Canon A3300 IS vs Sony NEX-7

Here, we will be reviewing the Canon A3300 IS and Sony NEX-7, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless by competitors Canon and Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the image resolutions of the A3300 IS (16MP) and NEX-7 (24MP) and the A3300 IS (1/2.3") and NEX-7 (APS-C) posses different sensor dimensions.

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The A3300 IS was announced 11 months prior to the NEX-7 which means that they are both of a similar age. Both the cameras feature different body design with the Canon A3300 IS being a Compact camera and the Sony NEX-7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting into a in-depth comparison, here is a concise introduction of how the A3300 IS matches up against the NEX-7 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Canon PowerShot A3300 IS & Sony Alpha NEX-7. The whole galleries are available at Canon A3300 IS Gallery & Sony NEX-7 Gallery.

For those who are looking to lug around your camera, you will have to factor its weight and proportions. The Canon A3300 IS enjoys outside dimensions of 95mm x 57mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 149 grams (0.33 lbs) whilst the Sony NEX-7 has measurements of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") having a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs).

Take a look at the Canon A3300 IS and Sony NEX-7 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have at that time. The following is a front view dimension comparison of the A3300 IS and the NEX-7.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A3300 IS and NEX-7 is 95 and 84 respectively.

More often than not, its difficult to picture the gap between sensor measurements simply by reading through a spec sheet. The photograph below will give you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the A3300 IS and NEX-7.

As you can see, both of those cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The A3300 IS with its tinier sensor is going to make getting shallower DOF trickier and the Sony NEX-7 will give greater detail with its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots way more aggressively. The older A3300 IS is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.