Sony W550 vs Sony W730

Let's examine more closely at the Sony W550 and Sony W730, former is a Ultracompact while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both are built by Sony. The sensor resolution of the W550 (14MP) and the W730 (16MP) is pretty similar and they possess the same exact sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

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The W550 was unveiled 17 months before the W730 which makes the cameras a generation away from each other. Each of the cameras offer different body type with the Sony W550 being a Ultracompact camera and the Sony W730 being a Compact camera.

Before getting in to a thorough comparison, below is a brief view of how the W550 matches up versus the W730 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W550 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W730. The full galleries are viewable at Sony W550 Gallery & Sony W730 Gallery.

If you're going to travel with your camera often, you will have to think about its weight and size. The Sony W550 has outer measurements of 94mm x 56mm x 19mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.7") having a weight of 110 grams (0.24 lbs) whilst the Sony W730 has specifications of 93mm x 52mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.0" x 0.9") with a weight of 122 grams (0.27 lbs).

Check out the Sony W550 and Sony W730 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are using at the time. Following is the front view over all size comparison of the W550 versus the W730.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the W550 and W730 is 96 and 96 respectively.

In many cases, it is very difficult to see the contrast between sensor dimensions simply by reading specs. The pic below should provide you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the W550 and W730.

All in all, each of these cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing albeit not the same resolution. You can expect the Sony W730 to offer more detail having an extra 2 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop pictures far more aggressively. The more aged W550 is going to be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.