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Sony A850 vs Sony H55

Portability
54
Imaging
68
Features
60
Overall
64
Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 front
Portability
92
Imaging
37
Features
28
Overall
33

Sony A850 vs Sony H55 Key Specs

Sony A850
(Full Review)
  • 25MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 200 - 3200 (Raise to 6400)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 895g - 156 x 117 x 82mm
  • Introduced April 2010
Sony H55
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.5-5.5) lens
  • 200g - 103 x 58 x 29mm
  • Launched June 2010
Photography Glossary

Sony A850 vs Sony H55 Overview

Following is a detailed analysis of the Sony A850 and Sony H55, former is a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are produced by Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the resolutions of the A850 (25MP) and H55 (14MP) and the A850 (Full frame) and H55 (1/2.3") offer different sensor measurements.

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The A850 was announced 2 months earlier than the H55 and they are of a similar age. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony H55 being a Compact camera.

Before diving straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a concise view of how the A850 grades against the H55 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

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Reasons to pick Sony A850 over the Sony H55

 A850 H55 
Focus manually Dial exact focus
Screen resolution922k230kCrisper screen (+692k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony H55 over the Sony A850

 H55 A850 

Common features in the Sony A850 and Sony H55

 A850 H55 
LaunchedApril 2010June 2010Same age
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen dimensions3"3"Equal screen measurements
Selfie screen Lack of selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither offers Touch friendly screen

Sony A850 vs Sony H55 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is going to carry around your camera often, you will want to take into account its weight and size. The Sony A850 offers outer measurements of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") having a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs) whilst the Sony H55 has specifications of 103mm x 58mm x 29mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1") and a weight of 200 grams (0.44 lbs).

Examine the Sony A850 and Sony H55 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you use at the time. Following is a front view measurement comparison of the A850 compared to the H55.

Sony A850 vs Sony H55 size comparison

Considering dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the A850 and H55 is 54 and 92 respectively.

Sony A850 vs Sony H55 top view buttons comparison

Sony A850 vs Sony H55 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is very hard to imagine the gap in sensor sizes just by researching specs. The image here might offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the A850 and H55.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras provide different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The A850 having a bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF simpler and the Sony A850 will result in more detail with its extra 11 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop shots more aggressively.

Sony A850 vs Sony H55 sensor size comparison

Sony A850 vs Sony H55 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A850 vs Sony H55 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A850 Portrait photography advice
Sony H55 Portrait photography advice
72
you can focus manually
sensor resolution is amazing (25 megapixels)
great sensor size (Full frame)
saves RAW formats
no liveview
28
good megapixels (14MP)
manual focus not available
lack of manual mode
no external flash support
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Street Comparison

Sony A850 Street photography features
Sony H55 Street photography features
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
great sensor size (Full frame)
saves RAW formats
weather sealing
fixed screen
56
image stabilization (Optical)
screen does not articulate
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Sony A850 Sports photography advice
Sony H55 Sports photography advice
71
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000s)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is amazing (25 megapixels)
great sensor size (Full frame)
weather sealing
has phase detect auto focus
no liveview
very slow continuous shooting (3.0 frames per second)
38
image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (14MP)
lack of shutter priority mode
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony A850
Travel photography with Sony H55
55
weather sealing
sensor resolution is amazing (25 megapixels)
no Time Lapse function
doesn't offer selfie friendly screen
67
good megapixels (14 megapixels)
has built in flash
decently wide (25mm)
great zoom (250mm)
does not have Timelapse mode
display isn't selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A850 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony H55 as a Landscape photography camera
73
you can focus manually
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen is a decent size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is amazing (25MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
saves RAW formats
weather sealing
two card slots
no liveview
no Time Lapse function
42
decently wide (25mm)
good sized screen (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (14MP)
manual focus not available
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
lack of manual mode
small sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
does not have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A850 as a Vlogging camera
Sony H55 as a Vlogging camera
9
no video shooting
28
decently wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
display isn't selfie friendly
low quality video (1280 x 720 pxls)
does not have external microphone port
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Sony A850 vs Sony H55 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A850 and Sony H55
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A850Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55
General Information
Brand Name Sony Sony
Model Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55
Type Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Introduced 2010-04-15 2010-06-16
Body design Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by Bionz Bionz
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size Full frame 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 35.9 x 24mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 861.6mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 25 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 6048 x 4032 4320 x 3240
Maximum native ISO 3200 3200
Maximum enhanced ISO 6400 -
Minimum native ISO 200 80
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
Continuous AF
AF single
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 9 9
Lens
Lens mounting type Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.5-5.5
Macro focus range - 5cm
Number of lenses 143 -
Focal length multiplier 1 5.8
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3" 3"
Resolution of display 922 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Display tech TFT Xtra Fine color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 98% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.74x -
Features
Min shutter speed 30 secs 30 secs
Max shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/1600 secs
Continuous shutter speed 3.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range no built-in flash 3.80 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, On, Slow Syncro, Off
Hot shoe
AEB
White balance bracketing
Max flash sync 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution None 1280x720
Video data format - MPEG-4
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 proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 895g (1.97 pounds) 200g (0.44 pounds)
Physical dimensions 156 x 117 x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") 103 x 58 x 29mm (4.1" x 2.3" x 1.1")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 79 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 23.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.2 not tested
DXO Low light score 1415 not tested
Other
Battery life 880 shots -
Battery form Battery Pack -
Battery model NP-FM500H NP-BG1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, portrait1/ portrait2)
Time lapse feature
Storage media Compact Flash (Type I or II), UDMA, Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo/ PRO HG-Duo, SD/SDHC, Internal
Storage slots 2 1
Retail cost $0 $235