Olympus E-400 vs Sony HX20V

In this article, we will be reviewing the Olympus E-400 vs Sony HX20V, one being a Entry-Level DSLR and the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by brands Olympus and Sony. There is a big difference among the resolutions of the E-400 (10MP) and HX20V (18MP) and the E-400 (Four Thirds) and HX20V (1/2.3") come with totally different sensor size.

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The E-400 was revealed 6 years prior to the HX20V and that is a fairly big gap as far as camera tech is concerned. Both cameras offer different body type with the Olympus E-400 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony HX20V being a Compact camera.

Before delving in to a thorough comparison, below is a short summation of how the E-400 matches up versus the HX20V for portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Below is a preview of the gallery images for Olympus E-400 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V. The full galleries are viewable at Olympus E-400 Gallery and Sony HX20V Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to lug around your camera frequently, you will need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Olympus E-400 enjoys outer measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") and a weight of 435 grams (0.96 lbs) whilst the Sony HX20V has dimensions of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") along with a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

Check the Olympus E-400 vs Sony HX20V in the new Camera and Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Remember that, the weight of an Interchangeable Lens Camera will vary dependant on the lens you are working with at the time. Underneath is the front view over all size comparison of the E-400 compared to the HX20V.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the E-400 and HX20V is 77 and 90 respectively.

Often, it is very hard to visualise the contrast in sensor measurements purely by going through specs. The visual below should offer you a better sense of the sensor measurements in the E-400 and HX20V.

As you can plainly see, the 2 cameras enjoy different resolutions and different sensor measurements. The E-400 with its bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony HX20V will show more detail because of its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will also enable you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The older E-400 will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.