Canon SX10 IS vs Sony A55

In this write-up, we will be contrasting the Canon SX10 IS vs Sony A55, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR by brands Canon and Sony. There exists a substantial gap between the image resolutions of the SX10 IS (10MP) and A55 (16MP) and the SX10 IS (1/2.3") and A55 (APS-C) use different sensor dimensions.

Mastering Nature Photography with a Digital Microscope Camera

The SX10 IS was announced 19 months earlier than the A55 which makes the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Canon SX10 IS being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony A55 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go through a full comparison, below is a short summation of how the SX10 IS scores vs the A55 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Canon PowerShot SX10 IS & Sony SLT-A55. The whole galleries are available at Canon SX10 IS Gallery & Sony A55 Gallery.

If you are looking to lug around your camera often, you have to think about its weight and volume. The Canon SX10 IS provides outer measurements of 128mm x 88mm x 87mm (5.0" x 3.5" x 3.4") with a weight of 600 grams (1.32 lbs) whilst the Sony A55 has sizing of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") with a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Contrast the Canon SX10 IS vs Sony A55 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you have chosen at that time. Underneath is the front view scale comparison of the SX10 IS compared to the A55.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SX10 IS and A55 is 65 and 67 respectively.

Normally, it is tough to imagine the contrast between sensor measurements purely by looking at specifications. The visual below will help give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the SX10 IS and A55.

Plainly, both the cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The SX10 IS with its tinier sensor is going to make shooting shallow depth of field trickier and the Sony A55 will give greater detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older SX10 IS is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.