Sony A390 vs Sony HX30V

Following is a extended comparison of the Sony A390 and Sony HX30V, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are built by Sony. There exists a big gap among the image resolutions of the A390 (14MP) and HX30V (18MP) and the A390 (APS-C) and HX30V (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor measurements.

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The A390 was manufactured 19 months prior to the HX30V making the cameras a generation away from one another. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Sony A390 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony HX30V being a Compact camera.

Before going through a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief overview of how the A390 scores versus the HX30V with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V. The entire galleries are available at Sony A390 Gallery and Sony HX30V Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to carry around your camera regularly, you will need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Sony A390 has physical measurements of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs) and the Sony HX30V has dimensions of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") and a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

See the Sony A390 and Sony HX30V in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary depending on the lens you use at that time. Below is the front view dimensions comparison of the A390 against the HX30V.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A390 and HX30V is 66 and 90 respectively.

Normally, it's hard to visualise the gap in sensor sizes purely by going through specifications. The image below should provide you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the A390 and HX30V.

To sum up, the 2 cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The A390 featuring a larger sensor will make achieving shallow depth of field less difficult and the Sony HX30V will show more detail due to its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop images somewhat more aggressively. The more aged A390 will be behind in sensor tech.