Sony A390 vs Sony HX20V

Below, we will be evaluating the Sony A390 versus Sony HX20V, former is a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and they are both sold by Sony. There exists a considerable gap among the image resolutions of the A390 (14MP) and HX20V (18MP) and the A390 (APS-C) and HX20V (1/2.3") enjoy totally different sensor sizing.

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The A390 was unveiled 24 months prior to the HX20V which makes the cameras a generation away from one another. Each of the cameras come with different body type with the Sony A390 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony HX20V being a Compact camera.

Before delving straight into a in-depth comparison, below is a short summary of how the A390 grades versus the HX20V for portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

This is a preview of the gallery images for Sony Alpha DSLR-A390 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V. The full galleries are provided at Sony A390 Gallery & Sony HX20V Gallery.

For those who are planning to carry around your camera frequently, you will want to take into account its weight and size. The Sony A390 comes with outer dimensions of 128mm x 97mm x 86mm (5.0" x 3.8" x 3.4") along with a weight of 549 grams (1.21 lbs) and the Sony HX20V has specifications 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 Sony A390 versus Sony HX20V in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will change depending on the lens you have attached at the time. Here is the front view overall size comparison of the A390 versus the HX20V.

Taking into account dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A390 and HX20V is 66 and 90 respectively.

More often than not, its difficult to visualise the contrast in sensor sizes simply by viewing specs. The image below might give you a stronger sense of the sensor dimensions in the A390 and HX20V.

As you can plainly see, both of those cameras have got different resolutions and different sensor sizes. The A390 with its bigger sensor will make getting shallow depth of field simpler and the Sony HX20V will render greater detail having an extra 4MP. Higher resolution will allow you to crop photographs much more aggressively. The more aged A390 will be behind with regard to sensor tech.