Sony A850 vs Sony W800

Below is a in depth assessment of the Sony A850 vs Sony W800, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and they are both manufactured by Sony. There is a sizable difference among the image resolutions of the A850 (25MP) and W800 (20MP) and the A850 (Full frame) and W800 (1/2.3") feature totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The A850 was unveiled 4 years prior to the W800 and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony W800 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight into a more detailed comparison, below is a brief overview of how the A850 grades versus the W800 for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Here is a preview of the gallery photos for Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W800. The full galleries are viewable at Sony A850 Gallery & Sony W800 Gallery.

For anybody who is planning to lug around your camera, you will want to take into account its weight and size. The Sony A850 provides outer dimensions of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs) while the Sony W800 has specifications of 97mm x 55mm x 21mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.8") accompanied by a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs).

Examine the Sony A850 vs Sony W800 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you select at that moment. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the A850 and the W800.

Taking into consideration size and weight, the portability rating of the A850 and W800 is 54 and 96 respectively.

In many cases, it is very difficult to visualise the gap in sensor measurements purely by checking out technical specs. The graphic underneath may give you a more clear sense of the sensor sizes in the A850 and W800.

As you can tell, the 2 cameras offer different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The A850 using its bigger sensor will make shooting bokeh less difficult and the Sony A850 will provide extra detail having an extra 5 Megapixels. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures a little more aggressively. The older A850 will be behind in sensor innovation.