Sony A230 vs Sony HX20V

Here, we are looking at the Sony A230 and Sony HX20V, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the other is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are sold by Sony. There exists a sizable gap between the sensor resolutions of the A230 (10MP) and HX20V (18MP) and the A230 (APS-C) and HX20V (1/2.3") posses totally different sensor measurements.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

The A230 was revealed 4 years before the HX20V which is quite a significant difference as far as technology is concerned. Both of these cameras feature different body design with the Sony A230 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony HX20V being a Compact camera.

Before getting right into a in-depth comparison, here is a simple highlight of how the A230 grades versus the HX20V in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a sample of the gallery pics for Sony Alpha DSLR-A230 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V. The full galleries are provided at Sony A230 Gallery & Sony HX20V Gallery.

When you are intending to carry around your camera regularly, you're going to have to factor in its weight and proportions. The Sony A230 features physical dimensions of 128mm x 97mm x 68mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 2.7") with a weight of 490 grams (1.08 lbs) whilst the Sony HX20V has measurements of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") along with a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

Look at the Sony A230 and Sony HX20V in our completely new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will change based on the lens you have during that time. Underneath is a front view measurement comparison of the A230 and the HX20V.

Using dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A230 and HX20V is 69 and 90 respectively.

Quite often, it can be hard to visualise the gap between sensor sizes only by looking at specifications. The image here should provide you a much better sense of the sensor dimensions in the A230 and HX20V.

Plainly, each of these cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor sizes. The A230 using its larger sensor will make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Sony HX20V will give extra detail because of its extra 8MP. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop images way more aggressively. The more aged A230 is going to be disadvantaged with regard to sensor innovation.