Sony A7 vs Sony W290

Lets look more closely at the Sony A7 and Sony W290, one is a Pro Mirrorless and the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are built by Sony. There is a crucial difference between the resolutions of the A7 (24MP) and W290 (12MP) and the A7 (Full frame) and W290 (1/2.3") provide different sensor sizes.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

The A7 was released 5 years after the W290 which is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Sony A7 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W290 being a Compact camera.

Before going into a full comparison, here is a concise view of how the A7 grades versus the W290 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha A7 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290. The complete galleries are provided at Sony A7 Gallery and Sony W290 Gallery.

In case you're intending to carry around your camera, you'll need to take into account its weight and measurements. The Sony A7 has external measurements of 127mm x 94mm x 48mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 1.9") having a weight of 474 grams (1.04 lbs) and the Sony W290 has proportions of 98mm x 57mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Compare the Sony A7 and Sony W290 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you select at the time. Underneath is a front view scale comparison of the A7 compared to the W290.

Using size and weight, the portability score of the A7 and W290 is 78 and 94 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is hard to imagine the difference between sensor sizes just by looking at specifications. The picture below should give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the A7 and W290.

To sum up, each of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The A7 because of its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony A7 will give you extra detail as a result of its extra 12MP. Greater resolution will also help you crop images a bit more aggressively. The newer A7 should have an edge with regard to sensor innovation.