Fujifilm JX370 vs Sony HX80: A Hands-On, Real-World Camera Comparison for Every Photographer

Choosing the right camera is always a balancing act between features, usability, and – let’s be honest – budget. Today, I’m diving deep into two compact cameras that, while sharing the “small sensor” category, approach photography from very different angles: the budget-conscious Fujifilm FinePix JX370 and the feature-packed Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80. Both punch above their weight in appealing to beginners and enthusiasts not ready to jump into interchangeable lenses, but which one suits your style and needs best? Let’s unpack their capabilities, quirks, and image quality across all major photography genres while keeping an eye on real-life usability.

Size and Ergonomics: Pocketability vs Gripability

There’s something to be said for a camera that fits comfortably in your hand and pocket without feeling like you’re lugging around a brick. The Fujifilm JX370 and Sony HX80 are compact machines, but their physical footprints reflect vastly different design philosophies.

The JX370 weighs a mere 124 grams with dimensions of 95 x 57 x 24 mm. It slips effortlessly into a coat pocket or clutch bag, a real boon for spontaneous travel or street photography. However, that slim profile comes at the cost of handling comfort - while testing, I found the JX370’s body a bit too small for my average-sized hands, leading to occasional grip insecurity, especially during longer shoots.

On the other hand, the Sony HX80 is more substantial, tipping the scales at 245 grams and measuring 102 x 58 x 36 mm. Its build feels more robust, with a positively molded grip that invites your fingers to plant firmly and confidently around the body. This ensures steadier shots and better control of zoom and exposure settings, even in one-handed scenarios.

For photographers prioritizing ultimate portability, the JX370 wins points, but if you value stability and tactile feedback, especially during zoomed-in shooting or video capture, the HX80’s design will feel like clubs for your thumbs in a good way.

Top Controls and Interface: Intuitive Layout or Basic Simplicity?

Ease of use can make or break your shooting experience, particularly if you’re switching between cameras or new to photography jargon.

Examining the top controls reveals that the Sony HX80 boasts an impressively rich control scheme for a compact. It features dedicated dials for exposure compensation, a zoom rocker that feels smooth and responsive, a robust power toggle, and an internal pop-up electronic viewfinder (EVF). These elements let you dial in your settings with confidence without fumbling through menus.

The Fujifilm JX370, by contrast, opts for simplicity: flush buttons, a power/start button, and zoom slider dominate the limited top real estate. It’s quick to master, ideal for users stepping up from phone photography or those who want point-and-shoot convenience. But the tradeoff is less manual control and slower access to advanced settings.

If immediate hands-on control and the ability to fine-tune exposure priorities are important, you’ll appreciate the HX80’s thoughtfully laid out controls. For cheapskate bargain hunters and casual snappers, the JX370’s minimalist approach keeps learning curves shallow.

Sensor Technology and Image Quality: How Much Punch Can a Tiny Sensor Pack?

Sensors are the heart of any camera, so let’s get technical about what these cameras pack under the hood.

Both cameras use the same sensor size - a 1/2.3-inch chip measuring 6.17 x 4.55 mm - which is small compared to APS-C or full-frame sensors but standard for compact cameras. Physically, this means both have limited light-gathering ability, which adversely affects dynamic range, noise performance, and low-light capabilities.

Where they diverge is in resolution and sensor type:

• The JX370 employs a 14-megapixel CCD sensor. CCDs often produce punchy colors and clean images in daylight but struggle more with noise at higher ISOs.
• The HX80 opts for an 18-megapixel BSI-CMOS sensor - back-side illuminated - which enhances light sensitivity and reduces noise in darker scenes.

In practice, I found the HX80 produces sharper, more detailed images with less noise creeping in beyond ISO 800. The wider native ISO range (80–3200 compared to 100–1600 on the JX370) and boosted ISO support up to 12,800 make shooting in tricky lighting more forgiving on the Sony.

Color rendering between the two is subjective but consistent: Fujifilm tends to deliver vibrant but slightly warmer tones, which some portrait shooters may find flattering for skin. Sony’s output is more neutral and accurate but slightly cooler, which benefits landscape or wildlife scenarios needing true-to-life colors.

Viewing and Composition Tools: No Viewfinder vs Electronic Viewfinder

Shooting comfort often depends on how and where you compose photos. The presence or absence of a viewfinder is one of those subtle factors that shapes experience.

The JX370 sports a fixed 2.7-inch TFT screen with a meager resolution of 230k dots. It’s functional for casual framing but feels dim and grainy under bright outdoor conditions.

In contrast, the HX80’s 3-inch tilting LCD with 921k dots is bright, sharp, and versatile. The screen’s tilt mechanism allows for easier shooting from high or low angles, helpful during street photography or awkward positions.

Crucially, Sony equips the HX80 with a built-in electronic viewfinder covering 100% frame - something the JX370 wholly lacks. The EVF provides a daylight-stable, detailed means to compose without struggling with LCD glare or battery drain from screen usage. For outdoor shooting, wildlife, or sports, this feature markedly improves framing accuracy and user confidence.

Image Performance Across Photography Disciplines

No camera can be perfect in all roles, but evaluating how each performs in different photographic genres offers clear guidance on strengths and limitations.

Portrait Photography: Skin Tones, Bokeh, and Eye Detection

The generation-old JX370 has no face or eye detection autofocus, fixed lens aperture range from f/2.6 to f/6.2, and limited focusing options. I found it struggles to lock focus quickly on moving subjects and produces relatively bland background blur due to smaller sensor size and narrow maximum aperture at telephoto.

Conversely, the HX80 offers face detection and even eye AF for sharper portraits, enabling confident capture of expressions. Its 24-720mm equivalent lens lets you isolate subjects with decent background separation at the long end, though still limited by sensor size. The optical stabilization helps keep shots crisp, especially in lower light.

In terms of raw image quality, neither supports RAW shooting, but the HX80’s higher resolution improves detail in skin texture rendering.

Landscape Photography: Dynamic Range, Resolution, and Ruggedness

Landscape demands edge-to-edge sharpness and wide dynamic range. Again, the sensor constraints show:

• Both cameras deliver decent resolution for 8x10 prints (14MP on JX370; 18MP on HX80), but dynamic range is limited, causing clipped highlights and crushed shadows in contrast-heavy scenes.
• The HX80’s slightly better dynamic range and more panoramic aspect ratios (including 1:1) offer more creative framing.
• Neither model is weather-sealed or ruggedized, so outdoor conditions demand caution.

For casual landscapes and travel, both will suffice, but serious landscape photographers will quickly outgrow these compacts.

Wildlife and Sports Photography: Autofocus Speed, Telephoto Reach, and Burst Rates

Wildlife and sports photography require snappy autofocus and fast continuous shooting.

• The JX370 has slow contrast-detection AF with no tracking or face detection, continuous shooting capped at 1fps, and a 28-140mm lens.
• The HX80 is a different beast with an AF system that includes face detection, selective AF modes, and tracking. It shoots up to 10fps continuous, which is impressive for a compact, paired with a monster 24-720mm (30x) zoom - invaluable for distant subjects.
• Optical image stabilization on the HX80 smooths out telephoto shake, letting you hang onto sharp details at long reach.

Clearly, wildlife and action shooters will lean heavily toward the Sony HX80 here.

Street Photography: Discretion, Low Light, and Portability

Street photography favors cameras that blend in, offer quick responsiveness, and tack sharp detail in real-world conditions.

• The JX370’s silent shooting limitations and small size help with discretion. Unfortunately, slow autofocus and low screen resolution impede spontaneity.
• The HX80 is larger and louder on zoom and shutter but compensates with faster launch, reliable face detection, and an increased burst rate. Its built-in EVF aids framing in bright conditions where glare would stymie the JX370. The tilting LCD supports shooting from unusual angles for candid shots.
• Low light? The HX80’s higher maximum ISO and stabilization make it far more usable.

Macro Photography: Magnification, Focus Precision, and Stabilization

Close focusing capabilities also differ:

• The Fujifilm claims a minimum focus distance of 10cm, allowing it to get decently close for casual macro snaps.
• The Sony gets even closer at 5cm minimum focus distance, plus image stabilization that steadies the shot during handheld macro capture.
• Neither offers focus stacking or bracketing, meaning you’ll rely on manual focus finesse or post-processing.

If macro is high on your priority, the HX80’s combination of zoom range, close focusing, and stabilization offers better creative flexibility.

Night and Astrophotography: High ISO Handling and Exposure Options

Shooting under dim conditions and star-studded skies demands low noise and long exposure control.

• The JX370’s max shutter of 1800 seconds (30 minutes) is impressive for long exposures, but the noise at high ISO and fixed aperture flag issues. No bulb mode or manual exposure control limits creativity.
• The HX80 tops out at 2000 seconds shutter speed, includes shutter priority, aperture priority, and manual exposure - critical for astrophotos and controlled night scenes.
• The HX80’s back-illuminated CMOS sensor manages noise better at higher ISO, though still limited by sensor physics.

For casual nightscapes, the HX80 is the clear winner; the JX370 serves only basic nighttime snaps.

Video Capabilities: Recording Specs, Stabilization, and Audio

Video has become a standard feature across cameras, so how do these two compare?

• The JX370 records HD 720p at 30fps in Motion JPEG format - dated standards that sadly mean larger file sizes with lower efficiency, limited editing options, and modest image quality.
• The HX80 shoots Full HD 1080p at 60p, 60i, 30p, and 24p, supporting MPEG-4, AVCHD, and XAVC S formats - very versatile for casual to semi-pro videographers.
• Sony’s optical stabilization helps produce steadier handheld clips, while Fujifilm lacks any form of image stabilization.
• Neither camera has microphone or headphone ports - so external audio capture is limited.

If video is on your radar, the HX80 offers a modern, adaptable toolkit.

Travel Photography: Versatility, Battery, and Size/Weight

Travel photography demands balance between capable hardware and manageable form factor.

• The JX370’s ultra-light and pocketable design is tough to beat, but short battery life (190 shots) and limited zoom can frustrate longer trips.
• The HX80 weighs double but offers almost twice the battery endurance (390 shots), a versatile 30x zoom covering wide-angle cityscapes to distant landscapes, and built-in WiFi/NFC for quick sharing.
• Memory compatibility varies: JX370 sticks to SD/SDHC, while the HX80 supports SDXC plus Memory Stick Pro, providing more flexibility.

Despite weight, I often reached first for the HX80 on trips due to its versatility and confidence-inspiring controls.

Professional Use: Reliability, File Formats, and Workflow

Neither camera is primarily aimed at professionals, but let’s see if either makes the cut as a reliable backup or casual second shooter:

• Neither supports RAW file capture, a critical limitation for pro workflow and serious post-processing.
• Fujifilm’s slower processor and minimal exposure controls hinder creative flexibility.
• Sony’s shutter and aperture priority modes, exposure compensation, and faster buffer support give it an edge as a lightweight, emergency camera.
• Both lack environmental sealing, so I wouldn’t trust either in adverse weather without extra protection.

For pros, these cameras serve more as convenience compacts rather than main tools.

Technical Breakdown: Processing, Storage, and Connectivity

Both cameras share a USB 2.0 interface, but the HX80 brings more modern convenience:

• Processor: Sony’s Bionz X enables faster image processing and better noise reduction compared to Fujifilm’s unspecified processor (likely slower).
• Storage: Fuji uses single SD/SDHC cards; Sony supports SD/SDHC/SDXC and Memory Stick Pro formats - offering greater capacity and speed options.
• Connectivity: JX370 is a standalone camera with no wireless features. The HX80 includes built-in WiFi and NFC (Near Field Communication), making it far easier to transfer images to phones or social media on the go.
• Battery types: Fuji’s NP-45A is a modest pack, Sony’s NP-BX1 offers improved capacity and runtime.

Performance Ratings and Genre-Specific Scores

To summarize their relative standing, here’s an expert-curated performance comparison based on extensive hands-on testing.

• Sony HX80 outperforms the Fujifilm JX370 across nearly all categories except portability.
• JX370 scores highest on size and simplicity but falls far behind in autofocus, zoom, video, and versatility.
• HX80 excels in telephoto reach, AF sophistication, image stabilization, video features, and user interface.

Real-Life Samples: Image Quality in Practice

No camera review is complete without looking at real images.

Fujifilm JX370 front Fujifilm JX370 screen back Sony HX80 front Sony HX80 screen back

Here are side-by-side shots illustrating how the JX370 and HX80 handle common scenarios. Note the HX80’s increased detail in shadows, richer colors, and sharper focus on subjects. The Fuji delivers decent daylight snaps but struggles with noise and softness, especially at telephoto and higher ISO.

Pros and Cons at a Glance

Final Verdict: Which Camera Fits Your Needs?

If you want my honest, hands-on advice, here’s the skinny:

• Choose the Fujifilm FinePix JX370 if you want a no-frills, ultra-compact point-and-shoot for casual outings, family snapshots, or as an inexpensive backup camera. Its appeal lies mostly in portability and simplicity rather than advanced features or top-tier image quality. It’s a decent starter for cheapskates or those who value tiny size over all else.

• Choose the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80 if you need a versatile all-around compact with excellent zoom reach, solid autofocus, useful manual controls, and good video options. It’s a great travel companion or street photography camera for enthusiasts who want creative freedom without the bulk and cost of an interchangeable lens system. The HX80’s connectivity and stabilization make it worth the extra investment for serious snapshotting and run-and-gun shooting.

Ultimately, both serve different photography philosophies: the Fuji is your minimalist travel buddy; the Sony your zoom-capable, feature-rich pocket powerhouse. Selection boils down to your priorities: ultimate portability and ease versus versatility and performance.

Feel free to reach out or comment if you want comparison tests on other models or advice tailored to your photographic ambitions. Happy shooting!