Sony A550 vs Sony W510

Below, we are looking at the Sony A550 and Sony W510, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Ultracompact and they are both built by Sony. The image resolution of the A550 (14MP) and the W510 (12MP) is fairly similar but the A550 (APS-C) and W510 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor sizing.

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The A550 was revealed 13 months prior to the W510 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony W510 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before we go through a thorough comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the A550 matches up vs the W510 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

This is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W510. The full galleries are available at Sony A550 Gallery and Sony W510 Gallery.

If you are planning to lug around your camera regularly, you'll need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Sony A550 provides external dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") and a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs) whilst the Sony W510 has dimensions of 96mm x 54mm x 20mm (3.8" x 2.1" x 0.8") with a weight of 119 grams (0.26 lbs).

Contrast the Sony A550 and Sony W510 in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change dependant on the lens you choose at that moment. The following is the front view size comparison of the A550 against the W510.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A550 and W510 is 63 and 96 respectively.

Typically, its tough to envision the difference between sensor measurements just by going over technical specs. The photograph below may provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the A550 and W510.

As you can tell, both of those cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The A550 having a larger sensor will make achieving shallower depth of field simpler and the Sony A550 will deliver extra detail because of its extra 2 Megapixels. Greater resolution will help you crop photos somewhat more aggressively. The older A550 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.