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Sony HX20V vs Sony A33

Portability
90
Imaging
42
Features
50
Overall
45
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V front
 
Sony SLT-A33 front
Portability
67
Imaging
54
Features
80
Overall
64

Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 Key Specs

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
  • Released July 2012
  • Old Model is Sony HX10V
  • Refreshed by Sony HX30V
Sony A33
(Full Review)
  • 14MP - APS-C Sensor
  • 3" Fully Articulated Display
  • ISO 100 - 12800 (Increase to 25600)
  • Sensor based Image Stabilization
  • 1920 x 1080 video
  • Sony/Minolta Alpha Mount
  • 500g - 124 x 92 x 85mm
  • Launched August 2010
  • Replacement is Sony A35
Photography Glossary

Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 Overview

Lets look much closer at the Sony HX20V vs Sony A33, former being a Small Sensor Superzoom while the other is a Entry-Level DSLR and they are both designed by Sony. There is a substantial difference between the image resolutions of the HX20V (18MP) and A33 (14MP) and the HX20V (1/2.3") and A33 (APS-C) boast totally different sensor measurements.

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The HX20V was introduced 24 months later than the A33 making them a generation apart from each other. Both the cameras have different body design with the Sony HX20V being a Compact camera and the Sony A33 being a Compact SLR camera.

Before getting right into a in depth comparison, here is a concise highlight of how the HX20V scores versus the A33 in regards to portability, imaging, features and an overall rating.

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Reasons to pick Sony HX20V over the Sony A33

 HX20V A33 
LaunchedJuly 2012August 2010Fresher by 24 months
Display resolution922k921kSharper display (+1k dot)

Reasons to pick Sony A33 over the Sony HX20V

 A33 HX20V 
Display typeFully ArticulatedFixed Fully Articulating display
Selfie screen Take selfies

Common features in the Sony HX20V and Sony A33

 HX20V A33 
Focus manually More accurate focus
Display dimensions3"3"Equal display measurements
Touch friendly display Missing Touch friendly display

Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 Physical Comparison

For anybody who is planning to carry your camera often, you're going to have to factor in its weight and dimensions. The Sony HX20V comes with outer measurements of 107mm x 62mm x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") accompanied by a weight of 254 grams (0.56 lbs) and the Sony A33 has dimensions of 124mm x 92mm x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3") along with a weight of 500 grams (1.10 lbs).

See the Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 in our brand new Camera & Lens Size Comparison Tool. Camera Size Comparison with Lenses

Don't forget, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you are employing at that time. The following is a front view sizing comparison of the HX20V against the A33.

Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 size comparison

Taking into account size and weight, the portability rating of the HX20V and A33 is 90 and 67 respectively.

Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 top view buttons comparison

Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 Sensor Comparison

Usually, it's hard to visualise the gap between sensor sizing purely by going over a spec sheet. The visual underneath will provide you a clearer sense of the sensor sizing in the HX20V and A33.

As you can see, both of the cameras provide different megapixels and different sensor sizing. The HX20V using its tinier sensor will make shooting shallow DOF trickier and the Sony HX20V will deliver extra detail using its extra 4 Megapixels. Greater resolution can also enable you to crop pics more aggressively. The more modern HX20V will have a benefit when it comes to sensor tech.

Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 sensor size comparison

Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 Screen and ViewFinder

Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 Screen and Viewfinder comparison
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Photography Type Scores

Portrait Comparison

Portrait photography with Sony HX20V
Portrait photography with Sony A33
45
has manual focus
decent MP (18MP)
includes face detect autofocus
cannot use external flash
sensor is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
72
focusing manually
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
includes face detect focus
exports RAW files
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Street Comparison

Sony HX20V as a Street photography camera
Sony A33 as a Street photography camera
61
image stabilization (Optical)
lighter than competitors (254g)
no articulating screen
sensor is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
76
screen can move to multiple angles
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW files
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Sports Comparison

Sports photography with Sony HX20V
Sports photography with Sony A33
49
amazing zoom range (25-500mm 20.0 x zoom)
image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (18 megapixels)
includes tracking focus
no shutter priority
sensor is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have phase detect autofocus
67
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is decent (14 megapixels)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
has phase detect auto focus
terrible battery power (340 CIPA)
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Travel Comparison

Sony HX20V Travel photography factors
Sony A33 Travel photography factors
69
lighter than competitors (254 grams)
decent MP (18MP)
has built in flash
reasonably wide (25mm)
great reach (500mm)
lack of Time Lapse function
screen is not selfie friendly
slow maximum aperture (f3.2)
61
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
has built in flash
display is selfie friendly
missing Time Lapse function
terrible battery power (340 shots)
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Landscape Comparison

Sony HX20V Landscape photography information
Sony A33 Landscape photography information
50
has manual focus
reasonably wide (25mm)
screen size is decent (3")
image stabilization (Optical)
decent MP (18MP)
can't switch lenses (fixed lens mount)
slow maximum aperture (f3.2)
sensor is small (1/2.3")
doesn't have RAW format
lack of Time Lapse function
67
focusing manually
swap lenses (Sony/Minolta Alpha mount)
screen is a decent size (3 inch)
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
sensor resolution is decent (14MP)
nice sensor size (APS-C)
exports RAW files
terrible battery power (340 CIPA)
missing Time Lapse function
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Vlogging Comparison

Sony HX20V as a Vlogging camera
Sony A33 as a Vlogging camera
34
reasonably wide (25mm)
image stabilization (Optical)
includes face detect autofocus
high res video (1920 x 1080 resolution)
lighter than competitors (254 grams)
slow maximum aperture (f3.2)
screen is not selfie friendly
lack of mic socket
77
display is selfie friendly
built in image stabilization (Sensor based)
includes face detect focus
video resolution high (1920 x 1080 pixels)
has mic jack
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Sony HX20V vs Sony A33 Specifications

Detailed spec comparison table for Sony HX20V and Sony A33
 Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20VSony SLT-A33
General Information
Brand Sony Sony
Model Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V Sony SLT-A33
Type Small Sensor Superzoom Entry-Level DSLR
Released 2012-07-20 2010-08-24
Body design Compact Compact SLR
Sensor Information
Processor Chip BIONZ Bionz
Sensor type BSI-CMOS CMOS
Sensor size 1/2.3" APS-C
Sensor dimensions 6.17 x 4.55mm 23.5 x 15.6mm
Sensor surface area 28.1mm² 366.6mm²
Sensor resolution 18 megapixels 14 megapixels
Anti aliasing filter
Aspect ratio 4:3 and 16:9 3:2 and 16:9
Maximum resolution 4896 x 3672 4592 x 3056
Maximum native ISO 12800 12800
Maximum boosted ISO - 25600
Lowest native ISO 100 100
RAW data
Autofocusing
Focus manually
Autofocus touch
Autofocus continuous
Single autofocus
Autofocus tracking
Autofocus selectice
Autofocus center weighted
Multi area autofocus
Live view autofocus
Face detection focus
Contract detection focus
Phase detection focus
Number of focus points 9 15
Cross focus points - 3
Lens
Lens mounting type fixed lens Sony/Minolta Alpha
Lens focal range 25-500mm (20.0x) -
Max aperture f/3.2-5.8 -
Macro focus distance 1cm -
Total lenses - 143
Crop factor 5.8 1.5
Screen
Range of screen Fixed Type Fully Articulated
Screen diagonal 3 inches 3 inches
Resolution of screen 922k dot 921k dot
Selfie friendly
Liveview
Touch operation
Screen technology XtraFine TruBlack TFT LCD -
Viewfinder Information
Viewfinder type None Electronic
Viewfinder resolution - 1,150k dot
Viewfinder coverage - 100 percent
Viewfinder magnification - 0.73x
Features
Lowest shutter speed 30s 30s
Highest shutter speed 1/1600s 1/4000s
Continuous shooting speed 10.0fps 7.0fps
Shutter priority
Aperture priority
Manual exposure
Exposure compensation Yes Yes
Change white balance
Image stabilization
Built-in flash
Flash range 7.10 m 10.00 m (@ ISO 100)
Flash settings Auto, On, Off, Slow Sync Auto, On, Off, Red-Eye, Slow Sync, High Speed Sync, Rear Curtain, Fill-in, Wireless
Hot shoe
Auto exposure bracketing
White balance bracketing
Highest flash sync - 1/160s
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) 1920 x 1080 (60, 29.97 fps), 1440 x 1080 (30fps), 640 x 424 (29.97 fps)
Maximum video resolution 1920x1080 1920x1080
Video data format MPEG-4, AVCHD MPEG-4, AVCHD, H.264
Mic input
Headphone input
Connectivity
Wireless Eye-Fi Connected Eye-Fi Connected
Bluetooth
NFC
HDMI
USB USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec)
GPS BuiltIn None
Physical
Environment seal
Water proof
Dust proof
Shock proof
Crush proof
Freeze proof
Weight 254 grams (0.56 lbs) 500 grams (1.10 lbs)
Physical dimensions 107 x 62 x 35mm (4.2" x 2.4" x 1.4") 124 x 92 x 85mm (4.9" x 3.6" x 3.3")
DXO scores
DXO All around score not tested 70
DXO Color Depth score not tested 22.8
DXO Dynamic range score not tested 12.6
DXO Low light score not tested 591
Other
Battery life 320 shots 340 shots
Battery format Battery Pack Battery Pack
Battery model NP-BG1 NP-FW50
Self timer Yes (2 or 10 sec, Portrait 1/2) Yes (2 or 10 sec)
Time lapse feature
Storage media SD/SDHC/SDXC, Memory Stick Duo/Pro Duo/Pro-HG Duo SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Pro Duo/ Pro-HG Duo
Storage slots One One
Pricing at launch $397 $230