Sony A850 vs Sony WX500

Below, we will be matching up the Sony A850 versus Sony WX500, one being a Advanced DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are sold by Sony. There exists a sizeable gap among the image resolutions of the A850 (25MP) and WX500 (18MP) and the A850 (Full frame) and WX500 (1/2.3") use different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The A850 was unveiled 6 years earlier than the WX500 and that is a fairly large gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony WX500 being a Compact camera.

Before going in to a in-depth comparison, below is a quick overview of how the A850 grades against the WX500 for portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX500. The full galleries are available at Sony A850 Gallery and Sony WX500 Gallery.

For anybody who is going to carry your camera regularly, you will have to consider its weight and proportions. The Sony A850 comes with physical measurements of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") accompanied by a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs) whilst the Sony WX500 has measurements of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") with a weight of 236 grams (0.52 lbs).

See the Sony A850 versus Sony WX500 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you have chosen at the time. Underneath is the front view proportions comparison of the A850 and the WX500.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A850 and WX500 is 54 and 91 respectively.

Typically, it's hard to visualize the difference in sensor sizing purely by researching specs. The graphic here might provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the A850 and WX500.

As you can plainly see, each of the cameras posses different resolutions and different sensor sizing. The A850 with its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF less difficult and the Sony A850 will provide you with greater detail having an extra 7 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs somewhat more aggressively. The older A850 will be behind when it comes to sensor innovation.