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Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550

Portability
84
Imaging
64
Features
71
Overall
66
Sony Alpha NEX-7 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550 front
Portability
96
Imaging
37
Features
28
Overall
33

Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550 Key Specs

Sony NEX-7
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 16000
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 400g - 120 x 67 x 43mm
  • Launched December 2011
Sony W550
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 26-104mm (F2.7-5.7) lens
  • 110g - 94 x 56 x 19mm
  • Launched July 2011
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Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550 Overview

Lets look closer at the Sony NEX-7 and Sony W550, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the other is a Ultracompact and both of them are manufactured by Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the sensor resolutions of the NEX-7 (24MP) and W550 (14MP) and the NEX-7 (APS-C) and W550 (1/2.3") feature different sensor dimensions.

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The NEX-7 was launched 5 months later than the W550 and they are both of a similar age. Both of these cameras come with different body type with the Sony NEX-7 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W550 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before going straight into a step-by-step comparison, below is a brief introduction of how the NEX-7 grades vs the W550 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Sony NEX-7 over the Sony W550

 NEX-7 W550 
Focus manually Very exact focusing
Display typeTiltingFixed Tilting display
Display resolution921k230kCrisper display (+691k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony W550 over the Sony NEX-7

 W550 NEX-7 

Common features in the Sony NEX-7 and Sony W550

 NEX-7 W550 
LaunchedDecember 2011July 2011Similar age
Display dimension3"3"Identical display sizing
Selfie screen Lacking selfie screen
Touch display Lacking Touch display

Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550 Physical Comparison

For anyone who is planning to lug around your camera regularly, you need to think about its weight and measurements. The Sony NEX-7 has outside measurements of 120mm x 67mm x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") with a weight of 400 grams (0.88 lbs) whilst the Sony W550 has proportions of 94mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") with a weight of 110 grams (0.24 lbs).

Check the Sony NEX-7 and Sony W550 in our brand new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you have attached at that time. Below is the front view physical size comparison of the NEX-7 compared to the W550.

Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the NEX-7 and W550 is 84 and 96 respectively.

Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550 top view buttons comparison

Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it's hard to picture the difference between sensor measurements only by reviewing specifications. The visual here might provide you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the NEX-7 and W550.

Plainly, each of these cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The NEX-7 due to its larger sensor is going to make achieving bokeh simpler and the Sony NEX-7 will deliver extra detail utilizing its extra 10MP. Greater resolution will also let you crop photos much more aggressively.

Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550 sensor size comparison

Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony NEX-7 Portrait photography features
Sony W550 Portrait photography features
78
has manual focus
megapixel count good (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
features face detect autofocus
supports RAW formats
28
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
focusing manually not possible
manual mode not possible
can't use external flash
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW files
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Street Comparison

Sony NEX-7 Street photography information
Sony W550 Street photography information
76
screen tilts
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
does not have image stabilization
57
image stabilization (Optical)
no articulating screen
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Sony NEX-7 Sports photography highlights
Sony W550 Sports photography highlights
62
megapixel count good (24MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
great battery pack (430 shots)
does not have image stabilization
lacks phase detect autofocus
35
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (14 megapixels)
very slow continuous shooting (1.0 fps)
no shutter priority
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
no phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Sony NEX-7 as a Travel photography camera
Sony W550 as a Travel photography camera
70
great battery pack (430 shots)
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
has built in flash
no Time Lapse recording
does not posses selfie friendly display
65
MP count decent (14MP)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (26mm)
no Timelapse mode
screen is not selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.7)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Sony NEX-7
Landscape photography with Sony W550
72
has manual focus
switch lenses (Sony E mount)
screen size is good (3 inches)
megapixel count good (24 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports RAW formats
great battery pack (430 per charge)
does not have image stabilization
no Time Lapse recording
42
reasonably wide (26mm)
nice screen size (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (14MP)
focusing manually not possible
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.7)
manual mode not possible
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
no RAW files
no Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony NEX-7 Vlogging info
Sony W550 Vlogging info
35
features face detect autofocus
great video quality (1920 x 1080 pixels)
comes with mic socket
does not posses selfie friendly display
does not have image stabilization
29
reasonably wide (26mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish maximum aperture (f2.7)
screen is not selfie friendly
video quality not great (1280 x 720 pxls)
no microphone jack
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Sony NEX-7 vs Sony W550 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony NEX-7 and Sony W550
 Sony Alpha NEX-7Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550
General Information
Company Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha NEX-7 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550
Category Advanced Mirrorless Ultracompact
Launched 2011-12-13 2011-07-24
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Ultracompact
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Bionz BIONZ
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size APS-C 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 23.5 x 15.6mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 366.6mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 24MP 14MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Highest Possible resolution 6000 x 4000 4320 x 3240
Maximum native ISO 16000 3200
Minimum native ISO 100 80
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 25 9
Lens
Lens mount type Sony E fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 26-104mm (4.0x)
Max aperture - f/2.7-5.7
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Total lenses 121 -
Focal length multiplier 1.5 5.8
Screen
Screen type Tilting Fixed Type
Screen sizing 3" 3"
Screen resolution 921 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen tech - Clear Photo LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.73x -
Features
Min shutter speed 30s 2s
Max shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shutter speed 10.0fps 1.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation Yes -
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 6.00 m 3.80 m
Flash options Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Max flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1280x720
Video format MPEG-4, AVCHD MPEG-4
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 400g (0.88 lb) 110g (0.24 lb)
Dimensions 120 x 67 x 43mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 1.7") 94 x 56 x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 81 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 24.1 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 13.4 not tested
DXO Low light rating 1016 not tested
Other
Battery life 430 photos -
Type of battery Battery Pack -
Battery ID NPFW50 NP-BN1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, 10sec (3 or 5 images)) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse shooting
Type of storage SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo, Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One -
Launch pricing $699 $119