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Sony A580 vs Sony W230

Portability
64
Imaging
56
Features
82
Overall
66
Sony Alpha DSLR-A580 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W230 front
Portability
95
Imaging
34
Features
25
Overall
30

Sony A580 vs Sony W230 Key Specs

Sony A580
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Boost to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 599g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Launched May 2011
  • Older Model is Sony A100
Sony W230
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 640 x 480 video
  • 30-120mm (F2.8-5.8) lens
  • 156g - 95 x 57 x 22mm
  • Announced February 2009
Photography Glossary

Sony A580 vs Sony W230 Overview

Its time to look much closer at the Sony A580 vs Sony W230, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the other is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both manufactured by Sony. There is a sizeable difference among the image resolutions of the A580 (16MP) and W230 (12MP) and the A580 (APS-C) and W230 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor sizing.

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The A580 was revealed 2 years later than the W230 and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera tech is concerned. The two cameras come with different body type with the Sony A580 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony W230 being a Compact camera.

Before getting through a detailed comparison, below is a brief summary of how the A580 matches up vs the W230 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Sony A580 over the Sony W230

 A580 W230 
AnnouncedMay 2011February 2009More recent by 28 months
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution922k230kSharper display (+692k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony W230 over the Sony A580

 W230 A580 

Common features in the Sony A580 and Sony W230

 A580 W230 
Manually focus Dial accurate focus
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurement
Selfie screen No selfie screen
Touch display No Touch display

Sony A580 vs Sony W230 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is going to lug around your camera often, you're going to have to factor in its weight and size. The Sony A580 has physical dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") along with a weight of 599 grams (1.32 lbs) whilst the Sony W230 has specifications of 95mm x 57mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 156 grams (0.34 lbs).

Analyze the Sony A580 vs Sony W230 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary based on the lens you are working with at the time. Below is the front view scale comparison of the A580 and the W230.

Sony A580 vs Sony W230 size comparison

Considering size and weight, the portability rating of the A580 and W230 is 64 and 95 respectively.

Sony A580 vs Sony W230 top view buttons comparison

Sony A580 vs Sony W230 Sensor Comparison

Often, it is very hard to visualise the gap in sensor measurements only by seeing specifications. The photograph below will help offer you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the A580 and W230.

To sum up, each of the cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The A580 with its larger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony A580 will show greater detail because of its extra 4MP. Greater resolution will make it easier to crop photos much more aggressively. The more recent A580 will have an edge when it comes to sensor technology.

Sony A580 vs Sony W230 sensor size comparison

Sony A580 vs Sony W230 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A580 vs Sony W230 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A580 Portrait photography advice
Sony W230 Portrait photography advice
73
you can focus manually
decent sensor resolution (16MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
offers face detection autofocus
delivers RAW files
27
focusing manually
lack of manual exposure
cannot use external flash
MP count low (12MP)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
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Street Comparison

Sony A580 Street photography features
Sony W230 Street photography features
75
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
56
has image stabilization (Optical)
screen does not articulate
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Sony A580 Sports photography advice
Sony W230 Sports photography advice
78
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
offers tracking autofocus
great battery life (1,050 per charge)
comes with phase detect autofocus
25
has image stabilization (Optical)
max fps low (2.0 frames/s)
no shutter priority
MP count low (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Sony A580 Travel photography advice
Sony W230 Travel photography advice
60
great battery life (1,050 shots)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
has built in flash
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
does not posses selfie friendly screen
51
has built in flash
doesn't have Timelapse function
MP count low (12MP)
screen is not selfie friendly
wide angle not the best (30mm)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A580 Landscape photography info
Sony W230 Landscape photography info
73
you can focus manually
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent sensor resolution (16 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
delivers RAW files
great battery life (1,050 per charge)
two card slots
doesn't have Time Lapse recording
36
focusing manually
screen size is good (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
wide angle not the best (30mm)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
lack of manual exposure
MP count low (12MP)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW files
doesn't have Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Sony A580
Vlogging with Sony W230
34
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
offers face detection autofocus
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
does have external mic socket
does not posses selfie friendly screen
25
has image stabilization (Optical)
wide angle not the best (30mm)
somewhat slow maximum aperture (f2.8)
screen is not selfie friendly
video res low (640 x 480 pixels)
doesn't have external microphone port
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Sony A580 vs Sony W230 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A580 and Sony W230
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A580Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W230
General Information
Company Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha DSLR-A580 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W230
Category Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Launched 2011-05-26 2009-02-17
Body design Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by Bionz -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size APS-C 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 23.5 x 15.6mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 366.6mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4912 x 3264 4000 x 3000
Maximum native ISO 12800 3200
Maximum boosted ISO 25600 -
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
AF touch
AF continuous
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
Center weighted AF
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 15 9
Cross type focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens support Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 30-120mm (4.0x)
Maximal aperture - f/2.8-5.8
Macro focusing distance - 4cm
Number of lenses 143 -
Focal length multiplier 1.5 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 922 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.53x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30s 1s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shooting speed 7.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 12.00 m 3.90 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60, 29.97 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 640x480
Video file format MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264 Motion JPEG
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected 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 599g (1.32 pounds) 156g (0.34 pounds)
Dimensions 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") 95 x 57 x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 80 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 23.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 13.3 not tested
DXO Low light rating 1121 not tested
Other
Battery life 1050 pictures -
Battery form Battery Pack -
Battery ID NP-FM500H -
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, Internal
Storage slots Dual One
Launch pricing $848 $180