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Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7

Portability
63
Imaging
52
Features
52
Overall
52
Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 front
 
Sony Alpha NEX-7 front
Portability
84
Imaging
63
Features
71
Overall
66

Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7 Key Specs

Sony A500
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 630g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Introduced August 2009
  • Successor is Sony A560
Sony NEX-7
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 16000
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 400g - 120 x 67 x 43mm
  • Announced December 2011
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Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7 Overview

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).

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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.

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Reasons to pick Sony A500 over the Sony NEX-7

 A500 NEX-7 

Reasons to pick Sony NEX-7 over the Sony A500

 NEX-7 A500 
AnnouncedDecember 2011August 2009More recent by 27 months
Screen resolution921k230kClearer screen (+691k dot)

Common features in the Sony A500 and Sony NEX-7

 A500 NEX-7 
Manual focus Very exact focusing
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen measurement
Selfie screen Absent selfie screen
Touch screen Absent Touch screen

Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7 Physical Comparison

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).

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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.

Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7 size comparison

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

Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7 top view buttons comparison

Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7 Sensor Comparison

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.

Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7 sensor size comparison

Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A500 Portrait photography info
Sony NEX-7 Portrait photography info
63
has manual focus
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
supports face detect focus
exports RAW files
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
77
focusing manually
MP count decent (24MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
has face detect focus
delivers RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Sony A500 as a Street photography camera
Sony NEX-7 as a Street photography camera
74
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
exports RAW files
76
screen tilts
good sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
does not have image stabilization
Photography Glossary

Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Sony A500
Sports photography with Sony NEX-7
51
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
supports phase detect auto focus
very slow continuous shooting (5.0 frames/s)
sensor resolution low (12MP)
terrible battery power (520 per charge)
61
MP count decent (24 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
better than average battery life (430 CIPA)
does not have image stabilization
does not have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Sony A500 Travel photography features
Sony NEX-7 Travel photography features
43
built-in flash
lack of Timelapse recording
terrible battery power (520 per charge)
sensor resolution low (12 megapixels)
screen isn't selfie friendly
70
better than average battery life (430 shots)
MP count decent (24 megapixels)
has built in flash
no Timelapse function
screen is not selfie friendly
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A500 Landscape photography information
Sony NEX-7 Landscape photography information
60
has manual focus
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen size is decent (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is decent (APS-C)
exports RAW files
sensor resolution low (12MP)
terrible battery power (520 CIPA)
lack of Timelapse recording
72
focusing manually
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
MP count decent (24 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW formats
better than average battery life (430 CIPA)
does not have image stabilization
no Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A500 Vlogging features
Sony NEX-7 Vlogging features
9
no video recording
35
has face detect focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
includes microphone port
screen is not selfie friendly
does not have image stabilization
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Sony A500 vs Sony NEX-7 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A500 and Sony NEX-7
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A500Sony Alpha NEX-7
General Information
Make Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha DSLR-A500 Sony Alpha NEX-7
Category Entry-Level DSLR Advanced Mirrorless
Introduced 2009-08-27 2011-12-13
Body design Compact SLR Rangefinder-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Bionz Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CMOS
Sensor size APS-C APS-C
Sensor measurements 23.5 x 15.6mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 366.6mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 24 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 4272 x 2848 6000 x 4000
Maximum native ISO 12800 16000
Min native ISO 200 100
RAW support
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 9 25
Lens
Lens mount type Sony/Minolta Alpha Sony E
Total lenses 143 121
Crop factor 1.5 1.5
Screen
Screen type Tilting Tilting
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 921 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder coverage 95% 100%
Viewfinder magnification 0.53x 0.73x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 30 secs 30 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/4000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 5.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 12.00 m 6.00 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash sync 1/160 secs 1/160 secs
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1920x1080
Video format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 630g (1.39 pounds) 400g (0.88 pounds)
Dimensions 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") 120 x 67 x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 64 81
DXO Color Depth rating 21.8 24.1
DXO Dynamic range rating 11.6 13.4
DXO Low light rating 772 1016
Other
Battery life 520 photographs 430 photographs
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID NP-FM500H NPFW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 or 5 images))
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One One
Price at release $638 $699