Samsung NX200 vs Sony HX90V: An Expert Camera Comparison from Real-World Testing

Choosing the right camera can sometimes feel like walking through a jungle of specs and marketing buzzwords, unsure of what actually matters when you hit the shutter button. I've spent over 15 years testing cameras of all shapes and sizes, and today I'm digging deeply into two distinctly different-but-intriguing models: the Samsung NX200, an entry-level mirrorless camera launched in 2012, and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX90V, a small-sensor superzoom compact released in 2015.

Both have their fan bases and their naysayers, yet they serve very different photographic niches despite overlaps like similar price points and decent feature sets. By the end of this article, you’ll understand how their specs translate into real-world shooting, and which kind of photographer each camera truly suits.

Let’s dive into this hands-on, head-to-head comparison.

Size, Handling & Ergonomics: Mirrorless vs Compact Standoff

A camera's physicality is often the first thing you notice, especially if you're schlepping gear on a shoot or holiday.

Samsung NX200 - Classic Rangefinder Style

The NX200 sports a rangefinder-style mirrorless design, which means no optical viewfinder - for viewing you'll rely on the rear screen or an optional electronic viewfinder add-on (which is pricey and awkward to use if you ask me). The body measures a neat 117x63x36mm and weighs just 223g, making it quite pocketable for a mirrorless.

Its build feels solid but not overbuilt - somewhere between an expensive toy and a serious tool. The grip is modest yet comfortable, and there’s enough button real estate without crowding, which bodes well if you tweak your settings frequently.

Sony HX90V - Ultra-Compact Superzoom

By contrast, the HX90V is significantly smaller and sleeker (102x58x36mm, 245g), fitting easily in jackets or even roomy pocket compartments thanks to its compact “point-and-shoot” style. Handling-wise, it’s designed for casual snapshooters but doesn’t skimp on intuitive controls for advanced users - zoom ring, a modest grip, and a tilting screen.

What it may lack in robust tactile buttons it compensates with portability and a handsome electronic viewfinder, which itself is surprisingly bright and useful for shooting bright outdoor environments.

Ergonomic Verdict

Mirrorless bodies like the NX200 tend to reward serious single-lens shooters with more manual control access and lens customization possibilities. I found the NX200 more comfortable for extended shooting sessions, particularly in disciplines needing manual focus or aperture tweaks.

The HX90V, on the other hand, shines for travel and street shooters who prize discretion and speed over ultimate control - a camera you can snap with raised to eye level in one fluid motion.

Sensor Size and Image Quality: The Heart of the Camera

This is where the rubber meets the road for image quality. Sensor size dramatically affects dynamic range, noise performance, depth of field, and overall sharpness.

Samsung NX200 - APS-C Powerhouse

The NX200 sports a large APS-C CMOS sensor (23.5 x 15.7 mm) with 20 megapixels, making it a formidable rival even to some enthusiast DSLRs. This sensor size, paired with the relatively new-to-its-time Samsung NX mount lens ecosystem, allows photos with excellent detail, impressive dynamic range (DxOmark rates 12.6 EV), and smooth gradients.

Its native ISO starts at 100 and maxes at 12,800, which was standard for 2012 but modern standards place it in the mid-range for noise control in low light. The anti-aliasing filter softens images slightly to prevent moiré, a trade-off common in many APS-C cameras.

Sony HX90V - 1/2.3-Inch Compact Sensor with Superzoom Tradeoff

In stark contrast, the HX90V uses a tiny 1/2.3” BSI CMOS sensor (6.17 x 4.55 mm) with approximately 18 megapixels. This sensor size is prevalent in compacts and smartphones and always limits image quality through reduced noise performance and limited dynamic range.

While its pixel count is close, this sensor is about 13x smaller in area than the NX200, which means less light-gathering capacity, less depth of field control, and noisier images in low light. The optical image stabilization helps, but output doesn’t compete with APS-C sensors.

The HX90V does support wider ISO ranges (ISO 80 minimum, max 12,800), but usable high ISO images tend to be grainy.

Real-World Impact on Image Quality

In daylight and controlled lighting, NX200 images exhibit superb clarity, rich colors, and defined texture - especially when paired with prime lenses from Samsung’s line-up (more on lenses soon). The HX90V’s compact sensor images look fine for casual use or social media prints, but pixel peeping reveals softness and noise beyond ISO 400.

LCD & Viewfinder: Composing Shots with Confidence

The practicalities of framing and reviewing your shots can make or break the experience.

Samsung NX200 - Bright OLED but Fixed

The NX200 features a 3” OLED screen with 614k dots, which was quite advanced for its time and offers vibrant viewing angles. Unfortunately, it’s fixed and not touchscreen, meaning awkward angles require tilting yourself rather than the screen.

Optional electronic viewfinders feel like an afterthought here, as there isn’t a built-in EVF, limiting flexibility especially in bright outdoor scenarios.

Sony HX90V - Tilting LCD with EVF Built-in

The HX90V steps ahead here with its 3” LCD boasting 921k dots and a tilting design - ideal for high or low-angle shots and versatile for street or travel photography. It’s not touchscreen, which might disappoint some, but the crispness and resale clarity impress.

A built-in electronic viewfinder with 638k dot resolution and 100% coverage, plus 0.5x magnification, makes framing a breeze even under bright sunlight - a boon compared to the NX200’s optional EVF.

Autofocus, Burst Rates & Shooting Speed: Catch the Moment

Key measures of a camera’s responsiveness relate to how well and fast it locks focus, tracks subjects, and fires frames.

The HX90V offers a notably faster burst mode at 10fps compared to 7fps on the NX200, aided by its dedicated Bionz X processor. It also boasts subject tracking autofocus, missing in the NX200, meaning it can maintain focus on moving subjects better, a nice plus for casual wildlife, sport, or street photography.

However, the NX200’s 15 focus points (all contrast-detection) translated to fairly precise focus especially with face detection on static subjects during my testing but struggled with fast-moving subjects in lower light.

Lens Ecosystem & Versatility

In real shoots, the camera’s lens system can matter more than any internal spec, especially if you want to stretch your creative legs.

Samsung NX200 – Samsung NX Lens Mount

The NX200 uses Samsung’s NX lens mount, with around 32 lenses released ranging from primes to ultra-wide zooms and macro options. The mount allows full manual aperture control, focus rings, and exchanger lenses, typical advantages of mirrorless systems.

The downside is that Samsung’s lens ecosystem has been effectively discontinued, meaning one must seek out used or third-party options. Still, if you find decent NX lenses for a bargain, you get image quality and creative flexibility close to APS-C DSLR levels.

Sony HX90V – Fixed Superzoom Lens

The HX90V features a built-in 24-720 mm (35mm equivalent) lens with f/3.5-6.4 aperture range - very versatile for travel shooting, from wide landscapes to reachy wildlife and street candid shots. Its macro focus can manage subjects as close as 5cm, rare for compact superzooms.

But the fixed lens means no swapping for better optics, and at telephoto end, image quality suffers from softness and reduced brightness.

Build Quality and Weather Sealing

Neither camera is weather sealed or ruggedized, limiting their use in harsh environments or heavy rain without protective gear.

The NX200’s slightly more substantial body feels better able to withstand casual knocks, whereas HX90V’s compact construction is more delicate and pocket-friendly.

Video Performance: Moving Pictures Matter

Both cameras offer full HD video but with slightly different focuses.

Samsung NX200 records 1080p at 30fps with basic H.264 codec compression. Video controls are limited, no microphone port is available, and stabilization is nonexistent, so handheld footage can be shaky without external rigs.

Sony HX90V supports 1080p at up to 60fps in AVCHD or XAVC S formats, providing smoother motion capturing. It has optical image stabilization integrated, a built-in flash, and better codec support, but similarly lacks external audio input.

Videographers will likely find the HX90V more usable for quick clips, especially travel vlogs, due to the flippy screen and zoom range.

Battery Endurance & Storage

Samsung NX200 charges with a BC1030 battery offering roughly 330 shots per charge under CIPA standards; Sony’s NP-BX1 delivers about 360 shots per charge.

Both cameras have a single memory card slot supporting SD/SDHC/SDXC. The HX90V also supports proprietary Memory Stick Duo cards (legacy Sony format).

While neither is a cheapskate with battery life, the HX90V’s small sensor and newer power-saving tech slightly edge out the NX200.

Real-World Photography: Discipline-by-Discipline Performance

Let me unpack how these cameras handle various photography genres based on my testing - assessing key attributes like autofocus, image quality, and handling.

Samsung NX200 screen back Sony HX90V front Sony HX90V screen back

Portrait Photography

• NX200: With its big APS-C sensor and 32-lens options, this camera excels at portraits. Skin tones render naturally, bokeh is creamy with wide-aperture primes, and face detection autofocus locks reliably in good light. Eye detection is absent, but the manual focus aids creative control.

• HX90V: Fixed superzoom lens limits shallow depth of field effects. Face detection is present but less precise. Portraits can feel soft unless conditions are bright. Good enough for casual snapshots, but not pro portrait work.

Landscape Photography

• NX200: Dynamic range and resolution shine here - 20MP captures fine detail in shadows and highlights. The APS-C sensor helps capture textures and nuanced colors. Lack of weather sealing is a downside, but manageable with care.

• HX90V: Sensor size limits dynamic range; images tend to blow highlights and clip shadows faster. Superzoom is handy for distant landscape features but with quality sacrifices.

Wildlife Photography

• NX200: Contrast-detection AF lags behind modern phase-detection systems. 7fps burst decent but no AF tracking makes fast action tricky.

• HX90V: Fast 10fps burst and AF tracking make it surprisingly competent for casual wildlife. The 720mm zoom reach is ample for birds or small mammals. Image quality at telephoto suffers but acceptable for record shots.

Sports Photography

• NX200: Less suited due to lack of tracking AF and moderate burst rate.

• HX90V: Better burst speed and AF tracking, but sensor limitations reduce image quality in fast, low-light sports scenes.

Street Photography

• NX200: Slightly conspicuous but handles manual focus street shooting well; decent low-light ISO performance.

• HX90V: Perfect for street due to compactness, silent shutter option, and tilting screen. Low light performance limited but manageable.

Macro Photography

• NX200: Macro lenses available for it, providing excellent focusing precision.

• HX90V: Can focus down to 5cm but depth of field limits creative macro effects.

Night/Astro Photography

• NX200: Superior high ISO capacity and raw support - better choice here, especially with a tripod.

• HX90V: Noise at higher ISOs and lack of raw limit night shooting quality.

Video Capabilities

• NX200: Stable 1080p at 30fps with limited codec support, no stabilization.

• HX90V: 1080p up to 60fps, with optical stabilization and XAVC S codec. Better suited for casual video.

Travel Photography

• NX200: Lightweight, flexible lens options but larger than compact.

• HX90V: Ultra portable with enormous zoom versatility and GPS tagging - great travel companion.

Professional Work

• NX200: Raw file support and manual exposure modes favor some professional workflows.

• HX90V: No raw video or still support, limited manual controls, positioning as advanced point-and-shoot.

Price, Value & Who Should Buy Which?

At the time of writing, prices hover close to $800 for NX200 (used market mainly) and $440 new-ish for HX90V.

Honesty Corner: The Tradeoffs

The NX200 is a real gem from a now-defunct system. Its lack of support and optional EVF make it a tough gift for today's crowd, but its APS-C image quality and lens flexibility can elevate your photography if you don’t mind a bit of gear hunting.

The HX90V doesn’t claim to be a pro tool - it’s a lightweight workhorse designed to cover lots of ground with its superzoom and compact size. Its smaller sensor means images lack the crispness and dynamic range pros demand, but in well-lit casual settings, it's a joy to carry and use.

Final Thoughts & Recommendations

If your priority is image quality, manual control, and creative lens options, and you don’t mind an older system with some quirks - grab the Samsung NX200. It can produce stunning photos with sharp detail, especially in portraits, landscapes, and night shooting with raw files.

For photographers who want an all-in-one, pocketable travel camera with incredible zoom reach and decent autofocus speed for casual snaps and videos, I recommend the Sony HX90V. It excels in portability and quick access but compromises on sensor size and lens flexibility.

Whatever path you pick, understanding your own priorities - be it quality, convenience, or zoom reach - will help you get the most from either of these unique cameras.

Happy shooting!