Sony A290 vs Sony H20

Lets look much closer at the Sony A290 and Sony H20, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both are sold by Sony. There exists a considerable gap between the sensor resolutions of the A290 (14MP) and H20 (10MP) and the A290 (APS-C) and H20 (1/2.3") have different sensor sizes.

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The A290 was brought out 14 months after the H20 which makes them a generation away from one another. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony H20 being a Compact camera.

Before we go into a detailed comparison, here is a quick view of how the A290 matches up vs the H20 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

The following is a preview of the gallery images for Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20. The entire galleries are available at Sony A290 Gallery & Sony H20 Gallery.

For anyone who is going to carry around your camera frequently, you are going to need to factor in its weight and size. The Sony A290 features exterior measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") along with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs) and the Sony H20 has specifications of 107mm x 69mm x 47mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.9") along with a weight of 250 grams (0.55 lbs).

Check the Sony A290 and Sony H20 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are employing at that moment. Underneath is a front view physical size comparison of the A290 compared to the H20.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A290 and H20 is 66 and 87 respectively.

More often than not, it can be hard to picture the contrast between sensor sizes only by looking at specs. The image below should provide you a far better sense of the sensor measurements in the A290 and H20.

All in all, both of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The A290 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Sony A290 will resolve more detail having its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop pictures more aggressively. The more recent A290 should have an edge when it comes to sensor tech.