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Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V

Portability
54
Imaging
68
Features
60
Overall
64
Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 front
 
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V front
Portability
90
Imaging
42
Features
50
Overall
45

Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V Key Specs

Sony A850
(Full Review)
  • 25MP - Full frame Sensor
  • 3" Fixed Screen
  • ISO 200 - 3200 (Boost to 6400)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1/8000s Max Shutter
  • No Video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 895g - 156 x 117 x 82mm
  • Revealed April 2010
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
  • Announced July 2012
  • Earlier Model is Sony HX10V
  • Later Model is Sony HX30V
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Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V Overview

Its time to take a closer look at the Sony A850 and Sony HX20V, former being a Advanced DSLR while the latter is a Small Sensor Superzoom and both are designed by Sony. There exists a substantial gap among the resolutions of the A850 (25MP) and HX20V (18MP) and the A850 (Full frame) and HX20V (1/2.3") feature different sensor sizes.

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The A850 was released 3 years prior to the HX20V and that is a fairly big difference as far as camera technology is concerned. Both of the cameras offer different body type with the Sony A850 being a Mid-size SLR camera and the Sony HX20V being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a step-by-step comparison, below is a quick highlight of how the A850 matches up versus the HX20V when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall grade.

Photography Glossary
	
	

Reasons to pick Sony A850 over the Sony HX20V

 A850 HX20V 

Reasons to pick Sony HX20V over the Sony A850

 HX20V A850 
AnnouncedJuly 2012April 2010More recent by 27 months

Common features in the Sony A850 and Sony HX20V

 A850 HX20V 
Manually focus More accurate focusing
Screen typeFixed Fixed Fixed screen
Screen sizing3"3"Equivalent screen dimensions
Screen resolution922k922kEqual screen resolution
Selfie screen Neither comes with selfie screen
Touch screen Neither comes with Touch screen

Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V Physical Comparison

For anyone who is going to lug around your camera, you will need to think about its weight and dimensions. The Sony A850 comes with physical measurements of 156mm x 117mm x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") and a weight of 895 grams (1.97 lbs) whilst the Sony HX20V has dimensions of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") with a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs).

Contrast the Sony A850 and Sony HX20V in our newest Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Remember that, the weight of an ILC will differ based on the lens you have chosen at the time. Below is the front view overall size comparison of the A850 against the HX20V.

Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V size comparison

Factoring in dimensions and weight, the portability rating of the A850 and HX20V is 54 and 90 respectively.

Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V top view buttons comparison

Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V Sensor Comparison

Typically, it is very tough to visualize the difference in sensor measurements merely by viewing specifications. The graphic underneath should offer you a much better sense of the sensor measurements in the A850 and HX20V.

To sum up, each of the cameras enjoy different megapixels and different sensor measurements. The A850 because of its bigger sensor is going to make achieving shallow DOF easier and the Sony A850 will render greater detail as a result of its extra 7MP. Higher resolution will enable you to crop photographs far more aggressively. The older A850 will be disadvantaged in sensor tech.

Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V sensor size comparison

Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V Screen and ViewFinder

Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Sony A850 Portrait photography features
Sony HX20V Portrait photography features
72
focusing manually
great resolution (25 megapixels)
great sensor size (Full frame)
delivers RAW files
no liveview feature
45
manual focus
MP count decent (18MP)
provides face detection focus
can't use external flash
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
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Street Comparison

Street photography with Sony A850
Street photography with Sony HX20V
66
image stabilization (Sensor based)
great sensor size (Full frame)
delivers RAW files
environment proofing
screen is fixed
61
has image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competition (254g)
no articulating screen
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Sony A850 Sports photography information
Sony HX20V Sports photography information
71
max shutter speed is good (1/8,000s)
image stabilization (Sensor based)
great resolution (25MP)
great sensor size (Full frame)
environment proofing
comes with phase detect autofocus
no liveview feature
continuous shooting slow (3.0 frames/s)
49
long zoom range (25-500mm 20.0 x zoom)
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (18MP)
provides tracking autofocus
no shutter priority mode
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have phase detect auto focus
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Travel Comparison

Travel photography with Sony A850
Travel photography with Sony HX20V
55
environment proofing
great resolution (25 megapixels)
lack of Timelapse function
display isn't selfie friendly
69
lighter than competition (254 grams)
MP count decent (18 megapixels)
flash built-in
reasonably wide (25mm)
very long reach (500mm)
doesn't have Timelapse recording
screen is not selfie friendly
slow max aperture (f3.2)
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Landscape Comparison

Landscape photography with Sony A850
Landscape photography with Sony HX20V
73
focusing manually
interchangeable lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen is a good size (3")
image stabilization (Sensor based)
great resolution (25 megapixels)
great sensor size (Full frame)
delivers RAW files
environment proofing
2 card slots
no liveview feature
lack of Timelapse function
50
manual focus
reasonably wide (25mm)
nice screen size (3")
has image stabilization (Optical)
MP count decent (18 megapixels)
fixed lens (fixed lens mount)
slow max aperture (f3.2)
very small sensor (1/2.3")
does not have RAW files
doesn't have Timelapse recording
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony A850 Vlogging factors
Sony HX20V Vlogging factors
9
no video
34
reasonably wide (25mm)
has image stabilization (Optical)
provides face detection focus
video res high (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than competition (254g)
slow max aperture (f3.2)
screen is not selfie friendly
doesn't have external microphone support
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Sony A850 vs Sony HX20V Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony A850 and Sony HX20V
 Sony Alpha DSLR-A850Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
General Information
Brand Sony Sony
Model type Sony Alpha DSLR-A850 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
Type Advanced DSLR Small Sensor Superzoom
Revealed 2010-04-15 2012-07-20
Physical type Mid-size SLR Compact
Sensor Information
Chip Bionz BIONZ
Sensor type CMOS BSI-CMOS
Sensor size Full frame 1/2.3"
Sensor measurements 35.9 x 24mm 6.17 x 4.55mm
Sensor surface area 861.6mm² 28.1mm²
Sensor resolution 25 megapixels 18 megapixels
Anti alias filter
Aspect ratio 3:2 and 16:9 4:3 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 6048 x 4032 4896 x 3672
Maximum native ISO 3200 12800
Maximum boosted ISO 6400 -
Minimum native ISO 200 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Manual focusing
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Autofocus single
Autofocus tracking
Selective autofocus
Center weighted autofocus
Multi area autofocus
Autofocus live view
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Total focus points 9 9
Lens
Lens mount type Sony/Minolta Alpha fixed lens
Lens zoom range - 25-500mm (20.0x)
Largest aperture - f/3.2-5.8
Macro focusing distance - 1cm
Amount of lenses 143 -
Focal length multiplier 1 5.8
Screen
Screen type Fixed Type Fixed Type
Screen size 3 inch 3 inch
Screen resolution 922k dots 922k dots
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch capability
Screen tech TFT Xtra Fine color LCD XtraFine TruBlack TFT LCD
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder Optical (pentaprism) None
Viewfinder coverage 98 percent -
Viewfinder magnification 0.74x -
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/8000s 1/1600s
Continuous shooting rate 3.0fps 10.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manually set exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Integrated flash
Flash distance no built-in flash 7.10 m
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync
External flash
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash synchronize 1/250s -
Exposure
Multisegment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF area
Center weighted
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)
Maximum video resolution None 1920x1080
Video file format - MPEG-4, AVCHD
Microphone support
Headphone support
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 sealing
Water proofing
Dust proofing
Shock proofing
Crush proofing
Freeze proofing
Weight 895g (1.97 lb) 254g (0.56 lb)
Dimensions 156 x 117 x 82mm (6.1" x 4.6" x 3.2") 107 x 62 x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4")
DXO scores
DXO All around rating 79 not tested
DXO Color Depth rating 23.8 not tested
DXO Dynamic range rating 12.2 not tested
DXO Low light rating 1415 not tested
Other
Battery life 880 pictures 320 pictures
Form of battery Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery ID NP-FM500H NP-BG1
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec) Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2)
Time lapse shooting
Storage type Compact Flash (Type I or II), UDMA, Memory Stick Duo / Pro Duo SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo
Card slots Dual 1
Price at launch $0 $397