Sony QX100 vs Sony W550

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Sony QX100 and Sony W550, former being a Lens-style while the latter is a Ultracompact and both of them are sold by Sony. There exists a large gap between the image resolutions of the QX100 (20MP) and W550 (14MP) and the QX100 (1") and W550 (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The QX100 was announced 2 years later than the W550 and that is quite a serious difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of the cameras feature different body design with the Sony QX100 being a Lens-style camera and the Sony W550 being a Ultracompact camera.

Before diving into a in-depth comparison, here is a brief introduction of how the QX100 scores versus the W550 with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Following is a preview of the gallery photos for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-QX100 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550. The whole galleries are viewable at Sony QX100 Gallery & Sony W550 Gallery.

For anybody who is looking to lug around your camera regularly, you will need to take into account its weight and dimensions. The Sony QX100 offers external dimensions of 63mm x 63mm x 56mm (2.5" x 2.5" x 2.2") accompanied by a weight of 179 grams (0.39 lbs) and the Sony W550 has dimensions 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 QX100 and Sony W550 in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have at that time. Following is a front view proportions comparison of the QX100 compared to the W550.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the QX100 and W550 is 92 and 96 respectively.

Sometimes, it can be difficult to visualise the contrast between sensor measurements purely by checking specs. The photograph below may offer you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the QX100 and W550.

All in all, both of the cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The QX100 having a bigger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF less difficult and the Sony QX100 will give more detail with its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also let you crop photographs way more aggressively. The fresher QX100 is going to have a benefit when it comes to sensor technology.