Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V Review
Introduction
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V is a feature-packed travel-zoom camera that sits at the top of the Cyber-shot range. 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. Other key features of the Sony HX20V include a 3 inch LCD screen with 921,000-dots, fast 0.13 second auto-focusing, 10fps burst shooting mode at full resolution, ISO range of 100-12800, Optical SteadyShot with Active Mode, Intelligent Auto Plus, Program and full Manual shooting modes, artistic Picture Effect modes, Intelligent Sweep Panoramas, and support for both Memory Stick PRO Duo and Secure Digital cards. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V is available in black or brown for £329.99 / $399.99.
Ease of Use
The DSC-HX20V is Sony's latest travel-zoom camera, following 2011's popular HX9V model. Travel-zooms now typically offer at least a 16x or bigger lens in a compact body that you can still fit inside a pocket, with some models upping the ante to a 20x lens. The Sony DSC-HX20V joins the party with a 20x, 25-500mm extending optical lens with respectable maximum apertures of f/3.2 at the 25mm wide-angle setting and f/5.8 at the 500mm full telephoto setting.
The HX20V's lens is a real joy to use, with a 20x zoom in such a small package making this camera incredibly adaptable, with everything from ultra-wide landscapes to candid long-distance portraits within easy reach. The 25mm focal length provides an entirely new wide angle of view that can only increase your creativity. You won't want to go back to a "standard" 35mm zoom after using the 25mm lens on the DSC-HX20V, or even a 28mm one - 3mm at the wide-angle end really does make a big difference.
Even when set to 500mm, the lens doesn't extend too far from the front of the HX20V, making it look to all intents and purposes like a "normal" compact camera. 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. Sony has fitted a dual image stabilisation mechanism in the shape of both optical SteadyShot and an ISO range that extends up to ISO 12800, much you'll find on your average point-and-shoot. Note that as with most recent Cyber-shots, you can't actually turn off the SteadyShot function, Sony assuming that its better turned on permanently.
Despite its big zoom lens, the HX20V is still quite a slender camera, measuring just over 3cms at its narrowest point and weighing 254g with the battery and memory card fitted, with a large 3-inch, 921k-dot resolution LCD screen at the rear As you'd expect with a screen of that size on such a small camera, the HX20V has no optical viewfinder to fall back on in brighter lighting conditions.
Providing the means of gripping the camera is a quite substantial textured, rubberised protrusion on the front and a small thumb-shaped lozenge on the rear, making the DSC-HX20V easy to get to grips with despite its mostly smooth recycled plastic surface. Also located on the front of the HX20V is the centrally located lens and a porthole on the left for the self-timer/AF illuminator. There's a pop-up flash unit on top of the camera which is automatically raised when you select a flash mode.
Press the small On/Off button on the top plate and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V quickly readies itself for action in a just over a second. The adequately sized shutter-release button has a definite halfway point, very quickly determining focus and exposure with a bleep of affirmation even in low-light, focus points highlighted as green rectangles on the LCD. Go on to take the shot and the JPEG images are committed to memory in a single second, the screen momentarily blanking out and then displaying the captured image before the user can go on to take a second shot.
Front | Rear |
The shutter release button is encircled by a responsive forefinger-operated push/pull rocker zoom lever, with the camera taking around four seconds to zoom from wide-angle to full telephoto. The HX20V's twin built-in stereo microphones are also located on top of the camera, plus the Custom button which as the name suggests can be customised to access one commonly used setting, such as ISO speed or Exposure Compensation.
A round shooting mode dial with a knurled edge and positive action completes the HX20V's top-plate, letting you quickly switch between the various shooting modes that are on offer. Sony has included Intelligent Auto scene recognition, which works in virtually identical fashion to the intelligent auto modes of Panasonic's and Canon's compact ranges. Simply point the HX20V at a scene or subject and the camera analyses it and automatically chooses one of 11 pre-optimised settings to best suit. There's also the Superior Auto mode, which places greater emphasis on reducing blur and noise and increasing the dynamic range.
Adding to the HX20V's snapshot simplicity, these features accompany face recognition and smile shutter functionality on board, the former mode biasing human faces in the frame and the latter mode firing the shutter when it detects a smiling subject. The Face Detection system automatically adjusts the focus, exposure and white balance for people in the frame, and can even be set to distinguish between children and adults. Smile Detection offers three self-explanatory options, Big, Normal and Slight. Used in conjunction, the Face and Smile Detection systems do result in more hits than misses, especially in contrasty lighting conditions, although all those smiling faces could ultimately freak you out a little! The self-portrait options in the self-timer menu work by automatically taking the shot with a two second delay after either one or two people have entered the frame.
In addition to the regular Program mode, which provides the full range of camera options and additionally allows you to change settings like the ISO speed and metering, is the welcome inclusion of a fully Manual mode that lets you independently set the aperture and shutter speed, which will instantly appeal to the more experienced photographer. The range of apertures on offer is unfortunately rather limited to just two settings at either end of the lens (f/3.2 or f/8.0 at 25mm and f/5.8 or f/14 at 384mm) with the camera employing a built-in Neutral Density filer, but the ability to choose from 30 - 1/1600th second shutter speeds and set both the aperture and shutter speed if you wish opens up a lot of creative potential. Sadly there are no Aperture or Shutter priority modes, which would have narrowed the skill gap between Program and Manual, and there's no support for the RAW file format either, which would really have been the icing on the cake for serious photographers looking for a backup-pocket camera to their DSLR.
The Intelligent Sweep Panorama mode lets you capture a panoramic image very easily without the use of a tripod. All you need to decide is whether you would like to start from left or right, top or bottom. Then press and hold down the shutter release while doing a "sweep" with the camera in hand. Exposure compensation is available before you start the sweep, but the exposure is fixed once you depress the shutter button. After you are done with the sweeping, the camera does all the processing required, and presents you with a finished panoramic image. There are three modes, Standard, Wide and High Resolution, with the latter mode successfully stitching together a 42.9 megapixel image - not bad for a humble compact! Note that if you do the sweeping too slowly, or you let go of the shutter release button too early, the panorama will be truncated.
For those who like a healthy dose of gimmickry with their gadgets, the HX20V offers a 3D still image mode - an addition to the now expected 3D Sweep Panorama mode and the 'cheat' of the lenticular print-like Sweep Multi Angle mode, also again featured here. This option doesn't require two lenses and two sensors to produce a stereoscopic image. Instead the Sony takes two consecutive shots from two different vantage positions and combines them for its 3D effect. Like all of its stereoscopic rivals you'll still need a 3D equipped TV to properly view the results.
Pop-up Flash | Top |
In the Hand-held Twilight and Anti Motion Blur shooting modes, the DSC-HX20V takes six shots in a rapid sequence, typically at a high sensitivity setting and a (relatively) fast shutter speed, and then combines them into a single image that has somewhat less noise than a single shot taken at the same ISO and exposure settings. In our experience, the difference between the two modes is that in Anti Motion Blur mode, the camera is more willing to pick a really high ISO setting like ISO 1600 to maintain a fast shutter speed, whereas in Hand-held Twilight mode, it will only go as high as absolutely necessary to avoid camera shake at the chosen focal length. If light levels are truly low, however, the HX20V will pick a high ISO speed even in this mode.
Backlight Correction HDR is a feature where the HX20V automatically shoots two frames quick succession, varying the exposure for each one then combining them to create a single image with the most detail possible in both the shadows and highlights. You can see from the example on the Image Quality page that this feature produces a photo with noticeably more dynamic range than one taken using one of the standard shooting modes, but at the same time without replicating the often "false" look of many HDR programs. Note that you should mount the camera on a tripod to avoid any unwanted camera-shake, and we were disappointed that you can only turn Backlight Correction HDR on or off, with no options for varying the intensity of the effect. Background Defocus attempts to mimic the sharp subject and out-of-focus background effect that DSLR owners typically enjoy, again shooting two frames in quick succession but this time varying the aperture.
Present and correct is the increasingly ubiquitous ability to shoot High Definition video clips, but unlike its main competitors the HX20V does so at full 1080p HD rather than 1080i or 720p, and also with stereo sound rather than mono. The various options are 1920x1280 or 1440x1280 pixels at 50p or 50i in the AVCHD format, and 1440x1280, 1280x720 or 640x480 pixels at 25fps in the MPEG4 format. During video recording you can take a 13 megapixel still image by pressing the shutter button, or alternatively grab a still from your video footage during playback.
There is full use of the 20x optical zoom during recording so you can really make the most of that massive focal range, plus the ability to change the EV level, white balance, and metering options and turn on either standard SteadyShot or the Active Mode mode, which provides up to 10x more effectiveness with no side-effects. There's also a direct HDMI output from the camera, useful for playing back your footage on a HDTV set, although sadly there's no HDMI cable supplied in the box. The dedicated Movie button on the rear of the DSC-HX20V allows you to start recording a movie with a single push of a button, and then stop recording by pressing the same button - a lot more intuitive than having to select the movie mode then press the shutter button, as on most compacts. You can also activate the movie mode via the Shooting Mode dial.
GPS is a feature that has slowly but surely been finding its way into digital cameras as the technology has got smaller and cheaper to implement, making its debut on last year's HX5 and unsurprisingly being retained by the HX20V. This potentially allows you to seamlessly geo-tag your photos (latitude and longitude co-ordinates are stored in the EXIF data) and then sort and display them using geo-friendly websites such as Google Earth and Google Maps or the supplied Picture Motion Browser PC software. The HX20V also uses the GPS to keep the camera time accurate, has a built-in compass that shows shows which direction you were pointing when the picture was taken, and can plot your progress using the new GPS Log Recording function even if the camera is turned off.
The GPS function can be manually turned on or off and the current GPS status is displayed as a small icon on the LCD screen. Three bars appear next to the icon when the GPS has synced with one or more satellites, which unfortunately takes a few minutes from powering on the camera. Thankfully once it's synced, the HX20V's GPS receiver works a lot better than most other GPS-capable cameras that we've reviewed, saving accurate positioning information for the majority of the images that we shot in built-up central London, making this camera much more useful for urban photographers. The main downside of the HX20V's GPS is the subsequent drain on battery life, with the camera only managing just over 300 shots with GPS turned on instead of the 400 that it can manage without.
Memory Card Slot | Battery Compartment |
The rear of the DSC-HX20V is dominated by the large 3 inch LCD screen, with the resolution now a satisfyingly high-res 912k dots. To the right of the screen is the useful one-touch movie record button and a small button for playing back your images. Users have the ability to dip in and out of created folders of images or the calendar view, view thumbnails, select slideshows and choose transitional effects and accompanying music, or delete shots. Press the shutter button halfway and you're helpfully catapulted back into capture mode. And that's basically it. With a press of the Menu button in playback, users have access to a few in-camera retouching effects, including the ability to crop and sharpen an image and apply red-eye correction.
Underneath the Playback button is a traditional round navigation pad which you can use to navigate through menus and options, in conjunction with the small button in the middle which activates whatever it is you've chosen. The four directions on the navigation pad also provide a quick way of setting the Display, Flash, the new Photo Creativity interface and Continuous Shooting/Timer options. The Photo Creativity makes it easier for beginners to change the colour, brightness, vividness and Picture effect modes, with changes previewed in real time on the LCD screen.
Finally, there are buttons for the camera's menu system and for deleting images underneath the navigation pad. The menu button accesses most of the camera's main functions - image size, burst settings, bracketing, exposure compensation, ISO, white balance, focus mode, metering, smile detection, and face detection - plus an icon at the bottom to open the four Settings menus. The latter includes the ability to deactivate the camera's 'bleep' that otherwise sounds at every button press, choose the movie format and activate red-eye reduction if required.
The navigation pad also doubles up as a control ring that's used to set the aperture and shutter speed in the Manual shooting mode, amongst other things. 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.
Pressing the drive mode button brings up two options, single or burst, with high-, mid- and low-speed continuous options then available in the Menu system. Out of these, the high-speed continuous mode is the most remarkable. The HX20V takes up to 10 full-resolution photos at a frankly astounding 10 frames per second, which is faster than most compact cameras and indeed most DSLRs too. 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. In the other two continuous shooting modes, the Sony HX20V also takes up to 10 pictures, but at slower speeds of 5 or 2 frames per second.
The bottom of the Sony HX20V features a standard metal screw thread for attaching it to a tripod which is conveniently located in the centre. A plastic cover protects the lithium-ion battery and the removable memory card, with the HX20V supporting the SD / SDHC / SDXC format in addition to Sony's own proprietary Pro Duo Memory Stick format. There's also a hardly worth it 11MB internal memory to fall back on which can store 7 full-resolution still images. The right side of the HX20V has a small metal eyelet for the supplied wrist strap and also the HDMI port underneath a sturdy plastic cover, while there are no controls on the left side (looking from the rear).
Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 18 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.
The Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V produced images of very good quality during the review period. This camera handled noise well, not becoming obvious until ISO 800, and then becoming progressively worse at the faster settings of ISO 1600 and 3200, an excellent performance for such a small image sensor with such a high pixel count. It's not really worth using the new fastest 6400 and 12800 speeds though.
Chromatic aberrations were in evidence but were well-controlled, with some limited purple fringing effects appearing in high contrast situations. The 18 megapixel images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting and require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can increase the in-camera sharpening level.
Macro performance is outstanding, allowing you to focus as close as 1cm away from the subject. Commendably barrel distortion is well controlled even at the 25mm wide-angle focal length of the versatile 20x zoom lens. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and adequate overall exposure. The maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds allows the cameras to capture enough light for most after-dark situations.
The Backlight Correction HDR feature dramatically increases the detail in the shadow and highlight areas, although we miss being able to choose just how much correction is applied. There's a good range of Color Modes and Picture Effects on offer, while the Sweep Panorama mode makes it simple to take wide-vista shots.
Noise
There are 8 ISO settings available on the Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.
ISO 100 (100% Crop) |
ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
ISO 1600 (100% Crop) |
ISO 3200 (100% Crop) |
ISO 6400 (100% Crop) |
ISO 12800 (100% Crop) |
Focal Range
The Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V's 18x zoom lens offers a very versatile focal range, as illustrated by these examples:
25mm |
500mm |
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are just a little soft and ideally benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. Alternatively you can change the in-camera sharpening level.
Original (100% Crop) |
Sharpened (100% Crop) |
Chromatic Aberrations
The Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V handled chromatic aberrations well during the review, with some purple fringing present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.
Example 1 (100% Crop) |
Example 2 (100% Crop) |
Macro
The Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V allows you to focus on a subject that is just 1cm away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
Macro Shot |
100% Crop |
Flash
The flash settings on the Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V are Auto, Forced Flash, Slow Syncro, No Flash, with a Red-eye Reduction option in the Main menu. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
Suppressed Flash - Wide Angle (25mm) |
Forced Flash - Wide Angle (25mm) |
Suppressed Flash - Telephoto (500mm) |
Forced Flash - Telephoto (500mm) |
And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Forced Flash setting or the Red-Eye Correction option caused any amount of red-eye.
Forced Flash |
Forced Flash (100% Crop) |
Red-eye Reduction |
Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
Night Shot
The Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V's maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds in the Manual mode, which is great news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 25 seconds at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.
Night Shot |
Night Shot (100% Crop) |
Background Defocus
Background Defocus attempts to mimic the sharp subject and out-of-focus background effect that DSLR owners typically enjoy, shooting two frames in quick succession and varying the aperture between each one.
On |
On (100% Crop) |
Backlight Correction HDR
DRO is Sony's solution for improving shadow and highlight detail in photos taken in contrasty light, significantly increasing the image's dynamic range. The examples show the rather dramatic effect of turning this feature on.
Off |
On |
Color Modes
There are 5 Color Mode preset effects that you can use to change the look of your images.
Standard |
Vivid |
Real |
Sepia |
B/W |
|
Picture Effects
The Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V offers a range of 9 creative Picture Effects.
Off |
HDR Painting |
Rich-tone Monochrome |
Miniature |
Toy Camera |
Pop Color |
Partial Color (Red) |
Soft High-key |
Watercolor |
Illustration |
Intelligent Sweep Panorama
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V allows you to take panoramic images very easily, by 'sweeping' with the camera while keeping the shutter release depressed. The camera does all the processing and stitching and even successfully compensates for moving subjects, with the new High Resolution mode successfully creating a 40+ megapixel image.
Standard |
Wide |
High Resolution |
Sample Images
This is a selection of sample images from the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V camera, which were all taken using the 18 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.
1/50s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/80s · f/3.2 · ISO 200
4.45mm
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1/160s · f/3.2 · ISO 400
4.45mm
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1/250s · f/3.2 · ISO 800
4.45mm
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1/500s · f/3.2 · ISO 1600
4.45mm
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1/1000s · f/3.2 · ISO 3200
4.45mm
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1/250s · f/8 · ISO 6400
4.45mm
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1/500s · f/8 · ISO 12800
4.45mm
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1/30s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/30s · f/3.2 · ISO 250
4.45mm
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1/60s · f/4 · ISO 500
9.43mm
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1/30s · f/3.2 · ISO 125
4.45mm
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1/30s · f/3.2 · ISO 250
4.45mm
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1/160s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/250s · f/5 · ISO 320
49.13mm
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1/200s · f/4 · ISO 100
12.88mm
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1/50s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/250s · f/5 · ISO 200
37.47mm
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1/100s · f/4.5 · ISO 100
14mm
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1/160s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/500s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/200s · f/5 · ISO 125
29.24mm
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1/250s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/400s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/250s · f/4 · ISO 100
10.86mm
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1/320s · f/5.6 · ISO 100
62.01mm
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1/200s · f/4.5 · ISO 100
14mm
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1/100s · f/4.5 · ISO 160
17.48mm
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1/500s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/160s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/200s · f/4 · ISO 100
8.89mm
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1/125s · f/4 · ISO 100
11.19mm
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1/160s · f/5 · ISO 800
45.34mm
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1/400s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/250s · f/5.8 · ISO 400
89mm
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1/250s · f/5.8 · ISO 125
89mm
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1/100s · f/4 · ISO 100
12.88mm
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1/400s · f/4 · ISO 100
12.88mm
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1/100s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/30s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/250s · f/5 · ISO 500
39.58mm
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1/20s · f/3.2 · ISO 800
4.45mm
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1/40s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/100s · f/3.5 · ISO 100
6.29mm
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1/80s · f/4 · ISO 125
11.83mm
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1/125s · f/4.5 · ISO 200
18.97mm
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1/40s · f/3.5 · ISO 100
5.1mm
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1/200s · f/4.5 · ISO 100
19.48mm
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1/60s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/60s · f/4 · ISO 100
9.16mm
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1/80s · f/4 · ISO 250
12.88mm
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1/100s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/125s · f/4 · ISO 100
8.41mm
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1/250s · f/5.6 · ISO 160
60.43mm
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1/320s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/250s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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1/200s · f/5 · ISO 500
30.04mm
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1/250s · f/5.6 · ISO 640
88.03mm
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1/200s · f/4.5 · ISO 100
14mm
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1/125s · f/3.2 · ISO 100
4.45mm
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Sample Movie & Video
This is a sample video from the Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V camera at the highest quality setting of 1920x1080 pixels at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 19 second movie is 60.1Mb in size.
Product Images
Front of the Camera |
Front of the Camera / Lens Extended |
Front of the Camera / Flash Raised |
Isometric View |
Isometric View |
Rear of the Camera |
Rear of the Camera / Image Displayed |
Rear of the Camera / Turned On |
Rear of the Camera / Main Menu |
|
Rear of the Camera / Main Menu |
Rear of the Camera / Custom Menu |
Rear of the Camera / Shooting Menu |
Top of the Camera |
Bottom of the Camera |
Side of the Camera |
Side of the Camera |
Front of the Camera |
Front of the Camera |
Memory Card Slot |
Battery Compartment |
Conclusion
The Sony CyberShot DSC-HX20V is a more capable and more refined version of our favourite travel-zoom camera from 2011, the HX9V, with a longer lens, higher resolution and extra features helping to maintain Sony's lead over the competition in this ultra-competitive part of the camera market.
The move to a headline-grabbing 18 megapixel sensor may elicit groans amongst more experienced photographers, but in reality Sony have been able to maintain the excellent image quality that the previous 16 megapixel HX9V offered. 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. You should ignore 6400 and 12800 though unless there's really no alternative. Chromatic aberrations are well controlled and colours accurate, and the 20x 25-500mm lens commendably doesn't suffer from too much distortion at either end of the mammoth zoom range.
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. Less expereinced beginners shouldn't be scared off the HX20V either, as Sony's excellent hand-holding Intelligent Auto modes are as effective as the competition's, while the new Photo Creativity menu lets you experiment with the camera's core settings without having to know all the photography jargon.
In addition to the excellent still images, the Sony HX20V also offers full 1080p video recording, and you can even take a high-res still whilst shooting your movie masterpiece. You can use the full 20x zoom during recording, sound is stereo rather than mono, and the AVCHD format ensures that file sizes don't get too out of control. The built-in GPS also works well, unobtrusively and reliably recording your every movement, although the camera takes a few minutes to sync with one or more satellites and the battery life is reduced by around 25% if you leave it constantly switched on.
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. Essential!
Ratings (out of 5) | |
---|---|
Design | 5 |
Features | 5 |
Ease-of-use | 5 |
Image quality | 4.5 |
Value for money | 4.5 |
Review Roundup
Reviews of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V from around the web.
reviews.cnet.co.uk »
The HX20V comes close to being the perfect traveller's camera, with a high resolution, long zoom and built-in geotagging features that put your pictures on the map. The auto modes are fast and accurate, consistently producing detail-packed, vivid results.
Read the full review »
trustedreviews.com »
The Sony Cyber-shot HX20V is a feature-rich 20x travel compact that‘s up there with the best of them. While the omission of Raw recording is disappointing, the HX20V is otherwise a very well appointed camera with plenty of useful shooting features and exposure modes designed to help you capture the perfect image.
Read the full review »
pcmag.com »
With its Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V, Sony packs a long 20x zoom lens and GPS into one decidedly svelte camera. It's one of the more expensive compact superzoom models you'll find, but all those features along with high performance warrant the price.
Read the full review »
expertreviews.co.uk »
A fantastic array of innovative and genuinely useful features, but image quality has its ups and downs.
Read the full review »
dcresource.com »
The Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V is the midrange model in Sony's trio of GPS-equipped travel zoom cameras. All three cameras -- the HX10V ($330), HX20V ($370), and HX30V ($390) -- all use the same 18.2 Megapixel CMOS sensor. The differences are simple: the HX10V has a 16X zoom lens, while the other two models have a 20X lens. The HX30V earns its flagship status by offering Wi-Fi support.
Read the full review »
Specifications
Lens
Optical Zoom | 20x |
Clear Image Zoom | 40x |
Digital Zoom | 18M Approx.80x / 10M Approx.107x / 5M Approx.151x / VGA Approx.306x / 13M(16:9) Approx.80x / 2M(16:9) Approx.204x |
F | F3.2(W)-5.8(T) |
Focal Length (f= mm) | f=4.45-89mm |
Focal Length (f=35mm conversion) | f=25-500mm |
Macro (cm) | iAuto:AF(W:Approx.1cm(0.03') to Infinity, T:Approx.170cm(5.58') to Infinity) / Program Auto:AF(W:Approx.1cm(0.03') to Infinity, T:Approx.170cm(5.58') to Infinity) |
Filter Diameter (mm) | NO |
Conversion Lens compatibility | NO |
Carl Zeiss® lens | NO |
Sony G | YES |
Image Sensory
Sensor Type | Exmor R™ CMOS Sensor |
Size (Inches) | 1/2.3 type(7.76mm) |
Camera
Effective Pixels (Mega Pixels) | Approx. 18.2 |
Bionz Processor | YES |
Face Detection | YES |
Smile Shutter | YES |
Soft Skin Mode | YES |
Background Defocus | YES |
GPS | YES |
Waterproof | NO |
Backlight correction HDR | YES |
Picture Effect | HDR Painting, Richtone Monochrome, Miniature, Toy camera, Pop Color, Partial Color, Soft High-key, Watercolor, Illustration |
Sweep Panorama | NO |
Intelligent Sweep Panorama | YES |
Underwater Sweep Panorama | NO |
3D Sweep Panorama | YES |
Clear RAW NR | NO |
Auto Focus Area (Multi Point) | YES |
Auto Focus Area (Centre weighted) | YES |
Auto Focus Area (Spot) | NO |
Auto Focus Area (Flexible Spot) | YES |
Manual Focus | YES |
Aperture Auto Mode | iAuto(F3.2/F8.0(W), 2 steps with ND Filter) / Program Auto(F3.2/F8.0(W), 2 steps with ND Filter) / Manual(F3.2/F8.0(W), 2 steps with ND Filter) |
Aperture Priority Mode | YES |
Aperture Manual Mode | YES |
Shutter Speed Auto Mode (sec) | iAuto(4" - 1/1600) / Program Auto(1" - 1/1600) |
NR Slow Shutter | NO |
Hand Shake Alert | NO |
Exposure Control | ± 2.0EV, 1/3EV step |
White Balance | Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent1, Fluorescent2, Fluorescent3, Incandescent, Flash, One Push, One Push Set, White Balance Shift |
Automatic White Balance | YES |
Light Metering (Multi Pattern) | YES |
Light Metering (Centre weighted) | YES |
Light Metering (Spot) | YES |
Sharpness Setting | YES |
Saturation Setting | YES |
Contrast Setting | YES |
ISO Sensitivity (REI) | ISO100-3200(iAuto), ISO100 - 12800(Superior Auto),ISO100-1600(Program Auto) |
Scene Selection | Soft Snap / Soft Skin / Anti Motion Blur / Backlight Correction HDR / Night Portrait / Night Scene / High Sensitivity / Handheld Twilight / Beach / Snow / Fireworks / Gourmet / Pet Mode / Landscape |
SteadyShot
SteadyShot capability | YES |
Optical SteadyShot capability | YES |
Auto Focus System
AF Illuminator | Auto / Off |
Built-In-Flash
Flash Mode | Auto / Flash On / Slow Synchro / Flash Off |
Red-Eye Correction | Auto / On / Off |
Auto Daylight Synchronized Flash | NO |
Distance limitations using Flash (m) | ISO Auto: Approx.0.4m to 7.1m(1 feet 3 3/4 inches to 23 feet 3 5/8 inches)(W) / Approx.1.7m to 3.9 m(5feet 7 inches to 12 feet 9 5/8 inches)(T), ISO3200: up to Approx.10.0 m(32 feet 9 3/4 inches)(W) / |
LCD/ Viewfinder
LCD Screen Size (inches) | 7.5cm (3.0type) |
LCD Total Dots Number | 921.600 |
LCD Monitor Type | TFT Xtra Fine Trublack |
Auto Bright Monitoring | NO |
Optical Viewfinder | NO |
Electrical Viewfinder | NO |
Recording
Recording Media | Memory Stick™ Duo / Memory Stick PRO Duo™ / Memory Stick PRO Duo™ (high speed) / Memory Stick PRO HG Duo™ / Memory Stick Micro* / Memory Stick Micro (mark 2)* |
Recording Media II | SD Memory Card / SDHC Memory Card / SDXC Memory Card / microSD Memory Card* / microSDHC Memory Card* |
Recording Format | JPEG |
DCF (Design rule for Camera File System) | YES |
DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) | YES |
Burst Mode (shots) | Approx.10 fps |
Burst Interval (approximately sec) | Approx.0.1 sec.(10 shots) |
Still Image size (16M 4608 x 3456) | NO |
Still Image size (18 M 4896×3672) | YES |
Still Image size (14M 4320 x 3240) | NO |
Still Image size (13M 4224 x 3168) | NO |
Still Image size (12M 4000 x 3000) | NO |
Still Image size (10M 3648 x 2736) | YES |
Still Image size (9.0M, 3456 x 2592) | NO |
Still Image size (8.0M, 3264 x 2448) | NO |
Still Image size (7.2M 3072 x 2304) | NO |
Still Image size (5.0M, 2592 x 1944) | NO |
Still Image size (3.1M, 2048 x 1536) | NO |
Still Image size (VGA, 640 x 480) | YES |
Still Image size (16:9 mode, 1920 x 1080) | YES |
Still Image size (16:9 mode, 4896X2752) | YES |
Still Image size (16:9 mode, 4,608 x 2,592) | NO |
Still Image size (16:9 mode, 4,320 x 2,432) | NO |
Still Image size (16:9 mode, 4000 x 2248) | NO |
Still Image size (3:2 mode, 4000 x 2672) | NO |
Still Image size (3:2 mode 3648 x 2432) | NO |
Still Image size (3:2 mode 3456 x 2304) | NO |
2D Panorama | HR(10,480 x 4,096) / Wide(7,152 x 1,080/4,912 x 1,920) / Standard(4,912 x 1,080/3,424 x 1,920) |
3D Panorama | Wide(7,152 x 1,080/4,912 x 1,920) / Standard(4,912 x 1,080/3,424 x 1,920) / 2M(1,920 x 1,080) / Sweep Multi Angle:2M(1,920 x 1,080) |
Moving Image Size (1920x1080 50p Approx.28Mbps) | YES |
Moving Image Size (1920x1080 50i Approx.24Mbps) | YES |
Moving Image Size (1920x1080 50i Approx.17Mbps) | YES |
Moving Image Size (1440x1080 25fps Fine Approx.12Mbps) | YES |
Moving Image Size (1280x720 50i Fine Approx.9Mbps) | YES |
Moving Image Size (1280x720 30fps Standard Approx.6Mbps) | YES |
Moving Image Size (1280x720 25fps Fine Approx.6Mbps) | YES |
Moving Image Size (640x480 30fps Approx.3Mbps) | NO |
Moving Image Size (640x480 25fps Approx.3Mbps) | YES |
Moving Image Size (320x240 30fps) | NO |
Playback/ Edit
HD (High Definition) Playback | YES (HDMI® out) |
Slideshow (Playback/Music/Movie) | YES |
Trimming | YES |
Playback Zoom | YES (8x) |
Cue & Review (MPEG) | YES |
Index Playback | 16 / 25 images |
Image Rotation | YES |
Auto Image Rotation | YES |
Auto grouping and & Best Picture Recognition | YES |
General
Battery Remaining Indicator | YES(NP-FG1) |
Histogram Indicator | YES |
PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) | NO |
Print Image Matching | YES |
PictBridge | NO |
Shop Front Mode | YES |
Start up time (approximately sec) | Approx. 1.9 sec. |
Menu Language | English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian , Turkish, Greek, Bulgarian, Croatian, Romanian |
Jacks
Multi use Terminal with HD | MicroUSB, Hi-Speed USB(USB2.0), Micro HDMI |
Multi use Terminal | YES |
AV Out | NO |
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed | YES |
Power/ Others
Battery System | Lithium N |
Supplied Battery | NP-BG1 |
Stamina (battery life) with the supplied battery(s) in normal shooting condition | Approx. 320 / Approx. 160min |
Battery for Clock | NO |
Weight (g) | Approx. 221g (2.7oz.) |
Weight with Accessories (g) | Approx. 254g (9.0oz.) |
Supplied Software | PlayMemories Home |
Supplied Accessories | Rechargeable Battery Pack (NP-BG1), AC Adaptor (AC-UB10/UB10B),Micro USB Cable, Wrist Strap, Instruction Manual |
Dimensions
Width (mm) | 106,6 |
Height (mm) | 61,9 |
Depth (mm) | 34,6 |
Disclaimers
* | Requires adaptor (not supplied) |
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