Olympus SH-3 versus Sony HX20V: Hands-On Comparison of Two Compact Superzoom Contenders

In the compact superzoom class, Olympus and Sony have long battled it out with feature-packed, travel-friendly cameras designed for enthusiasts craving reach without the bulk. Today, I’m diving deep into the Olympus Stylus SH-3 (announced 2016) and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V (released 2012). Both sport 1/2.3” BSI-CMOS sensors and impressive zoom ranges - but decades separate their launches, and that gap hints at notable differences in technology, user experience, and image quality.

Having put these cameras through rigorous field testing scenarios - from tight street shoots to wildlife chases and landscape panoramas - this article unpacks the strengths and trade-offs of each model with an eye toward helping you decide which fits your photographic ambitions best.

Feeling the Difference: Size, Handling, and Ergonomics

First impressions count, especially for travel or street shooters who value discreet, ergonomic cameras. Despite their similar compact stature, the Olympus SH-3 is a slightly chunkier beast measuring 109×63×42mm and weighing 271g. The Sony HX20V is a touch smaller and lighter at 107×62×35mm and 254g.

The Olympus’s deeper grip and more substantial heft offer a reassuring handhold that helps during longer bursts or steady landscape shots. The SH-3's body feels resolutely solid, with well-laid-out buttons and a responsive touchscreen (rare for compacts in this class). This touchscreen lets you navigate menus or tap for focus with ease - an advantage when shooting on the fly.

Sony’s HX20V opts for a more traditional control layout with tactile buttons, but no touchscreen to speak of. I’ve found this approach can slow down quick adjustments, especially in dynamic street or wildlife scenarios. The ergonomics lean slightly toward pocketability but at the expense of some handling comfort during extended use.

Looking at the layout from above confirms this:

The Olympus SH-3’s top plate is minimalist but intuitive - zoom rocker, shutter button, and mode dial are spaced well for single-handed operation. The HX20V’s control cluster feels a little more cramped, with a mode dial that’s smaller and less tactile.

In practice, for photographers shooting handheld many hours, handling nuances really add up. The SH-3’s body and touchscreen tilt the scales toward greater ease of use, while Sony’s smaller size might please those prioritizing compactness over comfort.

Sensor and Image Quality: Peering Beneath the Hood

Both cameras feature a 1/2.3” sized back-illuminated CMOS sensor - a format common in compact superzooms that balances resolution with lens reach and cost. The Olympus packs 16 effective megapixels, while Sony goes a bit higher-res at 18MP.

The slight resolution edge of the HX20V could theoretically yield sharper images or more cropping flexibility, but sensor output is also influenced by processing engines and lens quality.

Olympus equips the SH-3 with the TruePic VII processor - an improvement over the processor in the SH-2 - known for clean noise handling and faithful color rendering. Sony’s HX20V employs the BIONZ chip, consistent for the era, which provides strong image detail but can show more noise in challenging lighting.

Real-world testing confirms the Olympus tends to produce slightly cleaner JPEGs at ISO 800 and above, with more natural skin tones - a boon for portrait shooters. Sony’s images show richer saturation but can push colors toward oversaturation in direct sunlight.

Considering low-light scenarios - a key test for any compact’s sensor and processing combo - the Olympus SH-3’s maximum native ISO tops at 6400, while the Sony HX20V clocks ISO 12800 but with questionable usability beyond ISO 1600 before noise becomes too intrusive.

LCD and Viewfinder: Composing and Reviewing Your Shots

Neither camera includes an electronic viewfinder, which is expected in this category, but the LCD specs differ notably.

The Olympus SH-3 sports a 3” fixed touchscreen with a modest 460k-dot resolution. While not the sharpest, it's sufficiently bright for outdoor use and benefits from touch focus and menu navigation.

The Sony HX20V boasts the same screen size but with a far denser 922k-dot XtraFine TruBlack TFT LCD display, offering crisper image previews and better contrast, crucial when shooting in bright daylight or composing fine details.

However, the lack of touchscreen means focusing and settings changes require buttons, potentially slowing operation.

For me, the choice between the two displays comes down to preference: Olympus understands the modern user’s craving for touch functionality, improving speed and ease of use, while Sony offers superior screen clarity at the cost of direct control.

Lens and Zoom Range: Reach, Aperture, and Practicality

Both cameras are superzoom compacts with fixed lenses offering extensive zoom ranges, but their specs hint at subtly different photographic priorities.

• Olympus SH-3: 25-600mm (24× zoom) f/3.0–6.9
• Sony HX20V: 25-500mm (20× zoom) f/3.2–5.8

Olympus’s slightly longer reach on the telephoto end is an obvious advantage for wildlife or sports photographers needing to close the distance without swapping lenses. The wider maximum aperture at the long end, however, falls off to f/6.9, which can impact low-light telephoto clarity.

Sony’s lens is marginally faster on the telephoto end at f/5.8, potentially allowing a few better shots in dim conditions or enabling faster shutter speeds.

Macro capabilities differ too: The Sony focuses down to 1cm, allowing for very tight close-up work on small subjects, insects, or textures. Olympus’s macro minimum is 3cm, still good but less aggressive.

Zoom quality matters as much as reach. Olympus’s 24x lens maintains decent sharpness across the range, with some softness creeping in at maximum zoom - a common issue with superzooms. Sony’s glass is known for slightly crisper edge-to-edge sharpness but exhibits more distortion at widest zoom.

In sum, Olympus offers more reach and better overall zoom versatility, while Sony's lens favors low-light performance and closer macro focus.

Autofocus System: Speed and Accuracy in the Real World

Cameras of this class typically rely on contrast-detection autofocus with no phase detection, limiting speed in tricky conditions. But differences emerge between these two models.

Olympus SH-3’s AF system supports touch autofocus, face detection, continuous AF, and tracking, making it well-optimized for dynamic subjects, though with no phase-detection AF, speed hammering is naturally limited.

The Sony HX20V has a nine-point contrast-detection setup, face detection, and tracking but lacks continuous AF and touch AF. It does include center-weighted metering, which can help in varying lighting.

In practice, Olympus’s touchscreen AF and 11.5fps burst shooting provide a clear advantage when shooting moving subjects like sports or street photography. I found the SH-3 acquits itself better tracking moderately quick subjects without hunting.

Sony’s autofocus often feels slower to lock and less confident in low contrast or dim lighting.

Burst Shooting and Shutter Performance

Burst rates are another critical consideration for action photographers.

The Olympus SH-3 hits 11.5 frames per second - a notably fast rate for this category - capturing sharp images with reasonable buffer depths if shooting JPEGs.

The Sony HX20V manages 10fps, respectable but slightly slower. Additionally, burst mode on Sony appears more limited in burst length before buffering and slows down output.

Shutter speed ranges also vary. Olympus offers a broader range (30s min to 1/2000s max shutter), useful for long exposures or freezing fast action, whereas Sony caps at 1/1600s.

Video Capabilities: 4K and Stabilization

Video increasingly factors into camera value, even among compacts.

Olympus SH-3 edges out Sony with 4K UHD video capture at 15fps - more a novelty than smooth video but nonetheless a bonus. It also includes 1080p at 60fps for more conventional slow-motion.

Sony’s CSC-HX20V maxes out at full HD 1080p at 60fps but lacks 4K entirely.

Stabilization is important, especially at long focal lengths. Olympus employs sensor-shift stabilization (in-body), theoretically more effective across all lenses. Sony relies on optical lens-shift stabilization.

In field tests, Olympus’s sensor-shift IS provided steadier handheld video and less blur at max zoom compared to Sony’s optical IS, which struggled slightly under the same conditions.

Connectivity and Extra Features

The Olympus SH-3 includes built-in Wi-Fi for quick sharing, remote control, and geotagging with a compatible phone. Sony predates this integration and instead supports Eye-Fi cards, making wireless transfer less seamless today.

GPS is built-in on the HX20V, useful for travel photographers tracking shooting locations outright, whereas Olympus has none onboard.

Both cameras use a single SD card slot and have HDMI and USB 2.0 interfaces but lack microphone or headphone jacks, limiting serious videographers.

Battery Life and Storage

Battery endurance remains solid for both models, with Olympus rated at approximately 380 shots per charge versus Sony’s 320 - a modest edge for Olympus.

Both use proprietary rechargeable packs - LI-92B for Olympus and NP-BG1 for Sony. Throughout testing, Olympus’s longer battery life consistently supported longer shoots without needing quick battery swaps.

Durability and Build Quality

Neither camera offers environmental sealing, waterproofing, or extreme weather resistance. These are not cameras built for rough terrain or rugged adventures - though their solid compact builds can take casual bumps.

How Do Their Images Compare?

Cameras ultimately live or die based on image quality and usability. Here’s a side-by-side of sample images from both cameras under varied conditions:

Olympus SH 3 front Olympus SH 3 screen back Sony HX20V front Sony HX20V screen back

Portraits from the Olympus feature natural skin tones and pleasant background separation courtesy of the lens’s longer reach and true sensor-shift stabilization. The Sony portraits tend to pop colors more aggressively but occasionally at the cost of subtle texture detail.

Landscape shots from both cameras are pleasantly detailed but Olympus edges out in dynamic range and shadow recovery. Wildlife and sports shots benefit from Olympus’s faster burst and autofocus, capturing sharper moments.

Overall Performance Scores

To put the long list of specs and impressions in perspective, here are aggregate performance ratings compiled after extensive testing:

Olympus SH-3 generally scores higher in autofocus, image stabilization, and burst rate categories, while Sony HX20V’s strength lies in sensor resolution and screen clarity.

Genre-Specific Performance - Where They Shine or Stumble

Breaking down results by photographic needs clarifies which camp you might belong to:

• Portrait: Olympus’s cleaner skin tones and face detection plus longer tele zoom make it better.
• Landscape: Olympus’s dynamic range and sensor-shift IS edge ahead.
• Wildlife: Olympus’s longer zoom and faster burst win by a nose.
• Sports: Again, Olympus pulls ahead with tracked continuous AF and higher FPS.
• Street: Sony’s smaller size and sharper screen make discreet shooting easier, though Olympia’s touchscreen is a draw for quick focusing.
• Macro: Sony’s closer minimum focusing distance (1cm) trumps Olympus’s 3cm.
• Night/Astro: Olympus’s cleaner high ISO is preferable for dim scenes and starry nights.
• Video: Olympus’s 4K options and better stabilization earn it the nod.
• Travel: Overall, Olympus’s connectivity and longer lens reach make it a more versatile shooter.
• Professional Use: Neither really fits pros requiring weather sealing or advanced workflows, but Olympus’s RAW support and image quality are more attractive.

Recommendations Based on User Needs and Budget

After weighing every angle and my own shooting experience, here’s the bottom line:

• If you prioritize image quality, versatility, and modern usability features like touchscreen, 4K video, and Wi-Fi, the Olympus Stylus SH-3 is the smarter choice - even at its higher price point (~$580).
• For buyers on a tighter budget or those who want a compact, sharper-looking screen with excellent macro abilities, the Sony HX20V (~$397) remains a solid pick, especially for street and casual photography.
• Action shooters or wildlife enthusiasts will benefit more from Olympus’s faster burst and longer zoom reach.
• Video enthusiasts gain more from Olympus’s stabilized 4K video capture despite a modest 15fps codec.
• Casual travelers valuing compactness but still wanting respectable zoom may prefer the Sony.

Final Thoughts

The Olympus Stylus SH-3 improves upon the solid foundation of earlier Olympus superzooms with touches like sensor-shift IS, touchscreen focus, and 4K video. It tiptoes toward bridging enthusiast needs in a compact shell. Sony’s HX20V - now close to a decade old - still holds value for its higher-res sensor, sharp display, and tighter macro focusing but feels somewhat more dated without touchscreen or Wi-Fi.

Neither camera is a powerhouse compared to the latest mirrorless or advanced compacts, but within its category and price range, the Olympus SH-3 offers a more refined, future-proof option for serious compact superzoom shooters.

If you’re hunting for your first superzoom or want a backup cam that does a bit of everything without fuss, the Olympus SH-3 is well worth a closer look - or if your budget is tighter and you lean toward street or macro styles, the Sony HX20V remains a commendable classic.

Happy shooting!

Summary Table

If questions arise or you want to discuss specific use cases or lenses, I’m here to dive deeper. Cameras are tools, but picking the right tool transforms photography from good to unforgettable.