Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX200V 30x SuperZoom

Sony announced five new H-Series Cyber-shot SuperZoom cameras - the DSC-HX200V, DSC-HX30V, DSC-HX20V, DSC-HX10V and DSC-H90. The HX200V (30x zoom), HX30V (20x zoom), HX20V (20x zoom) and HX10V (16x zoom) all have a new Sony 18.2 Megapixels Exmor R CMOS sensor featuring fast AutoFocus speeds of approximately 0.13 seconds in daylight and 0.21 seconds in low-light shooting situations. It features Clear Image Zoom digital zoom technology, which boosts optical zoom to 2x virtual capabilities while maintaining full resolution. These new models has Optical Steady Shot to reduce any blurring caused by camera shake during shooting.

The HX200V features Extra High Sensitivity technology which enhances low-light shooting capabilities. It comes with a 3.0-inch 921k dot resolution tilting LCD screen and supports Full HD Movie Shooting capability (1920x1080/60p) and Optical SteadyShot Active Mode (3 way shake cancelling). there's an embedded GPS functionality as well as the Photo Creativity interface and 9 Picture Effect options for creating unique, custom-styled photos and video. The DSC-HX200V is listed for $480 in black only. It's currently selling at around $429. 

Here's the summary of review by ePhotoZine, giving the camera a rating of 4 out of 5:"Images are well exposed, with good colour reproduction. Background Defocus mode gives the effect of using a large aperture on a DSLR, blurring the background while keep your subject in focus. High sensitivity modes gives well exposed, bright pictures in low light. When using Superior Auto mode, the camera will (if it decides it's necessary) take multiple frames and combine then into a single image to reduce noise. Portraits have pleasant skin tones, our shots didn't have any red-eye, but if they do it can be fixed easily and quickly in-camera via the retouch menu. Images have plenty of detail whether shooting wide or close up, although there is purple fringing and chromatic aberration evident in contrasting areas. 

When shooting close-ups, the camera doesn't require you to switch to macro mode, and with a minimum focusing distance of 1cm, it is capable of taking excellent, well detailed pictures. The HX20V takes a crisp, noise free image at ISO 100, with a minute amount appearing at ISO 200 and again at ISO 400. Noise at ISO 800 begins to soften images, with sharpness and detail further reduced at ISO 1600. Images are very soft at ISO 3200, but it is not until you switch to ISO 6400 and 12800 where you see lots of detail lost due to noise, with these two highest settings best used for images which are to be resized for use on the web, with colour reproduction remaining fairly good. 

Auto White Balance (AWB) copes well under our studio lighting. The incandescent and AWB settings take an almost identical picture under our incandescent lights. There are three different fluorescent presets available, none of which coped as well as the AWB setting, with a magenta cast when using preset 1 and orange casts for presets 2 and 3. Panoramas are impressive, with a good amount of detail and no sign of any stitching issues. The High Resolution mode is difficult at times to complete, leaving a small black strip which can be easily cropped. The HX20V can be switched to manual mode to give you control over shutter speed and aperture, with an example above using a fast shutter speed to capture the sporting action. You can also use bracketing to take three shots at different exposure. 

We have done this in testing and have combined the three images in Photoshop to create a HDR image.The Sony Cybershot DSC-HX200V is priced at £419.00. Other cameras with a similar zoom level include the Fujifilm FinePix HS30 EXR with 30x at £349.00, Canon PowerShot SX40 HS with 35x at £334.00, Olympus SP-810 UZ at £189.00 with 36x and Nikon Coolpix P510 at £319.00 with 42x zoom. The P510 is also armed with GPS, as is the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ30 at £274.99, Canon Powershot SX260 HS at £254.99, Sony Cybershot DSC-HX20V at £322.00 and Leica V-Lux 30 at £484.00. The Sony Cybershot DSC-HX200V is very similar to the HX20V, except it has more zoom, in a larger, SLR style body with an electronic viewfinder and tilting screen. 

There is an 18.2 megapixel sensor as well as a whole load of shooting features, extremely long battery life, making it an ideal travel camera. Image quality is good, the body has a firm, solid build, but the biggest issue with the camera is the price, there are plenty of good travel cameras available for less than £400, at least around £70 cheaper than the HX200V. Putting that aside, if you have the budget, the HX200V doesn't disappoint."

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