Sony A7R III has a 42.0MP Full frame (35.9 x 24 mm ) sized BSI-CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Sony A550 has a 14.0MP APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor.
Sony A7R III's sensor provides 28MP more than Sony A550's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely.
On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.
Another difference between these two cameras is that Sony A7R III's sensor lacks anti-alias (Low-Pass) filter. Removing anti-alias filter increases the sharpness and level of detail but at the same time, it increases the chance of moiré occurring in certain scenes.
Below you can see the A7R III and A550 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7R III and Sony A550 Cameras
As seen above, Sony A7R III has a 2.4x Larger sensor area than Sony A550. 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.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
Both Sony A7R III and Sony A550 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, A7R III has scored 100, 34 points higher than A550.
| Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
|
Sony A7R III |
100 |
26.0 bits |
14.7 Evs |
3523 ISO |
|
Sony A550 |
66 |
21.9 bits |
11.8 Evs |
807 ISO |