Sony a1 vs Sony W230

The following is a in-depth assessment of the Sony a1 and Sony W230, one is a Pro Mirrorless and the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both are manufactured by Sony. There exists a big gap among the sensor resolutions of the a1 (50MP) and W230 (12MP) and the a1 (Full frame) and W230 (1/2.3") offer totally different sensor measurements.

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The a1 was released 12 years after the W230 which is a fairly big gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Sony a1 being a SLR-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W230 being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight to a full comparison, here is a brief highlight of how the a1 scores versus the W230 when considering portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Sony Alpha a1 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W230. The complete galleries are available at Sony a1 Gallery and Sony W230 Gallery.

When you are looking to travel with your camera often, you should take into account its weight and measurements. The Sony a1 has exterior dimensions of 129mm x 97mm x 70mm (5.1" x 3.8" x 2.8") accompanied by a weight of 737 grams (1.62 lbs) whilst the Sony W230 has proportions of 95mm x 57mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 156 grams (0.34 lbs).

Check out the Sony a1 and Sony W230 in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ depending on the lens you are working with at the time. Following is a front view measurement comparison of the a1 against the W230.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability score of the a1 and W230 is 61 and 95 respectively.

More often than not, it can be difficult to envision the difference in sensor dimensions simply by going through specs. The picture underneath may give you a clearer sense of the sensor dimensions in the a1 and W230.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras have different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The a1 featuring a bigger sensor will make getting shallow DOF easier and the Sony a1 will produce more detail as a result of its extra 38MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop pictures a bit more aggressively. The younger a1 is going to have an advantage in sensor technology.