- Conclusion Get the lowdown
- Features How it compares
- Performance Real world benchmarks
- Differences Technical showdown
- Reviews Word on the street
- Competition Others to consider
- Discussion Answers and opinions
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
- 18 MP
- 20x f/3.2
- 1/2.5" EXMOR
- 3" LCD
#2 in Sony super zooms
Released February, 2012
Rated 100% by by Photography Blog (Jul, 2012)The combination of the f/3.2 aperture, effective optical image stabilizer and maximum ISO speed of 12800 makes this camera well suited to hand-held low-light photography, not to mention the wealth of dedicated shooting modes.
Conclusion Check out the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
First reviewed February, 2012
Features Key features of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
18 MP
1/2.5"
Rated 100% by by Photography Blog (Jul, 2012)Add in the 3D Sweep Panoramas and 3D Still Images, amazing 10fps burst shooting mode, 0.13 second auto-focusing, closer macro mode, extensive range of in-camera Picture effects and the high-resolution 921K dot LCD screen, and it's still easy for us to recommend the Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V above all of its travel-zoom rivals.
megapixels
| 0 MP | 18 MP    | 20 MP |
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by phoongdan (Mar, 2013)My predecessor was a 10.1 megapixel Sony Cybershot which I was pleased with at that price range, but this camera is a whole nuther level!
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by Grimmy--Grimmy (Jun, 2012)The Burst Mode is fantastic - 10 shots, and mostly clear, at full 18.2 megapixels.
sensor size
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by Nom-de-Plume (Jul, 2012)With the 20x zoom I got a full frame stop motion picture of Clayton just as he released the ball.
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by James-Fundeburgh--JimF (Sep, 2012)I had a Sony alpha-NEX5 with the huge APC sensor that took amazing pictures so rich they raised your cholesterol just looking at them.
wide angle lens
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by Photography Blog (Jul, 2012)The 25mm focal length provides an entirely new wide angle of view that can only increase your creativity.
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by DPReview (Jun, 2012)The camera focuses extremely quickly, whether at wide-angle or telephoto, good light or poor.
aperture size
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by Photography Blog (Jul, 2012)The Manual shooting mode lets you set a shutter speed of up to 30 seconds for effective night-time shooting, although I missed the Aperture and Shutter Priority modes that several rivals offer, and only having two possible apertures in Manual mode does somewhat limit what you can achieve creatively.
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by R.-Hessler (Aug, 2012)The manual mode is decent, though you only have two aperture settings to choose from, which will limit your options.
zoom range
| 0x | 30x   | 30x |
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by DPReview (Jun, 2012)If you're looking for a GPS-equipped travel zoom camera, then the HX20V is well worth considering.
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by DPReview (Jun, 2012)It also has both automatic and limited manual controls, HDR and other multi-shot options that improve image quality, a fun sweep panorama feature, and Full HD 1080/60p video recording.
body size
107 x 62 x 35 mm
131 x 97 x 126 mm
104 x 70 x 80 mm
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by Kjeep (Mar, 2013)It takes clear, crisp pictures and is easy to carry along on motorcycle rides, etc..
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by M.-Kelly--Life-is-a-Cabernet (Jun, 2012)As I mentioned previously, the camera is very lightweight and compact for carrying (although I still feel the casing appears very cheaply made).
Performance Real world tests of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V
battery life
320 photos
600 photos
195 photos
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by Stephen-F.-Potts (Jan, 2013)Battery life was good and charging is very quick and easy.
max continuous shooting
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by CedarburgSueThe burst mode is another unbelievable feature that captures ten shots in less than a second and each shot was as good as a normal single photo.
Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V by Photography Blog (Jul, 2012)The only fly in the ointment is that once the burst is completed, it takes over fifteen seconds for the camera to clear the buffer, during which you cannot take another picture.
Our analysis How does it stack up against its top 10 competitors
pros
-
HD video -
921 k dots -
12,800 ISO -
18 MP -
10 fps -
Records the location of your photos automatically -
HD video -
Create 3D photos to view on a 3D TV -
10 mm -
Combines multiple photos together to capture both bright and dark areas -
86.58% -
Stitches together multiple photos into a single ultra-wide view -
35 mm -
30 s -
107 x 62 x 35 mm -
254 g
cons
-
20x -
f/3.2 -
1,900 ms -
9 -
The screen is fixed in place -
Lacks the ability to create slow motion video -
Feb, 2012 -
1/1600 s
Reviews Word on the street
 |   
|
|---|---|
 |
|
 | Rated by 114 users at amazon.com Rated 100% by by C.-Streit (Aug, 2012) Rated 80% by by P.-Baek (Apr, 2012)  Rated 100% by by L.-J.-Schrader (Jun, 2012) |
Lens
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 100% by by Katherine-Price (Dec, 2012)And it zooms to 20X so I can get great close ups of my kids!! Plus it works with my MAC!
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 80% by by Terry-R.-Nye (Jun, 2012)The 20x optical zoom is quite amazing, and I was impressed with the image stabilization despite using the zoom at higher levels.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 80% by by Almelle (Aug, 2012)It also has reasonable low-light shooting, and an excellent zoom feature for a point and shoot, one that exceeds the actual detail I can see with the naked eye!
Video
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 100% by by smarksman--smarksman (Nov, 2012)Overall I would recommend this camera if you are looking for portable camera that can shoot great pictures and HD video.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 100% by by DGaydon--dgaydon (Jul, 2012)Online reviews totally push the Canon PowerShot SX260HS as by far the best in this category - but my sister had purchased it earlier this year and had big issues with it handling the correct exposure w/heavy shadows/bright light conditions and the video quality is so-so - thus I went with this camera.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 80% by by J.-Gebauer (Aug, 2012)Looking at sample images in spite of having lesser megapixels the Canon seemed to produce the best images of the travel zoom cameras whereas the Sony was raved about for its video quality.
Zoom
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 80% by by J.-Gebauer (Aug, 2012)From what I've shot I'd say you only have sharp resolution equivalent to 7MP when shooting at 20x zoom.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 60% by by Almelle (Aug, 2012)While I was impressed with the reviews on some of the Canon and Panasonic models, when I actually tried out models at a store, the Sony had the highest quality, with a zoom far clearer than I could see with the naked eye!
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 100% by by Photography Blog (Jul, 2012)Offering a 20x, 25-500mm zoom lens, 18.2 megapixel back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor and built-in GPS tracking complete with a compass, the HX20V also has full 1080i high-definition video recording with stereo sound and HDMI output and 3D Sweep Panoramas and 3D Still Images.
Image quality
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 80% by by Terry-R.-Nye (Jun, 2012)As for photo-taking, the Sony Cyber-shot is capable of taking some very nice photos with good color balance even in low light situations.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 74% by by DPReview (Jun, 2012)It'll never win awards for its photo quality, though it's super high resolution means that downsized photos look very good.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 60% by by Almelle (Aug, 2012)The picture quality continues to be wonderful and the auto-correct (five pictures merged into one) is helpful if you're too lazy to manually adjust photos taken in low-light.
Sensor
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 100% by by Photography Blog (Jul, 2012)The 18 megapixel backlit sensor provides excellent results from ISO 100-800, with only the fater settings of 1600 and 3200 suffering from too much noise and smearing of fine detail.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 74% by by DPReview (Jun, 2012)The buildings are pretty sharp, though you'll find plenty of noise and artifacting here at ISO 100.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V | Rated 100% by by Photography Blog (Jul, 2012)The ring is a little small and over-sensitive, and having to press the tiny central button to toggle between the ISO speed, shutter speed and aperture quickly becomes a bit tiresome, but the ability to take full control of the HX20V is still very welcome.
Competition What else you should consider
 | 1 | Fujifilm FinePix HS30 EXR Fastest rapid fire mode Fujifilm FinePix HS30 EXR vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V |
 | 2 | Sony Cybershot DSC-RX100 Largest sensor Cybershot DSC-RX100 vs Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V |
 | 3 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX150 Smallest DSC-WX150 vs DSC-HX20V |
 | 4 | Canon PowerShot SX260 HS Shoots video in 24p Canon PowerShot SX260 HS vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V |
 | 5 | Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX30V 4-way tie: Best macro lens DSC-HX30V vs DSC-HX20V |
 | 6 | Canon PowerShot SX500 IS Good benchmarked shot to shot times Canon PowerShot SX500 IS vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V |
 | 7 | Panasonic Lumix TZ40 Has a touch screen Panasonic Lumix TZ40 vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V |
New duel?
Let the battle continue or dare to compare.
Popular Questions
May 29, 2012
Best for low light photography
Overall image quality is most important to me. The considerably greater number of focus points on the Panasonic ZS 20, the Leica lense, and faster shutter speed are all important to me; however,...
Visitor
6
Answers October 10, 2012
Low light pictures,
I intend to use the camera for taking pictures and recording video in low light conditions
Visitor
2
Answers July 9, 2012
Short life on battery on dsc-hx20v
Tell us more! Are you a beginner or expert? What types of photos do you like to take? What features in a camera are important to you? i have just bourght a dsc -hx20v 5 weeks ag,o i have to keep...
Visitor
2
Answers Unanswered Questions
- 26 discussions
- View more
January 17, 2013
Vacations, Backpacking
I am looking for a camera that has great image quality, is fast to take wildlife photos, and is reliable. I was leaning toward the sony, but you have me thinking.
Visitor
0
Answers December 22, 2012
Need an option / opinion
Tell us more! What's important in a camera to you? Are you shooting photos of your family? On vacation? Under the sea? In a professional studio? I already have Sony hx20v and want to upgrade 20K...
Visitor
0
Answers December 21, 2012
Which camera is best for image quality ?
I need a camera which give me picture quality and style .
Visitor
0
Answers 