Sony DSLR-A550 vs Nikon D780

Nikon D780 advantages over Sony DSLR-A550

• Lens selection
  Excellent vs Good
  Better lens selection gives you more options
• Focus peaking
  Peaker vs Non-peaker
  Your camera will highlight what's in focus
• Larger sensor
  35mm vs APS-C
  More sensor area. Bigger is (generally) better.
• Bigger pixels
  ~ 5.94 vs 5.16 microns
  Better low-light and dynamic range (all else equal)
• Shoot 4K video
  4K (UHD) vs No
  Make sure you have a fast computer
• Touchscreen
  Touch vs No touch
  Interact with your camera just like your smartphone
• Built-in Wi-Fi
  Wi-Fi vs None
  Share your photos wirelessly
• Built-in Bluetooth
  Yes vs No
  Always-on wireless connectivity
• On-sensor phase detect
  Yes vs No
  Usually improves live view and video AF performance
• 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

  2260 vs 950 shots
  Capture more photos
• More telephoto lens reach
  120 mm vs 83 mm
  Capture objects farther away with the kit lens
• Top deck display
  Yes vs No
  Check settings with a screen on top of the camera
• External Mic Jack
  Jack vs No jack
  Improved sound fidelity when shooting video
• More cross-type AF points
  15 vs 1
  Cross-type AF points improve autofocus performance
• Pentaprism viewfinder
  Pentaprism vs Pentamirror
  Much better viewfinder picture fidelity
• Newer
  5 years vs 15 years old
  Newer cameras often support more advanced features
• Shoots 24p video
  Yes vs No
  Gives your movies a big-screen feel
• More dots on screen
  2359k vs 922k dots
  Can mean greater resolution or a brighter screen
• Shoots 1080p video
  Yes vs No
  You'll want this if you shoot video
• More viewfinder magnification
  0.70x vs 0.53x
  Get a bigger view of the scene through the eye-level viewfinder
• More pixels
  24.5 vs 14.2 megapixels
  Higher resolution photos
• Shoots 60p video
  Yes vs No
  A faster framerate can give you more editing options
• Dual card slots
  Yes vs No
  Gives you more storage flexibility
• More AF points
  51 vs 9
  More AF points improve autofocus
• Headphone jack
  Yes vs No
  Monitor audio recording while you shoot video
• Wider angle kit lens
  24 mm vs 27 mm
  Capture more of the scene with the included lens
• Longer exposure
  900 vs 30 sec
  Long exposures for night shots
• Faster JPEG shooting
  12.0 fps vs 6.7 fps
  Faster JPEG shooting (burst mode)
• Slow-motion videos
  Yes vs No
  Shoot slow-motion videos
• Faster shutter
  1/8000 vs 1/4000 sec
  Shoot wide open in bright light
• Higher extended ISO
  204800 vs 12800 ISO
  Higher extended ISO can give more low-light flexibility