The latest addition to the Cyber-shot family is one of the finest compact cameras to ever grace my grasp. With its whopping 10x optical wide-angle zoom and 25-250mm range, amateur snapping just got better.
Why you should buy it
Stacks of special features mean even cockeyed novices can produce professional-looking shots. Sony has encouraged users to opt for the 10 frames per second “burst” mode, which is operated by a separate button on the top of the device – great for mid-air action shots. The Exmor R CMOS Sensor takes atmospheric noise-free night-time pics that a flash would spoil, and a clever backlight correction ensures natural-looking images through the glaring winter sun. The panoramic iSweep seamlessly stitches a set of snaps together to create one extra-wide angle view. I found this most useful for round table scenes and vertigo inducing buildings. The steady shot image stabilisation on the video function works surprisingly well, producing a clean, crisp image even amidst my vigorous moving and shaking.
The zoom on the Sony G lens exceeded all of my expectations. It was quick to focus and maintained every intricate detail on far away objects. It is by far best zoom I have ever encountered on a compact camera.
The Transfer Jet memory stick (purchased separately) provides a speedy and nifty way of uploading images to a digital photoframe, TV or PC; simply bump it against a compatible device to transfer your pictures.
Why you shouldn’t
Although the GPS for geo-tagging is not a unique function on the market, the HX5 is the first to include a compass that remembers the exact direction the camera was facing when used. This is a somewhat pointless gimmick that will only appeal to a GPS enthusiast; the rest of us should switch it off to save the battery. It’s a tad annoying that the iSweep looks great when playing back in slow motion on the device but rubbish when transferred to the PMB (picture motion browser) software. Instead, it displays it as a single panoramic - no fancy sweep, nothing. It also takes some practise to master; so if you get it wrong you end up with a mass of black space.
Verdict
The Cyber-shot HX5 includes some geeky features, but overall these just add up to a camera that produces fantastic images. Don’t be put off by the fact that it only has 10.2 megapixels: although a large percentage of the population still judge image quality by megapixels, it really doesn’t matter unless you are enlarging them for poster-sized printouts. The HX5 should easily fulfil the requirements of most non-professional photographers.
Full specifications
Effective Pixels 10.2 megapixels
Image Sensor 1 /2.4 inch “Exmor R” CMOS sensor
Processor BIONZ
Lens Sony G lens
Zoom 10 x (optical)
Battery life Approx. 155 mins
ISO Auto/ 80/ 100/ 200/ 400/ 800/ 1600/3200
Sweep Panorama Yes (intelligent)
LCD screen size 7.6cm (3.0”)
Image stabiliser Optical
Video recording 1920 x 1080 50i AVCHD format
Internal memory Approx. 45MB
Dimensions (mm) 102.9 x 57.7 x 24.6
Weight 170g
Colours Black, Gold
Other Built-in Flash
9 points focus
GPS
via.timesonline
Why you should buy it
Stacks of special features mean even cockeyed novices can produce professional-looking shots. Sony has encouraged users to opt for the 10 frames per second “burst” mode, which is operated by a separate button on the top of the device – great for mid-air action shots. The Exmor R CMOS Sensor takes atmospheric noise-free night-time pics that a flash would spoil, and a clever backlight correction ensures natural-looking images through the glaring winter sun. The panoramic iSweep seamlessly stitches a set of snaps together to create one extra-wide angle view. I found this most useful for round table scenes and vertigo inducing buildings. The steady shot image stabilisation on the video function works surprisingly well, producing a clean, crisp image even amidst my vigorous moving and shaking.
The zoom on the Sony G lens exceeded all of my expectations. It was quick to focus and maintained every intricate detail on far away objects. It is by far best zoom I have ever encountered on a compact camera.
The Transfer Jet memory stick (purchased separately) provides a speedy and nifty way of uploading images to a digital photoframe, TV or PC; simply bump it against a compatible device to transfer your pictures.
Why you shouldn’t
Although the GPS for geo-tagging is not a unique function on the market, the HX5 is the first to include a compass that remembers the exact direction the camera was facing when used. This is a somewhat pointless gimmick that will only appeal to a GPS enthusiast; the rest of us should switch it off to save the battery. It’s a tad annoying that the iSweep looks great when playing back in slow motion on the device but rubbish when transferred to the PMB (picture motion browser) software. Instead, it displays it as a single panoramic - no fancy sweep, nothing. It also takes some practise to master; so if you get it wrong you end up with a mass of black space.
Verdict
The Cyber-shot HX5 includes some geeky features, but overall these just add up to a camera that produces fantastic images. Don’t be put off by the fact that it only has 10.2 megapixels: although a large percentage of the population still judge image quality by megapixels, it really doesn’t matter unless you are enlarging them for poster-sized printouts. The HX5 should easily fulfil the requirements of most non-professional photographers.
Full specifications
Effective Pixels 10.2 megapixels
Image Sensor 1 /2.4 inch “Exmor R” CMOS sensor
Processor BIONZ
Lens Sony G lens
Zoom 10 x (optical)
Battery life Approx. 155 mins
ISO Auto/ 80/ 100/ 200/ 400/ 800/ 1600/3200
Sweep Panorama Yes (intelligent)
LCD screen size 7.6cm (3.0”)
Image stabiliser Optical
Video recording 1920 x 1080 50i AVCHD format
Internal memory Approx. 45MB
Dimensions (mm) 102.9 x 57.7 x 24.6
Weight 170g
Colours Black, Gold
Other Built-in Flash
9 points focus
GPS
via.timesonline