Canon SX20 IS vs Sony RX100 IV

The following is a extended comparison of the Canon SX20 IS versus Sony RX100 IV, one is a Small Sensor Superzoom and the other is a Large Sensor Compact by companies Canon and Sony. There exists a crucial gap among the sensor resolutions of the SX20 IS (12MP) and RX100 IV (20MP) and the SX20 IS (1/2.3") and RX100 IV (1") use totally different sensor measurements.

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The SX20 IS was released 5 years earlier than the RX100 IV which is a fairly serious gap as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Canon SX20 IS being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony RX100 IV being a Large Sensor Compact camera.

Before getting through a full comparison, below is a concise synopsis of how the SX20 IS scores against the RX100 IV in relation to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Here is a sample of the gallery pictures for Canon PowerShot SX20 IS and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV. The complete galleries are available at Canon SX20 IS Gallery and Sony RX100 IV Gallery.

In case you're aiming to travel with your camera, you will want to think about its weight and measurements. The Canon SX20 IS comes with outside dimensions of 128mm x 88mm x 87mm (5.0" x 3.5" x 3.4") along with a weight of 600 grams (1.32 lbs) and the Sony RX100 IV has proportions of 102mm x 58mm x 41mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.6") accompanied by a weight of 298 grams (0.66 lbs).

Take a look at the Canon SX20 IS versus Sony RX100 IV in the all new Camera with Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are utilising during that time. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the SX20 IS compared to the RX100 IV.

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SX20 IS and RX100 IV is 65 and 89 respectively.

Quite often, its hard to visualise the gap in sensor dimensions purely by looking through technical specs. The pic below may provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizes in the SX20 IS and RX100 IV.

As you have seen, both of these cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor dimensions. The SX20 IS featuring a smaller sensor will make getting shallower depth of field trickier and the Sony RX100 IV will result in more detail as a result of its extra 8MP. Greater resolution can also let you crop pics somewhat more aggressively. The more aged SX20 IS will be disadvantaged with regard to sensor tech.