Both Sony RX100 and Sony HX50V have 20.0 MP resolution sensors but Sony RX100's sensor is 1-inch (13.2 x 8.8 mm ) and Sony HX50V's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ).
Since Sony RX100's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Sony HX50V.
Below you can see the RX100 and HX50V sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony RX100 and Sony HX50V Cameras
As seen above, Sony RX100 has a 4.1x Larger sensor area than Sony HX50V. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Sony RX100
or the
Sony HX50V ,
including hyperfocal distance.
One thing to watch when comparing these two: they have different sensor sizes
(1-inch versus 1/2.3-inch),
so compare them at the same framing rather than the same focal length.
Put the same focal length on the smaller sensor and it will show less depth of
field, not more, because it also crops tighter. The calculator shows the
full frame equivalent focal length for each body so you can match the framing.
