Clicky

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II

Portability
65
Imaging
35
Features
40
Overall
37
Canon PowerShot SX20 IS front
 
Sony Alpha A7S II front
Portability
68
Imaging
61
Features
76
Overall
67

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II Key Specs

Canon SX20 IS
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 2.5" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 80 - 1600
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 28-560mm (F2.8-5.7) lens
  • 600g - 128 x 88 x 87mm
  • Announced July 2010
  • Superseded the Canon SX10 IS
  • Successor is Canon SX30 IS
Sony A7S II
(Full Review)
  • 12MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 100 - 102400 (Raise to 409600)
  • Sensor based 5-axis Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Maximum Shutter
  • 3840 x 2160 video
  • Sony E Mount
  • 627g - 127 x 96 x 60mm
  • Revealed October 2015
  • Old Model is Sony A7S
  • Later Model is Sony A7S III
Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II Overview

Following is a in depth assessment of the Canon SX20 IS versus Sony A7S II, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Pro Mirrorless by manufacturers Canon and Sony. The image resolution of the SX20 IS (12MP) and the A7S II (12MP) is relatively comparable but the SX20 IS (1/2.3") and A7S II (Full frame) have totally different sensor sizes.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

The SX20 IS was announced 6 years before the A7S II which is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have different body design with the Canon SX20 IS being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony A7S II being a SLR-style mirrorless camera.

Before getting straight to a detailed comparison, here is a short view of how the SX20 IS grades vs the A7S II when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Snapchat Adds Watermarks to AI-Created Images
	
	

Reasons to pick Canon SX20 IS over the Sony A7S II

 SX20 IS A7S II 
Screen typeFully ArticulatedTiltingFully Articulating screen
Selfie screen Take selfies

Reasons to pick Sony A7S II over the Canon SX20 IS

 A7S II SX20 IS 
RevealedOctober 2015July 2010More modern by 64 months
Screen dimensions3"2.5"Bigger screen (+0.5")
Screen resolution1229k230kSharper screen (+999k dot)

Common features in the Canon SX20 IS and Sony A7S II

 SX20 IS A7S II 
Focus manually Dial precise focus
Touch friendly screen Lack of Touch friendly screen

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II Physical Comparison

For anybody who is intending to carry around your camera, you have to think about its weight and volume. The Canon SX20 IS provides outer dimensions of 128mm x 88mm x 87mm (5.0" x 3.5" x 3.4") accompanied by a weight of 600 grams (1.32 lbs) while the Sony A7S II has sizing of 127mm x 96mm x 60mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.4") with a weight of 627 grams (1.38 lbs).

Examine the Canon SX20 IS versus Sony A7S II in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change dependant on the lens you have chosen at that moment. The following is a front view measurement comparison of the SX20 IS vs the A7S II.

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II size comparison

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the SX20 IS and A7S II is 65 and 68 respectively.

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II top view buttons comparison

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II Sensor Comparison

Typically, its hard to envision the difference in sensor sizes purely by seeing a spec sheet. The pic here should provide you a greater sense of the sensor sizes in the SX20 IS and A7S II.

As you can see, the 2 cameras provide the same megapixels albeit not the same sensor sizes. The SX20 IS comes with the smaller sensor which is going to make getting shallower depth of field trickier. The more aged SX20 IS will be disadvantaged when it comes to sensor innovation.

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II sensor size comparison

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II Screen and ViewFinder

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II Screen and Viewfinder comparison
Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Canon SX20 IS Portrait photography highlights
Sony A7S II Portrait photography highlights
37
has manual focus
high flash sync speed (1/500 seconds)
resolution not great (12MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
68
you can focus manually
sensor size is great (Full frame)
includes face detect focusing
delivers RAW formats
MP count low (12 megapixels)
Meta to Introduce 'AI-Generated' Labels for Media starting next month

Street Comparison

Canon SX20 IS Street photography factors
Sony A7S II Street photography factors
49
screen can move to multiple angles
has image stabilization (Optical)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
more heavy than others (600 grams)
78
tilting screen
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
delivers RAW formats
environment proofing
good high ISO (102,400)
Photobucket discusses licensing 13 billion images with AI firms

Sports Comparison

Canon SX20 IS Sports photography information
Sony A7S II Sports photography information
34
excellent zoom range (28-560mm 20.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
max frames per second low (1.0 fps)
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect AF
58
maximum shutter speed is high (1/8,000s)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
includes tracking focus
environment proofing
painfully slow continuous shooting (5.0 frames/s)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
bad battery life (370 per charge)
does not have phase detect AF
Sora from OpenAI releases its first ever music video

Travel Comparison

Canon SX20 IS Travel photography features
Sony A7S II Travel photography features
53
has built in flash
selfie friendly screen
quite wide (28mm)
long zoom (560mm)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
more heavy than others (600 grams)
resolution not great (12 megapixels)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
49
environment proofing
bad battery life (370 CIPA)
MP count low (12 megapixels)
does not feature selfie friendly display
Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

Landscape Comparison

Canon SX20 IS Landscape photography information
Sony A7S II Landscape photography information
35
has manual focus
quite wide (28mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
tiny screen (2.5 inches)
resolution not great (12MP)
sensor size is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
doesn't have Timelapse recording
71
you can focus manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony E mount)
nice screen size (3 inches)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
sensor size is great (Full frame)
good high ISO (102,400)
delivers RAW formats
environment proofing
MP count low (12 megapixels)
bad battery life (370 per charge)
President Biden pushes bill mandating TikTok sale or ban

Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Canon SX20 IS
Vlogging with Sony A7S II
50
quite wide (28mm)
selfie friendly screen
has image stabilization (Optical)
sluggish max aperture (f2.8)
video res low (1280 x 720 pxls)
doesn't have microphone port
more heavy than others (600 grams)
35
built in image stabilization (Sensor based 5-axis)
includes face detect focusing
video resolution high (3840 x 2160 resolution)
comes with mic jack
does not feature selfie friendly display
Photography Glossary

Canon SX20 IS vs Sony A7S II Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Canon SX20 IS and Sony A7S II
 Canon PowerShot SX20 ISSony Alpha A7S II
General Information
Make Canon Sony
Model type Canon PowerShot SX20 IS Sony Alpha A7S II
Type Small Sensor Superzoom Pro Mirrorless
Announced 2010-07-06 2015-10-12
Body design SLR-like (bridge) SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor Information
Processor Chip Digic 4 Bionz X
Sensor type CCD CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" Full frame
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 35.6 x 23.8mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 847.3mm²
Sensor resolution 12 megapixel 12 megapixel
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4000 x 3000 4240 x 2832
Max native ISO 1600 102400
Max enhanced ISO - 409600
Min native ISO 80 100
RAW data
Min enhanced ISO - 50
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
Continuous autofocus
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Center weighted autofocus
Autofocus multi area
Live view autofocus
Face detect focus
Contract detect focus
Phase detect focus
Total focus points 9 169
Lens
Lens mount type fixed lens Sony E
Lens zoom range 28-560mm (20.0x) -
Largest aperture f/2.8-5.7 -
Macro focusing range 0cm -
Total lenses - 121
Focal length multiplier 5.8 1
Screen
Range of display Fully Articulated Tilting
Display sizing 2.5 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 230 thousand dot 1,229 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch functionality
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 2,359 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.78x
Features
Minimum shutter speed 15s 30s
Fastest shutter speed 1/3200s 1/8000s
Continuous shutter speed 1.0 frames per sec 5.0 frames per sec
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash distance 6.80 m no built-in flash
Flash modes Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Fill-in no built-in flash
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Fastest flash sync 1/500s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30 fps) 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 240 (30, 15 fps) 4K (3840 x 2160 @ 30p/24p [60-100Mbps]), Full HD (1920 x 1080 @ 120p/60p/60i/30p/24p [50-100Mbps]), 720p (30p [16Mbps])
Max video resolution 1280x720 3840x2160
Video data format H.264 MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None None
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 600 gr (1.32 pounds) 627 gr (1.38 pounds)
Physical dimensions 128 x 88 x 87mm (5.0" x 3.5" x 3.4") 127 x 96 x 60mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.4")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating not tested 85
DXO Color Depth rating not tested 23.6
DXO Dynamic range rating not tested 13.3
DXO Low light rating not tested 2993
Other
Battery life - 370 pictures
Battery format - Battery Pack
Battery ID 4 x AA NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, Custom) Yes (2 or 10 sec; continuous (3 or 5 exposures))
Time lapse feature With downloadable app
Storage media SD / SDHC / MMC / MMC Plus / HC MMC Plus SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Retail cost $500 $2,767