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Sony A7S vs Sony A550

Portability
77
Imaging
60
Features
73
Overall
65
Sony Alpha A7S front
 
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 front
Portability
63
Imaging
54
Features
65
Overall
58

Sony A7S vs Sony A550 Key Specs

Sony A7S
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 100 - 409600
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 489g - 127 x 94 x 48mm
  • Released April 2014
  • Successor is Sony A7S II
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
  • Launched December 2009
  • Old Model is Sony A100
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Sony A7S vs Sony A550 Overview

Following is a detailed overview of the Sony A7S versus Sony A550, one is a Pro Mirrorless and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR and they are both built by Sony. The resolution of the A7S (12MP) and the A550 (14MP) is very similar but the A7S (Full frame) and A550 (APS-C) provide different sensor size.

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The A7S was manufactured 4 years after the A550 which is quite a serious gap as far as tech is concerned. Both cameras have different body design with the Sony A7S being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going into a more detailed comparison, here is a concise view of how the A7S matches up vs the A550 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Sony A7S over the Sony A550

 A7S A550 
LaunchedApril 2014December 2009More modern by 53 months
Display resolution1230k922kSharper display (+308k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony A550 over the Sony A7S

 A550 A7S 

Common features in the Sony A7S and Sony A550

 A7S A550 
Focus manually Very exact focusing
Display typeTiltingTiltingTilting display
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display size
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen
Touch friendly display Lack of Touch friendly display

Sony A7S vs Sony A550 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is aiming to carry around your camera frequently, you're going to have to think about its weight and volume. The Sony A7S features external dimensions of 127mm x 94mm x 48mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 1.9") along with a weight of 489 grams (1.08 lbs) and the Sony A550 has sizing of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") and a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs).

Check out the Sony A7S versus Sony A550 in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you have during that time. Underneath is a front view sizing comparison of the A7S and the A550.

Sony A7S vs Sony A550 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the A7S and A550 is 77 and 63 respectively.

Sony A7S vs Sony A550 top view buttons comparison

Sony A7S vs Sony A550 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it's hard to picture the gap between sensor sizes purely by going over specs. The pic here should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the A7S and A550.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The A7S due to its larger sensor is going to make achieving shallow depth of field less difficult and the Sony A550 will offer more detail due to its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also help you crop images more aggressively. The younger A7S provides an advantage with regard to sensor innovation.

Sony A7S vs Sony A550 sensor size comparison

Sony A7S vs Sony A550 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A7S vs Sony A550 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A7S Portrait photography advice
Sony A550 Portrait photography advice
68
has manual focus
large sensor size (Full frame)
supports face detection focus
supports RAW files
low MP (12MP)
72
has manual focus
good MP (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports face detect autofocus
exports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Sony A7S Street photography information
Sony A550 Street photography information
76
screen tilts up and down
large sensor size (Full frame)
supports RAW files
weather proofing
lighter than others in class (489g)
above average ISO range (409,600)
lack of image stabilization
74
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Sony A7S
Sports photography with Sony A550
52
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
large sensor size (Full frame)
supports tracking autofocus
weather proofing
low fps (5.0 frames per second)
lack of image stabilization
low MP (12MP)
terrible battery pack (360 CIPA)
lacks phase detect auto focus
67
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
comes with phase detect autofocus
not so great battery power (480 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Sony A7S as a Travel photography camera
Sony A550 as a Travel photography camera
58
lighter than others in class (489 grams)
weather proofing
terrible battery pack (360 CIPA)
low MP (12MP)
does not offer selfie friendly display
52
good MP (14MP)
flash built-in
doesn't have Timelapse mode
not so great battery power (480 shots)
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A7S Landscape photography factors
Sony A550 Landscape photography factors
66
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Sony E mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
large sensor size (Full frame)
above average ISO range (409,600)
supports RAW files
weather proofing
lack of image stabilization
low MP (12 megapixels)
terrible battery pack (360 CIPA)
66
has manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
nice screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good MP (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
not so great battery power (480 CIPA)
doesn't have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A7S Vlogging details
Sony A550 Vlogging details
34
supports face detection focus
great video quality (3840 x 2160 pixels)
does have external mic socket
lighter than others in class (489g)
does not offer selfie friendly display
lack of image stabilization
9
lack of video recording
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Sony A7S vs Sony A550 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A7S and Sony A550
 Sony Alpha A7SSony Alpha DSLR-A550
General Information
Company Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha A7S Sony Alpha DSLR-A550
Category Pro Mirrorless Entry-Level DSLR
Released 2014-04-06 2009-12-09
Body design SLR-style mirrorless Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Bionz X Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size Full frame APS-C
Sensor measurements 35.8 x 23.9mm 23.4 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 855.6mm² 365.0mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 14 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4240 x 2832 4592 x 3056
Max native ISO 409600 12800
Minimum native ISO 100 200
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 25 9
Lens
Lens mount type Sony E Sony/Minolta Alpha
Total lenses 121 143
Crop factor 1 1.5
Screen
Display type Tilting Tilting
Display size 3 inch 3 inch
Display resolution 1,230 thousand dot 922 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic Optical (pentamirror)
Viewfinder resolution 2,359 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% 95%
Viewfinder magnification 0.71x 0.53x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30 secs 30 secs
Highest shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 5.0fps 7.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 12.00 m
Flash settings no built-in flash Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/160 secs
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions 3840 x 2160, XAVC S 1080 60p(50Mbps), 30p (50Mbps), 24p (50Mbps). 720 120p (50Mbps). AVCHD 60p (28Mbps), 60i (24Mbps/17Mbps), 24p (24Mbps/17Mbps) -
Max video resolution 3840x2160 None
Video file format MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC -
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
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 seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 489 gr (1.08 pounds) 632 gr (1.39 pounds)
Physical dimensions 127 x 94 x 48mm (5.0" x 3.7" x 1.9") 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 87 66
DXO Color Depth rating 23.9 21.9
DXO Dynamic range rating 13.2 11.8
DXO Low light rating 3702 807
Other
Battery life 360 shots 480 shots
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID NP-FW50 NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec; continuous (3 or 5 exposures)) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording With downloadable app
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One One
Cost at launch $1,998 $749