Sony A550 vs Sony HX90V

Following is a extended analysis of the Sony A550 and Sony HX90V, one is a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both manufactured by Sony. There exists a huge gap between the resolutions of the A550 (14MP) and HX90V (18MP) and the A550 (APS-C) and HX90V (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The A550 was released 6 years before the HX90V which is quite a significant gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony HX90V being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a in depth comparison, here is a brief summation of how the A550 matches up against the HX90V in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX90V. The complete galleries are viewable at Sony A550 Gallery and Sony HX90V Gallery.

For those who are intending to carry around your camera often, you'll have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Sony A550 provides outside dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") with a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs) and the Sony HX90V has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 245 grams (0.54 lbs).

Take a look at the Sony A550 and Sony HX90V in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change depending on the lens you are employing during that time. The following is a front view scale comparison of the A550 versus the HX90V.

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A550 and HX90V is 63 and 91 respectively.

More often than not, it's hard to see the gap between sensor sizes purely by reading specs. The picture below will provide you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the A550 and HX90V.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizes. The A550 because of its larger sensor will make achieving bokeh easier and the Sony HX90V will deliver more detail as a result of its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will also allow you to crop pics a bit more aggressively. The more aged A550 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.