Sony NEX-5 vs Sony W550

Here is a thorough comparison of the Sony NEX-5 and Sony W550, former being a Entry-Level Mirrorless while the other is a Ultracompact and both are sold by Sony. The image resolution of the NEX-5 (14MP) and the W550 (14MP) is fairly well matched but the NEX-5 (APS-C) and W550 (1/2.3") use totally different sensor sizing.

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The NEX-5 was brought out 13 months prior to the W550 making the cameras a generation apart from one another. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Sony NEX-5 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W550 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before we go in to a in-depth comparison, below is a concise highlight of how the NEX-5 scores against the W550 in the way of portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Alpha NEX-5 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550. The entire galleries are provided at Sony NEX-5 Gallery & Sony W550 Gallery.

If you are planning to carry your camera, you should take into account its weight and volume. The Sony NEX-5 features outside measurements of 111mm x 59mm x 38mm (4.4" x 2.3" x 1.5") with a weight of 287 grams (0.63 lbs) whilst the Sony W550 has sizing of 94mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") with a weight of 110 grams (0.24 lbs).

Analyze the Sony NEX-5 and Sony W550 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have at the time. Following is the front view overall size comparison of the NEX-5 vs the W550.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the NEX-5 and W550 is 89 and 96 respectively.

Normally, it's hard to visualise the contrast between sensor sizing just by checking specs. The graphic below might offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the NEX-5 and W550.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras have got the exact same megapixel count but not the same sensor sizing. The NEX-5 offers the larger sensor which should make getting shallower DOF simpler. The older NEX-5 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.