Clicky

Sony W290 vs Sony A65

Portability
94
Imaging
34
Features
28
Overall
31
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 front
 
Sony SLT-A65 front
Portability
64
Imaging
63
Features
85
Overall
71

Sony W290 vs Sony A65 Key Specs

Sony W290
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-140mm (F3.3-5.2) lens
  • 167g - 98 x 57 x 23mm
  • Introduced February 2009
Sony A65
(Full Review)
  • 24MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Bump to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 622g - 132 x 97 x 81mm
  • Introduced November 2011
  • Successor is Sony A68
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Sony W290 vs Sony A65 Overview

Its time to take a deeper look at the Sony W290 versus Sony A65, one is a Small Sensor Compact and the other is a Entry-Level DSLR and they are both manufactured by Sony. There exists a crucial gap between the resolutions of the W290 (12MP) and A65 (24MP) and the W290 (1/2.3") and A65 (APS-C) feature different sensor measurements.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The W290 was introduced 3 years earlier than the A65 which is quite a serious gap as far as technology is concerned. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Sony W290 being a Compact camera and the Sony A65 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before going in to a thorough comparison, below is a short summation of how the W290 scores versus the A65 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Sony W290 over the Sony A65

 W290 A65 

Reasons to pick Sony A65 over the Sony W290

 A65 W290 
IntroducedNovember 2011February 2009More modern by 33 months
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Display resolution921k230kCrisper display (+691k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Sony W290 and Sony A65

 W290 A65 
Focus manually Dial accurate focus
Display dimension3"3"Identical display measurements
Touch friendly display Neither comes with Touch friendly display

Sony W290 vs Sony A65 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is going to carry around your camera often, you have to consider its weight and proportions. The Sony W290 comes with exterior measurements of 98mm x 57mm x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") along with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs) and the Sony A65 has measurements of 132mm x 97mm x 81mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2") and a weight of 622 grams (1.37 lbs).

Look at the Sony W290 versus Sony A65 in the all new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will change based on the lens you are using at that time. Following is the front view sizing comparison of the W290 against the A65.

Sony W290 vs Sony A65 size comparison

Using dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the W290 and A65 is 94 and 64 respectively.

Sony W290 vs Sony A65 top view buttons comparison

Sony W290 vs Sony A65 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its difficult to imagine the contrast between sensor sizes simply by checking a spec sheet. The image underneath should give you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the W290 and A65.

As you can see, each of these cameras have got different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The W290 with its tinier sensor is going to make getting bokeh harder and the Sony A65 will give extra detail using its extra 12 Megapixels. Greater resolution will also let you crop photos much more aggressively. The more aged W290 is going to be behind in sensor tech.

Sony W290 vs Sony A65 sensor size comparison

Sony W290 vs Sony A65 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony W290 vs Sony A65 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Sony W290
Portrait photography with Sony A65
27
manual focus
no manual control
no external flash support
low MP (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
77
you can focus manually
decent megapixels (24MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
comes with face detect focus
exports RAW formats
Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images

Street Comparison

Sony W290 as a Street photography camera
Sony A65 as a Street photography camera
56
built in image stabilization (Optical)
screen does not articulate
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
77
fully articulated screen
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
good sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

Sports Comparison

Sony W290 Sports photography highlights
Sony A65 Sports photography highlights
25
built in image stabilization (Optical)
painfully slow continuous shooting (2.0 fps)
lack of shutter priority mode
low MP (12 megapixels)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks phase detect AF
81
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (24MP)
good sensor size (APS-C)
comes with tracking focus
comes with phase detect auto focus
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony W290
Travel photography with Sony A65
57
built-in flash
relatively wide (28mm)
lack of Time Lapse mode
low MP (12MP)
display is not selfie friendly
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
68
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
has built in flash
selfie friendly display
no Timelapse recording
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Landscape Comparison

Sony W290 Landscape photography information
Sony A65 Landscape photography information
41
manual focus
relatively wide (28mm)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
can't switch lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
no manual control
low MP (12MP)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
lacks RAW format
lack of Time Lapse mode
75
you can focus manually
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
decent megapixels (24 megapixels)
good sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW formats
no Timelapse recording
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Vlogging Comparison

Sony W290 Vlogging factors
Sony A65 Vlogging factors
28
relatively wide (28mm)
built in image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish max aperture (f3.3)
display is not selfie friendly
video res low (1280 x 720 pixels)
lack of external mic jack
78
selfie friendly display
has image stabilization (Sensor based)
comes with face detect focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
does have microphone port
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Sony W290 vs Sony A65 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony W290 and Sony A65
 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290Sony SLT-A65
General Information
Brand Sony Sony
Model type Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 Sony SLT-A65
Class Small Sensor Compact Entry-Level DSLR
Introduced 2009-02-17 2011-11-15
Body design Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor - Bionz
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixels 24 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Full resolution 4000 x 3000 6000 x 4000
Max native ISO 3200 12800
Max boosted ISO - 25600
Lowest native ISO 80 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
Selective AF
Center weighted AF
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detection focusing
Contract detection focusing
Phase detection focusing
Total focus points 9 15
Cross type focus points - 3
Lens
Lens support fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens zoom range 28-140mm (5.0x) -
Highest aperture f/3.3-5.2 -
Macro focusing range 10cm -
Available lenses - 143
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen sizing 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 230 thousand dot 921 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch screen
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.73x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 2 seconds 30 seconds
Highest shutter speed 1/1600 seconds 1/4000 seconds
Continuous shooting speed 2.0 frames per second 10.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash distance 3.90 m 10.00 m
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye reduction, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/160 seconds
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60, 24 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Max video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format MPEG-4 MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 167 grams (0.37 lb) 622 grams (1.37 lb)
Dimensions 98 x 57 x 23mm (3.9" x 2.2" x 0.9") 132 x 97 x 81mm (5.2" x 3.8" x 3.2")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating not tested 74
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.4
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 12.6
DXO Low light rating not tested 717
Other
Battery life - 560 shots
Form of battery - Battery Pack
Battery ID - NP-FM500H
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage media Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo, Internal SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots Single Single
Launch price $230 $700