Sony A850 vs Sony W710

The following is a in depth assessment of the Sony A850 and Sony W710, former is a Advanced DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both offered by Sony. There is a sizable difference among the sensor resolutions of the A850 (25MP) and W710 (16MP) and the A850 (Full frame) and W710 (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor dimensions.

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The A850 was announced 3 years earlier than the W710 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both of the cameras come with different body type with the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony W710 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight into a full comparison, below is a concise introduction of how the A850 grades versus the W710 in terms of portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W710. The whole galleries are available at Sony A850 Gallery & Sony W710 Gallery.

If you're intending to travel with your camera, you're going to have to consider its weight and size. The Sony A850 has exterior dimensions of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") with a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs) and the Sony W710 has specifications of 97mm x 55mm x 20mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.8") having a weight of 114 grams (0.25 lbs).

See the Sony A850 and Sony W710 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you select at that time. Here is the front view physical size comparison of the A850 vs the W710.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability grade of the A850 and W710 is 54 and 96 respectively.

Often, it is very tough to see the contrast in sensor dimensions just by seeing specs. The picture here might provide you a far better sense of the sensor sizes in the A850 and W710.

All in all, each of these cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The A850 using its larger sensor will make getting shallower DOF easier and the Sony A850 will show extra detail with its extra 9MP. Greater resolution will allow you to crop images much more aggressively. The more aged A850 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.