Canon 400D vs Sony S950 Comparison

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Canon 400D

10 MP | APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm) CMOS Sensor

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Sony S950

10 MP | 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) CCD Sensor

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Canon 400D vs Sony S950 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two cameras with different body types: Canon 400D, which was introduced in October 2006 is a Entry-Level DSLR camera with a 10.0MP APS-C sensor whereas Sony S950, which was introduced in February 2009 is a Small Sensor Compact camera with a 10.0MP 1/2.3-inch sensor. As you can see, 400D is 3 years older than S950. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Comparing a DSLR camera to a Fixed Lens camera is not an easy task but we will do our best to make this a fair comparison.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Canon 400D and Sony S950 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Canon 400D Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2006-10-14

10MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor

ISO 100 - 1600

Canon EF/EF-S Mount

2.5" Fixed Type Screen

Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder

3 fps continuous shooting

No Video Mode

556g. 127 x 94 x 65 mm

Also known as EOS Digital Rebel XTi / EOS Kiss Digital X

Replaced Canon EOS 350D Compare

Sony S950 Key Specs

Announcement Date: 2009-02-17

10MP - 1/2.3-inch CCD Sensor

ISO 80 - 3200

33-132 mm F3.3-5.2 Zoom Lens

Sensor-shift Image Stabilization

2.7" Fixed Type Screen

1 fps continuous shooting

No Video Mode

167g. 93 x 56 x 24 mm

Canon 400D was replaced by Canon EOS 450D. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Canon EOS 450D vs Canon EOS 400D (EOS Digital Rebel XTi / EOS Kiss Digital X)
Canon EOS 450D vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Canon 400D and Sony S950 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Canon EOS 400D over Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950

External Flash Shoe	Yes vs No	Better for flash photography
Viewfinder	Optical vs None	Better framing and control
RAW Support	Yes vs No	Better image quality
Max Mech. Shutter	1/4000s vs 1/1600s	faster mechanical shutter
Continuous Shooting	3.0fps vs 1.0fps	2 fps faster
Manual Exposure	Yes vs No	better exposure control
Flash Coverage	12.0m vs 3.5m	8.5m longer range
Sensor Pixel Area	32.60µm² vs 2.34µm²	1293% larger pixel area

Reasons to choose Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950 over Canon EOS 400D

Image Stabilization	Sensor-shift vs None	Sharper images at longer focal lengths and long exposures
Max ISO	3.200 vs 1.600	100% higher Max ISO
LCD Screen Size	2.7" vs 2.5"	0.2 inches larger display
Weight	167 g vs 556 g	389 g lighter

Common Strengths of Canon EOS 400D and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950

Built-in Flash	Yes vs Yes	Useful in low-light

Common Weaknesses of Canon EOS 400D and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950

Fixed Screen	Fixed Type vs No	No flexible viewing angles
Max Resolution	10 MP vs 10 MP	Less details and smaller prints
LCD Screen Size	2.5" vs 2.7"	Small display
LCD Screen Resolution	230k dots vs 230k dots	Low resolution screens
Environmental Sealing	No vs No	not suitable for tough conditions
AE Bracketing	No vs No	Not good for multi-exposure HDR

Canon 400D vs Sony S950: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Canon 400D and Sony S950 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Canon 400D has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 65 mm (5 x 3.7 x 2.56″) and weighs 556 g (1.23 lb / 19.61 oz) (including batteries). Sony S950 has external dimensions of 93 x 56 x 24 mm (3.66 x 2.2 x 0.94″) and weighs 167 g (0.37 lb / 5.89 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Canon 400D and Sony S950. Sony S950 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 34mm narrower, 38mm shorter and 41mm thinner than Canon 400D. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Sony S950 has a built-in lens but Canon 400D doesn't. Once you put a lens on 400D, its thickness will increase significantly.

Comparison image of Canon 400D and Sony S950 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Canon 400D and Sony S950.

Top View Comparison image of Canon 400D and Sony S950 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Sony S950 is significantly lighter (389g ) than the Canon 400D which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Again, this comparison may not be very useful in real life as we are comparing the weight of a camera with a built-in lens to the body-only weight of an interchangeable lens camera. Once you put a lens on 400D, the total kit will weigh much higher.

Weather Sealing

Unfortunately neither Canon EOS 400D (EOS Digital Rebel XTi / EOS Kiss Digital X) nor Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950 provides any type of weather sealing in their body, so you have to give extra care especially when you are shooting outdoors. If weather sealing is a must-have feature for you, check these sections:
Top DSLR Cameras with Weather Sealing
Top Compact Cameras with Weather Sealing

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony S950's 2.7" LCD screen is slightly larger than Canon 400D's 2.5" screen.

Unfortunately, both cameras has fixed screens so they don't tilt or flip in directions.

Canon 400D vs Sony S950: Sensor Comparison

Both Canon 400D and Sony S950 have 10.0 MP resolution sensors but Canon 400D's sensor is APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm ) and Sony S950's sensor is 1/2.3-inch (6.17 x 4.55 mm ).

Since Canon 400D's has a larger sensor area with the same resolution, this means that it also has a larger pixel area hence better light collecting capacity for a given aperture compared to Sony S950.

Below you can see the 400D and S950 sensor size comparison.

Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Canon 400D and Sony S950 Cameras

As seen above, Canon 400D has a 11.7x Larger sensor area than Sony S950. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

What types of Photography are Canon 400D and Sony S950 Good for?

In this section, we rank and compare Canon 400D and Sony S950 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Canon 400D for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE

Sony S950 for Portrait Photography

POOR

Large APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Image Stabilization
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details

Canon 400D for Street Photography

AVERAGE

Sony S950 for Street Photography

GOOD

Large APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm) sensor
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
No Image Stabilization
No Live-view
Large Body
Read the details

Image Stabilization
Small Body
Live-view
33 mm - Not so Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Built-in Viewfinder
Read the details

Canon 400D for Sports Photography

GOOD

Sony S950 for Sports Photography

POOR

Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/4000s
No Image Stabilization
Slow Continuous Shooting: 3.0fps
Environmental Sealings
9 Focus Points
Read the details

Image Stabilization
132 mm Tele Lens
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Built-in Viewfinder
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Slow Continuous Shooting: 1.0fps
Environmental Sealings
Slow Max shutter speed: 1/1600s
9 Focus Points
Read the details

Canon 400D for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Sony S950 for Daily Photography

AVERAGE

Large APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm) sensor
Large Body
556g
Body Thickness 65mm
Read the details

Compact Body
167g
4.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details

Canon 400D for Landscape Photography

POOR

Sony S950 for Landscape Photography

POOR

Large APS-C (22.2 x 14.8 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No Environmental Sealings
No Live-view
Read the details

33 mm - Not so Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
Very Low Resolution Sensor: 10.0MP
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Canon 400D vs Sony S950: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Canon 400D and Sony S950, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Canon 400D and Sony S950 scores compare:

Canon 400D

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #71 out of 79 in Compact SLR cameras
Ranked #609 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Sony S950

Imaging

Features

Value

Portability

Overall

Ranked #349 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked #1008 out of 1226 in all Cameras

Canon 400D is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Sony S950 in all criteria except one: Portability. Sony S950 is significantly smaller than Canon 400D. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Sony S950. Otherwise, Canon 400D is the better camera overall.

Sony S950 vs Canon 400D Specs Table

Detailed comparison of specifications

General	Canon EOS 400D	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S950
Brand	Canon	Sony
Announced	2006-10-14	2009-02-17
Body Type	Compact SLR	Compact
Sensor
Type	CMOS	CCD
Size	APS-C	1/2.3-inch
Dimensions	22.2 x 14.8 mm	6.17 x 4.55 mm
Area	328.56mm²	28.07mm²
Megapixels	10 megapixels	10 megapixels
Max Resolution	3888 x 2592	4000 x 3000
Max Native Light sensitivity	1,600 ISO	3,200 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity	100 ISO	80 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points	9	9
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount	Canon EF/EF-S	fixed lens
Lens Focal Range	no lens	33-132 mm (4×)
Max Aperture	no lens	F3.3-5.2
Macro Focus Range	no lens	10cm
Screen
Type	Fixed type	Fixed type
Size	2.5"	2.7"
Resolution	230k dots	230k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Optical (pentamirror)	None
Viewfinder Coverage	95%	n/a
Viewfinder Magnification	0.5x	n/a
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter	1/4000s	1/1600s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization	No	Sensor-shift
Built-in Flash
Flash Range	12.00 m (ISO 100)	3.50 m
Max Flash Sync	1/200s	n/a
External Flash
Continuous Shooting	3.0 fps	1.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution	None	None
Video Formats	n/a	Motion JPEG
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity	None	None
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight	556g	167g
Dimensions	127 x 94 x 65mm	93 x 56 x 24mm
Battery Life	n/a	n/a
Other Features
Timelapse Recording
GPS	None	None
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score	62	not tested
DxO Color Depth	22.1	not tested
DxO Dynamic Range	11.0	not tested
DxO Low Light ISO	664	not tested
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