Canon SX230 HS vs Sony DSC-HX9v

	CanonPowerShot SX230 HS		vs		SonyCybershot DSC-HX9v


Uses	Travel On holiday or vacation	114		171
Uses	Travel On holiday or vacation	Vote		Vote

	Sports Fast action, sometimes indoors	81		155
	Sports Fast action, sometimes indoors	Vote		Vote

Features	Low light image quality Lack of noise, sharp details	100		158
Features	Low light image quality Lack of noise, sharp details	Vote		Vote

	Color accuracy White balance in varied lighting	97		143
	Color accuracy White balance in varied lighting	Vote		Vote

	Still image focusing Speed and accuracy	85		141
	Still image focusing Speed and accuracy	Vote		Vote

	Video focusing Speed and accuracy	81		151
	Video focusing Speed and accuracy	Vote		Vote

	Manual settings How quickly and easily you can change settings	92		134
		Vote		Vote

	Image stabilization Ability to reduce blur from hand shake	88		151
	Image stabilization Ability to reduce blur from hand shake	Vote		Vote

Join in the discussion below!

Compared to recent compacts

Common Strengths

Common Weaknesses

Great zoom

SX230 HS:	14x
DSC-HX9v:	16x

Full HD (1080p) video

SX230 HS:	1080p @ 24fps
DSC-HX9v:	1080p @ 60fps

	Better sensor types
	Better in low light

	Built-in GPS
	Great for travel

	Good image stabilization
	Lens

	Quite thick
	1.3"

Heavy

SX230 HS:	215 g
DSC-HX9v:	245 g

	No boost ISO
	Lacks boost light sensitivity

Large

SX230 HS:	106x59x33 mm
DSC-HX9v:	105x59x34 mm

	No touchscreens
	More buttons

Compared to recent travel zooms

Common Strengths	Common Weaknesses
Snapsort is not aware of any interesting strengths shared by these two products.	Snapsort is not aware of any interesting weaknesses shared by these two products.

Nikon Coolpix S9100

Travel zoom

$179 - $197

Has slightly more zoom

Has a slower max shutter speed

Slightly shorter exposures

Compare the Coolpix S9100 vs the PowerShot SX230 HS

Compare the Coolpix S9100 vs the Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS10

Travel zoom

$193 - $328

Has a touch screen

Slightly closer macro focusing

Slightly lower maximum light sensitivity

Compare the Lumix DMC-ZS10 vs the PowerShot SX230 HS

Compare the Lumix DMC-ZS10 vs the Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Canon Powershot S100

Pro digicam

$414 - $430

Has a much wider aperture

Is slightly smaller

Has a slower max shutter speed

Is significantly more expensive

Compare the Powershot S100 vs the PowerShot SX230 HS

Compare the Powershot S100 vs the Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX7v

Travel zoom

$219 - $235

Is slightly smaller

Is thinner

Has a slower max shutter speed

Has a slightly narrower aperture

Compare the Cyber-shot DSC-HX7v vs the PowerShot SX230 HS

Compare the Cyber-shot DSC-HX7v vs the Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Canon PowerShot S95

Pro digicam

$369 - $383

Has a much wider aperture

Is slightly smaller

Has a slower max shutter speed

Is slightly more expensive

Compare the PowerShot S95 vs the PowerShot SX230 HS

Compare the PowerShot S95 vs the Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Canon PowerShot SX220 HS

Travel zoom

$296 - $379

Doesn't have a built-in GPS

Has a significantly narrower wide angle lens

Compare the PowerShot SX220 HS vs the PowerShot SX230 HS

Compare the PowerShot SX220 HS vs the Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Canon ELPH 300 HS

Compact

$149 - $235

Has a slightly wider aperture

Is much smaller

Has a slower max shutter speed

Has a significantly smaller screen

Compare the ELPH 300 HS vs the PowerShot SX230 HS

Compare the ELPH 300 HS vs the Cybershot DSC-HX9v

No significant competitors found that are specific to the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS.

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX100v

Super zoom

$398 - $428

Much more zoom

Has a flip-out screen

Much larger

Much thicker

Compare the Cybershot DSC-HX100v vs the Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Here are some links to help you find other cameras with similar features to both of these:

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Showing 17 comments

rohan rane

(10:24 AM, January 24, 2012)

On Semi-SLR Compact range... SONY Scores Definitely. HX9V is a better choice, review could be skewed the other way round.. which made me think of buying Canon SX220HS didn't wanted GPS so didn't go for 230HS.

After through review on all the sites and their scores SX230 HS felt being a good choice and thought of ordering it online. Luckily, a friend of mine suggested to test 220hs at a nearby electronic store. Went there and tested 220hs... looked good / performed good & felt good in hand. Then this ugly looking monster piece made by Sony came in my hand on the salesman insistence. And that was it...... Dramatic reduction in noise at max zoom level, sharpness at its best (we took a snap of a car parked on the other side of the lane from the glass panel ) I could read the car number from the picture at max zoom, canon failed in this test. Twilight images very sharp and excellent quality, night view of the cities snaps took without flash.......was what made me flabbergasted.

The only feature i miss here is the high speed movie recording..... really great fallback from Sony's end. However, Images are in no way comparison.

P.S. Flash is really annoying in HX9v..... almost on every alternate pics i accidently press the Flash panel in or doesn't let it protrude out. Very Very annoying. I'm worried if I don't break the protruding flash in near future.

Borg Domenic

(10:35 AM, January 23, 2012)

I may well like to choose the Nikon S9100, but I read in a certain review, that the image quality is inferior to SX230HS. Also it lacks that necessary manual focusing. But to choose the SX230HS, I would love it to be something like in the comment I wrote further up to Hwdqihavi.

Borg Domenic

(10:34 AM, January 23, 2012)

I fully agree with you. After 47 days of thorough review researches regarding best image quality in a compact camera, I have finally settled for the SX220HS. But I am still not satisfied. I wish that perhaps CANON would finally produce a better SX220HS which will eliminate those occasional chromatic aberrations+vin+extreme focal lens jittering when on video recording and when such camera would have more wide angle + a little bit more of telezoom + a stronger built-in flash having better metric coverage. Why do camera firms install those annoyingly pop-up flashes? I may sound crazy, but in my opinion, excuse me if I am wrong, that's what the average enthusiastic photographer really asks for in a compact travel zoom.

Wisdom Tooth

(10:28 PM, January 08, 2012)

Tell me somethin... how is 16x "more than 30% more zoom" than 14x?

boca

(8:18 AM, December 31, 2011)

Sony is actually a much better camera: I have both. The smearing you're talking about is only visible if you keep default sharpening setting, but if you change it there is no smearing. Also, the review neglects to mention that Sony's 1080/60P produces stunning videos while 24P on Canon instead of film look produces just a jerky video. And, panoramas are not just stitched in camera by Sony, but can be made in high resolution at over 40 megapixels that no other camera of its class is capable of. I am not a Sony fan, in fact, before this camera I never owned any made by Sony, but this one won me over.

Mahegoud

(5:22 PM, December 23, 2011)

i don't under stand which one i should consider ....
true resolution or Mega pix...
sony 16 MP .... true resolution 9.7 MP

Hwdqihrvi

(6:42 PM, December 18, 2011)

I think the SX230 is quite better...it's prettier as well. I think the Sony is just a gimmicky camera (16 MP, panorama, 3D), those are things you aren't going to use on a daily basis. I think you should go for the SX220, as the GPS isn't as important as they want it to be...

Acerox

(9:45 PM, December 08, 2011)

Hi Steve,
Very nice page preview, thanks. It is true that they give the best score to the Canon but actually when checking the "Sample Gallery" the photos of the Sony look nicer than the canon ones, at least to me... what do you think?

Still it is not clear to me which one to buy :(

Steven

(2:55 AM, December 07, 2011)

As you can see in their compact superzoom group test, Canon SX230 HS has consistently the best image quality in all the conditions (adequate lighting, low light, and with flash). They concluded that the best in the group are:
- Canon SX230 HS (because of image quality and JPEG processing)
- Nikon S9100 (because of its wider-angle + longest-telephoto lens)

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/q311travelzoomgrouptest/

mjo

(5:12 PM, December 02, 2011)

i read on both dpreview and snapsort about low light performance, it's not clear which one is batter... in the performance hx9v has the most votes but dpreview gives more rank to sx23hs for lowlight. which one is batter?

mjo

(5:05 PM, December 02, 2011)

costco instore has it for 259 includes 4gb card, case and 100prints
happy shoping...

Madeline Osborne

(6:08 PM, November 16, 2011)

YES! The overall picture quality is well worth the small amount price difference. Also, if you do a bit of web searching, you can find an excellent package deal on the Sony with a small tripod, 4 g. card, USB card reader, cleaning kit, and LCD covers along with the camera, including free shipping, for only $299 USD through Amazon.

Madeline Osborne

(6:05 PM, November 16, 2011)

You totally neglect to point out the grasping capabilities - The sony has a very nice grip on the right hand side to hold onto it better. Also, the one ounce weight difference is not that big a deal.

Shgl_amit

(2:01 PM, October 27, 2011)

plz suggest i purchase camera hx9v Or Sx230hs which i purchase

Howie

(10:15 PM, October 24, 2011)

Well, I personally don't think so. though the Sony is an excellent camera.
Superficially the Sony has lots of attractive features, feels and looks good, and is a very fast performer. However , on sustained usage, it's failings begin to show ie. LCD barely usable in very bright light, several seconds delay when going into movie mode from still image mode, and excessive processing with smearing of, particularly, facial features.
If all you want to photograph is landscapes and animals the Sony is excellent-but for humans the Canon gives better quality images. Incidently, there is little between the movie quality of the two cameras, but the Canon files are larger and I require a 16GB card, whereas I find 8GB is enough for the Sony.

Poit2

(2:47 AM, October 14, 2011)

Is the extra money for the Sony really worth it?

Mind Power

(6:37 AM, May 12, 2011)

hx9v rocks :)

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Canon PowerShot
SX230 HS
vs
Sony Cybershot
DSC-HX9v

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Reasons to buy the Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9v

Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

Reasons to buy the Canon PowerShot SX230 HS

recommendations

Relative to the best recent travel zooms, and ignoring price

differences

Advantages of the Canon SX230 HS

Advantages of the Sony DSC-HX9v

recommendations

Relative to the best recent travel zooms, and ignoring price

performance Which camera has better performance? Cast your vote!