Sony A550 has a
14.0MP APS-C (23.4 x 15.6 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz processor. On the other hand, Panasonic GX7 has a
16.0MP Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Venus Engine processor.
Below you can see the A550 and GX7 sensor size comparison.
As seen above, Sony A550 has a 1.6x Larger sensor area than Panasonic GX7. 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
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 A550 and Panasonic GX7 sensors have been tested by DxO and the results show that GX7 has a better overall score of 70, 4 points higher compared to A550's score of 66.
Model |
Overall |
Color Depth |
Dynamic Range |
Low-light ISO |
Sony A550 |
66 |
21.9 bits |
11.8 Evs |
807 ISO |
Panasonic GX7 |
70 |
22.6 bits |
12.2 Evs |
718 ISO |