Canon EOS 550D vs Sony A580 for portraits and landscapes
Asked 11/5/2011
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I’m choosing between a Canon EOS 550D and a Sony A580. My main uses are portraits and landscapes, likely with the kit zoom plus a 50mm f/1.8 prime. I’ve used the Sony A580 for a few months and liked the results, and I’ve also handled the Canon 550D in stores. Spec comparisons make the Sony look a bit stronger in some areas, while the Canon felt better to me in hand. Is there a meaningful difference in image quality or video quality between these two cameras, and how much should lens system choice matter in deciding between them?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
1
There's no single answer to this question, because it comes down to a lot of personal factors. However, you won't go wrong with either choice. I highly recommend looking at How much do lens lineups vary across DSLR platforms? and considering which system might fit your vision of your working style as a photographer — but not stressing about it too much.
The difference in image quality in an absolute sense is very small. That's because all modern DSLRs offer excellent, amazing image quality, and any debate is between levels of A-grade. These differences are magnified because camera review sites wouldn't get very many hits if they just kept focusing on that positive story — instead, they have a huge incentive to magnify small differences into distinguishing factors.
The Snapsort link you gave provides a good example of this. While Snapsort provides some useful comparison information, one thing it says is that the Sony camera provides "More than 20% better image quality". This is clearly preposterous. The numbers they use — given as the bare "80.0 vs 66.0" — are from some highly-technical sensor measurement scores, which demonstrate some small clinical aspects of image quality, and which barely relate in any way to the actual potential quality of results.
The claim that one model "Distinguishes more than 3x more colors" is also absurd — there's a technically-measured bit depth of "23.8 bits vs 22.1 bits", which both does not correspond usefully to the practical dynamic range of the sensor nor have anything to do with "number of colors distinguished". The higher value is better, but when it's presented as "3× better" that sounds like a big deal — when in reality, it's a difference that humans, even expert humans, can't possibly distinguish without taking careful measurements.
So, yeah. Don't worry too much about these things.
That's assuming there's no deal-breaker lack of functionality for you in one model or another. For example, if you absolutely must have 24p video for a project, this particular Sony model won't do.
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
14y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Either camera is a good choice, and the overall image-quality difference is small. With modern DSLRs like these, both are capable of excellent results; comparisons often exaggerate minor differences.
For portraits and landscapes, lenses and system choice usually matter more than small body-to-body image-quality differences. Since you’re considering a kit lens plus a 50mm f/1.8, think about which lens lineup and system better suits what you may want later, rather than focusing only on spec-sheet comparisons.
Handling also matters. If the Canon felt better to you in use, that’s a valid factor. Comfort, controls, and how a camera fits your shooting style can make more difference in practice than tiny quality differences.
So: don’t expect a dramatic gap in image or video quality between the 550D and A580. Pick the system whose lenses, ergonomics, and long-term fit appeal to you more. You’re unlikely to go wrong with either.
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