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 Sony A7S and Canon A1200 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7S has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 48 mm (5 x 3.7 x 1.89″) and weighs 489 g (1.08 lb / 17.25 oz) (including batteries). Canon A1200 has external dimensions of 98 x 63 x 31 mm (3.86 x 2.48 x 1.22″) and weighs 185 g (0.41 lb / 6.53 oz) (including batteries).
Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A7S and Canon A1200. Canon A1200 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 29mm narrower, 31mm shorter and 17mm thinner than Sony A7S. As you can tell, actually this is not a fair size comparison since Canon A1200 has a built-in lens but Sony A7S doesn't. Once you put a lens on A7S, its thickness will increase significantly.
![Sony A7S vs Canon A1200 Camera Size Comparison - Front View]()
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Canon A1200 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View
Here is the back view size comparison of Sony A7S and Canon A1200.
![Sony A7S vs Canon A1200 Camera Size Comparison - Back View]()
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Canon A1200 Size and Weight - Back View
Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day.
Canon A1200 is significantly lighter (304g ) than the Sony A7S 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 A7S, the total kit will weigh much higher.
Weather Sealing
With its weather sealed body, we believe that A7S has a big advantage over A1200 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.
LCD Screen Size and Features
Sony A7S's 3 LCD screen is slightly larger than Canon A1200's 2.7" screen.
In addition to the size advantage, Sony A7S LCD screen also has a
Tilting feature where you can change the angle of the screen to make it easier to shoot from waist or over the head levels. On the other hand, Canon A1200 has a fixed type screen which provides less flexibility in shooting positions compared to A7S.
Both Sony A7S and Canon A1200 have 12.0 MP resolution sensors but Sony A7S's sensor is Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) and Canon A1200's sensor is 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm ).
Since Sony A7S'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 Canon A1200.
Below you can see the A7S and A1200 sensor size comparison.
![Sony A7S vs Canon A1200 Sensor Size Comparison]()
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S and Canon A1200 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A7S has a 30.5x Larger sensor area than Canon A1200. 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.
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7S and Canon A1200 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.
Sony A7S for Portrait Photography
Canon A1200 for Portrait Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
Not so good Ergonomics&Handling
Read the details
Sony A7S for Street Photography
Canon A1200 for Street Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
Small Body
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fast Lens at Wide: f2.80
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
Read the details
Sony A7S for Sports Photography
Canon A1200 for Sports Photography
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
25 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Optical Built-in Viewfinder
No Image Stabilization
No RAW shooting capability
No External Flash Shoe
No Manual Focus Mode
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
Poor Battery Life: 200 shots
112 mm Tele Lens
Slow Lens at Tele: f5.90
Read the details
Sony A7S for Daily Photography
Canon A1200 for Daily Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
489g
Body Thickness 48mm
Read the details
Compact Body
185g
4.0X Optical Zoom
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
Read the details
Sony A7S for Landscape Photography
Canon A1200 for Landscape Photography
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Read the details
28 mm - Good Wide Angle Coverage
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Small 1/2.3" (6.17 x 4.55 mm) sensor
No RAW shooting capability
No Manual Focus Mode
No Manual Exposure Mode
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details
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 Sony A7S and Canon A1200, 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 Sony A7S and Canon A1200 scores compare:
Sony A7S
Ranked
#38 out of 85 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked
#70 out of 1218 in all Cameras
Canon A1200
Ranked
#374 out of 475 in Compact cameras
Ranked
#1044 out of 1218 in all Cameras
Sony A7S is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Canon A1200 in all criteria except one: Portability. Canon A1200 is significantly smaller than Sony A7S. If small size and light body is a big priority for you, choose Canon A1200. Otherwise, Sony A7S is the better camera overall.
| General |
Sony Alpha A7S |
Canon PowerShot A1200 |
| Brand |
Sony |
Canon |
| Announced |
2014-04-06 |
2011-01-05 |
| Body Type |
SLR-style mirrorless |
Compact |
Sensor |
|
|
| Type |
CMOS |
CCD |
| Size |
Full frame |
1/2.3" |
| Dimensions |
35.8 x 23.9 mm |
6.17 x 4.55 mm |
| Area |
855.62mm2 |
28.07mm2 |
| Megapixels |
12 megapixels |
12 megapixels |
| Max Resolution |
4240 x 2832 |
4000 x 3000 |
| Max Native Light sensitivity |
409,600 ISO |
1,600 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 |
25 |
9 |
Lens |
|
|
| Manual Focus |
|
|
| Lens Mount |
Sony E |
fixed lens |
| Lens Focal Range |
no lens |
28-112 mm (4×) |
| Max Aperture |
no lens |
F2.8-5.9 |
| Macro Focus Range |
no lens |
3cm |
Screen |
|
|
| Type |
Tilting |
Fixed type |
| Size |
3 |
2.7" |
| Resolution |
1,230k dots |
230k dots |
| Touch Screen |
|
|
Viewfinder |
|
|
| Viewfinder |
Electronic |
Optical (tunnel) |
| Viewfinder Resolution |
2,359k dots |
no electronic viewfinder |
| Viewfinder Coverage |
100% |
n/a |
| Viewfinder Magnification |
0.71x |
n/a |
Photography Features |
|
|
| Max Mechanical Shutter |
1/8000s |
1/1600s |
| Shutter Priority |
|
|
| Aperture Priority |
|
|
| Manual Exposure Mode |
|
|
| Custom White Balance |
|
|
| Image Stabilization |
No |
No |
| Built-in Flash |
|
|
| Flash Range |
no built-in flash |
4.00 m |
| External Flash |
|
|
| Continuous Shooting |
5.0 fps |
1.0 fps |
| Multi-Segment |
|
|
| Average |
|
|
| Spot |
|
|
| Partial |
|
|
| AF-Area |
|
|
| Center Weighted |
|
|
| AE Bracketing |
|
|
| WB Bracketing |
|
|
Video Features |
|
|
| Max Video Resolution |
3840 x 2160 |
1280 x 720 |
| Video Formats |
MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC |
MPEG-4, H.264 |
| Microphone Port |
|
|
| Headphone Port |
|
|
Connectivity |
|
|
| Wireless Connectivity |
Built-In |
None |
| HDMI |
|
|
Physical |
|
|
| Environmental Sealing |
|
|
| Weight |
489g |
185g |
| Dimensions |
127 x 94 x 48mm |
98 x 63 x 31mm |
| Battery Life |
360 shots |
200 shots |
Other Features |
|
|
| Timelapse Recording |
With Downloadable App |
|
| GPS |
None |
None |
DxO Sensor Scores |
|
|
| DxO Overall Score |
87 |
not tested |
| DxO Color Depth |
23.9 |
not tested |
| DxO Dynamic Range |
13.2 |
not tested |
| DxO Low Light ISO |
3702 |
not tested |
|
Report a correction |
Report a correction |