Canon SX30 IS vs Sony A57

Sony A57 advantages over Canon SX30 IS

• Focus peaking
  Peaker vs Non-peaker
  Your camera will highlight what's in focus
• Larger sensor
  APS-C vs 1/2.3 inch
  More sensor area. Bigger is (generally) better.
• Bigger pixels
  ~ 4.82 vs 1.43 microns
  Better low-light and dynamic range (all else equal)
• In-camera panoramas
  Yes vs No
  Stitches multiple shots into a panoramic photo
• RAW file ability
  Yes vs No
  Gives you more flexibility to develop your photos later
• Longer stills battery life
  More info

  Longer stills battery life

  Cameras with longer battery life can take more photos before exhausting their batteries.

  Special note: The measurement standard for battery life stipulates that if a camera has an internal flash, it must be used for 50% of photos taken. For this reason, comparisons of one camera with an internal flash to another without will not be comparable

  550 vs 370 shots
  Capture more photos
• Thinner
  80 mm vs 107 mm
  Thinner
• Shoots 24p video
  Yes vs No
  Gives your movies a big-screen feel
• More dots on screen
  922k vs 230k dots
  Can mean greater resolution or a brighter screen
• Shoots 1080p video
  Yes vs No
  You'll want this if you shoot video
• Shoots 60p video
  Yes vs No
  A faster framerate can give you more editing options
• Longer exposure
  30 vs 15 sec
  Long exposures for night shots
• Bulb shutter
  Bulb vs No bulb
  Hold the shutter open manually for long exposures
• Faster JPEG shooting
  10.0 fps vs 1.3 fps
  Faster JPEG shooting (burst mode)
• Higher extended ISO
  25600 vs 6400 ISO
  Higher extended ISO can give more low-light flexibility