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Sony A7S II vs Sony W550

Portability
68
Imaging
61
Features
76
Overall
67
Sony Alpha A7S II front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550 front
Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
28
Overall
33

Sony A7S II vs Sony W550 Key Specs

Sony A7S II
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 102400 (Boost to 409600)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 627g - 127 x 96 x 60mm
  • Released October 2015
  • Older Model is Sony A7S
  • Refreshed by Sony A7S III
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
  • Launched July 2011
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Sony A7S II vs Sony W550 Overview

Let's look more closely at the Sony A7S II and Sony W550, former being a Pro Mirrorless while the latter is a Ultracompact and both are sold by Sony. The resolution of the A7S II (12MP) and the W550 (14MP) is pretty well matched but the A7S II (Full frame) and W550 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor dimensions.

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The A7S II was revealed 4 years later than the W550 and that is quite a significant difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Sony A7S II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W550 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before delving straight into a full comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the A7S II scores vs the W550 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Sony A7S II over the Sony W550

 A7S II W550 
LaunchedOctober 2015July 2011More recent by 52 months
Manual focus More precise focus
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution1229k230kClearer screen (+999k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony W550 over the Sony A7S II

 W550 A7S II 

Common features in the Sony A7S II and Sony W550

 A7S II W550 
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen sizing
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Absent Touch friendly screen

Sony A7S II vs Sony W550 Physical Comparison

When you are aiming to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to consider its weight and size. The Sony A7S II has got outer measurements of 127mm x 96mm x 60mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.4") having a weight of 627 grams (1.38 lbs) whilst the Sony W550 has specifications of 94mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") having a weight of 110 grams (0.24 lbs).

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Take into account, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you choose at that time. Here is the front view dimensions comparison of the A7S II against the W550.

Sony A7S II vs Sony W550 size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the A7S II and W550 is 68 and 96 respectively.

Sony A7S II vs Sony W550 top view buttons comparison

Sony A7S II vs Sony W550 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it can be difficult to envision the gap between sensor measurements purely by checking a spec sheet. The photograph below will offer you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the A7S II and W550.

As you can see, both of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The A7S II using its bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony W550 will resolve more detail because of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop shots much more aggressively. The fresher A7S II will have an advantage when it comes to sensor innovation.

Sony A7S II vs Sony W550 sensor size comparison

Sony A7S II vs Sony W550 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A7S II vs Sony W550 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A7S II Portrait photography features
Sony W550 Portrait photography features
68
has manual focus
sensor size is great (Full frame)
features face detect focus
supports RAW formats
megapixel count low (12MP)
28
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
no manual control
external flash not possible
sensor is small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Sony A7S II
Street photography with Sony W550
78
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
supports RAW formats
environment sealing
very good high ISO (102,400)
57
built in image stabilization (Optical)
fixed screen
sensor is small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Sony A7S II as a Sports photography camera
Sony W550 as a Sports photography camera
58
great max shutter speed (1/8,000s)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
features tracking focus
environment sealing
very slow continuous shooting (5.0 fps)
megapixel count low (12MP)
not so great battery pack (370 per charge)
does not have phase detect auto focus
35
built in image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
low fps (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority
sensor is small (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony A7S II
Travel photography with Sony W550
49
environment sealing
not so great battery pack (370 shots)
megapixel count low (12MP)
display is not selfie friendly
65
megapixel count decent (14MP)
has built in flash
really wide (26mm)
missing Time Lapse recording
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.7)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A7S II Landscape photography info
Sony W550 Landscape photography info
71
has manual focus
switch lenses (Sony E mount)
nice screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
very good high ISO (102,400)
supports RAW formats
environment sealing
megapixel count low (12 megapixels)
not so great battery pack (370 CIPA)
42
really wide (26mm)
screen size is good (3")
built in image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count decent (14 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.7)
no manual control
sensor is small (1/2.3")
no RAW support
missing Time Lapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Sony A7S II
Vlogging with Sony W550
35
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
features face detect focus
high res video (3840 x 2160 pixels)
includes mic port
display is not selfie friendly
29
really wide (26mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.7)
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
video res low (1280 x 720 pxls)
missing mic support
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Sony A7S II vs Sony W550 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A7S II and Sony W550
 Sony Alpha A7S IISony Cyber-shot DSC-W550
General Information
Brand Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha A7S II Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550
Category Pro Mirrorless Ultracompact
Released 2015-10-12 2011-07-24
Physical type SLR-style mirrorless Ultracompact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Bionz X BIONZ
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Full frame 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 35.6 x 23.8mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 847.3mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 12MP 14MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4240 x 2832 4320 x 3240
Highest native ISO 102400 3200
Highest boosted ISO 409600 -
Minimum native ISO 100 80
RAW photos
Minimum boosted ISO 50 -
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection autofocus
Contract detection autofocus
Phase detection autofocus
Total focus points 169 9
Lens
Lens support Sony E fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 26-104mm (4.0x)
Max aperture - f/2.7-5.7
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Total lenses 121 -
Crop factor 1 5.8
Screen
Type of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3" 3"
Screen resolution 1,229k dots 230k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Screen technology - Clear Photo LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,359k dots -
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.78x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30 seconds 2 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000 seconds 1/1600 seconds
Continuous shooting rate 5.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 3.80 m
Flash options no built-in flash Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 4K (3840 x 2160 @ 30p/24p [60-100Mbps]), Full HD (1920 x 1080 @ 120p/60p/60i/30p/24p [50-100Mbps]), 720p (30p [16Mbps]) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 3840x2160 1280x720
Video file format MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S MPEG-4
Mic support
Headphone support
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
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 627g (1.38 lb) 110g (0.24 lb)
Dimensions 127 x 96 x 60mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.4") 94 x 56 x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 85 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 23.6 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 13.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 2993 not tested
Other
Battery life 370 shots -
Battery style Battery Pack -
Battery ID NP-FW50 NP-BN1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec; continuous (3 or 5 exposures)) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse recording With downloadable app
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single -
Launch price $2,767 $119