Sony HX300 vs Sony TX100V: A Hands-On Comparison of Two Very Different Cameras

When stepping into the Sony Cyber-shot lineup, you soon realize these cameras cover a broad spectrum - from pocket-friendly compacts to hefty superzooms designed to mimic DSLR ergonomics. Today, I’m putting under the microscope two distinct beasts from Sony’s older Cyber-shot stable: the Sony HX300, a small sensor superzoom bridge camera, and the Sony TX100V, a sleek ultraportable with a vibrant OLED screen. Both share the Cyber-shot badge and a similar sensor size but target wildly different photography scenarios - and users.

Having tested and fielded both, plus dozens of comparable cameras over the years, I’m excited to dive into their strengths, quirks, and practical use cases. Whether you're after insane telephoto reach or pocket convenience, I'll break down the technical nitty-gritty and share on-the-ground impressions to help you pick your best fit.

A Tale of Two Bodies: Size, Ergonomics, and Handling

First impressions matter - especially with cameras you’ll carry all day. Let’s talk physicality.

The HX300 is unmistakably the bigger sibling - an SLR-style bridge camera with a substantial grip and plenty of heft at 623 grams. Its dimensions (130x103x93mm) mean it feels solid, almost reassuringly bulky in-hand. This heft gives it an edge for stability, especially with long telephoto shots, and its textured grip makes one-handed shooting comfortable - even for lengthy sessions. If you're used to DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, the HX300’s shape invites familiarity.

In contrast, the TX100V is a marvel of compact design - just 97x59x18mm and a mere 147 grams. This is a camera you can literally slip into your jeans pocket without a second thought, making it an ideal companion for street, travel, or anytime you want minimal intrusion. It’s ultra-slim but still feels solid for its size - though the lack of a grip-ish bulge means it's borderline fiddly to hold for long, especially with larger hands.

The HX300 screams “ready for action” with buttons and dials galore, while the TX100V embraces minimalism, relying mostly on its touchscreen for control. More on that shortly.

Looking Down the Barrel: Lens and Zoom Capabilities

If there’s one huge selling point of the HX300, it’s its extraordinary lens reach. The camera sports a fixed zoom spanning 24-1200mm equivalent, a whopping 50x optical zoom that’s borderline ridiculous. The maximum aperture ranges from F2.8 wide open to F6.3 at full tele. This superzoom versatility lets you frame landscapes and lightning-wide vistas, then snap detailed wildlife or sports images from a distance without swapping lenses - an all-in-one solution for many.

The TX100V, by comparison, offers a more modest 25-100mm equivalent (4x zoom) range, with an aperture of F3.5-4.6. This is perfect for general photography - portraits, street scenes, and even some snug interiors - but no wildlife or sports supertelephoto fantasy here.

You might wince at the HX300’s slower aperture at full zoom, but given its long reach, keeping F6.3 is reasonable - and the built-in optical image stabilization helps control shake. The TX100V's faster aperture range and wide-ish lens make it a better low-light performer in theory, though we’ll revisit that soon.

It’s the classic speed and reach trade-off: HX300 for zoom crazy, TX100V for pocketable everyday capture.

Sensor and Image Quality: Paintbrush Size and Detail

Both cameras feature the same sensor type: a 1/2.3" BSI-CMOS sensor, roughly 6.16x4.62 mm for the HX300 and 6.17x4.55 mm for the TX100V - almost identical in size.

Sensor size directly impacts image quality, especially in noise performance and dynamic range - small sensors gather less light, limiting detail in shadows and highlights compared to APS-C or full-frame sensors. Both cameras also employ antialias filters to counter moiré, a spillover from their sensor’s modest size.

Resolution-wise, the HX300’s “20 MP” (actually 20.4 million pixels) edges out the TX100V’s 16 MP. While on paper higher resolution means finer detail, packing so many pixels into a tiny sensor can sometimes increase noise and lower pixel-level sharpness, especially in low light. But in good lighting, the HX300 yields impressively detailed shots, especially zoomed in. The TX100V’s lower resolution paired with its OLED's excellent preview makes composition a delight, but in the pixel-peeping department, the HX300 wins hands down.

Neither supports RAW shooting, which is a dealbreaker for many pros - but expected at their price and class.

Viewing, Composition, and Controls: Eye on the Prize

The tactile experience is where these two cameras part ways sharply.

With the HX300, Sony equips users with an electronic viewfinder (EVF) - a godsend for bright outdoor shooting. Its viewfinder isn’t top-tier in resolution but does provide framing confidence, especially helpful when shooting wildlife or sports with that ultra-telephoto lens. The camera’s 3-inch tilting LCD screen (921k dots) facilitates creative angles.

The TX100V has no viewfinder at all, relying entirely on its brilliant 3.5-inch fixed touchscreen OLED panel with “XtraFine” TruBlack technology. The screen is a joy for live-view framing and shooting in dim environments. Touch gestures simplify focusing, zooming, and menu navigation, making the user interface intuitive - great for casual use and travel snapshots.

Yet, for rapid manual adjustments where precision counts, the HX300’s physical buttons and dials win every time. Aperture and shutter priority modes, along with manual exposure, give a real level of creative control, albeit within bridge camera limits. The TX100V foregoes these exposure modes entirely, which can frustrate enthusiasts seeking more control.

Autofocus and Shooting Responsiveness: Who Catches the Moment?

Both cameras employ contrast-detect autofocus with 9 focus points. The HX300 supports face detection and multiple AF area modes, along with center and tracking AF modes - which helps for more dynamic shooting. Sadly, neither offers eye or animal-eye AF, which is a shame given their markets.

In practical use, the HX300’s AF can be slow in low light or at max zoom, but it usually locks focus reliably on well-lit scenes. The camera lacks continuous AF modes or rapid subject tracking, so it’s not a great choice for fast-moving sports or wildlife.

The TX100V’s AF is quick for a compact, but again limited - no face or tracking AF - and can struggle in dim conditions. The touchscreen adds value with touch-to-focus, but continuous or burst AF doesn’t seem available.

Speaking of bursts, both cameras offer 10 FPS burst modes - but these come with compromises like locked focus and exposure, and limited buffer depth. The HX300 is better suited for slower, deliberate shooting including wildlife at a distance, while the TX100V handles casual moments and snapshots efficiently.

Image Stabilization and Low Light Handling: Keeping It Steady

Both cameras feature optical image stabilization (OIS) - vital with small sensors and longer-focal-length lenses.

The HX300’s stabilization excels when shooting handheld at full 1200mm, reducing shake enough to avoid blur in many situations at shutter speeds under 1/200s. The stabilizer is effective but can’t replace a tripod, especially for night or astro photography.

TX100V’s OIS is more of a supporting player, aiding in everyday shooting and low-light situations, but it doesn’t offset zoom shake because the zoom is more modest.

Regarding high-ISO noise, the HX300 pushes sensitivity up to ISO 12,800, but image quality deteriorates steeply beyond ISO 800 in my tests. The TX100V's max native ISO of 3200 similarly fares best capped at roughly ISO 400–800.

For night or astrophotography, neither is a clear winner; their small sensors and slow lenses limit usable exposures. HX300’s longer exposure capability (up to 30 seconds shutter speed) gives some edge for long exposures compared to TX100V’s max 2 seconds shutter speed.

Flash, Video, and Connectivity: The Extras You Might Need

Both cameras have built-in flashes, but their approaches differ noticeably.

The HX300 has a pop-up flash with an unspecified range and no external flash support. Flash modes are minimal, but it supports exposure bracketing, which can help with HDR scenarios.

The TX100V offers a tiny built-in flash with about 4-meter range and a variety of modes including Auto, On, Off, and Slow Sync. It also features white balance bracketing - a rarity on compacts - which gives a bit more creativity with in-camera processing.

Video recording capability is similar on paper: full HD 1920x1080 at 60fps for both. The TX100V additionally supports AVCHD and MPEG-4, and even offers lower resolution options for longer clips. Neither camera has microphone or headphone jacks, limiting audio control for video shooters.

Connectivity is a known weak point for both, but TX100V has an edge with built-in GPS and compatibility with Eye-Fi cards for wireless transfer (albeit dated by today’s standards). The HX300 is bereft of wireless tech entirely, relying on USB 2.0 wired transfers.

Battery Life and Storage: Longevity in the Field

Neither Sony model shines in battery longevity compared to larger cameras, but expectations differ given their classes.

HX300’s battery details are scarce, but the large body accommodates a reasonably sized NP-FH50 battery that typically offers 400 shots per charge - decent for a bridge camera. The single SD card slot supports SD/SDHC/SDXC cards.

The TX100V's tiny body houses a modest NP-BN1 battery, yielding around 250 shots per charge - typical for ultracompacts but something serious travelers should monitor. It supports a variety of storage media - Memory Stick Duo and SD cards - thanks to its card slot versatility.

Handling Different Genres: Which Camera Excels Where?

To better understand real-world suitability, I ran these two cameras through a mental gauntlet of photography genres, pairing technical specs with practical use:

Portraits: Who Nabs Those Lovely Skin Tones and Shallow Depth?

The HX300’s fast wide aperture of F2.8 at 24mm is promising but quickly closes down to F6.3 at telephoto, limiting shallow depth-of-field effects. However, at lower zooms and on close subjects, decent background separation and smooth bokeh are achievable. Face detection AF helps frame portraits but isn’t as sharp as modern eye-detect autofocus. The TX100V’s slower F3.5-4.6 lens and smaller sensor mean portraits are flatter with less subject-background separation, but the OLED screen and touchscreen AF make composition intuitive.

Winner: HX300 for more creative control and zoom lens versatility.

Landscape Photography: Dynamic Range and Resolution Payoff

Neither sensor size nor Brighter-than-day LCD screens make either camera a landscape powerhouse. Yet HX300’s higher resolution and tilting screen provide an advantage for capturing fine terrain detail and complex scenes. Weather sealing is absent on both, so neither is ideal for rugged outdoor shoots, but the HX300's bulky frame and EVF give it handling steadiness on uneven terrain.

Winner: HX300 for detail and handling.

Wildlife Photography: Speed and Reach

The HX300’s 1200mm reach and 10 FPS burst capability at least theoretically make it handy for birding or casual wildlife captures. The tradeoff? Slow autofocus and no specialized tracking limit action shots. The TX100V, with its tiny zoom, falls out of the running here.

Winner: Definitely HX300, but with tempered expectations.

Sports Photography: Tracking and Speed

Both lack pro-level continuous autofocus and rapid tracking systems. HX300’s manual exposure modes help freeze motion, and 10 fps burst keep it in the game for casual sports. TX100V is too limited for serious sports use.

Winner: HX300, but don’t expect professional caliber.

Street Photography: Stealth and Speed

TX100V shines due to its pocketable size, silent operation (no pop-up flashes or noisy zooms), and discreet all-black body. The touchscreen interface allows quick snaps without fuss. HX300 is just too bulky and conspicuous for candid street shots.

Winner: TX100V for portability and subtlety.

Macro Photography: Close-Up Crispness

Neither camera boasts specific macro lenses or focus stacking/post-focus features. HX300 does have manual focus and exposure which can aid tricky close-ups, but optimal minimum focus distances aren’t impressive. TX100V has touchscreen manual focus assists but limited resolution.

Winner: Tie, but neither excels.

Night and Astro Photography

HX300’s longer shutter speeds and manual exposure make it a more viable choice for long-exposure night work, but its sensor noise at higher ISOs and lack of RAW limits quality. TX100V’s max shutter of 2 seconds eliminates most serious long exposure ventures.

Winner: HX300 with significant caveats.

Video Capabilities: Which is the Better Filmmaker?

Both offer 1080p at 60fps, but the TX100V supports additional codecs (AVCHD) and has a superior screen for monitoring and framing video. Neither has external mic input, so audio is limited, and stabilization helps but can introduce rolling effects.

Winner: TX100V for codec flexibility and display, though generally both are entry-level video performers.

Travel Photography: Versatility and Convenience

Here’s where the cameras’ fundamental differences come into clear focus. The HX300 offers the all-in-one superzoom utility - no other lens needed, great battery life, and a robust body for varied environments. The TX100V, on the other hand, wins in size and portability with its slim frame and touchscreen usability.

Winner: Depends on travel style -

• For adventure travel requiring long reach, the HX300.
• For urban travel, sightseeing, and light packing, the TX100V.

Professional Workflows: Is Either Up to Snuff?

As neither offers RAW, external flash support, or professional connectivity, they’re not primary workhorse cameras for pros. The HX300’s exposure modes and manual controls give some creative control, but image quality and file flexibility fall short. The TX100V is purely consumer-aimed.

Winner: Neither for heavy professional use.

Image Quality in Action: Side-by-Side Sample Comparison

Here are some representative images captured under similar conditions with both cameras to illustrate differences in sharpness, color rendition, and noise.

Sony HX300 front Sony HX300 screen back Sony TX100V screen back

From these images, you’ll notice the HX300’s shots generally exhibit crisper detail, especially when zoomed, albeit with slightly more digital sharpening. Colors are vibrant but occasionally oversaturated. The TX100V produces smoother but less detailed images, with more muted contrast - suiting casual snapshots rather than creative uses.

Intangibles: Build Quality, Weather Resistance, Workflow, and Price

Neither the HX300 nor the TX100V offers weather sealing or ruggedized construction, which we'll sorely feel if shooting in harsh outdoor environments. Considering weight, the HX300’s heft is a double-edged sword: it stabilizes shots but demands a sturdy camera bag or strap. The TX100V’s pocketability wins here but trades off shooting comfort and control.

Both cameras have only one memory card slot, supporting standard SD variants; no dual slots or extreme speed cards supported.

Workflow-wise, USB 2.0 file transfer will feel painfully slow for large photo batches today, and the lack of wireless (except TX100V’s legacy Eye-Fi support and GPS) means minimal connectivity convenience.

Price-wise, as of current market data, the HX300 tends to be less expensive than the TX100V despite its seemingly more capable specs, reflecting their respective age and positioning.

Final Verdict: Matching Cameras to Your Needs

When choosing between these two Sony Cyber-shot options, it boils down to what you want most out of a camera.

• Choose the Sony HX300 if:

  • You crave extensive zoom range (50x) without changing lenses.
  • You want manual exposure control and a viewfinder.
  • You shoot landscape, wildlife, or casual sports on a budget.
  • You’re willing to carry more weight for the extra flexibility.

• Choose the Sony TX100V if:

  • You prize pocketability and discretion for street/travel photography.
  • You prefer a vibrant touchscreen with intuitive controls.
  • You appreciate in-camera GPS tagging and smoother video codecs.
  • You shoot mostly casual photos and don’t need manual modes.

Both cameras offer solid performance within their categories, but neither matches today’s mirrorless or advanced compact cameras in image quality or features, so temper expectations accordingly.

Conclusion: Two Sony Cyber-Shots Serving Different Masters

Sony’s Cyber-shot lineup has always been a broad church, and the HX300 and TX100V exemplify that beautifully - from the furthest zoom fans to the minimalist mobile snappers. I’ve enjoyed shooting with both, and while they feel a bit dated in 2024’s competitive market, each offers something unique. The HX300 is a brute of versatility and photographic exploration, and the TX100V is a tech-savvy ultracompact for grab-and-go moments.

Whichever you lean towards, understanding these distinctions helps ensure the camera you pick matches your photographic ambitions and style - because the best camera is that one which feels right in your hands and gets consistently used.

Happy shooting!