Clicky

Sony A7 vs Sony A290

Portability
78
Imaging
70
Features
80
Overall
74
Sony Alpha A7 front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 front
Portability
66
Imaging
53
Features
47
Overall
50

Sony A7 vs Sony A290 Key Specs

Sony A7
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 50 - 25600
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 474g - 127 x 94 x 48mm
  • Launched January 2014
  • Replacement is Sony A7 II
Sony A290
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 549g - 128 x 97 x 86mm
  • Revealed June 2010
  • Replaced the Sony A230
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Sony A7 vs Sony A290 Overview

Its time to examine more closely at the Sony A7 versus Sony A290, one is a Pro Mirrorless and the latter is a Entry-Level DSLR and they are both manufactured by Sony. There is a huge difference between the image resolutions of the A7 (24MP) and A290 (14MP) and the A7 (Full frame) and A290 (APS-C) feature totally different sensor sizes.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

The A7 was brought out 3 years after the A290 which is quite a significant gap as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Sony A7 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go in to a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief overview of how the A7 grades vs the A290 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

        

Reasons to pick Sony A7 over the Sony A290

 A7 A290 
RevealedJanuary 2014June 2010More modern by 45 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution1230k230kClearer screen (+1000k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony A290 over the Sony A7

 A290 A7 

Common features in the Sony A7 and Sony A290

 A7 A290 
Focus manually Very accurate focusing
Selfie screen Neither offers selfie screen
Touch friendly screen No Touch friendly screen

Sony A7 vs Sony A290 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is going to carry around your camera often, you will want to factor its weight and proportions. The Sony A7 offers outside measurements of 127mm x 94mm x 48mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 1.9") and a weight of 474 grams (1.04 lbs) whilst the Sony A290 has measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") accompanied by a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs).

Examine the Sony A7 versus Sony A290 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you have at that time. Following is the front view measurement comparison of the A7 compared to the A290.

Sony A7 vs Sony A290 size comparison

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the A7 and A290 is 78 and 66 respectively.

Sony A7 vs Sony A290 top view buttons comparison

Sony A7 vs Sony A290 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it is very difficult to see the gap between sensor sizes purely by looking at specs. The pic here might provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the A7 and A290.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The A7 featuring a bigger sensor will make shooting shallow DOF easier and the Sony A7 will resolve more detail having its extra 10MP. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs much more aggressively. The younger A7 is going to have a benefit in sensor technology.

Sony A7 vs Sony A290 sensor size comparison

Sony A7 vs Sony A290 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A7 vs Sony A290 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A7 Portrait photography features
Sony A290 Portrait photography features
82
focusing manually
decent megapixels (24MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
supports face detection autofocus
exports RAW files
65
focusing manually
MP count good (14 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
comes with face detection autofocus
saves RAW formats
no liveview feature
Photography Glossary

Street Comparison

Sony A7 Street photography details
Sony A290 Street photography details
79
tilting screen
great sensor size (Full frame)
exports RAW files
environment sealing
lighter than competition (474g)
very good ISO range (25,600)
no image stabilization
66
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
fixed screen
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Sony A7
Sports photography with Sony A290
66
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000 seconds)
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
great sensor size (Full frame)
environment sealing
supports phase detect autofocus
slow frames per second (5.0 frames/s)
no image stabilization
not so great battery power (340 CIPA)
55
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count good (14MP)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
sensor has phase detect autofocus
no liveview feature
very slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames per second)
bad battery (290 CIPA)
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Travel Comparison

Sony A7 Travel photography info
Sony A290 Travel photography info
69
lighter than competition (474 grams)
environment sealing
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
not so great battery power (340 per charge)
screen isn't selfie friendly
53
MP count good (14MP)
built-in flash
doesn't have Timelapse mode
bad battery (290 shots)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Landscape Comparison

Sony A7 Landscape photography factors
Sony A290 Landscape photography factors
75
focusing manually
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
screen size is good (3")
decent megapixels (24MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
very good ISO range (25,600)
exports RAW files
environment sealing
no image stabilization
not so great battery power (340 per charge)
57
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
MP count good (14 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
screen is small (2.7 inches)
no liveview feature
bad battery (290 CIPA)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Sony A7
Vlogging with Sony A290
35
supports face detection autofocus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
comes with external microphone port
lighter than competition (474g)
screen isn't selfie friendly
no image stabilization
9
can't record video
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Sony A7 vs Sony A290 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A7 and Sony A290
 Sony Alpha A7Sony Alpha DSLR-A290
General Information
Company Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha A7 Sony Alpha DSLR-A290
Category Pro Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Launched 2014-01-22 2010-06-09
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Chip Bionz X Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Full frame APS-C
Sensor measurements 35.8 x 23.9mm 23.5 x 15.7mm
Sensor area 855.6mm² 369.0mm²
Sensor resolution 24 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 6000 x 4000 4592 x 3056
Maximum native ISO 25600 3200
Lowest native ISO 50 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 117 9
Cross type focus points 25 -
Lens
Lens support Sony E Sony/Minolta Alpha
Amount of lenses 121 143
Focal length multiplier 1 1.5
Screen
Type of display Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3" 2.7"
Display resolution 1,230k dots 230k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Display tech Xtra Fine LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder resolution 2,359k dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent 95 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.71x 0.55x
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30s 30s
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000s 1/4000s
Continuous shooting rate 5.0 frames/s 3.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 10.00 m (at ISO 100)
Flash settings no built-in flash Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/250s 1/160s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p), 1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p) -
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 None
Video format MPEG-4, AVCHD -
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 474 gr (1.04 lbs) 549 gr (1.21 lbs)
Dimensions 127 x 94 x 48mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 1.9") 128 x 97 x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 90 66
DXO Color Depth rating 24.8 22.6
DXO Dynamic range rating 14.2 11.5
DXO Low light rating 2248 615
Other
Battery life 340 images 290 images
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID NP-FW50 NP-FH50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec; continuous (3 or 5 exposures)) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording With downloadable app
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo, SD/SDHC
Card slots Single Single
Retail price $798 $600