Nikon D500 vs Sony Alpha DSLR-A390

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Nikon D500 and the Sony Alpha DSLR-A390, 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.

Nikon D500 was introduced in January 2016 and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 was introduced in July 2010. 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 Nikon D500 over Sony Alpha DSLR-A390.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 over Nikon D500.

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

Nikon D500 has a 3.2" screen with 2,359k dot resolution and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 has a 2.7" screen with 230k dot resolution. Both have Tilting screens. Tilting screen makes cameras very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Nikon D500 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

Nikon D500 has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinderSony Alpha DSLR-A390 has a built-in Optical (pentamirror) viewfinder. Nikon D500 has 100% coverage with 1x (0.67x 35mm equivalent) magnification and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 has 95% coverage with 0.74x (0.49x 35mm equivalent) magnification.

Nikon D500 features a 20.9 megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor with dimensions of 23.5 x 15.7 mm and a total area of 369 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 51,200 and expands to 50 - 1,640,000 in boosted mode. Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 features a 14.2 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

Nikon D500 is equipped with EXPEED 5 processor and can take pictures up to 5568 x 3712 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4176 x 2784, 2784 x 1856 with 3:2 aspect ratios. Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 is equipped with BIONZ processor and can take pictures up to 4592 x 3056 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4592 x 2576, 3408 x 2272, 3408 x 1920, 2288 x 1520, 2288 x 1280 with 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Lens Mount

Nikon D500 has Nikon F lens mount and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 has Sony A lens mount. Due to their APS-C sensor their crop factor (also called lens multiplier) is equal to 1.5x. This means that a 35mm equivalent focal length of the mounted lens will be equal to its actual focal length times 1.5.

No Low-Pass Filter on Nikon D500

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Nikon D500. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

In-Body Image Stabilization on Sony Alpha DSLR-A390

Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 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 Nikon D500

Nikon D500 has a built-in Wi-Fi 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 Nikon D500

Nikon D500 has a built-in Bluetooth (version 4.1 LE) 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 Nikon D500

Nikon D500 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 inputs for data transfer. Nikon D500 has a Mini HDMI and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 has an HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Nikon D500 comes with EN-EL15 battery pack with battery life of 1240 shots and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 comes with NP-FH50 battery pack with battery life of 230 shots.

External Storage Slots

Nikon D500 has two card slots - one for SD/SDHC/SDXC (UHS-II) and one for CFexpress Type B / XQD. Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 has a single SD/SDHC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo card slot.

Shutter

Nikon D500 has Mechanical Focal Plane shutter and Electronic shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/8000 sec on Nikon D500, and up to 1/4000 sec on Sony Alpha DSLR-A390. Nikon D500 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps. Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 can shoot continuously up to 2.5 fps.

Focusing

Nikon D500 has 153 (99 cross-type) focusing points and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 has 9 focusing points. Nikon D500 has detection range from -4 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Nikon D500 ranges from -4 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Nikon D500 and ±2 EV range on Sony Alpha DSLR-A390. You can also do exposure lock, exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Nikon D500 and and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha DSLR-A390.

Flash

Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 10.00 m at ISO 100 and also accepts external flash which can be connected via Hot Shoe. Nikon D500 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/250 sec on Nikon D500 and 1/160 sec on Sony Alpha DSLR-A390.

Nikon D500 body has dimensions of 147 x 115 x 81 mm (5.79 x 4.53 x 3.19") and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 body has dimensions of 128 x 97 x 86 mm (5.04 x 3.82 x 3.39"). Nikon D500 weighs 860 g (1.90 lb / 30.34 oz) and Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 weighs 549 g (1.21 lb / 19.37 oz).

Nikon D500

Sony Alpha DSLR-A390

147 mm

115 mm

128 mm

97 mm

115 mm

97 mm

81 mm

86 mm