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Sony A900 vs Sony W690

Portability
54
Imaging
66
Features
62
Overall
64
Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690 front
Portability
95
Imaging
39
Features
32
Overall
36

Sony A900 vs Sony W690 Key Specs

Sony A900
(Full Review)
  • 25MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 6400
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 895g - 156 x 117 x 82mm
  • Announced October 2008
  • Later Model is Sony A99
Sony W690
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 25-250mm (F3.3-5.9) lens
  • 142g - 94 x 56 x 22mm
  • Released February 2012
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Sony A900 vs Sony W690 Overview

Below is a extensive analysis of the Sony A900 vs Sony W690, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are designed by Sony. There is a large difference between the image resolutions of the A900 (25MP) and W690 (16MP) and the A900 (Full frame) and W690 (1/2.3") offer different sensor dimensions.

Photography Glossary

The A900 was manufactured 4 years prior to the W690 and that is quite a serious difference as far as tech is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Sony A900 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony W690 being a Compact camera.

Before getting straight to a comprehensive comparison, here is a quick overview of how the A900 scores vs the W690 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Sony A900 over the Sony W690

 A900 W690 
Focus manually Dial accurate focusing
Screen resolution922k230kCrisper screen (+692k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony W690 over the Sony A900

 W690 A900 
ReleasedFebruary 2012October 2008More recent by 40 months

Common features in the Sony A900 and Sony W690

 A900 W690 
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen size3"3"Same screen sizing
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch screen No Touch screen

Sony A900 vs Sony W690 Physical Comparison

If you are intending to lug around your camera frequently, you will want to factor its weight and dimensions. The Sony A900 provides external measurements 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 W690 has dimensions of 94mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 142 grams (0.31 lbs).

Look at the Sony A900 vs Sony W690 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you choose at that time. Following is a front view overall size comparison of the A900 and the W690.

Sony A900 vs Sony W690 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the A900 and W690 is 54 and 95 respectively.

Sony A900 vs Sony W690 top view buttons comparison

Sony A900 vs Sony W690 Sensor Comparison

In many cases, it's tough to imagine the difference between sensor measurements merely by going over specifications. The visual below might provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the A900 and W690.

To sum up, both cameras feature different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The A900 featuring a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallower depth of field easier and the Sony A900 will offer you greater detail due to its extra 9 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also let you crop photographs way more aggressively. The older A900 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor innovation.

Sony A900 vs Sony W690 sensor size comparison

Sony A900 vs Sony W690 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A900 vs Sony W690 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A900 Portrait photography advice
Sony W690 Portrait photography advice
71
you can focus manually
amazing resolution (25 megapixels)
big sensor size (Full frame)
saves RAW files
doesn't have liveview
34
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
has face detection autofocus
lack of manual focus
manual mode not possible
external flash not possible
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Street Comparison

Sony A900 as a Street photography camera
Sony W690 as a Street photography camera
66
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
big sensor size (Full frame)
saves RAW files
environment sealing
no moving screen
57
has image stabilization (Optical)
no articulating screen
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Sony A900 Sports photography details
Sony W690 Sports photography details
70
high shutter speed (1/8,000 seconds)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
amazing resolution (25MP)
big sensor size (Full frame)
environment sealing
supports phase detect auto focus
doesn't have liveview
max frames per second very slow (5.0 fps)
40
has image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
has tracking autofocus
slow continuous shooting (1.0 frames per second)
lack of shutter priority mode
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Sony A900 Travel photography highlights
Sony W690 Travel photography highlights
54
environment sealing
amazing resolution (25 megapixels)
no Time Lapse recording
doesn't feature selfie friendly display
68
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
fairly wide (25mm)
long zoom (250mm)
missing Timelapse recording
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Sony A900
Landscape photography with Sony W690
72
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen size is good (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
amazing resolution (25MP)
big sensor size (Full frame)
saves RAW files
environment sealing
has dual storage slots
doesn't have liveview
no Time Lapse recording
43
fairly wide (25mm)
good sized screen (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
good megapixels (16 megapixels)
lack of manual focus
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
manual mode not possible
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
missing Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Sony A900
Vlogging with Sony W690
9
no video
31
fairly wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
has face detection autofocus
slow maximum aperture (f3.3)
doesn't posses selfie friendly display
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pixels)
missing external microphone socket
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Sony A900 vs Sony W690 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A900 and Sony W690
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A900Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690
General Information
Brand Name Sony Sony
Model Sony Alpha DSLR-A900 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690
Category Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Compact
Announced 2008-10-22 2012-02-28
Physical type 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 16 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Highest resolution 6048 x 4032 4608 x 3456
Highest native ISO 6400 3200
Min native ISO 100 80
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
AF continuous
AF single
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points 9 -
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-250mm (10.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/3.3-5.9
Macro focus range - 5cm
Number of lenses 143 -
Crop factor 1 5.8
Screen
Display type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of display 922k dots 230k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Display tech TFT Xtra Fine color LCD ClearPhoto TFT LCD display
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 100 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.74x -
Features
Slowest shutter speed 30 secs 30 secs
Maximum shutter speed 1/8000 secs 1/1600 secs
Continuous shooting rate 5.0 frames per second 1.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range no built-in flash 3.30 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
External flash
AEB
WB bracketing
Maximum flash synchronize 1/250 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Video resolutions - 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution None 1280x720
Video file format - MPEG-4
Microphone port
Headphone port
Connectivity
Wireless None None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 895 grams (1.97 lb) 142 grams (0.31 lb)
Physical dimensions 156 x 117 x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") 94 x 56 x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 79 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 23.7 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 12.3 not tested
DXO Low light score 1431 not tested
Other
Battery life 880 pictures 220 pictures
Battery type Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model NP-FM500H NP-BN
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse recording
Type of storage Compact Flash (Type I or II), Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, UDMA Mode 5, Supports FAT12 / FAT16 / FAT32 SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo
Card slots 2 1
Retail pricing $2,736 $297