Clicky

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500

Portability
64
Imaging
36
Features
42
Overall
38
Canon PowerShot SX30 IS front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500 front
Portability
91
Imaging
43
Features
56
Overall
48

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 Key Specs

Canon SX30 IS
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fully Articulated Screen
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-840mm (F2.7-5.8) lens
  • 601g - 123 x 92 x 108mm
  • Launched September 2010
  • Earlier Model is Canon SX20 IS
  • Replacement is Canon SX40 HS
Sony WX500
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 80 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-720mm (F3.5-6.4) lens
  • 236g - 102 x 58 x 36mm
  • Revealed April 2015
  • Old Model is Sony WX350
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 Overview

Let's look more closely at the Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500, both Small Sensor Superzoom digital cameras by companies Canon and Sony. There exists a sizeable gap between the sensor resolutions of the SX30 IS (14MP) and WX500 (18MP) but they possess the exact same sensor sizing (1/2.3").

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

The SX30 IS was manufactured 5 years before the WX500 which is quite a large gap as far as technology is concerned. Both the cameras come with different body type with the Canon SX30 IS being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony WX500 being a Compact camera.

Before getting in to a thorough comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the SX30 IS matches up against the WX500 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

        

Reasons to pick Canon SX30 IS over the Sony WX500

 SX30 IS WX500 
Focus manually Very exact focusing
Screen typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Reasons to pick Sony WX500 over the Canon SX30 IS

 WX500 SX30 IS 
RevealedApril 2015September 2010More modern by 55 months
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution921k230kCrisper screen (+691k dot)

Common features in the Canon SX30 IS and Sony WX500

 SX30 IS WX500 
Touch screen Lack of Touch screen

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is intending to carry around your camera frequently, you will need to think about its weight and proportions. The Canon SX30 IS has outside dimensions of 123mm x 92mm x 108mm (4.8" x 3.6" x 4.3") accompanied by a weight of 601 grams (1.32 lbs) and the Sony WX500 has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 236 grams (0.52 lbs).

Check the Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 in the latest Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you have at the time. The following is the front view over all size comparison of the SX30 IS compared to the WX500.

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SX30 IS and WX500 is 64 and 91 respectively.

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 top view buttons comparison

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 Sensor Comparison

Sometimes, its hard to visualise the gap between sensor sizes only by reading specifications. The image underneath will help provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the SX30 IS and WX500.

To sum up, the 2 cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements albeit not the same resolution. You should count on the Sony WX500 to deliver more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution will help you crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The more aged SX30 IS is going to be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 sensor size comparison

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 Screen and ViewFinder

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Canon SX30 IS
Portrait photography with Sony WX500
41
you can focus manually
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
39
decent MP (18MP)
offers face detection focusing
lack of manual focus
no external flash support
small sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW files
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Street Comparison

Street photography with Canon SX30 IS
Street photography with Sony WX500
49
screen can move to multiple angles
image stabilization (Optical)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
heavier than others in class (601g)
69
has a tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than others in class (236g)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW files
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Sports Comparison

Canon SX30 IS Sports photography highlights
Sony WX500 Sports photography highlights
43
excellent zoom range (24-840mm 35.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
very slow continuous shooting (1.0 frames/s)
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
57
long zoom range (24-720mm 30.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (18MP)
offers tracking autofocus
good battery power (360 CIPA)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
no phase detect AF
Photography Glossary

Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Canon SX30 IS
Travel photography with Sony WX500
57
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
selfie friendly display
rather wide (24mm)
very long reach (840mm)
no Time Lapse recording
heavier than others in class (601g)
sluggish max aperture (f2.7)
71
good battery power (360 CIPA)
lighter than others in class (236g)
decent MP (18 megapixels)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (24mm)
very long reach (720mm)
missing Timelapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Canon SX30 IS
Landscape photography with Sony WX500
40
you can focus manually
rather wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
can't change lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f2.7)
tiny screen (2.7")
very small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
no Time Lapse recording
49
reasonably wide (24mm)
nice screen size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (18 megapixels)
good battery power (360 shots)
lack of manual focus
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
small sensor size (1/2.3")
no RAW files
missing Timelapse mode
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Canon SX30 IS
Vlogging with Sony WX500
49
rather wide (24mm)
selfie friendly display
image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish max aperture (f2.7)
video res low (1280 x 720 pxls)
no mic jack
heavier than others in class (601g)
35
reasonably wide (24mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
offers face detection focusing
video res high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than others in class (236g)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen is not selfie friendly
missing external microphone jack
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Canon SX30 IS vs Sony WX500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Canon SX30 IS and Sony WX500
 Canon PowerShot SX30 ISSony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500
General Information
Brand Canon Sony
Model type Canon PowerShot SX30 IS Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500
Category Small Sensor Superzoom Small Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2010-09-14 2015-04-14
Body design SLR-like (bridge) Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by Digic 4 Bionz X
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixels 18 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4320 x 3240 4896 x 3672
Highest native ISO 1600 12800
Min native ISO 80 80
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 9 -
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens zoom range 24-840mm (35.0x) 24-720mm (30.0x)
Largest aperture f/2.7-5.8 f/3.5-6.4
Macro focusing distance 0cm 5cm
Crop factor 5.8 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fully Articulated Tilting
Screen sizing 2.7 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 921 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic None
Features
Lowest shutter speed 15s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/3200s 1/2000s
Continuous shooting speed 1.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 6.80 m 5.40 m (with Auto ISO)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Fill-in Auto, flash on, slow sync, flash off, rear sync
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (30p)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video data format Motion JPEG AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 601 gr (1.32 pounds) 236 gr (0.52 pounds)
Dimensions 123 x 92 x 108mm (4.8" x 3.6" x 4.3") 102 x 58 x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth rating not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested not tested
DXO Low light rating not tested not tested
Other
Battery life - 360 shots
Type of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID NB-7L NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, Custom) Yes
Time lapse recording
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/MMCplus/HC MMCplus SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo
Storage slots One One
Launch price $400 $348