Canon EOS M50 vs Sony Alpha DSLR-A230

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Canon EOS M50 and the Sony Alpha DSLR-A230, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Canon EOS M50 was introduced in February 2018 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 was introduced in May 2009. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon EOS M50 over Sony Alpha DSLR-A230.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 over Canon EOS M50.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Canon EOS M50 has a 3.0" Fully Articulated screen with 1,040k dot resolution and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 has a 2.7" Fixed screen with 230k dot resolution. Fully articulated screen makes Canon EOS M50 selfie and vlogger friendly and generally very useful for video shooting. Canon EOS M50 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Viewfinder

Canon EOS M50 has a built-in 0.39" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 2,360k dot resolution and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. Canon EOS M50 has 100% coverage magnification and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 has 95% coverage with 0.83x (0.55x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Canon EOS M50 features a 24.1 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 22.3 x 14.9 mm and a total area of 332.3 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 25,600 and expands to 100 - 51,200 in boosted mode. Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 features a 10.2 megapixel APS-C CCD sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 246.5 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 3,200.

Here is a sensor size comparison chart where you can see how different sensors compare with each other:

Sensor size chart

	Sensor	Dimensions	Area	Aspect Ratio	Crop Factor
	Medium Format	44 x 33 mm	1452 mm2	4:3	0.79x
	Full Frame	36 x 24 mm	864 mm2	3:2	1x
	APS-H	27 x 18 mm	486 mm2	3:2	1.3x
	APS-C	23.6 x 15.6 mm	368.2 mm2	3:2	1.5x
	APS-C (Canon)	22.3 x 14.9 mm	332.3 mm2	3:2	1.6x
	Micro Four Thirds	17.4 x 13 mm	226.2 mm2	4:3	2x
	1-inch	13.2 x 8.8 mm	116.2 mm2	3:2	2.7x
	1/1.7-inch	7.44 x 5.58 mm	41.5 mm2	4:3	4.7x
	1/2.3-inch	6.17 x 4.55 mm	28.1 mm2	4:3	5.6x

Canon EOS M50 is equipped with DIGIC 8 processor and can take pictures up to 6000 x 4000 resolution. Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 is equipped with BIONZ processor and can take pictures up to 3872 x 2592 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 3872 x 2176, 2896 x 1936, 2896 x 1632, 1920 x 1280, 1920 x 1088 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Canon EOS M50 has Canon EF-M lens mount and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 has Sony A lens mount. They both have APS-C sensor but because of a small size difference their crop factors (also called lens multiplier) differ from each other. Canon EOS M50 has the crop factor of 1.6x which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.6. Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 has the crop factor of 1.5x which means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Sony Alpha DSLR-A230

Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 has a built-in Sensor Shift in-body image stabilization (IBIS). This means that you are still getting vibration reduction when camera is paired with non-image stabilizied lenses. It also works with lenses with optical image stabilization and in combination can achieve even better compensation.

Built-in Wi-Fi on Canon EOS M50

Canon EOS M50 has a built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n, 2.4 GHz) which allows to easily transfer photos and videos from the camera to other Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as smartphones, tablets, printers, or computers. This eliminates the need for cables and allows for quick and convenient media sharing and social media integration. It gives you the ability to control your camera remotely using a smartphone or tablet. This is particularly useful for taking self-portraits, group shots, or capturing images in challenging conditions without having to touch the camera. Firmware updates can also be downloaded and installed wirelessly.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in WiFi.

Bluetooth on Canon EOS M50

Canon EOS M50 has a built-in Bluetooth which lets you to connect the camera to a smartphone or a dedicated remote control device. This allows you to remotely trigger the camera, adjust settings and controls remotely through a paired mobile app. While Wi-Fi is generally faster for transferring larger files, Bluetooth can be used for small, selective transfers, it can provide real-time information about your camera's battery status, memory card capacity, and other key settings directly on your paired smartphone or smartwatch.
  Check out the cameras in our database that have built-in Bluetooth.

NFC on Canon EOS M50

Canon EOS M50 has Near Field Communication (NFC) technology which simplifies the process of pairing it with other NFC-enabled devices like smartphones or tablets. It allows to quickly transfer photos and videos or remotely control the camera from compatible device. NFC can also be used for authentication and security purposes. It can verify your identity before accessing certain features or transferring sensitive data. It can be used with NFC-enabled accessories as well, such as lenses, flashes and GPS devices.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. Canon EOS M50 has a Micro HDMI and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Canon EOS M50 comes with LP-E12 battery pack with battery life of 235 shots and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 comes with NP-FH50 battery pack with battery life of 230 shots.

External Storage Slots

Canon EOS M50 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-I) card slot. Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 has a single SD/SDHC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo card slot.

Shutter

Canon EOS M50 has Electronically controlled focal-plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/4000 sec on Canon EOS M50, and up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. Canon EOS M50 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps. Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 can shoot continuously up to 2.5 fps.

Focusing

Canon EOS M50 has Dual Pixel CMOS AF system with 143 focusing points and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 has 9 focusing points. Canon EOS M50 has detection range from -2 to +18 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Canon EOS M50 ranges from 0 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±3 EV range on Canon EOS M50 and ±2 EV range on Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon EOS M50 and and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha DSLR-A230.

Flash

Cameras have built-in flash with maximum range of 5.00 m at ISO 100 on Canon EOS M50 and 10.00 m on Sony Alpha DSLR-A230. They also accept external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe to Canon EOS M50. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/200 sec on Canon EOS M50 and 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha DSLR-A230.

Canon EOS M50 body has dimensions of 116 x 88 x 59 mm (4.57 x 3.46 x 2.32") and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 body has dimensions of 128 x 97 x 68 mm (5.04 x 3.82 x 2.68"). Canon EOS M50 weighs 390 g (0.86 lb / 13.76 oz) and Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 weighs 490 g (1.08 lb / 17.28 oz).

Canon EOS M50

Sony Alpha DSLR-A230

116 mm

88 mm

128 mm

97 mm

88 mm

97 mm

59 mm

68 mm