Sony W290 vs Sony A37

Its time to look much closer at the Sony W290 versus Sony A37, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR and both of them are offered by Sony. There exists a noticeable gap among the image resolutions of the W290 (12MP) and A37 (16MP) and the W290 (1/2.3") and A37 (APS-C) offer different sensor sizing.

Photography Glossary

The W290 was revealed 4 years before the A37 and that is a fairly sizable difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of the cameras feature different body design with the Sony W290 being a Compact camera and the Sony A37 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going straight to a full comparison, here is a quick summary of how the W290 grades versus the A37 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a sample of the gallery pictures for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 & Sony SLT-A37. The full galleries are provided at Sony W290 Gallery & Sony A37 Gallery.

If you are aiming to lug around your camera regularly, you'll have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Sony W290 has physical dimensions of 98mm x 57mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") and a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs) and the Sony A37 has dimensions of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") with a weight of 506 grams (1.12 lbs).

Examine the Sony W290 versus Sony A37 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Bear in mind, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are employing during that time. Below is a front view dimension comparison of the W290 vs the A37.

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the W290 and A37 is 94 and 67 respectively.

More often than not, it can be hard to imagine the gap in sensor measurements just by researching specs. The graphic underneath will help give you a more clear sense of the sensor dimensions in the W290 and A37.

All in all, both of the cameras feature different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The W290 having a smaller sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF harder and the Sony A37 will render more detail because of its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution will enable you to crop photos way more aggressively. The older W290 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.