Sony Cybershot DSC-HX1 9.1MP Digital Camera with 20x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization and 3.0 Inch LCD: Customer Reviews & Product Details

I didn't have this camera on my radar initially. I'm wary of Sony cameras after my first digital camera, a small Sony Cybershot (DSC-W70) I'd bought a few years ago suddenly stopped working about a year after I'd bought it. After that came another "slim" $100 - $200 price range camera which I had a for a few years. I finally decided to move up in this world and move to a "bridge" camera - ie. the range of cameras between the small point and shoot on one end and the full blown SLRs on the other end. I decided to try a Canon, since a friend of mine has a Canon Powershot which takes amazing pictures. The Canon SX10IS had good reviews for a camera in this range and so going by reviews (and some impatience) I went ahead and bought it online. Then while tracking the order on Amazon, i came across the Sony HX1 - it costed $60 more than the Canon, but it had everything the Canon had and more... I was intrigued by the reviews and the features like Panorama and burst (which the Canon SX10 does not have) and so I canceled the order for the Canon and went into Best Buy the next day to compare the two side by side before I settled on the Sony HX1.

A humble note on buying a camera here - I think its absolutely essential to go into a Fry's or Best Buy's and pickup and play around with the display model of a camera you have your eye on (and then go online and buy it for less, hehe). For example, the screen of the Canon SX10 IS is about a half inch smaller than the screen of the Sony HX1. I didn't think that to be a big deal while reading reviews and comparing the two, but in the store when I compared the Canon SX10 and Sony HX1 side by side, that extra half inch on the screen just made a heck of a lot of difference to the whole photo taking experience. The only feature where the Canon SX10 outdoes the Sony is the MegaPixels, the Canon SX10 IS is 12.1 while this camera is 9.1. Note that even when shooting with the resolution set to 9.1 MP, the file size is about 4 - 5 Mb. Thats a heck of a lot of space on my hard drive for a photo and so mainly for this reason, I probably won't be using a Camera on a setting of more than 5 or 6 MP for most every day shooting, and therefore the extra 3 MegaPixels that the Canon offered didn't mean a great deal to me.

Another observation from my experience. When choosing a camera, I think its important to keep in mind what features of a Camera are important to YOU. What would you care about most in the camera. A good zoom? Ability to shoot movies in 1080 HD? Burst mode? Are you partial to a particular brand? etc... In this regard, I found that what I cared about in a might-purchase camera was 1) Good user reviews on pictures taken in the Auto and Scene modes 2) At least 20X zoom 3) Ability to shoot movies in 1080p HD. Once you have settled on a few parameters you care about, then the process of drilling down becomes very easy. Go to the main camera section of the site on Amazon and with the search menu on the left, you can start selecting parameters one at a time (price, zoom, brand, etc.), so as to drill down from the 1000+ cameras to three or four. For me, my drill-down search yielded the Canon SX10 and the Sony HX1 (and another Nikon and Olympus). The Sony won because for my search, in addition to having everything I wanted, and good reviews, it also had the extra features like panorama and burst that the Canon didn't have, plus screen size. I forget why I ruled out the Olympus, and the Nikon didn't make it because it didn't shoot movies.

So since I've given this camera 5 stars, heres what I like most about the it.

1) Great pictures*
2) Extremely easy to use menu - very intuitively designed
3) The zoom is quick
4) Ergonomic design of the body - the placement of buttons and the "feel" of the camera is good
5) Love the panorama and burst modes - as other reviewers have mentioned, the panorama mode works very easily and the photo comes out accurate - no mismatch or jagged stitches.

*I'm still very new to this camera. I've taken about a 100 pictures so far, indoors and outdoors. The outdoor shots in good lighting are all excellent. I've yet to form an opinion on the indoor shots since I haven't taken that many yet.

I will keep updating this review as I learn more about this camera. I also discovered that there's a Facebook group for this camera, to which people post their queries etc.

With this camera I hope to explore the basics of photography and move out of the Auto mode and actually start fooling around with the ISO, aperture and shutter speed settings etc. Other reviewers have mentioned that if you know how to pull those levers skillfully, you can do most of the stuff you can do with an SLR on this camera. I hope this review helps you in your search. Good Luck! I have also posted some photos I've taken with this camera.

This is my third Sony DSC H camera. I have loved everyone of them.
Great images, easy to use, lightweight to carry.
Love the extra zoom on the HX1 and rapid fps.
The panarama reature is not as great as hyped; can't print them with my photomate so still figuring out how to get them printed.
Only negative: emailed sony customer service and no reply back.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3KEVYUGI4HFDC I don't know much about photography, but I am so pleased with this camera. I made this video with the Sony DSC-HX1 and was delighted with the results. I started experimenting with still shots and found that quite easy to understand. I wanted to try the video feature, so I made this video of myself playing the piano in my home. When I played it back I could hardly believe the results...the video quality is simply outstanding. I am extremely pleased with this camera and plan on trying many of the other features because it has a lot to offer. Anyone who buys this camera should be very happy with it.

Bought this camera two days before taking a trip to Egypt and with no time to read the manual or "play around" with this camera I still managed to take some amazing photos. As much as I hate to say it, the easy and auto functions did a better job of taking photos then the manual settings did (due more to operator error then anything). I am sure once I get to learn the nuances of the camera that will change. Two real cool settings are the twilight setting as well as the anti-blur setting which are amazing for taking pictures of something moving at a high rate of speed. I found that with a little planning and a little luck I was able to take incredibly clear pictures from a moving automobile at over 120 kph (about 70 mph). It worked much better and much faster then the burst method of taking pictures. The anti-blur and twilight settings take a "burst" of 6 photos and combines them into one amazingly clear photo. Also the zoom is incredible. I could take pictures of things from such great distances and they still come out clear. I also used the zoom for a macro shot of some wildlife and the pictures looked like the shot was taken from inches away instead of from many yards away. This is a great "bridge" camera. Meaning that while it might not be a DSLR it is as close as one can get in the point and shoot category. One last side note, I watched someone take an amazing photo with what would be a similar camera but DSLR, while I was amazed by the quality of his shot, I was more amazed by the fact that it took him nearly 2 minutes to "set the shot up". I handed him my camera and said just push the button. The pictures were identical and he asked me where he can get one like it when he goes back home. In summary this is probably the best all around camera that can be bought for a reasonable amount of money.

I am enjoying the ease of use of this camera. I love hikes and taking the panoramic shots and they are absolutely beautiful images...I've posted them on my Facebook and people comment that I could make my own calendars and posters. The video is very good and easy to use. I am not expert in photography but everything is easy to find that I feel more comfortable to try out the other options. I've wanted a camera with a great zoom and this one sure has it. I've been able to get fantastic shots - the camera fits right in the hand so it is very easy to hold. It is a bigger camera - not anything that can slip in a pocket - but if you want fantastic zoom and quality pictures you have to sacrifice the camera size. I hike with it and it is light and has not been in inconvenience yet especially when I see the quality shots I get. Best I have had yet.