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Sony A6500 vs Sony W290

Portability
81
Imaging
67
Features
85
Overall
74
Sony Alpha a6500 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 front
Portability
94
Imaging
34
Features
28
Overall
31

Sony A6500 vs Sony W290 Key Specs

Sony A6500
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 25600 (Raise to 51200)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 453g - 120 x 67 x 53mm
  • Released October 2016
  • Previous Model is Sony A6300
Sony W290
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.3-5.2) lens
  • 167g - 98 x 57 x 23mm
  • Launched February 2009
Photography Glossary

Sony A6500 vs Sony W290 Overview

Here is a extensive assessment of the Sony A6500 and Sony W290, former being a Advanced Mirrorless while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both of them are built by Sony. There exists a considerable gap among the image resolutions of the A6500 (24MP) and W290 (12MP) and the A6500 (APS-C) and W290 (1/2.3") use different sensor size.

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The A6500 was brought out 7 years later than the W290 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras come with different body type with the Sony A6500 being a Rangefinder-style mirrorless camera and the Sony W290 being a Compact camera.

Before going through a detailed comparison, below is a concise introduction of how the A6500 matches up versus the W290 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Sony A6500 over the Sony W290

 A6500 W290 
LaunchedOctober 2016February 2009Fresher by 93 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution922k230kClearer screen (+692k dot)
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony W290 over the Sony A6500

 W290 A6500 

Common features in the Sony A6500 and Sony W290

 A6500 W290 
Manually focus More accurate focusing
Screen dimension3"3"Identical screen size
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen

Sony A6500 vs Sony W290 Physical Comparison

If you're intending to carry your camera often, you'll need to factor its weight and dimensions. The Sony A6500 comes with external dimensions of 120mm x 67mm x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1") accompanied by a weight of 453 grams (1.00 lbs) whilst the Sony W290 has dimensions of 98mm x 57mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Check out the Sony A6500 and Sony W290 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will vary based on the lens you have chosen at that moment. The following is the front view sizing comparison of the A6500 versus the W290.

Sony A6500 vs Sony W290 size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the A6500 and W290 is 81 and 94 respectively.

Sony A6500 vs Sony W290 top view buttons comparison

Sony A6500 vs Sony W290 Sensor Comparison

Typically, it's difficult to picture the contrast in sensor sizing just by going through specs. The photograph here might offer you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the A6500 and W290.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras have got different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The A6500 due to its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Sony A6500 will produce more detail having its extra 12MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs much more aggressively. The younger A6500 should have a benefit with regard to sensor innovation.

Sony A6500 vs Sony W290 sensor size comparison

Sony A6500 vs Sony W290 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A6500 vs Sony W290 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A6500 Portrait photography highlights
Sony W290 Portrait photography highlights
80
manual focus
decent megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
comes with face detection autofocus
supports RAW files
27
focusing manually
lack of manual mode
no external flash support
low megapixels (12MP)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
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Street Comparison

Sony A6500 as a Street photography camera
Sony W290 as a Street photography camera
85
has a tilting screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
supports RAW files
boasts touch focus
weather proof
great high ISO (25,600)
56
image stabilization (Optical)
screen does not articulate
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Sony A6500 Sports photography advice
Sony W290 Sports photography advice
77
silent shooting (1/32,000 seconds)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (24MP)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
comes with tracking autofocus
weather proof
sensor has phase detect autofocus
low battery pack (350 per charge)
25
image stabilization (Optical)
painfully slow continuous shooting (2.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony A6500
Travel photography with Sony W290
74
weather proof
supports bluetooth
boasts touch focus
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
has built in flash
low battery pack (350 per charge)
screen isn't selfie friendly
57
has built in flash
really wide (28mm)
no Time Lapse mode
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A6500 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony W290 as a Landscape photography camera
79
manual focus
swap lenses (Sony E mount)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
sensor size is good (APS-C)
great high ISO (25,600)
supports RAW files
weather proof
low battery pack (350 CIPA)
41
focusing manually
really wide (28mm)
screen size is good (3 inch)
image stabilization (Optical)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
lack of manual mode
low megapixels (12 megapixels)
sensor size is small (1/2.3")
has no RAW files
no Time Lapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A6500 Vlogging information
Sony W290 Vlogging information
39
touchscreen enabled
has image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
comes with face detection autofocus
video res high (3840 x 2160 pixels)
includes external microphone support
screen isn't selfie friendly
28
really wide (28mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
does not feature selfie friendly screen
video resolution low (1280 x 720 pixels)
no mic jack
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Sony A6500 vs Sony W290 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A6500 and Sony W290
 Sony Alpha a6500Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290
General Information
Brand Sony Sony
Model Sony Alpha a6500 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290
Class Advanced Mirrorless Small Sensor Compact
Released 2016-10-06 2009-02-17
Body design Rangefinder-style mirrorless Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Bionz X -
Sensor type CMOS CCD
Sensor size APS-C 1/2.3"
Sensor dimensions 23.5 x 15.6mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 366.6mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 24 megapixels 12 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 6000 x 4000 4000 x 3000
Highest native ISO 25600 3200
Highest enhanced ISO 51200 -
Minimum native ISO 100 80
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
AF touch
AF continuous
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Number of focus points 425 9
Lens
Lens mount Sony E fixed lens
Lens focal range - 28-140mm (5.0x)
Max aperture - f/3.3-5.2
Macro focus range - 10cm
Available lenses 121 -
Focal length multiplier 1.5 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 922 thousand dot 230 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch friendly
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Electronic None
Viewfinder resolution 2,359 thousand dot -
Viewfinder coverage 100% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.7x -
Features
Minimum shutter speed 30s 2s
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Fastest silent shutter speed 1/32000s -
Continuous shutter speed 11.0 frames/s 2.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes -
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 6.00 m (at ISO 100) 3.90 m
Flash options Flash off, Autoflash, Fill-flash, Rear Sync., Slow Sync., Red-eye reduction (On/Off selectable), Hi-speed sync, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 3840 x 2160 @ 30p / 100 Mbps, XAVC S, MP4, H.264, Linear PCM 1280 x 720 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 3840x2160 1280x720
Video format MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S MPEG-4
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Built-In None
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 453 gr (1.00 lbs) 167 gr (0.37 lbs)
Dimensions 120 x 67 x 53mm (4.7" x 2.6" x 2.1") 98 x 57 x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score 85 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 24.5 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 13.7 not tested
DXO Low light score 1405 not tested
Other
Battery life 350 photographs -
Battery format Battery Pack -
Battery model NP-FW50 -
Self timer Yes Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse recording With downloadable app
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC + Memory Stick Pro Duo Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, Internal
Storage slots Single Single
Launch cost $1,298 $230