux 5 arrived in 2019, three years after the RX10 III, which was announced in 2016. It is also the lighter body at 812 g, against 1051 g for the Sony.

The V-Lux 5 gives you more autofocus points to work with, offering 49 against 25 on the RX10 III, which helps when you want a wider spread of selectable areas for off-centre subjects. It also offers a shorter maximum exposure of 1/4000 second versus 1/2000 on the Sony, useful for freezing fast motion in daylight. The RX10 III answers with a higher maximum burst rate of 14 fps against 12 fps, better for dense action sequences.

The core imaging specifications match. Both cameras use a 20 MP CMOS sensor in the 1-inch format, so you get the same headline pixel count, and both have in-body stabilisation for sharper handheld frames. Both use fixed lenses and electronic viewfinders of effectively the same resolution, around 2.36 million dots.

The V-Lux 5 is the camera for 4K projects. Its maximum video resolution is 4K, while the RX10 III tops out at Full HD, so if your editing timeline or output is 4K, the Leica is the only one of the two that records it.

The RX10 III instead owns slow motion, with a maximum video frame rate of 120 fps, twice the V-Lux 5's 60 fps ceiling. That makes the Sony the pick for slowing fast action such as sports swings or wildlife movement into smooth slow-motion footage.

The RX10 III has weather sealing and the V-Lux 5 does not, a real advantage when shooting in dust, drizzle or sea spray. The V-Lux 5 counters with Bluetooth, which the Sony lacks, giving it a second wireless channel alongside the Wi-Fi both cameras share.

The two cameras also share their main display and flash equipment. Both have a 3-inch TFT LCD that tilts and responds to touch, live view, a built-in flash and support for an external flash. Neither camera has GPS, so neither geotags your files on its own.

The RX10 III has the longer rated battery life at 420 shots, against 360 for the V-Lux 5. Each takes a different proprietary battery, the Sony NP-FW50 and the Leica BP-DC12. The V-Lux 5 supports charging over USB, which the Sony does not, so you can top it up from a laptop or power bank between locations.

Both cameras record to a single SD, SDHC or SDXC card slot, so neither offers a second card for overflow or backup. The RX10 III additionally accepts Memory Stick Duo formats alongside SD, useful if you already own Sony cards.