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Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV

Portability
63
Imaging
54
Features
65
Overall
58
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV front
Portability
52
Imaging
53
Features
82
Overall
64

Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV Key Specs

Sony A550
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 632g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Introduced December 2009
  • Older Model is Sony A100
Sony RX10 IV
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 125 - 12800 (Boost to 25600)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • 24-600mm (F2.4-4.0) lens
  • 1095g - 133 x 94 x 145mm
  • Introduced September 2017
  • Succeeded the Sony RX10 III
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Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV Overview

Let's take a closer look at the Sony A550 and Sony RX10 IV, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Large Sensor Superzoom and both of them are offered by Sony. There exists a big gap between the sensor resolutions of the A550 (14MP) and RX10 IV (20MP) and the A550 (APS-C) and RX10 IV (1") have different sensor sizes.

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The A550 was introduced 8 years prior to the RX10 IV and that is quite a big gap as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX10 IV being a SLR-like (bridge) camera.

Before going straight to a full comparison, here is a simple view of how the A550 matches up vs the RX10 IV in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Sony A550 over the Sony RX10 IV

 A550 RX10 IV 

Reasons to pick Sony RX10 IV over the Sony A550

 RX10 IV A550 
IntroducedSeptember 2017December 2009Fresher by 94 months
Screen resolution1440k922kClearer screen (+518k dot)
Touch screen Quickly navigate

Common features in the Sony A550 and Sony RX10 IV

 A550 RX10 IV 
Manually focus Dial precise focus
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen dimensions
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen

Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV Physical Comparison

In case you're looking to carry your camera regularly, you have to factor its weight and dimensions. The Sony A550 provides exterior measurements of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") along with a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs) and the Sony RX10 IV has dimensions of 133mm x 94mm x 145mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.7") along with a weight of 1095 grams (2.41 lbs).

Examine the Sony A550 and Sony RX10 IV in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you have during that time. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the A550 versus the RX10 IV.

Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A550 and RX10 IV is 63 and 52 respectively.

Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV top view buttons comparison

Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV Sensor Comparison

Normally, it can be difficult to imagine the gap between sensor sizing just by looking at specifications. The graphic here may give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the A550 and RX10 IV.

To sum up, each of the cameras have different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The A550 using its bigger sensor is going to make shooting shallower depth of field less difficult and the Sony RX10 IV will give more detail using its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The older A550 is going to be behind with regard to sensor technology.

Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV sensor size comparison

Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A550 Portrait photography advice
Sony RX10 IV Portrait photography advice
72
focusing manually
decent MP (14 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
comes with face detect focusing
delivers RAW files
71
focusing manually
high flash sync (1/2,000s)
decent sensor resolution (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
has face detection autofocus
supports RAW formats
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Street Comparison

Sony A550 Street photography information
Sony RX10 IV Street photography information
74
screen tilts
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
64
tilting screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor size (1")
supports RAW formats
includes focus by touch
weather proof
more heavy than competitors (1,095 grams)
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Sony A550
Sports photography with Sony RX10 IV
67
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (14 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
comes with phase detect AF
not so great battery life (480 shots)
76
excellent zoom range (24-600mm 25.0 x zoom)
silent mode (1/32,000 seconds)
high max fps (24.0 fps)
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
has tracking autofocus
weather proof
has phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Sony A550 Travel photography details
Sony RX10 IV Travel photography details
52
decent MP (14 megapixels)
flash built-in
lack of Time Lapse recording
not so great battery life (480 per charge)
screen isn't selfie friendly
56
weather proof
connects via bluetooth
includes focus by touch
decent sensor resolution (20 megapixels)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (24mm)
great reach (600mm)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
more heavy than competitors (1,095g)
screen is not selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.4)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Sony A550
Landscape photography with Sony RX10 IV
66
focusing manually
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent MP (14 megapixels)
decent sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
not so great battery life (480 CIPA)
lack of Time Lapse recording
62
focusing manually
reasonably wide (24mm)
pretty good screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (20MP)
decent sensor size (1")
supports RAW formats
weather proof
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.4)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A550 Vlogging details
Sony RX10 IV Vlogging details
9
can't record video
29
reasonably wide (24mm)
touchscreen capability
has image stabilization (Optical)
has face detection autofocus
high res video (3840 x 2160 pixels)
has external microphone jack
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.4)
screen is not selfie friendly
more heavy than competitors (1,095 grams)
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Sony A550 vs Sony RX10 IV Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A550 and Sony RX10 IV
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A550Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV
General Information
Make Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV
Category Entry-Level DSLR Large Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2009-12-09 2017-09-12
Body design Compact SLR SLR-like (bridge)
Sensor Information
Chip Bionz Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C 1"
Sensor measurements 23.4 x 15.6mm 13.2 x 8.8mm
Sensor area 365.0mm² 116.2mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4592 x 3056 5472 x 3648
Max native ISO 12800 12800
Max enhanced ISO - 25600
Minimum native ISO 200 125
RAW files
Minimum enhanced ISO - 64
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Tracking autofocus
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 9 315
Lens
Lens support Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-600mm (25.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/2.4-4.0
Macro focusing distance - 3cm
Amount of lenses 143 -
Crop factor 1.5 2.7
Screen
Screen type Tilting Tilting
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of screen 922k dot 1,440k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359k dot
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.53x 0.7x
Features
Min shutter speed 30s 30s
Max shutter speed 1/4000s 1/2000s
Max silent shutter speed - 1/32000s
Continuous shutter speed 7.0fps 24.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 12.00 m 10.80 m (at Auto ISO)
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, fill-flash, slow sync, rear sync, off
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Max flash sync 1/160s 1/2000s
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 3840 x 2160 (30p, 25p, 24p), 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 24p) ,1440 x 1080 (30p), 640 x 480 (30p)
Max video resolution None 3840x2160
Video format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
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 632 grams (1.39 lb) 1095 grams (2.41 lb)
Physical dimensions 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") 133 x 94 x 145mm (5.2" x 3.7" x 5.7")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 66 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.9 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 11.8 not tested
DXO Low light rating 807 not tested
Other
Battery life 480 shots 400 shots
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID NP-FM500H NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, continuous)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Launch price $749 $1,698