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Sony A7S vs Samsung NX20 Comparison

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Sony A7S

12 MP | Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) CMOS Sensor

Sony A7S
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Samsung NX20

20 MP | APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) CMOS Sensor

Samsung NX20
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Sony A7S vs Samsung NX20 Comparison Overview

Here we are comparing two Mirrorless cameras from Sony and Samsung. Sony A7S was introduced to market in April 2014 and Samsung NX20 was launched in April 2012. As you can see, NX20 is 2 years older than A7S. Let's see if this age difference between two cameras makes a big difference.

Sony A7S has a 12.0MP Full frame sensor whereas Samsung NX20 has a 20.0MP APS-C sensor.

Here is a brief look at the main features of Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 before getting into our more detailed comparison.

Sony A7S Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2014-04-06
  • 12MP - Full frame CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 409600
  • Sony E Mount
  • 3 Tilting Screen
  • 2359k dot Electronic viewfinder
  • 5 fps continuous shooting
  • 4K (UHD) - 3840 x 2160 video resolution
  • 120 fps High-Speed Video
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 489g. 127 x 94 x 48 mm
  • Weather Sealed Body

Samsung NX20 Key Specs

  • Announcement Date: 2012-04-20
  • 20MP - APS-C CMOS Sensor
  • ISO 100 - 12800
  • Samsung NX Mount
  • 3" Fully Articulated Screen
  • Electronic viewfinder
  • 8 fps continuous shooting
  • Full HD - 1920 x 1080 video resolution
  • Built-in Wireless
  • 341g. 122 x 90 x 40 mm
  • Replaced Samsung NX11 Compare

Sony A7S was replaced by Sony Alpha 7S II. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Sony Alpha 7S II vs Sony Alpha A7S
Sony Alpha 7S II vs Samsung NX20

Samsung NX20 was replaced by Samsung NX30. You may also be interested in these comparisons:
Samsung NX30 vs Samsung NX20
Samsung NX30 vs Sony Alpha A7S

Let's read on the following sections in order to better understand in detail how Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 compares and hopefully end up with enough arguments to decide which one is better for you.

Reasons to choose Sony Alpha A7S over Samsung NX20
Viewfinder Magnification
0.71x vs 0.7x Larger Viewfinder
Max ISO
409.600 vs 12.800 3100% higher Max ISO
Number of Focus Points
25 vs 15 10 more focus points
LCD Screen Resolution
1.230k dots vs 614k dots 100% higher resolution screen
Headphone Port
Yes vs No better video control
Environmental Sealing
Yes vs No shoot at tough conditions
Color Depth
23.9 vs 23.4 higher color depth
Dynamic Range
13.2 vs 12.9 higher dynamic range
Low Light ISO
3702 vs 785 better High ISO performance
Sensor Pixel Area
71.24µm2 vs 18.48µm2 285% larger pixel area
Max Video Resolution
3840 x 2160 vs 1920 x 1080 Higher Resolution Video
AE Bracketing Range
±5 EV vs ±3 EV Wide Bracketing range is useful for HDR
NFC Connection
Yes vs No Easy wireless connectivity with compatible devices
Smartphone Remote
Yes vs No Remote control your camera with a smartphone


Reasons to choose Samsung NX20 over Sony Alpha A7S
Built-in Flash
Yes vs No Useful in low-light
Max Sensor Resolution
20 MP vs 12 MP 66% more pixels
Continuous Shooting
8.0fps vs 5.0fps 3 fps faster
Weight
341 g vs 489 g 148 g lighter
Selfie & Vlogger Friendly LCD
Yes vs No Rotate LCD for taking Selfies

Common Strengths of Sony Alpha A7S and Samsung NX20
Wireless Connection
Yes vs Yes Better connectivity
Adjustable LCD Screen
Tilting vs Fully Articulated Flexible shooting positions
External Flash Shoe
Yes vs Yes Better for flash photography
Viewfinder
Yes (Electronic) vs Yes (Electronic) Better framing and control
RAW Support
Yes vs Yes Better image quality
Face Detection Focus
Yes vs Yes very handy for portraits
Microphone Port
Yes vs Yes High quality audio recording option
AE Bracketing
Yes vs Yes Useful for tough lighting conditions and HDR
Common Weaknesses of Sony Alpha A7S and Samsung NX20
In-body Image Stabilization
No vs No No Built-in stabilization
New4
Sony A7S vs Samsung NX20: Physical Specs and Body features Comparison

Size and weight is a big decision factor when you are trying to find the ideal camera for your needs. In this section, We are going to illustrate Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 side-by-side from the front, back and top in their relative dimensions. Sony A7S has external dimensions of 127 x 94 x 48 mm (5 x 3.7 x 1.89″) and weighs 489 g (1.08 lb / 17.25 oz) (including batteries). Samsung NX20 has external dimensions of 122 x 90 x 40 mm (4.8 x 3.54 x 1.57″) and weighs 341 g (0.75 lb / 12.03 oz) (including batteries).

Below you can see the front view size comparison of Sony A7S and Samsung NX20. Samsung NX20 is clearly the smaller of the two cameras. Its body is 5mm narrower, 4mm shorter and 8mm thinner than Sony A7S.

Sony A7S vs Samsung NX20 Camera Size Comparison - Front View
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 Size, Weight and External Dimensions - Front View

Here is the back view size comparison of Sony A7S and Samsung NX20.

Sony A7S vs Samsung NX20 Camera Size Comparison - Back View
Comparison image of Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 Size and Weight - Back View

Now lets look at the top view comparison of Sony A7S and Samsung NX20.
Sony A7S vs Samsung NX20 Camera Size Comparison - Top View
Top View Comparison image of Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 Size

Weight is another important factor especially when deciding on a camera that you want to carry with you all day. Samsung NX20 is significantly lighter (148g ) than the Sony A7S which may become a big advantage especially on long walking trips.

Also keep in mind that body weight is not the only deciding factor when comparing two interchangeable camera bodies, you have to also take into account the lenses that you will be using with these bodies. Since Sony A7S has a Full frame sensor and Samsung NX20 has a smaller APS-C sensor, Samsung NX20's lenses for a similar focal length and aperture will generally be lighter and smaller than the Sony A7S lenses.

Weight Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

A7S
NX20
Min
Average
Max
Thickness Comparison

Mirrorless Cameras

A7S
NX20
Min
Average
Max

Weather Sealing

With its weather sealed body, we believe that A7S has a big advantage over NX20 which doesn't provide any kind of environmental sealing.

LCD Screen Size and Features

Sony A7S and Samsung NX20's LCD screens has the same diagonal size of 3.

Sony A7S features a Tilting only screen which is mostly only good for shooting from waist or over the head levels. On the other hand, Samsung NX20 sports a Fully Articulated screen which is more flexible and useful especially for taking Selfie shots and video.
Sony A7S vs Samsung NX20: Sensor Comparison

Sony A7S has a 12.0MP Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm ) sized CMOS sensor and features Bionz X processor. On the other hand, Samsung NX20 has a 20.0MP APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm ) sized CMOS sensor .

Samsung NX20's sensor provides 8MP more than Sony A7S's sensor, which gives a significant advantage in real life. You can print your images larger or crop more freely. On the other hand, please keep in mind that Max sensor resolution is not the only determinant of resolving power. Factors such as the optical elements, low pass filter, pixel size and sensor technology also affects the final resolution of the captured image.

Below you can see the A7S and NX20 sensor size comparison.

Sony A7S vs Samsung NX20 Sensor Size Comparison
Sensor Size and Resolution Comparison image of Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 Cameras


As seen above, Sony A7S has a 2.3x Larger sensor area than Samsung NX20. Larger sensors give photographer more control on the depth of field and blurry background compared to smaller sensor when shot in same focal length and aperture.

DxOMark Sensor Scores

Both Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 sensors have been tested by DxoMark. DxoMark scores camera sensors for color depth (DXO Portrait), dynamic range (DXO Landscape) and low-light sensitivity (DXO Sports), and also gives them an overall score. Of the two cameras that we are comparing, A7S has scored 87, 12 points higher than NX20.

Model Overall Color Depth Dynamic Range Low-light ISO
Sony A7S 87 23.9 bits 13.2 Evs 3702 ISO
Samsung NX20 75 23.4 bits 12.9 Evs 785 ISO
Sony A7S vs Samsung NX20 Comparison of Available Lenses
Which camera has more lenses?

Number of available lenses is a big decision factor while choosing your interchangeable lens camera. When we look at the available lenses for these two cameras, we see that Sony A7S has an advantage over Samsung NX20. There are 128 lenses for Sony A7S's Sony E mount, on the other hand there are only 32 lenses for Samsung NX20's Samsung NX lens mount.

Another important factor is the availability of image stabilization. None of these bodies have sensor based image stabilization so you have to buy lenses with Optical stabilization feature. Currently there are 31 lenses for Sony E mount and 7 lenses for Samsung NX mount with IS.

Lens Type # of Sony A7S Lenses # of Samsung NX20 Lenses
Standard Zoom 12 (9 Full Frame) 4
Standard Prime 18 (9 Full Frame) 5
Wideangle Zoom 7 (6 Full Frame) 1
Wideangle Prime 42 (26 Full Frame) 11
Telephoto Zoom 9 (7 Full Frame) 2
Telephoto Prime 18 (14 Full Frame) 3
SuperZoom 8 (1 Full Frame) 1
Wideangle Fisheye Prime 2 (0 Full Frame) 4
Macro Prime 8 (7 Full Frame) 1
Perspective Control Prime 2 (2 Full Frame) n/a
Telephoto Mirror Prime n/a n/a
TOTAL 128 (81 Full Frame) 32

What types of Photography are Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 Good for?
In this section, we rank and compare Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 for five different photography types in order to make your decision process easier in case you are specifically interested in one or more of these areas.

Sony A7S for Portrait Photography

GOOD

Samsung NX20 for Portrait Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Sony A7S for Street Photography

GOOD

Samsung NX20 for Street Photography

GOOD
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Tilting LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Live-view
Face-Detection Focusing
Fully Articulated LCD Screen
Medium sized Body
No Image Stabilization
Read the details

Sony A7S for Sports Photography

GOOD

Samsung NX20 for Sports Photography

GOOD
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Environmental Sealings
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
25 Focus Points
Good Low Light ISO
Wireless Connection
Average Continuous Shooting: 5.0fps
No Image Stabilization
Read the details
Electronic Built-in Viewfinder
Good Ergonomics&Handling
Fast Continuous Shooting: 8.0fps
Fast Max shutter speed: 1/8000s
15 Focus Points
Wireless Connection
No Image Stabilization
Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Sony A7S for Daily Photography

EXCELLENT

Samsung NX20 for Daily Photography

GOOD
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Medium size Body
489g
Body Thickness 48mm
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Medium size Body
341g
Body Thickness 40mm
Read the details

Sony A7S for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE

Samsung NX20 for Landscape Photography

AVERAGE
Large Full frame (35.8 x 23.9 mm) sensor
Environmental Sealings
Live-view
Average Resolution Sensor: 12.0MP
Read the details
Large APS-C (23.5 x 15.7 mm) sensor
Very High Resolution Sensor: 20.0MP
Live-view
No Environmental Sealings
Read the details

Sony A7S vs Samsung NX20: OUR DECISION

You may have already made your decision about which camera suits better for your needs and your budget so far but in case you wonder how we rated Sony A7S and Samsung NX20, below you can find their scores in five different aspects. Our Decision Algorithm dynamically scores cameras using 63 different specs, current price and DxO Mark scores (where possible) in order to make a more objective and consistent comparison.

Here is a summary of how Sony A7S and Samsung NX20 scores compare:

Sony A7S
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #39 out of 86 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #71 out of 1220 in all Cameras
Samsung NX20
Imaging
Features
Value
Portability
Overall
Ranked #68 out of 86 in SLR-style mirrorless cameras
Ranked #188 out of 1220 in all Cameras

Sony A7S is the overall winner of this comparison. It has a higher Overall Score and beats Samsung NX20 in all criteria except one: Portability. But the size difference between these cameras are negligible in real world so it is not a big disadvantage for Sony A7S.

Sony A7S
Sony A7S
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Samsung NX20
Samsung NX20
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Samsung NX20 vs Sony A7S Specs Table
Detailed comparison of specifications
General Sony Alpha A7S Samsung NX20
Brand Sony Samsung
Announced 2014-04-06 2012-04-20
Body Type SLR-style mirrorless SLR-style mirrorless
Sensor
Type CMOS CMOS
Size Full frame APS-C
Dimensions 35.8 x 23.9 mm 23.5 x 15.7 mm
Area 855.62mm2 368.95mm2
Megapixels 12 megapixels 20 megapixels
Max Resolution 4240 x 2832 5472 x 3648
Max Native Light sensitivity 409,600 ISO 12,800 ISO
Min Native Light sensitivity 100 ISO 100 ISO
RAW Support
Autofocus
AF Touch
AF Continuous
AF Single
AF Tracking
AF Selective
AF Center
AF Multi Area
AF Live View
AF Face Detection
AF Contrast Detection
AF Phase Detection
Number of Focus Points 25 15
Lens
Manual Focus
Lens Mount Sony E Samsung NX
Number of Available Lenses 128 32
Screen
Type Tilting Fully Articulated
Size 3 3"
Resolution 1,230k dots 614k dots
Touch Screen
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Electronic Electronic
Viewfinder Resolution 2,359k dots n/a
Viewfinder Coverage 100% 100%
Viewfinder Magnification 0.71x 0.7x
Photography Features
Max Mechanical Shutter 1/8000s 1/8000s
Shutter Priority
Aperture Priority
Manual Exposure Mode
Custom White Balance
Image Stabilization No No
Built-in Flash
Flash Range no built-in flash 11.00 m
Max Flash Sync n/a 1/180s
External Flash
Continuous Shooting 5.0 fps 8.0 fps
Multi-Segment
Average
Spot
Partial
AF-Area
Center Weighted
AE Bracketing
WB Bracketing
Video Features
Max Video Resolution 3840 x 2160 1920 x 1080
Video Formats MPEG-4, AVCHD, XAVC MPEG-4, H.264
Microphone Port
Headphone Port
Connectivity
Wireless Connectivity Built-In Built-In
HDMI
Physical
Environmental Sealing
Weight 489g 341g
Dimensions 127 x 94 x 48mm 122 x 90 x 40mm
Battery Life 360 shots 360 shots
Other Features
Timelapse Recording With Downloadable App
GPS None Optional
DxO Sensor Scores
DxO Overall Score 87 75
DxO Color Depth 23.9 23.4
DxO Dynamic Range 13.2 12.9
DxO Low Light ISO 3702 785
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