Sony A550 vs Sony H300

Following is a in-depth assessment of the Sony A550 versus Sony H300, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both offered by Sony. There exists a substantial gap between the image resolutions of the A550 (14MP) and H300 (20MP) and the A550 (APS-C) and H300 (1/2.3") provide totally different sensor sizes.

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The A550 was revealed 5 years earlier than the H300 which is quite a big difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras feature different body design with the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony H300 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before we go right into a in depth comparison, here is a simple summation of how the A550 scores versus the H300 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H300. The full galleries are provided at Sony A550 Gallery & Sony H300 Gallery.

If you're planning to carry around your camera, you'll have to think about its weight and measurements. The Sony A550 offers outer dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") accompanied by a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs) and the Sony H300 has proportions of 130mm x 95mm x 122mm (5.1" x 3.7" x 4.8") and a weight of 590 grams (1.30 lbs).

Take a look at the Sony A550 versus Sony H300 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you are employing at that moment. The following is a front view measurements comparison of the A550 compared to the H300.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A550 and H300 is 63 and 63 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to visualise the contrast between sensor sizes only by reading specs. The picture here will give you a better sense of the sensor dimensions in the A550 and H300.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The A550 using its larger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Sony H300 will offer you extra detail because of its extra 6MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop images way more aggressively. The more aged A550 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.