Samsung CL80 vs Sony Cyber-shot HX20V: An In-Depth Comparison for the Discerning Photographer

Choosing the right camera can feel a bit like matchmaking - there has to be chemistry, a shared vision, and a sense that the tool will help translate your creative intent into stunning images. Today, we’re taking an insightful plunge into two compact cameras from the early 2010s that might not compete on the bleeding-edge specs list but still offer plenty of value for enthusiasts and pros looking for something highly portable yet versatile: the Samsung CL80 (aka ST5500) and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V. Both are ultracompact superzoom cameras, widely available used or new old stock, priced around $400, and each brings its own personality and quirks to the party.

I’ve had ample hands-on time with both models, wrenching on their menus, shooting in various light conditions, and pushing their features to see how they stack up in real-world shooting situations. Let’s dive in, comparing every relevant angle - from sensor tech and autofocus to handling and video - to help you figure out if the charmingly simple Samsung or the more ambitious Sony deserves a place in your photography kit.

Getting a Feel: Design and Ergonomics Showdown

Before we talk pixels and processors, the tactile experience matters. How a camera feels can influence your shooting comfort and, ultimately, the photos you get.

The Samsung CL80 is a super-svelte ultracompact, measuring approximately 104 x 58 x 20 mm and weighing a feathery 160 grams. That’s nearly a featherweight in your pocket, perfect for quick trips or slipping inside a jacket without generating bulk. It’s a minimalist design with just a fixed lens and a simple button layout, including a 3.7” touchscreen - still somewhat of a novelty in 2010 - offering a smooth and intuitive way to navigate settings.

The Sony HX20V is chunkier but packs more heft at 254 grams and a size of 107 x 62 x 35 mm. The added girth partly comes from its longer zoom lens (more on that later) and a solid battery. It opts for a non-touch 3.0” screen with impressive 922k-dot resolution, making image review surprisingly sharp. The control layout is sensible and precise, catering better to photographers who prefer physical buttons over touch navigation for speed and accuracy.

Here’s a visual for scale - you can see how compact Samsung really is versus Sony’s beefier approach:

Ergonomics takeaways: If pocketability and light travel weight dominate your priorities, the CL80 feels effortlessly natural. For those who want more tangible controls and don’t mind carrying a bit extra weight for longer zoom reach and sturdiness, the HX20V wins in hand feel.

Peering From Above: Layout and Control Intuition

Looking from the top down reveals the interface philosophy drivers behind each camera’s design.

The CL80 takes a Spartan approach - minimal dials, fewer buttons, and an emphasis on the touchscreen as the main control hub. It lacks manual exposure modes or tripod-friendly threaded shutter release, limiting its appeal to simple snapshot digital shooters or casual enthusiasts.

The HX20V, in contrast, offers a richer control experience - physical zoom and shutter buttons, a dedicated power toggle, and well-spaced function buttons. Sony’s inclusion of manual focus and exposure compensation is notable, giving more creative room to photographers comfortable tweaking settings on the fly.

Here’s that control habitat comparison for you:

For me, the HX20V’s control placement strikes a balance between accessibility and ergonomics - ideal for quick adjustments without fumbling through touchscreen menus mid-shot.

Doors to the Image World: Sensor Technology and Image Quality

Now let’s talk about what really pushes pixels - and pixel quality matters more than resolution alone.

Both cameras sport 1/2.3” sensors measuring 6.17 x 4.55mm in physical dimensions and roughly 28 mm² in area, a common size for compact cameras. But here, similarities end.

The Samsung CL80 uses a CCD sensor at 14 megapixels, with a max ISO of 4800 (boostable to 6400). CCD tech, while excellent in color accuracy and simpler noise profiles at base ISOs, often struggles with noise in higher ISO regimes and is slower for burst or video capture. It lacks the raw output format and doesn’t support manual exposure modes, limiting post-processing flexibility.

Sony HX20V moves to a BSI-CMOS sensor at 18 megapixels, utilizing the more modern BIONZ processor. CMOS sensors generally perform better in low light, with faster readouts and integrated noise reduction. The HX20V’s max ISO stretches to 12,800, doubling Samsung’s capability, albeit with some noise.

Visualizing the sensor specs side by side:

Subjective observations: Images from the HX20V have greater dynamic range and retain more detail in shadows and highlights, especially in tricky lighting. The Samsung’s images tend to get blown-out highlights more quickly and lose shadow detail under dimmer conditions.

Frame-By-Frame: LCD Screens and Menus

The way information is presented to your eye can be make-or-break for on-the-spot photo editing, composition, and playback.

Samsung’s large 3.7-inch touchscreen is a joy to use - smooth, intuitive, and tends to delight users who prefer tapping over button mashing. However, its low resolution (230k dots) means images and menus are not as crisp as you’d like, especially when zooming into shot previews.

Sony’s HX20V shines with a 3.0-inch, 922k-dot XtraFine TruBlack TFT LCD. The screen displays images with excellent contrast and color fidelity (good for checking focus and exposure), but commands must be navigated through physical buttons rather than touchscreen, possibly slowing quick access for some users.

Here’s a side-by-side:

Both are fixed, non-articulating screens - so creative framing in awkward angles relies on your flexibility.

Zooming In: Lens Capabilities and Autofocus Systems

This is where the story gets really interesting - the daily workhorse differences emerge here.

The Samsung CL80 has a 7x zoom range equivalent to 31-217mm full-frame, f/3.3 to f/5.5 aperture, with a macro focus distance starting at 5cm. It supports optical image stabilization, essential for handheld zoom shots. The limited telephoto reach caps wildlife and sports photography potential.

Sony HX20V leaps ahead with a whopping 20x zoom, woodenly equivalent to 25-500mm, sporting an f/3.2-f/5.8 aperture and an impressive macro capability down to 1cm (for practically nose-to-flower tight macro shots). Stabilization is likewise optical.

Beyond zoom specs, autofocus experience widely favors the HX20V thanks to its 9-point contrast-detection system, along with face detection and tracking autofocus. Samsung’s autofocus is limited to center-weighted contrast detection with face detection absent, resulting in less reliable focus in fast or complex scenes.

That said, both cameras lack phase-detection AF, the gold standard for speed and accuracy, but Sony’s more advanced AF software and multiple focus points yield noticeable benefits in focusing speed and accuracy, especially under low light and telephoto conditions.

Shooting in the Real World: Photography Genre Evaluations

How do these cameras hold up across the diverse photography world? I ran both through a gamut of scenarios:

Portraits: Skin Tones and Bokeh

Portrait work demands pleasing skin tone reproduction, sharpness in the eyes, and a pleasing background blur.

• The Samsung CL80 renders colours well but has a tendency toward slight overexposure on face highlights. The fixed lens and lack of aperture priority limit bokeh control; background separation is moderate, creating somewhat flat-looking portraits.

• The Sony HX20V's larger sensor resolution and more advanced processing render skin tones with subtler warmth and detail. Face detection autofocus means crisply focused eyes, and the wider zoom range and manual focus help isolate subjects better with creamy background blur at longer focal lengths, though f/5.8 at tele ends limits bokeh richness compared to larger apertures.

Landscapes: Dynamic Range and Resolution

Wide scenes benefit from broad dynamic range and high resolution.

While both deliver respectable images for casual landscape, Sony’s sensor shines here due to its better dynamic range and ability to shoot with higher sharpness (thanks to 18 MP vs 14 MP). Samsung’s images look softer and struggle in high-contrast scenes with sky detail clipping easier.

Wildlife and Sports: Autofocus and Burst Rates

Samsung offers no continuous shooting and lacks tracking AF, making it less suited for capturing fast-moving subjects.

Sony captures up to 10 FPS, an impressive feat for this category. Although the 9-point AF system isn’t DSLR fast, combined with tracking AF it’s good enough for casual wildlife or sports photography.

Street Photography: Discretion and Portability

Samsung wins portability hands down, slipping easily in a coat pocket and boasting quiet operation.

Sony is louder, larger, and less discreet but offers better zoom flexibility for candid takes from a distance.

Macro Photography

Sony’s 1cm macro focus beats Samsung’s 5cm hands down. If you want tight detail of flowers or insects, HX20V is the better pick.

Night and Astro Photography

Sony’s higher max ISO and CMOS sensor help shoot starry skies and night scenes with less noise. Samsung struggles in these scenarios.

Video Capture: Moving Pictures in Motion

Sony’s HX20V leads by a mile: Full HD 1080p at 60 fps, support for AVCHD, and MPEG-4 formats, plus a loudspeaker and built-in mic – all great for casual to moderate video needs.

Samsung’s CL80 maxes out at 720p HD in Motion JPEG format and lacks microphone input or headphone jacks, limiting video quality and audio control.

Battery Life and Storage

Sony's 320-shot battery life outperforms Samsung’s unspecified (but generally weaker) endurance. Sony accepts SD and proprietary Memory Stick formats, while Samsung uses MicroSD exclusively. Both have just one card slot.

Connectivity and Extras

The HX20V’s built-in GPS and Wi-Fi compatibility with Eye-Fi cards offer geo-tagging and quick wireless transfer options, features missing on the Samsung, which has no wireless connectivity.

Final Grade: How These Cameras Score Across My Testing Criteria

Here’s an overview of performance scores I assigned based on months of side-by-side shooting including image quality, handling, usability, and feature set:

And broken down by photographic use cases:

Gallery of Sample Images: Seeing Is Believing

Take a look at some real-world samples captured under similar settings with both cameras, showing texture, color, and focus characteristics. Observe how the Sony tends to preserve detail in shadows and shows less noise in low light:

Samsung CL80 front Samsung CL80 screen back Sony HX20V front Sony HX20V screen back

Conclusion: Which Compact Zoom is Right for You?

Samsung CL80 Pros:

• Ultra-compact, lightweight, very pocket-friendly
• Large 3.7” touchscreen (a rarity in its era)
• Simple operation for casual photographers
• Optical image stabilization

Samsung CL80 Cons:

• Older CCD sensor with lower resolution and dynamic range
• No manual control, raw support, or continuous shooting
• Weak autofocus system and slower operation
• Mediocre video capabilities
• No wireless connectivity

Sony HX20V Pros:

• 20x zoom giving huge framing flexibility
• High-res 18 MP BSI-CMOS sensor with improved low light and dynamic range
• Full HD video at 60 fps with AVCHD support
• Manual focus and exposure controls
• Face detection and tracking autofocus
• Built-in GPS and Eye-Fi Wi-Fi compatibility
• Long battery life and detailed, high-res LCD screen

Sony HX20V Cons:

• Heavier and bulkier than Samsung
• No touchscreen (which some might miss)
• Limited maximum aperture at telephoto end reduces bokeh strength
• No electronic viewfinder

Who Should Buy the Samsung CL80?

If you prioritize absolute portability and ease of use, mainly shooting daytime snapshots, family moments, or travel where size-matters most, and you’re okay with moderate image quality, this camera is a charming, simple choice.

Who Should Buy the Sony HX20V?

If your photography craves flexibility - long zooms for wildlife, better image quality for portraits and landscapes, and potentially video recording - the Sony is more versatile and powerful, despite the larger footprint. Enthusiasts who appreciate more manual options will enjoy its added control.

Parting Thoughts From My Experience

After extensive shootouts and juggling between these two, I find myself reaching for the Sony HX20V more often, thanks to its superior image quality, zoom range, and controls - especially in unpredictable lighting or when manual shooting is desired. However, the Samsung CL80 is no slouch if your needs are modest, and those glorious 3.7 inches of touchscreen still make it a joy for casual users.

In the rapidly evolving world of compact cameras, these two offer a snapshot into what has been achievable at the $400 price point - a balancing act of size, features, and image quality. Armed with this knowledge (and a bit of my personal insights), your choice can be both confident and aligned with your photographic goals.

Happy shooting!