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Sony A380 vs Sony W290

Portability
68
Imaging
53
Features
54
Overall
53
Sony Alpha DSLR-A380 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 front
Portability
94
Imaging
34
Features
28
Overall
31

Sony A380 vs Sony W290 Key Specs

Sony A380
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 2.7" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 519g - 128 x 97 x 71mm
  • Released August 2009
  • Older Model is Sony A350
  • Newer Model is Sony A390
Sony W290
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.3-5.2) lens
  • 167g - 98 x 57 x 23mm
  • Launched February 2009
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Sony A380 vs Sony W290 Overview

Lets take a deeper look at the Sony A380 vs Sony W290, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are sold by Sony. The resolution of the A380 (14MP) and the W290 (12MP) is fairly well matched but the A380 (APS-C) and W290 (1/2.3") enjoy different sensor dimensions.

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The A380 was introduced 7 months after the W290 which means that they are of a similar generation. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Sony A380 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony W290 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a in depth comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the A380 scores versus the W290 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Sony A380 over the Sony W290

 A380 W290 
LaunchedAugust 2009February 2009Newer by 7 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display

Reasons to pick Sony W290 over the Sony A380

 W290 A380 
Display sizing3"2.7"Larger display (+0.3")

Common features in the Sony A380 and Sony W290

 A380 W290 
Manual focus More accurate focus
Display resolution230k230kSame display resolution
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen
Touch friendly display Neither features Touch friendly display

Sony A380 vs Sony W290 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is intending to travel with your camera, you'll have to factor in its weight and size. The Sony A380 enjoys external measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") having a weight of 519 grams (1.14 lbs) and the Sony W290 has specifications of 98mm x 57mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") and a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

See the Sony A380 vs Sony W290 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you have attached at the time. Following is the front view over all size comparison of the A380 versus the W290.

Sony A380 vs Sony W290 size comparison

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the A380 and W290 is 68 and 94 respectively.

Sony A380 vs Sony W290 top view buttons comparison

Sony A380 vs Sony W290 Sensor Comparison

Usually, its hard to imagine the gap between sensor dimensions simply by looking at specs. The image here will help offer you a more clear sense of the sensor sizing in the A380 and W290.

As you can plainly see, the two cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The A380 having a larger sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field simpler and the Sony A380 will resolve greater detail using its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop photos a little more aggressively. The fresher A380 should have an advantage in sensor innovation.

Sony A380 vs Sony W290 sensor size comparison

Sony A380 vs Sony W290 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A380 vs Sony W290 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A380 Portrait photography factors
Sony W290 Portrait photography factors
71
you can focus manually
decent MP (14 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
supports face detection focusing
delivers RAW files
27
you can focus manually
manual exposure not possible
cannot use external flash
low resolution sensor (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Street Comparison

Sony A380 Street photography factors
Sony W290 Street photography factors
76
tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
56
image stabilization (Optical)
screen does not articulate
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Sony A380 Sports photography info
Sony W290 Sports photography info
59
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (14 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
sensor has phase detect AF
max frames per second low (3.0 fps)
not so great battery life (500 shots)
25
image stabilization (Optical)
painfully slow continuous shooting (2.0 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
low resolution sensor (12MP)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony A380
Travel photography with Sony W290
53
decent MP (14MP)
has built in flash
no Time Lapse recording
not so great battery life (500 shots)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
57
built-in flash
pretty wide (28mm)
missing Timelapse mode
low resolution sensor (12MP)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A380 Landscape photography features
Sony W290 Landscape photography features
61
you can focus manually
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (14MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
small screen (2.7 inches)
not so great battery life (500 per charge)
no Time Lapse recording
41
you can focus manually
pretty wide (28mm)
screen size is good (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
manual exposure not possible
low resolution sensor (12 megapixels)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW files
missing Timelapse mode
Photography Glossary

Vlogging Comparison

Sony A380 as a Vlogging camera
Sony W290 as a Vlogging camera
9
no video recording
28
pretty wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.3)
doesn't feature selfie friendly screen
low res video (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing external microphone port
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Sony A380 vs Sony W290 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A380 and Sony W290
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A380Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290
General Information
Brand Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha DSLR-A380 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290
Class Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Released 2009-08-24 2009-02-17
Body design Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by Bionz -
Sensor type CCD CCD
Sensor size APS-C 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 23.6 x 15.8mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 372.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4592 x 3056 4000 x 3000
Max native ISO 3200 3200
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 9 9
Lens
Lens support Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 28-140mm (5.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.3-5.2
Macro focusing distance - 10cm
Number of lenses 143 -
Focal length multiplier 1.5 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen sizing 2.7 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.49x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30s 2s
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shooting speed 3.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 10.00 m (at ISO 100) 3.90 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync
External flash
AEB
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution None 1280x720
Video format - MPEG-4
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 519 grams (1.14 lbs) 167 grams (0.37 lbs)
Dimensions 128 x 97 x 71mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.8") 98 x 57 x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 67 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 22.6 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 11.8 not tested
DXO Low light rating 614 not tested
Other
Battery life 500 photographs -
Battery form Battery Pack -
Battery ID NP-FH50 -
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse shooting
Storage media SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, Internal
Storage slots Single Single
Launch pricing $899 $230