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Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80

Portability
77
Imaging
44
Features
36
Overall
40
Olympus E-420 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80 front
Portability
91
Imaging
44
Features
60
Overall
50

Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80 Key Specs

Olympus E-420
(Full Review)
  • 10MP - Four Thirds Sensor
  • 2.7" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 1600
  • No Video
  • Micro Four Thirds Mount
  • 426g - 130 x 91 x 53mm
  • Revealed June 2008
  • Superseded the Olympus E-410
Sony HX80
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 80 - 3200 (Increase to 12800)
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-720mm (F3.5-6.4) lens
  • 245g - 102 x 58 x 36mm
  • Introduced March 2016
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Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80 Overview

Below, we will be contrasting the Olympus E-420 and Sony HX80, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by rivals Olympus and Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the image resolutions of the E-420 (10MP) and HX80 (18MP) and the E-420 (Four Thirds) and HX80 (1/2.3") possess different sensor size.

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The E-420 was announced 8 years prior to the HX80 and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both cameras come with different body type with the Olympus E-420 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony HX80 being a Compact camera.

Before diving in to a in-depth comparison, below is a simple highlight of how the E-420 grades vs the HX80 with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

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Reasons to pick Olympus E-420 over the Sony HX80

 E-420 HX80 
Manually focus Very precise focus

Reasons to pick Sony HX80 over the Olympus E-420

 HX80 E-420 
IntroducedMarch 2016June 2008More recent by 93 months
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen dimension3"2.7"Bigger screen (+0.3")
Screen resolution921k230kSharper screen (+691k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus E-420 and Sony HX80

 E-420 HX80 
Touch friendly screen Neither has Touch friendly screen

Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80 Physical Comparison

If you're looking to lug around your camera often, you will want to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus E-420 has outside measurements of 130mm x 91mm x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") along with a weight of 426 grams (0.94 lbs) while the Sony HX80 has specifications of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") and a weight of 245 grams (0.54 lbs).

Contrast the Olympus E-420 and Sony HX80 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ dependant on the lens you use at that time. Here is the front view measurement comparison of the E-420 compared to the HX80.

Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80 size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the E-420 and HX80 is 77 and 91 respectively.

Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80 top view buttons comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80 Sensor Comparison

More often than not, it is tough to visualize the contrast in sensor measurements merely by going through a spec sheet. The photograph below should provide you a clearer sense of the sensor measurements in the E-420 and HX80.

Clearly, both cameras posses different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The E-420 having a bigger sensor is going to make getting shallow DOF simpler and the Sony HX80 will produce greater detail with its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop pictures somewhat more aggressively. The older E-420 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.

Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80 sensor size comparison

Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80 Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Portrait photography camera
Sony HX80 as a Portrait photography camera
56
manual focus
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
resolution not great (10MP)
39
decent megapixels (18MP)
has face detect focus
manual focus not available
no external flash support
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Street photography camera
Sony HX80 as a Street photography camera
64
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
lighter than others (426 grams)
screen is fixed
does not have image stabilization
70
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition in class (245 grams)
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Olympus E-420
Sports photography with Sony HX80
38
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
comes with phase detect AF
max fps low (4.0 frames/s)
does not have image stabilization
resolution not great (10MP)
terrible battery (500 shots)
57
amazing zoom range (24-720mm 30.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (18MP)
has tracking focus
better than average battery life (390 shots)
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Travel photography camera
Sony HX80 as a Travel photography camera
52
lighter than others (426g)
has built in flash
no Time Lapse function
terrible battery (500 shots)
resolution not great (10MP)
display is not selfie friendly
76
better than average battery life (390 shots)
lighter than competition in class (245 grams)
decent megapixels (18 megapixels)
flash built-in
screen is selfie friendly
rather wide (24mm)
great reach (720mm)
no Timelapse mode
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus E-420 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony HX80 as a Landscape photography camera
47
manual focus
interchangeable lenses (Micro Four Thirds mount)
sensor size is nice (Four Thirds)
saves RAW formats
tiny screen (2.7")
does not have image stabilization
resolution not great (10MP)
terrible battery (500 CIPA)
no Time Lapse function
49
rather wide (24mm)
decent sized screen (3 inches)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent megapixels (18MP)
better than average battery life (390 shots)
manual focus not available
can't change lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
small sensor (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
no Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus E-420 Vlogging information
Sony HX80 Vlogging information
9
can't shoot video
75
rather wide (24mm)
screen is selfie friendly
image stabilization (Optical)
has face detect focus
high quality video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than competition in class (245g)
slow maximum aperture (f3.5)
no microphone support
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Olympus E-420 vs Sony HX80 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus E-420 and Sony HX80
 Olympus E-420Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80
General Information
Company Olympus Sony
Model type Olympus E-420 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80
Class Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2008-06-23 2016-03-07
Physical type Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor TruePic III Bionz X
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Four Thirds 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 17.3 x 13mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 224.9mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 10MP 18MP
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Peak resolution 3648 x 2736 4896 x 3672
Highest native ISO 1600 3200
Highest enhanced ISO - 12800
Lowest native ISO 100 80
RAW photos
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Touch to focus
AF continuous
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
Multi area AF
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Total focus points 3 -
Lens
Lens mount type Micro Four Thirds fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 24-720mm (30.0x)
Highest aperture - f/3.5-6.4
Macro focusing range - 5cm
Available lenses 45 -
Crop factor 2.1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Tilting
Screen size 2.7" 3"
Screen resolution 230k dots 921k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) Electronic
Viewfinder coverage 95 percent 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification 0.46x -
Features
Minimum shutter speed 60 secs 30 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/4000 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shutter rate 4.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance 12.00 m (at ISO 100) 5.40 m (with Auto ISO)
Flash modes Auto, Auto FP, Manual, Red-Eye Auto, on, slow sync, off, rear sync
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
WB bracketing
Fastest flash synchronize 1/180 secs -
Exposure
Multisegment exposure
Average exposure
Spot exposure
Partial exposure
AF area exposure
Center weighted exposure
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (30p)
Highest video resolution None 1920x1080
Video format - MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone support
Headphone support
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
Environment sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 426 gr (0.94 lbs) 245 gr (0.54 lbs)
Dimensions 130 x 91 x 53mm (5.1" x 3.6" x 2.1") 102 x 58 x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO Overall rating 56 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 21.5 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 10.4 not tested
DXO Low light rating 527 not tested
Other
Battery life 500 images 390 images
Battery style Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID - NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes
Time lapse feature
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), xD Picture Card Memory Stick PRO Duo/Pro-HG Duo; SD/SDHC/SDXC
Card slots Single Single
Cost at release $999 $368