Sony S980 vs Sony A77 II

Let's look more closely at the Sony S980 and Sony A77 II, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Advanced DSLR and they are both offered by Sony. There is a sizeable difference between the resolutions of the S980 (12MP) and A77 II (24MP) and the S980 (1/2.3") and A77 II (APS-C) posses totally different sensor measurements.

Photography Glossary

The S980 was announced 6 years prior to the A77 II which is quite a large gap as far as tech is concerned. Both of the cameras have different body design with the Sony S980 being a Compact camera and the Sony A77 II being a Mid-size SLR camera.

Before getting straight to a complete comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the S980 matches up versus the A77 II with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S980 and Sony SLT-A77 II. The whole galleries are viewable at Sony S980 Gallery and Sony A77 II Gallery.

For anybody who is aiming to travel with your camera, you'll have to factor in its weight and volume. The Sony S980 provides exterior measurements of 93mm x 56mm x 24mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") having a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs) while the Sony A77 II has sizing of 143mm x 104mm x 81mm (5.6" x 4.1" x 3.2") with a weight of 647 grams (1.43 lbs).

Compare the Sony S980 and Sony A77 II in the new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will differ based on the lens you use during that time. Here is a front view proportions comparison of the S980 and the A77 II.

Factoring in size and weight, the portability rating of the S980 and A77 II is 94 and 62 respectively.

Usually, it can be difficult to envision the contrast between sensor dimensions purely by going over technical specs. The image below will provide you a better sense of the sensor sizing in the S980 and A77 II.

As you can tell, both of these cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The S980 using its tinier sensor will make getting shallower depth of field trickier and the Sony A77 II will offer you more detail with its extra 12MP. Greater resolution will let you crop photos more aggressively. The more aged S980 is going to be behind in sensor technology.