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Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V

Portability
63
Imaging
54
Features
65
Overall
58
Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V front
Portability
90
Imaging
42
Features
50
Overall
45

Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V Key Specs

Sony A550
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Tilting Screen
  • ISO 200 - 12800
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 632g - 137 x 104 x 84mm
  • Launched December 2009
  • Succeeded the Sony A100
Sony HX20V
(Full Review)
  • 18MP - 1/2.3" Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Optical Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • 25-500mm (F3.2-5.8) lens
  • 254g - 107 x 62 x 35mm
  • Introduced July 2012
  • Superseded the Sony HX10V
  • Renewed by Sony HX30V
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Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V Overview

Lets take a more detailed look at the Sony A550 versus Sony HX20V, former being a Entry-Level DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both of them are created by Sony. There exists a sizable gap among the image resolutions of the A550 (14MP) and HX20V (18MP) and the A550 (APS-C) and HX20V (1/2.3") provide different sensor size.

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The A550 was launched 3 years earlier than the HX20V and that is a fairly significant difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Each of these cameras feature different body design with the Sony A550 being a Compact SLR camera and the Sony HX20V being a Compact camera.

Before going straight to a full comparison, here is a simple view of how the A550 scores vs the HX20V with respect to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Sony A550 over the Sony HX20V

 A550 HX20V 
Screen typeTiltingFixed Tilting screen

Reasons to pick Sony HX20V over the Sony A550

 HX20V A550 
IntroducedJuly 2012December 2009Fresher by 31 months

Common features in the Sony A550 and Sony HX20V

 A550 HX20V 
Manually focus Dial accurate focusing
Screen size3"3"Same screen size
Screen resolution922k922kSame screen resolution
Selfie screen Neither includes selfie screen
Touch friendly screen Neither includes Touch friendly screen

Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V Physical Comparison

For those who are planning to carry your camera often, you'll have to take into account its weight and size. The Sony A550 features outside dimensions of 137mm x 104mm x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") and a weight of 632 grams (1.39 lbs) whilst the Sony HX20V has specifications 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 A550 versus Sony HX20V in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Take into account, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you are employing during that time. Here is a front view size comparison of the A550 versus the HX20V.

Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V size comparison

Taking into consideration dimensions and weight, the portability score of the A550 and HX20V is 63 and 90 respectively.

Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V top view buttons comparison

Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V Sensor Comparison

More often than not, its hard to picture the difference in sensor sizing only by viewing specs. The photograph here should provide you a much better sense of the sensor sizes in the A550 and HX20V.

As you can plainly see, each of these cameras feature different megapixel count and different sensor sizing. The A550 due to its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallower DOF less difficult and the Sony HX20V will result in greater detail utilizing its extra 4 Megapixels. Higher resolution can also allow you to crop photographs way more aggressively. The older A550 will be behind with regard to sensor innovation.

Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V sensor size comparison

Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A550 Portrait photography factors
Sony HX20V Portrait photography factors
72
manual focus
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
comes with face detection focusing
saves RAW files
45
focusing manually
MP count decent (18 megapixels)
supports face detect autofocus
can't use external flash
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Sony A550
Street photography with Sony HX20V
74
screen tilts up and down
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
saves RAW files
61
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition in class (254g)
fixed screen
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
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Sports Comparison

Sony A550 Sports photography details
Sony HX20V Sports photography details
67
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
supports phase detect AF
bad battery (480 CIPA)
49
great zoom range (25-500mm 20.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (18MP)
supports tracking focus
no shutter priority mode
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of phase detect autofocus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony A550
Travel photography with Sony HX20V
52
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
has built in flash
does not have Timelapse function
bad battery (480 per charge)
screen isn't selfie friendly
69
lighter than competition in class (254g)
MP count decent (18 megapixels)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (25mm)
long zoom (500mm)
lack of Timelapse recording
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.2)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony A550 as a Landscape photography camera
Sony HX20V as a Landscape photography camera
66
manual focus
change lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
pretty good screen size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
sensor size is nice (APS-C)
saves RAW files
bad battery (480 CIPA)
does not have Timelapse function
50
focusing manually
reasonably wide (25mm)
pretty good screen size (3 inch)
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (18 megapixels)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.2)
tiny sensor size (1/2.3")
lack of RAW format
lack of Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A550 Vlogging features
Sony HX20V Vlogging features
9
no video recording
34
reasonably wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
supports face detect autofocus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
lighter than competition in class (254 grams)
somewhat slow max aperture (f3.2)
doesn't have selfie friendly screen
lack of microphone jack
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Sony A550 vs Sony HX20V Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A550 and Sony HX20V
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A550Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
General Information
Company Sony Sony
Model Sony Alpha DSLR-A550 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
Category Entry-Level DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Launched 2009-12-09 2012-07-20
Body design Compact SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Processor Bionz BIONZ
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size APS-C 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 23.4 x 15.6mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 365.0mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 14 megapixel 18 megapixel
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Full resolution 4592 x 3056 4896 x 3672
Max native ISO 12800 12800
Lowest native ISO 200 100
RAW format
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Touch to focus
Continuous AF
Single AF
AF tracking
AF selectice
AF center weighted
AF multi area
Live view AF
Face detection AF
Contract detection AF
Phase detection AF
Number of focus points 9 9
Lens
Lens mounting type Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens focal range - 25-500mm (20.0x)
Maximum aperture - f/3.2-5.8
Macro focus distance - 1cm
Available lenses 143 -
Focal length multiplier 1.5 5.8
Screen
Range of screen Tilting Fixed Type
Screen diagonal 3" 3"
Resolution of screen 922 thousand dot 922 thousand dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Screen tech - XtraFine TruBlack TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type Optical (pentamirror) None
Viewfinder coverage 95% -
Viewfinder magnification 0.53x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/4000s 1/1600s
Continuous shooting speed 7.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Set WB
Image stabilization
Inbuilt flash
Flash range 12.00 m 7.10 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync 1/160s -
Exposure
Multisegment metering
Average metering
Spot metering
Partial metering
AF area metering
Center weighted metering
Video features
Supported video resolutions - 1920 x 1080 (60 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30 fps), 1280 x 720 (30 fps), 640 x 480 (30 fps)
Max video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless None Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS None BuiltIn
Physical
Environmental seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 632g (1.39 lbs) 254g (0.56 lbs)
Physical dimensions 137 x 104 x 84mm (5.4" x 4.1" x 3.3") 107 x 62 x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around score 66 not tested
DXO Color Depth score 21.9 not tested
DXO Dynamic range score 11.8 not tested
DXO Low light score 807 not tested
Other
Battery life 480 photographs 320 photographs
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model NP-FM500H NP-BG1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse recording
Storage media SD/ SDHC, Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One One
Launch cost $749 $397