Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7

Lets look much closer at the Sony A500 versus Sony NEX-7, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Advanced Mirrorless and both are created by Sony. There exists a big gap among the sensor resolutions of the A500 (12MP) and NEX-7 (24MP) but they come with the exact same sensor sizing (APS-C).

Photography Glossary

The A500 was launched 3 years earlier than the NEX-7 and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Sony A500 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony NEX-7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera.

Before delving through a full comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the A500 matches up versus the NEX-7 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 and Sony Alpha NEX-7. The complete galleries are viewable at Sony A500 Gallery and Sony NEX-7 Gallery.

In case you're intending to lug around your camera frequently, you'll need to factor in its weight and volume. The Sony A500 comes with physical dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") and a weight of 630 grams (1.39 lbs) while the Sony NEX-7 has sizing of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") accompanied by a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs).

Check out the Sony A500 versus Sony NEX-7 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are working with at that time. Here is the front view dimensions comparison of the A500 and the NEX-7.

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A500 and NEX-7 is 63 and 84 respectively.

Typically, it is very tough to visualize the difference in sensor measurements merely by looking through technical specs. The photograph underneath will offer you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the A500 and NEX-7.

As you have seen, each of the cameras posses the exact same sensor measurements albeit different resolution. You should expect the Sony NEX-7 to render more detail utilizing its extra 12 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also enable you to crop shots somewhat more aggressively. The older A500 will be behind in sensor technology.