Sony W230 vs Sony ZV-1

Below, we will be looking at the Sony W230 versus Sony ZV-1, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Large Sensor Compact and they are both sold by Sony. There exists a noticeable gap between the resolutions of the W230 (12MP) and ZV-1 (20MP) and the W230 (1/2.3") and ZV-1 (1") come with totally different sensor size.

Photography Glossary

The W230 was introduced 12 years before the ZV-1 and that is quite a sizable difference as far as technology is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Sony W230 being a Compact camera and the Sony ZV-1 being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before delving in to a full comparison, below is a brief summary of how the W230 scores against the ZV-1 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

The following is a preview of the gallery photos for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W230 & Sony ZV-1. The whole galleries are provided at Sony W230 Gallery & Sony ZV-1 Gallery.

In case you're planning to lug around your camera frequently, you will want to think about its weight and measurements. The Sony W230 offers outside dimensions of 95mm x 57mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9") and a weight of 156 grams (0.34 lbs) while the Sony ZV-1 has proportions of 105mm x 60mm x 44mm (4.1" x 2.4" x 1.7") along with a weight of 294 grams (0.65 lbs).

Analyze the Sony W230 versus Sony ZV-1 in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have attached during that time. Below is the front view dimension comparison of the W230 versus the ZV-1.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability score of the W230 and ZV-1 is 95 and 88 respectively.

Quite often, its difficult to envision the contrast between sensor measurements only by looking at a spec sheet. The photograph here might give you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the W230 and ZV-1.

Clearly, the two cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor measurements. The W230 using its tinier sensor will make getting shallow DOF trickier and the Sony ZV-1 will give more detail using its extra 8 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also make it easier to crop pictures much more aggressively. The older W230 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor technology.