Sigma SD1 Merrill vs Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20

In this comparison, we will evaluate the Sigma SD1 Merrill and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20, highlighting the advantages of each over the other, discussing their pros and cons, shared strengths and weaknesses, and providing a rating based on their available features and specifications to assist you in choosing the one that best suits your needs.

Sigma SD1 Merrill was introduced in April 2012 and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 was introduced in February 2012. Let us first list highlights of the models.

Now that we've looked at the most essential specifications and gained a basic understanding of these cameras, we can delve into more details and see the differences between them.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sigma SD1 Merrill over Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20.

This section shows those features and specifications which are the reason to choose Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 over Sigma SD1 Merrill.

We already listed pros and cons of each model. However, you may also find useful to look at their common strengths and weaknesses shown side-by-side.

Screen

Sigma SD1 Merrill and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 have 3.0" Fixed screens with 460k dot and 922k dot resolutions respectively. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 also features touchscreen which has advantages such as easy menu navigation, intuitive controls, quick setting adjustment and most importantly a Touch-to-Focus functionality (available only on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20) allowing users to select a specific point on the screen where they want the camera to focus. This feature can be helpful for achieving precise focus in both photo and video recording.

Optical (pentaprism) Viewfinder on Sigma SD1 Merrill

Sigma SD1 Merrill has a built-in Optical (pentaprism) viewfinder. It has a 96% coverage and 0.95x (0.63x 35mm equivalent) magnification. There is no built-in or optional viewfinder available on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20.

Sigma SD1 Merrill features a 15 megapixel APS-C CMOS (Foveon X3) sensor with dimensions of 24 x 16 mm and a total area of 384 mm². Its native ISO range is 100 - 6,400. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 features a 16.2 megapixel 1/2.3-inch BSI-CMOS sensor with dimensions of 6.17 x 4.55 mm and a total area of 20.7 mm². Its native ISO range is 125 - 3,200.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 has BSI-CMOS sensor, short for Backside Illuminated Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor sensor. In traditional CMOS sensors, the wiring and circuitry are located on the front side of the sensor, which can block some of the incoming light. BSI technology flips this design by placing the photosensitive elements (pixels) on the backside of the sensor, allowing more light to reach the pixels. This significantly enhances light sensitivity and improves low-light performance. BSI-CMOS sensors are particularly effective in low-light conditions, as they can capture more light, resulting in brighter and less noisy images. This makes them well-suited for indoor and night photography. BSI-CMOS sensors deliver a higher SNR and reduced cross-talk.

Sigma SD1 Merrill is equipped with Dual TRUE II processor and can take pictures up to 4800 x 3200 resolution. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 is equipped with BIONZ processor and can take pictures up to 4608 x 3456 resolution. It can also take pictures with lower resolution like 4608 x 2592, 3648 x 2736, 2592 x 1944, 1920 x 1080, 640 x 480 with 4:3, 16:9 aspect ratios.

No Low-Pass Filter on Sigma SD1 Merrill

There is no optical low-pass filter (OLPF), also known as an anti-aliasing filter, in front of the sensor on Sigma SD1 Merrill. This results in a slightly sharper image but may also introduce moiré patterns and aliasing artifacts when photographing subjects with fine, repetitive patterns or details.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 has an image stabilization.

USB Inputs and HDMI Outputs

Both models have USB 2.0 (480 Mbit/sec) inputs for data transfer. connector for video signal output.

Battery

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 comes with NP-BN battery pack with battery life of 250 shots.

External Storage Slots

Sigma SD1 Merrill has a single CompactFlash (Type I, UDMA compatible) card slot. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 has a single SD/SDHC/SDXC/Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick Pro Duo/Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo card slot.

Shutter

Shutter speed can go up to [] on Sigma SD1 Merrill, and up to 1/1600 sec on Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20. Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 can shoot continuously up to 10.0 fps.

Focusing

Sigma SD1 Merrill has Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 has . Sigma SD1 Merrill has detection range from 0 to +18 EV.

Flash

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 has a built-in flash with maximum range of 3.70 m. Sigma SD1 Merrill has no built-in flash but an external flash may be connected via Hot Shoe. The fastest flash synchronization speed is 1/180 sec on Sigma SD1 Merrill.

Sigma SD1 Merrill body has dimensions of 146 x 113 x 80 mm (5.75 x 4.45 x 3.15") and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 body has dimensions of 96 x 56 x 18 mm (3.78 x 2.2 x 0.71"). Sigma SD1 Merrill weighs 790 g (1.74 lb / 27.87 oz) and Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 weighs 133 g (0.29 lb / 4.69 oz).

Sigma SD1 Merrill

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20

146 mm

113 mm

96 mm

56 mm

113 mm

56 mm

80 mm

18 mm