Sony A700 vs Sony HX30V

Lets take a closer look at the Sony A700 versus Sony HX30V, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are manufactured by Sony. There exists a noticeable gap between the resolutions of the A700 (12MP) and HX30V (18MP) and the A700 (APS-C) and HX30V (1/2.3") have totally different sensor sizes.

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The A700 was launched 5 years prior to the HX30V and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Sony A700 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony HX30V being a Compact camera.

Before diving into a comprehensive comparison, here is a short synopsis of how the A700 grades versus the HX30V in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Following is a preview of the gallery images for Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V. The complete galleries are available at Sony A700 Gallery & Sony HX30V Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to carry your camera, you need to take into account its weight and proportions. The Sony A700 provides exterior dimensions of 142mm x 105mm x 80mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.1") with a weight of 768 grams (1.69 lbs) while the Sony HX30V has measurements of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") having a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

Check out the Sony A700 versus Sony HX30V in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ depending on the lens you are working with at that time. Here is a front view dimensions comparison of the A700 and the HX30V.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the A700 and HX30V is 58 and 90 respectively.

Quite often, its hard to visualise the difference between sensor sizing purely by looking at a spec sheet. The photograph below may give you a better sense of the sensor sizes in the A700 and HX30V.

Clearly, both the cameras have different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The A700 due to its bigger sensor will make achieving shallower DOF less difficult and the Sony HX30V will give more detail utilizing its extra 6MP. Higher resolution will also help you crop photographs a bit more aggressively. The older A700 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.