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Sony A550 vs Sony W830

Portability
63
Imaging
54
Features
65
Overall
58
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830 front
Portability
96
Imaging
45
Features
26
Overall
37

Sony A550 vs Sony W830 Key Specs

Sony A550
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Display
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 632g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Released December 2009
  • Replaced the Sony A100
Sony W830
(Full Review)
  • 20MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-200mm (F3.3-6.3) lens
  • 122g - 93 x 52 x 23mm
  • Introduced January 2014
Photography Glossary

Sony A550 vs Sony W830 Overview

The following is a complete review of the Sony A550 and Sony W830, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Ultracompact and both of them are produced by Sony. There is a large difference between the resolutions of the A550 (14MP) and W830 (20MP) and the A550 (APS-C) and W830 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizes.

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The A550 was brought out 5 years earlier than the W830 which is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony W830 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before diving straight to a thorough comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the A550 scores against the W830 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Sony A550 over the Sony W830

 A550 W830 
Manual focus More accurate focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimensions3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution922k230kSharper screen (+692k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony W830 over the Sony A550

 W830 A550 
IntroducedJanuary 2014December 2009Newer by 49 months

Common features in the Sony A550 and Sony W830

 A550 W830 
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch screen No Touch screen

Sony A550 vs Sony W830 Physical Comparison

When you are planning to travel with your camera often, you need to factor its weight and size. The Sony A550 comes with outer measurements 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 W830 has specifications of 93mm x 52mm x 23mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9") and a weight of 122 grams (0.27 lbs).

Compare the Sony A550 and Sony W830 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you use during that time. Underneath is a front view measurement comparison of the A550 vs the W830.

Sony A550 vs Sony W830 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability score of the A550 and W830 is 63 and 96 respectively.

Sony A550 vs Sony W830 top view buttons comparison

Sony A550 vs Sony W830 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, its difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor dimensions purely by checking specifications. The image below might give you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the A550 and W830.

To sum up, both of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The A550 due to its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Sony W830 will give more detail having its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures more aggressively. The more aged A550 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.

Sony A550 vs Sony W830 sensor size comparison

Sony A550 vs Sony W830 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A550 vs Sony W830 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A550 Portrait photography information
Sony W830 Portrait photography information
72
you can focus manually
decent sensor resolution (14MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
provides face detection autofocus
saves RAW formats
38
megapixel count good (20MP)
comes with face detection autofocus
manual focus not available
no manual control
cannot use external flash
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Sony A550
Street photography with Sony W830
74
tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
59
built in image stabilization (Optical)
fixed screen
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Sony A550 Sports photography information
Sony W830 Sports photography information
67
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (14 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
comes with phase detect autofocus
not so great battery (480 per charge)
43
built in image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20MP)
comes with tracking autofocus
max frames per second very slow (1.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority mode
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
has no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Sony A550 Travel photography details
Sony W830 Travel photography details
52
decent sensor resolution (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
lack of Timelapse function
not so great battery (480 CIPA)
screen is not selfie friendly
67
megapixel count good (20 megapixels)
has built in flash
quite wide (25mm)
no Timelapse mode
display is not selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A550 Landscape photography information
Sony W830 Landscape photography information
66
you can focus manually
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (14 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
not so great battery (480 shots)
lack of Timelapse function
41
quite wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
megapixel count good (20MP)
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.3)
tiny screen (2.7 inches)
no manual control
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
no Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A550 Vlogging highlights
Sony W830 Vlogging highlights
9
no video
32
quite wide (25mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection autofocus
slow max aperture (f3.3)
display is not selfie friendly
low video resolution (1280 x 720 pixels)
no external microphone port
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Sony A550 vs Sony W830 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A550 and Sony W830
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A550Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830
General Information
Make Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W830
Type Entry-Level DSLR Ultracompact
Released 2009-12-09 2014-01-07
Body design Compact SLR Ultracompact
Sensor Information
Powered by Bionz Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size APS-C 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 23.4 x 15.6mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 365.0mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 20 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4592 x 3056 5152 x 3864
Maximum native ISO 12800 3200
Min native ISO 200 80
RAW support
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Total focus points 9 -
Cross type focus points - -
Lens
Lens support Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-200mm (8.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.3-6.3
Number of lenses 143 -
Focal length multiplier 1.5 5.8
Screen
Display type Tilting Fixed Type
Display size 3" 2.7"
Resolution of display 922k dot 230k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Display tech - Clear Photo LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.53x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30 seconds 2 seconds
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 seconds 1/1600 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 7.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 12.00 m 2.80 m (with ISO auto)
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto / Flash On / Slow Synchro / Flash Off / Advanced Flash
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/160 seconds -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1280x720
Video file format - H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 632 grams (1.39 pounds) 122 grams (0.27 pounds)
Physical dimensions 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") 93 x 52 x 23mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around 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 photographs -
Battery form Battery Pack -
Battery ID NP-FM500H NP-BN
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 secs)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo, microSD/microSDHC
Storage slots Single Single
Cost at launch $749 $128