The Super ZOOMER - Sony HX1 Review

You realise the power of a zoom lens when you capture that smile or expression which you would have missed had the subject seen the camera focused on them. This is where a camera like the HX1 with a 20x optical zoom lens, which extends from 28 mm at the wide end to 560 mm on the telephoto end, comes into play. That is not all, it can also do HD video at a full 1440x1080 at 30fps recording, has some good stereo microphones and big 3" tilting LCD screen. Features such as face detection, smile shutter, panoramic mode, twilight shooting that are standard across the Sony line are there too.

The SLR-like appearance of the camera might seem a bit intimidating for people moving on from compacts or picking up their first camera, but the design makes it very comfortable to use even for novices. The protruding viewfinder was a welcome break, but since the LCD only tilts 90 degrees, it was a bit messy with my nose coming in between and leaving oily marks on the screen. To make life easy, there is a switch that lets you move from LCD to the viewfinder mode.

Sadly, the flash on the HX1 is set to automatic or off and there is no way of firing or opening the flash manually. The second big problem with the camera is that it takes a memory stick pro card, which is expensive and not easily available.
The zoom controller and the shutter button are great to work with, though the former responds slowly after you lock the frame into focus, and at times becomes irritating.

For those of us who like to shoot in manual, there is a scroll near the handgrip to choose the modes, which are easy to setup and use.

The panoramic sweep mode is not as good as other Sony cameras, but it works if you want to use it. I encountered some shake in this mode, and would suggest you use a tripod considering the size of the camera.
But the point-and-shoot mode was bad, with the pictures turning out too bright and too flat. The results were better in manual and scenic modes.

The in-camera photo editing is good and saves the photo as a separate file without overwriting the original. So you can do some post photography effects without using the computer.
The solid built, good LCD screen, brilliant zoom and good final pictures made this an over-all winner in my books. However, HX1 lacks RAW support, which will put off some buyers and is just 9.1 mega pixels in a world were 12 mp is fast becoming the standard.

But still, there is much in this camera if you are not in the megapixel war and are want to stick to the role of an amateur photographer or hobbyist. HX1 Super Zoomer costs from Rs 24,990.


Some Pictures I took with the Camera





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The Above article appeared in the Indian Express on Sunday 21st March 2010.