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Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550

Portability
90
Imaging
34
Features
31
Overall
32
Samsung HZ15W front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 front
Portability
63
Imaging
54
Features
65
Overall
58

Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550 Key Specs

Samsung HZ15W
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-240mm (F3.3-5.8) lens
  • 249g - 105 x 61 x 37mm
  • Released February 2009
  • Additionally referred to as WB550
Sony A550
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 632g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Revealed December 2009
  • Older Model is Sony A100
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Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550 Overview

Lets look a little more closely at the Samsung HZ15W and Sony A550, one being a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR by rivals Samsung and Sony. The resolution of the HZ15W (12MP) and the A550 (14MP) is very well matched but the HZ15W (1/2.3") and A550 (APS-C) come with totally different sensor dimensions.

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The HZ15W was manufactured 9 months before the A550 so they are both of a similar generation. Both of these cameras offer different body type with the Samsung HZ15W being a Compact camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting through a complete comparison, below is a concise summary of how the HZ15W grades against the A550 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Samsung HZ15W over the Sony A550

 HZ15W A550 

Reasons to pick Sony A550 over the Samsung HZ15W

 A550 HZ15W 
RevealedDecember 2009February 2009Fresher by 9 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution922k460kSharper display (+462k dot)

Common features in the Samsung HZ15W and Sony A550

 HZ15W A550 
Manually focus More exact focusing
Display sizing3"3"Equivalent display sizing
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen
Touch display Neither includes Touch display

Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550 Physical Comparison

In case you're aiming to carry your camera often, you have to consider its weight and size. The Samsung HZ15W features external dimensions of 105mm x 61mm x 37mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.5") having a weight of 249 grams (0.55 lbs) and the Sony A550 has specifications of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Check the Samsung HZ15W and Sony A550 in the latest Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you are employing during that time. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the HZ15W compared to the A550.

Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the HZ15W and A550 is 90 and 63 respectively.

Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550 top view buttons comparison

Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550 Sensor Comparison

Often, its hard to see the gap between sensor sizing simply by reading through specifications. The graphic here might provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the HZ15W and A550.

Plainly, both of those cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The HZ15W because of its tinier sensor will make getting shallower depth of field harder and the Sony A550 will give more detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop images a little more aggressively. The older HZ15W is going to be behind in sensor tech.

Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550 sensor size comparison

Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550 Screen and ViewFinder

Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Samsung HZ15W as a Portrait photography camera
Sony A550 as a Portrait photography camera
31
manual focus
supports face detection focus
lack of manual mode
can't use external flash
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
72
you can focus manually
megapixel count decent (14MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
provides face detect autofocus
delivers RAW files
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Street Comparison

Samsung HZ15W Street photography advice
Sony A550 Street photography advice
52
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
screen is fixed
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
more heavy than competition in class (249 grams)
74
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Samsung HZ15W Sports photography features
Sony A550 Sports photography features
27
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
no shutter priority
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect auto focus
67
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
sensor has phase detect autofocus
not so great battery life (480 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Samsung HZ15W Travel photography advice
Sony A550 Travel photography advice
54
has built in flash
reasonably wide (24mm)
lack of Timelapse mode
more heavy than competition in class (249g)
megapixel count low (12MP)
screen is not selfie friendly
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
52
megapixel count decent (14MP)
built-in flash
missing Time Lapse recording
not so great battery life (480 CIPA)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
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Landscape Comparison

Samsung HZ15W Landscape photography info
Sony A550 Landscape photography info
40
manual focus
reasonably wide (24mm)
screen size is decent (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
lack of manual mode
megapixel count low (12MP)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW support
lack of Timelapse mode
66
you can focus manually
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
megapixel count decent (14MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
not so great battery life (480 CIPA)
missing Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Samsung HZ15W
Vlogging with Sony A550
28
reasonably wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
supports face detection focus
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
screen is not selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 resolution)
lack of external microphone port
more heavy than competition in class (249g)
9
lack of video recording
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Samsung HZ15W vs Sony A550 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Samsung HZ15W and Sony A550
 Samsung HZ15WSony Alpha DSLR-A550
General Information
Manufacturer Samsung Sony
Model Samsung HZ15W Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
Also called as WB550 -
Category Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level DSLR
Released 2009-02-23 2009-12-09
Physical type Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor - Bionz
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.08 x 4.56mm 23.4 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 27.7mm² 365.0mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 16:9, 4:3 and 3:2 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4000 x 3000 4592 x 3056
Highest native ISO 3200 12800
Min native ISO 80 200
RAW files
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points - 9
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens focal range 24-240mm (10.0x) -
Largest aperture f/3.3-5.8 -
Macro focus range 5cm -
Available lenses - 143
Crop factor 5.9 1.5
Screen
Type of screen Fixed Type Tilting
Screen sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 460 thousand dots 922 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder coverage - 95%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.53x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 16 seconds 30 seconds
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shutter rate - 7.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual mode
Exposure compensation - Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 4.70 m 12.00 m
Flash modes Auto, Auto & Red-eye reduction, Fill-in flash, Slow sync, Flash off, Red eye fix Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30, 15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 240 (60, 30, 15 fps) -
Highest video resolution 1280x720 None
Video format Motion JPEG -
Mic port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 249g (0.55 lb) 632g (1.39 lb)
Dimensions 105 x 61 x 37mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.5") 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested 66
DXO Color Depth score not tested 21.9
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 11.8
DXO Low light score not tested 807
Other
Battery life - 480 images
Battery type - Battery Pack
Battery model - NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (10 sec, 2 sec, Double, Motion Timer) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage type SC/SDHC/MMC/MMCplus, internal SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Card slots 1 1
Cost at release $330 $749