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Sony A550 vs Sony WX500

Portability
63
Imaging
54
Features
65
Overall
58
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500 front
Portability
91
Imaging
43
Features
56
Overall
48

Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 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
  • Revealed December 2009
  • Succeeded the Sony A100
Sony WX500
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 80 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-720mm (F3.5-6.4) lens
  • 236g - 102 x 58 x 36mm
  • Announced April 2015
  • Earlier Model is Sony WX350
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Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 Overview

Below is a comprehensive analysis of the Sony A550 vs Sony WX500, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are built by Sony. There exists a huge gap among the image resolutions of the A550 (14MP) and WX500 (18MP) and the A550 (APS-C) and WX500 (1/2.3") posses different sensor sizes.

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The A550 was revealed 6 years prior to the WX500 and that is a fairly significant gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony WX500 being a Compact camera.

Before getting into a detailed comparison, here is a quick view of how the A550 scores against the WX500 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Sony A550 over the Sony WX500

 A550 WX500 
Manual focus Very exact focus
Screen resolution922k921kClearer screen (+1k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony WX500 over the Sony A550

 WX500 A550 
AnnouncedApril 2015December 2009More recent by 65 months

Common features in the Sony A550 and Sony WX500

 A550 WX500 
Screen typeTiltingTiltingTilting screen
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen dimensions
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen
Touch screen Lacking Touch screen

Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera frequently, you'll have to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Sony A550 has got external dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") having a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs) whilst the Sony WX500 has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") along with a weight of 236 grams (0.52 lbs).

Analyze the Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you have during that time. Here is a front view sizing comparison of the A550 and the WX500.

Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the A550 and WX500 is 63 and 91 respectively.

Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 top view buttons comparison

Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 Sensor Comparison

Quite often, it is very hard to picture the contrast in sensor measurements just by looking through specifications. The graphic here may provide you a stronger sense of the sensor sizes in the A550 and WX500.

To sum up, each of these cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The A550 using its bigger sensor is going to make shooting bokeh easier and the Sony WX500 will provide you with greater detail because of its extra 4MP. Higher resolution will also help you crop pictures more aggressively. The older A550 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 sensor size comparison

Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A550 Portrait photography information
Sony WX500 Portrait photography information
72
you can focus manually
good resolution (14MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
has face detection focusing
saves RAW formats
39
decent sensor resolution (18MP)
comes with face detection autofocus
lack of manual focus
no external flash support
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Street Comparison

Sony A550 Street photography info
Sony WX500 Street photography info
74
tilting screen
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
69
has a tilting screen
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition in class (236 grams)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Sony A550
Sports photography with Sony WX500
67
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (14MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
supports phase detect AF
not so great battery (480 per charge)
57
great zoom range (24-720mm 30.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (18MP)
comes with tracking autofocus
great battery (360 shots)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Sony A550 as a Travel photography camera
Sony WX500 as a Travel photography camera
52
good resolution (14 megapixels)
built-in flash
lack of Time Lapse function
not so great battery (480 per charge)
display is not selfie friendly
71
great battery (360 shots)
lighter than competition in class (236g)
decent sensor resolution (18MP)
flash built-in
pretty wide (24mm)
long reach (720mm)
does not have Time Lapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A550 Landscape photography factors
Sony WX500 Landscape photography factors
66
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
good sized screen (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
good resolution (14 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
saves RAW formats
not so great battery (480 per charge)
lack of Time Lapse function
49
pretty wide (24mm)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent sensor resolution (18 megapixels)
great battery (360 CIPA)
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
does not have Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A550 Vlogging factors
Sony WX500 Vlogging factors
9
no video recording
35
pretty wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detection autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than competition in class (236 grams)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
screen is not selfie friendly
does not have external mic jack
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Sony A550 vs Sony WX500 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A550 and Sony WX500
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A550Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500
General Information
Brand Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500
Category Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2009-12-09 2015-04-14
Body design Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by Bionz Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 23.4 x 15.6mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 365.0mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixels 18 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Highest resolution 4592 x 3056 4896 x 3672
Highest native ISO 12800 12800
Min native ISO 200 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 9 -
Lens
Lens support Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-720mm (30.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.5-6.4
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Number of lenses 143 -
Crop factor 1.5 5.8
Screen
Screen type Tilting Tilting
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 922 thousand dot 921 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.53x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shooting speed 7.0 frames per second 10.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 12.00 m 5.40 m (with Auto ISO)
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, flash on, slow sync, flash off, rear sync
Hot shoe
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Maximum flash sync 1/160 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (30p)
Highest video resolution None 1920x1080
Video data format - AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic 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 gr (1.39 lb) 236 gr (0.52 lb)
Physical dimensions 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") 102 x 58 x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4")
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 pictures 360 pictures
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID NP-FM500H NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes
Time lapse feature
Type of storage SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Pricing at launch $749 $348