Sony HX300 vs Sony S2100

Its time to take a more detailed look at the Sony HX300 and Sony S2100, former is a Small Sensor Superzoom while the latter is a Small Sensor Compact and both are manufactured by Sony. There is a sizable difference among the sensor resolutions of the HX300 (20MP) and S2100 (12MP) but they use the same exact sensor dimensions (1/2.3").

Photography Glossary

The HX300 was revealed 3 years after the S2100 which is a fairly significant difference as far as camera tech is concerned. Both the cameras offer different body type with the Sony HX300 being a SLR-like (bridge) camera and the Sony S2100 being a Compact camera.

Before delving through a thorough comparison, below is a simple view of how the HX300 grades against the S2100 when it comes to portability, imaging, features and an overall score.

Here is a preview of the gallery images for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300 & Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100. The full galleries are provided at Sony HX300 Gallery & Sony S2100 Gallery.

For anybody who is intending to carry around your camera regularly, you are going to need to factor its weight and proportions. The Sony HX300 comes with external measurements of 130mm x 103mm x 93mm (5.1" x 4.1" x 3.7") with a weight of 623 grams (1.37 lbs) while the Sony S2100 has measurements of 98mm x 61mm x 27mm (3.9" x 2.4" x 1.1") along with a weight of 167 grams (0.37 lbs).

Compare the Sony HX300 and Sony S2100 in our completely new Camera plus Lens Size Comparison Tool.

Always remember, the weight of an ILC will vary dependant on the lens you have chosen at the time. The following is the front view measurement comparison of the HX300 vs the S2100.

Using size and weight, the portability grade of the HX300 and S2100 is 63 and 93 respectively.

Generally, it's tough to visualise the gap in sensor sizes only by looking through specs. The pic below will help give you a greater sense of the sensor sizing in the HX300 and S2100.

As you can plainly see, both cameras offer the same exact sensor sizing albeit not the same megapixels. You can expect the Sony HX300 to render greater detail because of its extra 8MP. Higher resolution will also make it easier to crop pictures a little more aggressively. The newer HX300 will have an advantage when it comes to sensor tech.