sony hx1 dsc hx1 brand new

Originally posted by SoulDemon@Mar 12 2010, 10:50 PM~16876595
you have my interest...any pics of the actual camera? what is the megapixels on this? does it really have that big screen on the back? whats the zoom? is like a x3 x5 x10? just curious....

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 Overview

Reviewed by Mike Pasini and Stephanie Boozer
Review Date: 09/30/09

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 is the company's first digital camera to be based around its new high-speed 1/2.4-inch 9.1-megapixel EXMOR CMOS image sensor. The sensor is coupled to a Sony G-branded 20x optical zoom, offering a whopping range from a useful 28mm wide angle to a far-reaching 560mm telephoto equivalent. Macro shooting is possible to as close as just 0.4 inches (one centimeter). Sony includes its Optical SteadyShot image stabilization, as you'd expect on a camera with a lens this powerful. The Sony HX1 offers ISO sensitivities from 125 to 3,200 equivalent at full resolution.

The big story of the Sony DSC-HX1's imager is its speed: It's capable of up to ten frames per second at full resolution using a mechanical shutter rather than an electronic one, to prevent image distortion. The Sony HX1 uses this speed to offer two interesting modes that aim to reduced blur in images. Both the hand-held twilight mode and anti-motion blur mode capture six images in a short burst and then combine them into a single image with the maximum possible sharpness and reduced noise. The difference between the two is that the latter mode creates the background from the entire group of images, and then overlays the main subject from one image only onto this background. Another mode that takes advantage of the Sony HX1's speed is the "Sweep Panorama," which captures up to 224-degree horizontal or 154-degree vertical panoramas with a single press of the Cybershot HX1's shutter button. Simply "sweep" the camera across your subject while holding the shutter button, and the images are automatically captured at high-speed and stitched together into a single panorama.

The Sony HX1's focusing is achieved using contrast detection. The Sony HX1 also includes face detection functionality, linked to the autofocus, autoexposure, white balance and flash systems. The face detection function is also used for a Smile Shutter mode which triggers the shutter when your subject smiles, and has the ability to differentiate between adult / child faces and to memorize and recognize one specific individual's face -- which can then be prioritized whenever the Sony HX1 identifies it in a photo.

For photographers wanting maximum ease of use, the Sony Cybershot HX1 offers a selection of twelve scene modes, and a Scene Recognition mode which can detect the subject and then automatically select the relevant option from a subset of eight common scene modes. If you desire a little more control over the creative process, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 also offers both Aperture- and Shutter-priority modes as well as the ability to shoot completely manually, specifying your own choice of shutter speed and aperture.

Sony HX1 owners can frame and review their images and movies either on the camera's 201,000-dot electronic viewfinder, or on a 3-inch tiltable LCD display with 230,000 dot resolution. Movie resolutions up to a mighty 1080p high definition (1440 x 1080 pixels) with stereo sound are available, with a frame rate of 30 fps and MPEG-4 AVC / H.264 compression. Images are stored on Memory Stick Duo or PRO Duo cards, or in 11MB of built-in memory. Power is provided by a proprietary InfoLithium H rechargeable battery.

The Sony HX1 goes on sale in the USA from April 2009, priced at about US$500.


Sony HX1 User Report

by Mike Pasini

I've had more fun than usual this summer as I shot with three super long zooms, the 24x Kodak Z980, the 20x Canon SX1 IS and the 20x Sony HX1. They each have their virtues and vices but as the sun set in the Pacific, one stood out: The Sony HX1.

The problems any long zoom has to address are not trivial:

* A sharp electronic viewfinder to see what's going on in bright sun and at long focal lengths
* A responsive shutter at long focal lengths where autofocus tends to fumble around badly
* Good handling so you can actually track a distant object with one of these lightweight bridge cameras

It isn't easy to test this when you're in the store, but problems in any of these areas are immediately apparent in the field. Sometimes I thought even the birds knew which cameras couldn't track them and mocked them by hopping around more than usual.

And yet this Summer's super long zooms seem to have a better handle on all three of those issues than any of the 18x zooms of the past.

And still the Sony HX1 stood out. I took it to more events, shot more images, captured more movies, played it all back on more devices and had more fun with the Sony HX1.

One reason was because I really liked shooting with two of its unique features: the sweep panorama mode and the 10 frames per second release mode. But there were a lot of others.

Look and Feel. Of the three super long zooms I tested this summer, the Sony HX1 is probably both the smallest and lightest thanks to Sony's decision to forego the usual four AA batteries tucked into the grip for a lithium-ion cell.

And because you'll want to travel with the Sony HX1, the lithium-ion choice has the advantage of requiring you to bring just a very compact, folding prong charger rather than the corded AA chargers the other cameras require.

The Sony HX1 wasn't so small, though, that I preferred a wrist strap. I did use one for a while with no issues, but most of the time I was hiking with the Sony HX1. I wanted it available but not monopolizing my hands (which I use to balance myself as I cross creek beds and jump from peak to peak). So a shoulder strap was the ticket and I simply attached an UPstrap I had here. It was a very nice, lightweight combination.

It isn't so small it doesn't give you a healthy handful of a grip either. The Sony HX1's grip was big enough that there was plenty of room for my fingers to wrap securely around it. And that helped provide good stability for those very long focal length shots I was always tempted to take.

One of the smaller touches I appreciated was the lens cap. Long zooms can't cover their glass like an ultracompact digicam so a cap is inevitable. But some of them are just a nuisance to take off and put back on. And others are, well, not. The Sony HX1 has a nice pinch design that even a 90 lb. weakling can handle one handed. And it pops right back on, too, with a snap. There's no lanyard to tether it to the camera, but I didn't mind.

Another small touch I appreciated was the decision to move the octopus plug from underneath the camera to the side. On Sony's past units, which have the plug on the bottom, you have to put the camera face down on a table to connect it to a computer or TV. That's not a great idea with a long zoom, so Sony put the Sony HX1's plug on the left side.

And in another brilliant move, the Sony HX1 includes an HDMI adapter so you can simply grab the end of an HDMI cable attached to your TV and plug it into the adapter to watch your still and video on HDTV. I did that a lot and enjoyed it very much.



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