Sony A550 vs Sony RX1R

Following is a extended assessment of the Sony A550 and Sony RX1R, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Large Sensor Compact and they are both built by Sony. There is a substantial difference between the resolutions of the A550 (14MP) and RX1R (24MP) and the A550 (APS-C) and RX1R (Full frame) feature totally different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The A550 was announced 4 years earlier than the RX1R which is quite a big difference as far as tech is concerned. The two cameras offer different body type with the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony RX1R being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before going straight into a thorough comparison, below is a quick introduction of how the A550 grades against the RX1R in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a sample of the gallery pics for Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX1R. The whole galleries are available at Sony A550 Gallery & Sony RX1R Gallery.

If you're going to carry around your camera, you are going to need to factor its weight and measurements. The Sony A550 offers 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) whilst the Sony RX1R has proportions of 113mm x 65mm x 70mm (4.4" x 2.6" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 482 grams (1.06 lbs).

See the Sony A550 and Sony RX1R in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have chosen during that time. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the A550 compared to the RX1R.

Looking at size and weight, the portability rating of the A550 and RX1R is 63 and 79 respectively.

Generally, it is very difficult to envision the gap between sensor sizes only by reading specs. The image underneath might provide you a greater sense of the sensor dimensions in the A550 and RX1R.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras offer different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The A550 with its tinier sensor will make achieving shallower DOF harder and the Sony RX1R will offer you more detail with its extra 10 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics a little more aggressively. The more aged A550 is going to be behind in sensor innovation.