Pentax H90 vs Sony HX80

Here is a thorough assessment of the Pentax H90 and Sony HX80, former being a Small Sensor Compact while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom by companies Pentax and Sony. There exists a considerable gap among the image resolutions of the H90 (12MP) and HX80 (18MP) but both cameras posses the same sensor size (1/2.3").

Photography Glossary

The H90 was launched 7 years prior to the HX80 and that is a fairly large difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of these cameras have the same body design (Compact).

Before going into a detailed comparison, here is a quick highlight of how the H90 grades vs the HX80 with regard to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Pentax Optio H90 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX80. The complete galleries are provided at Pentax H90 Gallery & Sony HX80 Gallery.

If you are aiming to carry your camera regularly, you are going to need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Pentax H90 features outer measurements of 101mm x 65mm x 28mm (4.0" x 2.6" x 1.1") along with a weight of 153 grams (0.34 lbs) while the Sony HX80 has dimensions of 102mm x 58mm x 36mm (4.0" x 2.3" x 1.4") having a weight of 245 grams (0.54 lbs).

See the Pentax H90 and Sony HX80 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into consideration, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you are working with at the time. The following is a front view overall size comparison of the H90 against the HX80.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability score of the H90 and HX80 is 93 and 91 respectively.

More often than not, its hard to visualise the contrast in sensor sizing purely by researching specifications. The visual underneath will help give you a more clear sense of the sensor measurements in the H90 and HX80.

To sum up, each of the cameras have the same sensor dimensions albeit not the same megapixels. You can expect the Sony HX80 to render extra detail utilizing its extra 6 Megapixels. Higher resolution will also help you crop shots a bit more aggressively. The older H90 will be behind when it comes to sensor technology.