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Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550

Portability
62
Imaging
81
Features
93
Overall
85
Sony Alpha A7R IV front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550 front
Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
28
Overall
33

Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550 Key Specs

Sony A7R IV
(Full Review)
  • 61MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 32000 (Increase to 102800)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • No Anti-Alias Filter
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 665g - 129 x 96 x 78mm
  • Launched July 2019
  • Earlier Model is Sony A7R III
  • New Model is Sony A7R V
Sony W550
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-104mm (F2.7-5.7) lens
  • 110g - 94 x 56 x 19mm
  • Introduced July 2011
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Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550 Overview

On this page, we will be comparing the Sony A7R IV and Sony W550, former is a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Ultracompact and they are both offered by Sony. There exists a large gap between the sensor resolutions of the A7R IV (61MP) and W550 (14MP) and the A7R IV (Full frame) and W550 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor measurements.

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The A7R IV was launched 8 years after the W550 which is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. The two cameras have different body design with the Sony A7R IV being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W550 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before going straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a concise summation of how the A7R IV scores vs the W550 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Sony A7R IV over the Sony W550

 A7R IV W550 
IntroducedJuly 2019July 2011Newer by 98 months
Manually focus More accurate focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1440k230kSharper screen (+1210k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony W550 over the Sony A7R IV

 W550 A7R IV 

Common features in the Sony A7R IV and Sony W550

 A7R IV W550 
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen measurements
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen

Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550 Physical Comparison

For those who are intending to travel with your camera regularly, you'll have to factor its weight and measurements. The Sony A7R IV provides exterior measurements of 129mm x 96mm x 78mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.1") having a weight of 665 grams (1.47 lbs) whilst the Sony W550 has proportions of 94mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") having a weight of 110 grams (0.24 lbs).

Check the Sony A7R IV and Sony W550 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are working with at that time. Here is a front view dimension comparison of the A7R IV against the W550.

Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A7R IV and W550 is 62 and 96 respectively.

Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550 top view buttons comparison

Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its tough to envision the gap between sensor dimensions just by reading technical specs. The image here may provide you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the A7R IV and W550.

As you can tell, each of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The A7R IV due to its bigger sensor will make getting shallower DOF less difficult and the Sony A7R IV will offer greater detail utilizing its extra 47 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop photographs more aggressively. The fresher A7R IV will have an advantage with regard to sensor technology.

Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550 sensor size comparison

Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A7R IV Portrait photography information
Sony W550 Portrait photography information
88
focusing manually
megapixel count high (61MP)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
has face detect focus
delivers RAW files
28
good MP (14 megapixels)
focusing manually not possible
no manual exposure
no external flash support
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Sony A7R IV
Street photography with Sony W550
79
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
delivers RAW files
offers touch to focus
weather proof
great ISO range (32,000)
57
has image stabilization (Optical)
no articulating screen
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Sony A7R IV Sports photography highlights
Sony W550 Sports photography highlights
90
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count high (61 megapixels)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
has tracking focus
weather proof
better than average battery life (670 shots)
sensor has phase detect auto focus
35
has image stabilization (Optical)
good MP (14MP)
slow continuous shooting (1.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority mode
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
no phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Sony A7R IV as a Travel photography camera
Sony W550 as a Travel photography camera
74
better than average battery life (670 CIPA)
weather proof
connects via bluetooth
offers touch to focus
megapixel count high (61MP)
screen isn't selfie friendly
65
good MP (14MP)
built-in flash
quite wide (26mm)
no Timelapse mode
display is not selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f2.7)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A7R IV Landscape photography features
Sony W550 Landscape photography features
88
focusing manually
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
megapixel count high (61MP)
sensor size is big (Full frame)
does not have low pass filter
great ISO range (32,000)
delivers RAW files
weather proof
better than average battery life (670 per charge)
2 card slots
42
quite wide (26mm)
nice screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
good MP (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f2.7)
no manual exposure
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW format
no Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A7R IV Vlogging advice
Sony W550 Vlogging advice
37
built-in touchscreen
image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
has face detect focus
great video quality (3840 x 2160 pixels)
includes microphone support
screen isn't selfie friendly
29
quite wide (26mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
slow max aperture (f2.7)
display is not selfie friendly
low res video (1280 x 720 pxls)
no external microphone jack
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Sony A7R IV vs Sony W550 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A7R IV and Sony W550
 Sony Alpha A7R IVSony Cyber-shot DSC-W550
General Information
Brand Name Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha A7R IV Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550
Category Pro Mirrorless Ultracompact
Launched 2019-07-16 2011-07-24
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Ultracompact
Sensor Information
Chip Bionz X BIONZ
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CCD
Sensor size Full frame 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 35.8 x 23.8mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 852.0mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 61 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 9504 x 6336 4320 x 3240
Maximum native ISO 32000 3200
Maximum boosted ISO 102800 -
Min native ISO 100 80
RAW files
Min boosted ISO 50 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous autofocus
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points 567 9
Lens
Lens mount type Sony E fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 26-104mm (4.0x)
Largest aperture - f/2.7-5.7
Macro focusing distance - 5cm
Amount of lenses 121 -
Crop factor 1 5.8
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3" 3"
Resolution of display 1,440 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Display tech - Clear Photo LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 5,760 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.78x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30s 2s
Highest shutter speed 1/8000s 1/1600s
Continuous shooting speed 10.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 3.80 m
Flash settings Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Slow Sync., Rear Sync., Red-eye reduction, Wireless, Hi-speed sync. Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution 3840x2160 1280x720
Video data format MPEG-4, XAVC S, H.264 MPEG-4
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 3.1 Gen 1(5 GBit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 665g (1.47 pounds) 110g (0.24 pounds)
Physical dimensions 129 x 96 x 78mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 3.1") 94 x 56 x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 99 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 26.0 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 14.8 not tested
DXO Low light rating 3344 not tested
Other
Battery life 670 pictures -
Type of battery Battery Pack -
Battery ID NP-FZ100 NP-BN1
Self timer Yes Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage Dual SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II compatible) SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Two -
Retail price $3,498 $119