Sony A390 vs Sony W830

Here is a extended review of the Sony A390 vs Sony W830, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Ultracompact and both are sold by Sony. There exists a significant gap between the sensor resolutions of the A390 (14MP) and W830 (20MP) and the A390 (APS-C) and W830 (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor size.

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The A390 was brought out 4 years earlier than the W830 and that is quite a sizable gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras have different body design with the Sony A390 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony W830 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before getting straight to a step-by-step comparison, here is a quick view of how the A390 matches up vs the W830 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830. The entire galleries are viewable at Sony A390 Gallery and Sony W830 Gallery.

When you are planning to carry your camera often, you will have to take into account its weight and volume. The Sony A390 comes with external dimensions of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") and a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs) while the Sony W830 has sizing of 93mm x 52mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9") accompanied by a weight of 122 grams (0.27 lbs).

Check out the Sony A390 vs Sony W830 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you are utilising at that time. The following is a front view measurements comparison of the A390 vs the W830.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A390 and W830 is 66 and 96 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to visualise the gap between sensor sizing purely by going over specifications. The photograph below will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the A390 and W830.

Plainly, the 2 cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The A390 due to its larger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Sony W830 will deliver greater detail having its extra 6MP. Greater resolution can also allow you to crop photos a bit more aggressively. The older A390 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor tech.