Sony A390 vs Sony H400

Below is a extensive review of the Sony A390 vs Sony H400, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are designed by Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the sensor resolutions of the A390 (14MP) and H400 (20MP) and the A390 (APS-C) and H400 (1/2.3") possess different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The A390 was launched 4 years prior to the H400 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Sony A390 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony H400 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a short summation of how the A390 grades against the H400 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400. The complete galleries are viewable at Sony A390 Gallery & Sony H400 Gallery.

If you are going to lug around your camera, you have to consider its weight and proportions. The Sony A390 enjoys physical dimensions of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs) whilst the Sony H400 has measurements of 130mm x 95mm x 122mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.8") with a weight of 628 grams (1.38 lbs).

See the Sony A390 vs Sony H400 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you use at that time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the A390 compared to the H400.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the A390 and H400 is 66 and 62 respectively.

More often than not, its hard to picture the difference in sensor measurements merely by looking through a spec sheet. The photograph here should offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the A390 and H400.

As you can see, each of the cameras offer different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The A390 featuring a larger sensor is going to make achieving bokeh easier and the Sony H400 will result in more detail utilizing its extra 6MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop photos a little more aggressively. The older A390 will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.