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Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V

Portability
96
Imaging
39
Features
36
Overall
37
Olympus VR-340 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V front
Portability
90
Imaging
42
Features
50
Overall
45

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V Key Specs

Olympus VR-340
(Full Review)
  • 16MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Display
  • ISO 100 - 3200
  • Sensor-shift Image Stabilization
  • 1280 x 720 video
  • 24-240mm (F3.0-5.7) lens
  • 125g - 96 x 57 x 19mm
  • Introduced January 2012
Sony HX20V
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-500mm (F3.2-5.8) lens
  • 254g - 107 x 62 x 35mm
  • Launched July 2012
  • Previous Model is Sony HX10V
  • Refreshed by Sony HX30V
Photography Glossary

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V Overview

Let's look a bit more in depth at the Olympus VR-340 versus Sony HX20V, former is a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by competitors Olympus and Sony. The resolution of the VR-340 (16MP) and the HX20V (18MP) is relatively close and both cameras have the identical sensor measurements (1/2.3").

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The VR-340 was released 6 months prior to the HX20V and they are of a similar age. The two cameras feature the same body design (Compact).

Before delving straight to a full comparison, here is a concise summary of how the VR-340 scores against the HX20V when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall mark.

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Reasons to pick Olympus VR-340 over the Sony HX20V

 VR-340 HX20V 

Reasons to pick Sony HX20V over the Olympus VR-340

 HX20V VR-340 
Focus manually More accurate focusing
Screen resolution922k460kCrisper screen (+462k dot)

Common features in the Olympus VR-340 and Sony HX20V

 VR-340 HX20V 
LaunchedJanuary 2012July 2012Same age
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen size3"3"Same screen measurements
Selfie screen Neither provides selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Lacking Touch friendly screen

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V Physical Comparison

In case you're going to travel with your camera, you'll need to factor in its weight and proportions. The Olympus VR-340 provides physical measurements of 96mm x 57mm x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") along with a weight of 125 grams (0.28 lbs) and the Sony HX20V has measurements of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") and a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

Check out the Olympus VR-340 versus Sony HX20V in our newest Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Do not forget, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you choose at the time. Here is a front view over all size comparison of the VR-340 vs the HX20V.

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V size comparison

Looking at size and weight, the portability score of the VR-340 and HX20V is 96 and 90 respectively.

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V top view buttons comparison

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V Sensor Comparison

Oftentimes, its hard to visualize the contrast in sensor dimensions purely by viewing a spec sheet. The pic here may give you a greater sense of the sensor measurements in the VR-340 and HX20V.

As you can see, both of those cameras come with the identical sensor size albeit different MP. You can count on the Sony HX20V to result in more detail as a result of its extra 2MP. Higher resolution will let you crop pictures a good deal more aggressively.

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V sensor size comparison

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V Screen and ViewFinder

Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Olympus VR-340 Portrait photography advice
Sony HX20V Portrait photography advice
34
MP count decent (16MP)
supports face detection autofocus
manual focus not available
manual mode not possible
cannot use external flash
small sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
45
you can focus manually
good resolution (18MP)
comes with face detect focusing
external flash not possible
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Olympus VR-340
Street photography with Sony HX20V
63
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
lighter than competition in class (125 grams)
no articulating screen
small sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
61
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than average (254 grams)
screen is fixed
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
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Sports Comparison

Olympus VR-340 as a Sports photography camera
Sony HX20V as a Sports photography camera
44
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
MP count decent (16MP)
supports tracking autofocus
lack of shutter priority mode
small sensor (1/2.3")
has no phase detect autofocus
49
long zoom range (25-500mm 20.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (18MP)
comes with tracking focus
no shutter priority mode
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect AF
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Travel Comparison

Olympus VR-340 Travel photography advice
Sony HX20V Travel photography advice
69
lighter than competition in class (125 grams)
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
flash built-in
rather wide (24mm)
no Time Lapse mode
does not have a selfie friendly screen
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
69
lighter than average (254 grams)
good resolution (18 megapixels)
built-in flash
relatively wide (25mm)
very long zoom (500mm)
does not have Timelapse function
display isn't selfie friendly
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.2)
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Landscape Comparison

Olympus VR-340 Landscape photography details
Sony HX20V Landscape photography details
43
rather wide (24mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
MP count decent (16 megapixels)
manual focus not available
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
manual mode not possible
small sensor (1/2.3")
has no RAW format
no Time Lapse mode
50
you can focus manually
relatively wide (25mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inches)
has image stabilization (Optical)
good resolution (18 megapixels)
cannot change lens (fixed lens mount)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.2)
sensor is tiny (1/2.3")
lack of RAW support
does not have Timelapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Olympus VR-340 Vlogging information
Sony HX20V Vlogging information
33
rather wide (24mm)
image stabilization (Sensor-shift)
supports face detection autofocus
lighter than competition in class (125g)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.0)
does not have a selfie friendly screen
video resolution low (1280 x 720 pxls)
no external mic socket
34
relatively wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
comes with face detect focusing
high video quality (1920 x 1080 pxls)
lighter than average (254 grams)
sluggish maximum aperture (f3.2)
display isn't selfie friendly
does not have microphone support
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Olympus VR-340 vs Sony HX20V Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Olympus VR-340 and Sony HX20V
 Olympus VR-340Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
General Information
Make Olympus Sony
Model Olympus VR-340 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
Class Small Sensor Compact Small Sensor Superzoom
Introduced 2012-01-10 2012-07-20
Physical type Compact Compact
Sensor Information
Processor - BIONZ
Sensor type CCD BSI-CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 6.17 x 4.55mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 16 megapixels 18 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Peak resolution 4608 x 3456 4896 x 3672
Highest native ISO 3200 12800
Min native ISO 100 100
RAW pictures
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
Tracking AF
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detect AF
Contract detect AF
Phase detect AF
Number of focus points - 9
Cross focus points - -
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens fixed lens
Lens focal range 24-240mm (10.0x) 25-500mm (20.0x)
Max aperture f/3.0-5.7 f/3.2-5.8
Macro focus distance - 1cm
Crop factor 5.8 5.8
Screen
Type of display Fixed Type Fixed Type
Display sizing 3 inch 3 inch
Resolution of display 460 thousand dots 922 thousand dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch display
Display tech TFT Color LCD XtraFine TruBlack TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder None None
Features
Minimum shutter speed 4 secs 30 secs
Fastest shutter speed 1/2000 secs 1/1600 secs
Continuous shutter rate - 10.0 frames per second
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Expose Manually
Exposure compensation - Yes
Custom WB
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 4.80 m 7.10 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Fill-in Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
External flash
AE bracketing
White balance bracketing
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
Video features
Supported video resolutions 1280 x 720 (30,15 fps), 640 x 480 (30, 15 fps), 320 x 180 (30,15 fps) 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Highest video resolution 1280x720 1920x1080
Video file format Motion JPEG MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone support
Headphone support
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environment sealing
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 125 grams (0.28 lb) 254 grams (0.56 lb)
Physical dimensions 96 x 57 x 19mm (3.8" x 2.2" x 0.7") 107 x 62 x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" 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 - 320 shots
Battery style - Battery Pack
Battery model LI-50B NP-BG1
Self timer Yes (2 or 12 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type SD/SDHC/SDXC SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Single Single
Cost at release $130 $397