Sony A290 has a
14.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CCD sensor and features Bionz processor. On the other hand, Sony A58 has a
20.0MP APS-C (23.2 x 15.4 m ) sized CMOS sensor .
Sony A58's sensor provides 6MP more than Sony A290'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.
Below you can see the A290 and A58 sensor size comparison.
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A290 and Sony A58 Cameras
Sony A290 and Sony A58 have almost the same sensor size, so neither of them has any significant advantage over the other in terms of providing control over depth of field when used with the same focal length and aperture.
DxOMark Sensor Scores
DxOMark is a benchmark that scientifically assesses image quality of camera sensors. It 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. Sony A290 and Sony A58 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that A58 has a better overall score of 74, 8 points higher compared to A290's score of 66.
Model
Overall
Color Depth
Dynamic Range
Low-light ISO
Sony A290
66
22.6 bits
11.5 Evs
615 ISO
Sony A58
74
23.3 bits
12.5 Evs
753 ISO
Sensor size sets the circle of confusion, so it drives how much depth of field each
of these bodies gives you at a given aperture. You can calculate it exactly for the
Sony A290
or the
Sony A58 ,
including hyperfocal distance.
