Sony A290 vs Sony W830

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Sony A290 and Sony W830, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Ultracompact and both are built by Sony. There exists a large gap among the resolutions of the A290 (14MP) and W830 (20MP) and the A290 (APS-C) and W830 (1/2.3") boast totally different sensor dimensions.

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The A290 was unveiled 4 years before the W830 which is a fairly serious difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Sony A290 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony W830 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before getting straight to a in depth comparison, here is a quick view of how the A290 grades vs the W830 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Sony Alpha DSLR-A290 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830. The full galleries are provided at Sony A290 Gallery & Sony W830 Gallery.

In case you're going to travel with your camera regularly, you'll need to factor its weight and size. The Sony A290 provides external dimensions of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") along with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs) while the Sony W830 has specifications of 93mm x 52mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9") with a weight of 122 grams (0.27 lbs).

Contrast the Sony A290 and Sony W830 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Keep in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you are using at the time. Below is a front view proportions comparison of the A290 and the W830.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the A290 and W830 is 66 and 96 respectively.

Normally, it is very difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor dimensions only by viewing specifications. The image below might provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the A290 and W830.

Plainly, both cameras provide different megapixel count and different sensor dimensions. The A290 with its bigger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Sony W830 will render extra detail having an extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also allow you to crop photographs more aggressively. The more aged A290 will be behind when it comes to sensor tech.