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Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V

Portability
89
Imaging
39
Features
47
Overall
42
Olympus SZ-31MR iHS front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX90V front
Portability
91
Imaging
43
Features
63
Overall
51

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V Key Specs

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 80 - 6400
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-600mm (F3.0-6.9) lens
  • 226g - 106 x 69 x 40mm
  • Launched February 2012
Sony HX90V
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 80 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 24-720mm (F3.5-6.4) lens
  • 245g - 102 x 58 x 36mm
  • Introduced April 2015
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Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V Overview

In this article, we will be evaluating the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS versus Sony HX90V, both Small Sensor Superzoom cameras by brands Olympus and Sony. The image resolution of the SZ-31MR iHS (16MP) and the HX90V (18MP) is pretty comparable and they come with the same exact sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

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The SZ-31MR iHS was released 4 years before the HX90V which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both the cameras offer the identical body type (Compact).

Before delving in to a complete comparison, below is a concise summary of how the SZ-31MR iHS scores versus the HX90V with regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Olympus SZ-31MR iHS over the Sony HX90V

 SZ-31MR iHS HX90V 
Touch friendly screen Quickly navigate

Reasons to pick Sony HX90V over the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS

 HX90V SZ-31MR iHS 
IntroducedApril 2015February 2012Newer by 38 months
Manually focus Dial accurate focusing
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen
Screen resolution921k920kSharper screen (+1k dot)
Selfie screen Easy selfies

Common features in the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS and Sony HX90V

 SZ-31MR iHS HX90V 
Screen sizing3"3"Equivalent screen sizing

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V Physical Comparison

For anybody who is planning to travel with your camera often, you'll need to take into account its weight and size. The Olympus SZ-31MR iHS provides exterior dimensions of 106mm x 69mm x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") along with a weight of 226 grams (0.50 lbs) whilst the Sony HX90V 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).

Check out the Olympus SZ-31MR iHS versus Sony HX90V in our brand 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 at that time. Following is the front view scale comparison of the SZ-31MR iHS compared to the HX90V.

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V size comparison

Looking at dimensions and weight, the portability grade of the SZ-31MR iHS and HX90V is 89 and 91 respectively.

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V top view buttons comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V Sensor Comparison

Quite often, its difficult to visualize the gap in sensor dimensions just by seeing a spec sheet. The picture below might give you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the SZ-31MR iHS and HX90V.

As you can see, both the cameras enjoy the same exact sensor sizing albeit different resolution. You can expect the Sony HX90V to provide greater detail as a result of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will make it easier to crop photographs far more aggressively. The more aged SZ-31MR iHS will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V sensor size comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Portrait photography information
Sony HX90V Portrait photography information
34
good resolution (16MP)
has face detection autofocus
manual focus not available
manual mode not available
cannot use external flash
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
45
you can focus manually
MP count good (18 megapixels)
features face detection focusing
no external flash support
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
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Street Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Street photography features
Sony HX90V Street photography features
64
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
comes with focus via touch
lighter than average (226 grams)
fixed screen
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
69
screen tilts up and down
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than average in class (245g)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Sports photography highlights
Sony HX90V Sports photography highlights
44
excellent zoom range (25-600mm 24.0 x zoom)
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good resolution (16MP)
has tracking autofocus
no shutter priority
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
low battery power (200 shots)
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
57
amazing zoom range (24-720mm 30.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (18 megapixels)
features tracking autofocus
great battery pack (360 CIPA)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Travel photography info
Sony HX90V Travel photography info
67
lighter than average (226 grams)
comes with focus via touch
good resolution (16MP)
has built in flash
decently wide (25mm)
great reach (600mm)
missing Timelapse mode
low battery power (200 shots)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
76
great battery pack (360 per charge)
lighter than average in class (245 grams)
MP count good (18 megapixels)
flash built-in
screen is selfie friendly
relatively wide (24mm)
great zoom (720mm)
does not have Timelapse mode
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Landscape photography features
Sony HX90V Landscape photography features
41
decently wide (25mm)
screen size is good (3")
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
good resolution (16MP)
manual focus not available
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
manual mode not available
tiny sensor (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW support
low battery power (200 per charge)
missing Timelapse mode
53
you can focus manually
relatively wide (24mm)
screen is a good size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count good (18MP)
great battery pack (360 shots)
lens is fixed (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
sensor size is very small (1/2.3")
has no RAW support
does not have Timelapse mode
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Vlogging Comparison

Vlogging with Olympus SZ-31MR iHS
Vlogging with Sony HX90V
35
decently wide (25mm)
screen is touchscreen
built in image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
has face detection autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than average (226 grams)
slow maximum aperture (f3.0)
doesn't have a selfie friendly display
missing external microphone support
75
relatively wide (24mm)
screen is selfie friendly
has image stabilization (Optical)
features face detection focusing
high res video (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than average in class (245g)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.5)
does not have external microphone port
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Olympus SZ-31MR iHS vs Sony HX90V Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus SZ-31MR iHS and Sony HX90V
 Olympus SZ-31MR iHSSony Cyber-shot DSC-HX90V
General Information
Manufacturer Olympus Sony
Model Olympus SZ-31MR iHS Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX90V
Class Small Sensor Superzoom Small Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2012-02-08 2015-04-14
Body design Compact Compact
Sensor Information
Powered by Dual TruePic V Bionz X
Sensor type BSI-CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor area 28.1mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 18 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 1:1, 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9
Max resolution 4608 x 3456 4896 x 3672
Max native ISO 6400 12800
Min native ISO 80 80
RAW format
Autofocusing
Manual focus
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
AF single
Tracking AF
Selective AF
AF center weighted
AF multi area
AF live view
Face detect focusing
Contract detect focusing
Phase detect focusing
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mount fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 25-600mm (24.0x) 24-720mm (30.0x)
Largest aperture f/3.0-6.9 f/3.5-6.4
Macro focus distance 1cm 5cm
Crop factor 5.8 5.8
Screen
Range of display Fixed Type Tilting
Display size 3" 3"
Resolution of display 920 thousand dot 921 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch function
Display tech Hypercrystal III TFT Color LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 638 thousand dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100%
Viewfinder magnification - 0.5x
Features
Min shutter speed 4 secs 30 secs
Max shutter speed 1/1700 secs 1/2000 secs
Continuous shutter speed 7.0 frames/s 10.0 frames/s
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation - Yes
Change WB
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash range 9.30 m 5.40 m (with Auto ISO)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, flash on, slow sync, flash off, rear sync
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1920 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps), 320 x 180 (30fps) 1920 x 1080 (60p, 60i, 30p, 24p), 1280 x 720 (30p)
Max video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format MPEG-4, H.264 AVCHD, XAVC S
Microphone jack
Headphone jack
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Built-In
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 226 gr (0.50 lbs) 245 gr (0.54 lbs)
Dimensions 106 x 69 x 40mm (4.2" x 2.7" x 1.6") 102 x 58 x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO Overall score not tested not tested
DXO Color Depth score not tested not tested
DXO Dynamic range score not tested not tested
DXO Low light score not tested not tested
Other
Battery life 200 shots 360 shots
Battery form Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model LI-50B NP-BX1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec, pet auto shutter) Yes
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo
Storage slots 1 1
Price at release $0 $440