Introduction

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To read our in-depth, hands-on review of the Sony HX10V, click here.
To read our in-depth, hands-on review of the Sony WX150, click here.

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Image Quality

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The WX150 and HX10V use the exact same sensor, but that doesn’t mean they churn out the same images. For starters, the lenses make a difference—our resolution scores suggest that the HX10V has a sharper lens with less aberration, though the performance discrepancy is pretty small overall.

Our color and noise scores also indicate that the cameras use different processing—and the WX150 actually comes out on top in our lab tests. Colors are more accurate and noise is smoothed out more. There is a case to be made for the HX10V, though—colors are richer, and while the images are technically noisier, they’re also a bit crisper because the subtler noise reduction doesn’t scrub out as much detail.

Winner: Tie

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Design & User Experience

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More zoom is more better, so the HX10V gets a leg up because it offers 60 percent extra magnification. Its larger body is easier to handle, and finer user control is available in addition to the same user-friendly auto modes and extra features that the cheaper WX150 offers. While GPS integration seems to be useful to just a few types of hobbyist photographers, it doesn’t hurt our impression of the HX10V.

The HX10V is designed to be a higher-end camera than the WX150, so it’s no surprise that it gets the nod here. Sometimes, swankier “luxury” point-and-shoots fall into the trap of bloated feature sets, but that’s thankfully not the case here.

Winner: HX10V

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Conclusion

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With basically equally strong image quality and a more versatile, comfortable design and interface, the HX10V is the clear winner. It costs an additional $80 over the WX150, which is reasonable considering the additional features (though both models are a little bit more expensive than we think they should be based on what else is out there this year). This was pretty obvious from the get-go, but hopefully some shoppers found this comparison useful.

Overall Winner: Sony HX10V, but both are worth the money

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