Sony S950 vs Sony A55

Lets look more closely at the Sony S950 vs Sony A55, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR and both are offered by Sony. There is a substantial difference between the image resolutions of the S950 (10MP) and A55 (16MP) and the S950 (1/2.3") and A55 (APS-C) have different sensor sizing.

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The S950 was launched 18 months before the A55 making them a generation away from each other. Each of these cameras have different body design with the Sony S950 being a Compact camera and the Sony A55 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before we go right into a thorough comparison, here is a simple summary of how the S950 matches up against the A55 in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a sample of the gallery pics for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950 & Sony SLT-A55. The complete galleries are viewable at Sony S950 Gallery & Sony A55 Gallery.

If you are planning to travel with your camera regularly, you'll need to consider its weight and measurements. The Sony S950 enjoys external measurements of 93mm x 56mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs) while the Sony A55 has proportions of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") and a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

Analyze the Sony S950 vs Sony A55 in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have during that time. The following is a front view physical size comparison of the S950 and the A55.

Using size and weight, the portability rating of the S950 and A55 is 94 and 67 respectively.

Oftentimes, it is hard to picture the contrast between sensor dimensions merely by reviewing specs. The pic below should offer you a stronger sense of the sensor measurements in the S950 and A55.

As you can plainly see, both of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The S950 because of its tinier sensor is going to make achieving shallower depth of field trickier and the Sony A55 will deliver more detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Greater resolution will allow you to crop pics more aggressively. The more aged S950 is going to be disadvantaged in sensor technology.