Sony NEX-3 vs Sony W550

Lets look a little more in depth at the Sony NEX-3 vs Sony W550, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Ultracompact and both are designed by Sony. The resolution of the NEX-3 (14MP) and the W550 (14MP) is fairly comparable but the NEX-3 (APS-C) and W550 (1/2.3") come with different sensor sizes.

Photography Glossary

The NEX-3 was unveiled 13 months before the W550 making the cameras a generation apart from each other. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Sony NEX-3 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W550 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before delving straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief highlight of how the NEX-3 scores against the W550 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha NEX-3 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550. The full galleries are available at Sony NEX-3 Gallery & Sony W550 Gallery.

When you are intending to lug around your camera frequently, you are going to need to consider its weight and proportions. The Sony NEX-3 offers outer dimensions of 117mm x 62mm x 33mm (4.6" x 2.4" x 1.3") along with a weight of 297 grams (0.65 lbs) whilst the Sony W550 has measurements of 94mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") and a weight of 110 grams (0.24 lbs).

Check out the Sony NEX-3 vs Sony W550 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you choose at that moment. The following is the front view dimensions comparison of the NEX-3 versus the W550.

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the NEX-3 and W550 is 89 and 96 respectively.

Generally, it is very difficult to imagine the difference in sensor measurements only by going through a spec sheet. The graphic here might offer you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the NEX-3 and W550.

Clearly, the 2 cameras have got the exact same resolution but different sensor measurements. The NEX-3 provides the larger sensor which will make achieving bokeh simpler. The older NEX-3 will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.