Sony Alpha 1 vs Canon SX220 HS

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sony Alpha 1 and the Canon SX220 HS, 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.

Sony Alpha 1 was introduced in January 2021 and Canon SX220 HS was introduced in February 2011. 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 Sony Alpha 1 over Canon SX220 HS.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Canon SX220 HS over Sony Alpha 1.

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

Sony Alpha 1 and Canon SX220 HS have 3.0" screens with 1,440k dot and 461k dot resolutions respectively. Sony Alpha 1 has a Tilting screen which makes it very useful for photography purposes but not so useful for video shooting. Canon SX220 HS has a Fixed screen Sony Alpha 1 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.

Electronic (OLED) Viewfinder on Sony Alpha 1

Sony Alpha 1 has a built-in 0.64" Electronic (OLED) viewfinder with 9,437k dot resolution. It has a 100% coverage and 0.90x magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Canon SX220 HS.

Sony Alpha 1 features a 50.1 megapixel Full Frame Stacked CMOS sensor with dimensions of 35.9 x 24 mm and a total area of 861.6 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 32,000 and expands to 50 - 102,400 in boosted mode. Canon SX220 HS features a 12 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 3,200.

Sony Alpha 1 has Stacked CMOS sensor. The key feature of such sensor is its three-dimensional structure, which consists of multiple layers of semiconductor material and circuitry stacked on top of each other. This allows the sensor to have dedicated layers for image capture and signal processing. This separation allows for faster data readout, reducing rolling shutter effects and enabling high-speed shooting and video recording. It is also more power-efficient.

Canon SX220 HS has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Sony Alpha 1 is equipped with Dual BIONZ XR processor and can take pictures up to 8640 x 5760 resolution. Canon SX220 HS is equipped with DIGIC 4 with iSAPS technology processor and can take pictures up to 4000 x 3000 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4000 x 3000, 4000 x 2248, 4000 x 2664, 2992 x 2992, 2816 x 2112, 2816 x 1880, 2816 x 1584, 2112 x 2112, 1920 x 1080, 1600 x 1200, 1600 x 1064, 1200 x 1200, 640 x 480, 640 x 424, 640 x 360, 480 x 480 with 1:1, 4:3, 3:2, 16:9 aspect ratios.

Image Stabilization

The cameras have a built-in image stabilization (5.5 stops of compensation in Sony Alpha 1). On Sony Alpha 1 it means that you are still getting vibration reduction when it 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 Sony Alpha 1

Sony Alpha 1 has a built-in Wi-Fi (Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac/b/g/n, 2.4/5 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 Sony Alpha 1

Sony Alpha 1 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.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB inputs for data transfer. Sony Alpha 1 has a Full Size HDMI and Canon SX220 HS has a Mini HDMI connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Alpha 1 comes with NP-FZ100 battery pack with battery life of 530 shots and Canon SX220 HS comes with NB-5L battery pack with battery life of 210 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sony Alpha 1 has Dual CFexpress Type A / SD (UHS-II) card slots. Canon SX220 HS has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/MMC/ MMCplus/HC MMCplus card slot.

Shutter

Sony Alpha 1 has Electronic shutter and Mechanical Focal Plane shutter. Shutter speed can go up to 1/32000 sec with electronic shutter and up to 1/8000 sec with mechanical shutter on Sony Alpha 1, and up to 1/3200 sec on Canon SX220 HS. Sony Alpha 1 can shoot continuously up to 30.0 fps with electronic shutter and up to 10.0 fps with mechanical shutter. Canon SX220 HS can shoot continuously up to 3.2 fps.

Focusing

Sony Alpha 1 has Fast Hybrid AF (Phase-detection / Contrast-detection) system with 759 focusing points and Canon SX220 HS has 9 focusing points. Sony Alpha 1 has detection range from -4 to +20 EV.

Exposure

Exposure meterings of Sony Alpha 1 ranges from -3 to +20 EV and you can set the exposure compensation within the ±5 EV range on Sony Alpha 1 and ±2 range on Canon SX220 HS. You can also do exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Sony Alpha 1 and exposure bracketing and manual exposure adjustment on Canon SX220 HS.

Flash

Canon SX220 HS has a built-in flash with maximum range of 3.50 m. Sony Alpha 1 has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe or PC Terminal. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/400 sec on Sony Alpha 1 and 1/2000 sec on Canon SX220 HS.

Sony Alpha 1 body has dimensions of 129 x 97 x 81 mm (5.08 x 3.82 x 3.19") and Canon SX220 HS body has dimensions of 106 x 59 x 33 mm (4.17 x 2.32 x 1.3"). Sony Alpha 1 weighs 737 g (1.62 lb / 26.00 oz) and Canon SX220 HS weighs [].

Sony Alpha 1

Canon SX220 HS

129 mm

97 mm

106 mm

59 mm

97 mm

59 mm