Отзывы о Фотоаппарат Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX300

This is a great camera. I was worried that the pictures taken with the extreme zoom would not be good quality. No worries now, all the pictures turn out fantastic. It is a good camera for those like me who are wanting more than just a point and shoot but not ready to take the plunge buying an SLR camera.

Отличный фотоаппарат,оптика 50х, широкоформатный объектив, делает качественные фотографии даже в условиях недостаточной освещенности.

I love the design for this camera. Oh and it is terrific camera too. It has all the features you can ask out of a camera; and if you have something like New 32gb Micro Sd Card Sdhc Tf Flash Memory Card 32gb Class 10, New! Usa!, then you should have all the memory you need for pictures. It's sleek, it has terrific features; what more could you ask for out of a camera?

After a little time with this camera, I'm in love. Its lightweight, full of features and has great picture quality. At the highest zoom level the PQ does get a bit worse but it still decent and the image stabilization is excellent. The video quality is great as well and benefits from the solid image stabilization.What I didn't like at all was the manual. Its barely a schematic telling you where the buttons are. With so many features and picture modes, more documentation is needed.

This is an amazing Camera. Nothing like I experienced before. No blurry or unfocused pictures. The zoom is just incredible. The video HD quality is superb. Very smooth playback on my quad core HP. The only complaint which really has no impact on the performance of the camera but I wish that the software installation process was less time consuming for the video portion and DVD burning. All in all I am extremely happy especially since I have started using the camera on 3-15-2013 and people that pre-ordered this camera directly from the Sony site paid more money and are still waiting for the camera. Amazon rules.

Purchased and returned because the image quality is not as good as Sony's HX100 which I own. Images at long zoom ranges are generally of poor quality. Disappointed that image quality is not better.

Let me say this first: I'm an amateur photographer, and an average one at that (my wife is the skilled one in this department - I'm an audio guy). However, I'd expect that I'm who this is aimed at: someone who likes taking photos, enjoys good technology, understands what makes a good photo, and wants to go beyond what a point-and-shoot does without lugging around a dSLR with multiple lenses. So that's the perspective from which this is written.First of all, this is a bridge camera - looks like an dSLR but isn't (nor does it have interchangeable lenses), acts kinda like a point-and-shoot but delivers more. So to compare it to one my wife's Canon dSLR with a $600 macro lens on it is an exercise in futility. But even then... it almost holds its own, and in some ways I MUCH prefer it. I'll get to that in a minute.Sizewise, it's between the two types: it's not pocketable, but more compact and easy to carry than a dSLR. Its comfortable to hold, with the plastic construction striking a nice balance: it's light but doesn't feel cheap. Controls fall easily to hand, and it handles quite well in my hands as well as my 12-year-old's; anyone can pick it up and shoot easily. It's the perfect thing to take on a family outing, frankly.When you shoot, you can simply leave it in auto mode (Sony's calling the full auto Enhanced Superior Auto, which is actually aptly named) and let it do its thing, and even in this mode I find photo quality to be excellent. When you start opening up the toolbox of shooting modes though (and start using that amazing zoom), things get even better.It has a ton of feature, from those you'd expect to those you wouldn't: exposure and aperture priority; tons of preset programs like portrait, landscape, sport, night, etc; exposure bracketing; color saturation selection; optical image stabilization; selectable focus areas; a great panorama mode; very cool picture effects like miniaturize, partial color, and watercolor; 10 frame-per-second shooting at full 20 MP resolution. There are many more as well, so hit Sony's site if you want the full list.But the real star of the show is that lens. With 50x optical zoom you've got a camera with the equivalent of a 24mm to 1200mm zoom, which is ridiculous. At the wide end it jams way more into the photo than any of my other cameras, and at the long end, well, just wow. And that "wow" isn't even even considering the digital zoom portion which is WAY better than any I've used before. It's so good, in fact, that I don't disable it right off the bat, the way I always have in the past.For an example of the extreme difference in wide to zoom, take a look at the photos of the kiteboarder I put in the customer photo gallery. It's really staggering. That day I also shot some people standing down the beach - at wide, I could barely see them, at full zoom I could read the logo on the woman's sunglasses. Just so much fun.How's the quality? Unlike some of what I've read, I find the image quality to be wonderful. I keep hearing about artifacts, but honestly they just aren't an issue in most situations; if they are, you probably ought to be shooting with a dSLR instead. I've enlarged and printed quite a few photos with fantastic results and have no complaints there.Video mode is excellent as well, and I've had no issues. That amazing zoom comes into play again, getting closer and closer well past when you expect it to stop. Just wonderful, and loads of fun.Other neat things: macro mode is automatic; the LCD display slides and tilts, allowing shooting from well above or well below the camera (like over a crowd, etc); the flash is manually popped up, which I like (I'm aware this could be debatable, but I don't like it popping up unexpectedly); and there's a focus/zoom ring at the end of the lens (switchable between those modes) for those that grew up twisting the lens rather than pushing switches. I LOVE that.The only negatives I can think of: no RAW mode, which really is a bit of a drag at this price-point, but at least I don't burn up space using it; no auto-switching between monitors - you hit a button to switch between the rear LCD and viewfinder LCD and since I'm used to SLRs I keep putting it up to my eye and am surprised when there's no image; it uses a battery pack that won't allow AA batteries to be used in a pinch. That's IT.Overall, I love this thing. It's my go-to camera now (I even used the amazing zoom to figure out if a bump in the middle of the pond by my house was an alligator - it was) in almost any situation (if I don't want to lug something, I'll just use my phone), can be used fast and easy in standard mode, and provides tons of fun in the programmable and artistic modes.If you want the absolute finest photos possible, I suppose you should look at a multi-thousand dollar dSLR with multiple lenses.But if you want fantastic photos in an easy to use and carry camera that just happens to have a zoom lens that the NSA would find useful, grab the HX300.It's just aw

First, let me say I fully appreciate all of the comments about the camera in these posts and those in particular by Thomas Wheeler. They have been very helpful in learning how best to use the camera though I have also spent a lot of time reading the online manual and studying many of the reviews of the camera. I was attracted to its advertised specs, the favorable reviews, and the way it felt and handled. I bought the camera about 3+ weeks ago from Amazon and have since taken over 1000 pics and several videos and have come to several conclusions about how I have been able to best achieve the most satisfying pictures for me.I very much like the camera's handling, the quick ready-to-shoot time from turn-on, the quick focus (especially, in high contrast situations), the zoom ring which is very handy for zoom and composition adjustments, the short shot-to-shot times, and the image stabilization system which works very well at long zooms. I am using a SanDisk Extreme SDHC Class 10 memory chip rated at 45 mb/sec. Camera responsiveness has been very good. I have not used a tripod with any of my pics.I generally shoot still shots in the Program ("P") mode where I can control ISO and let the camera determine the best shutter and aperture settings, but I also have taken pics in several of the "Scene" settings and have used the "Superior Auto" setting to let the camera determine the scene and best camera settings with the highest quality.I try to keep the shutter speed short, take pics with bright sun, and well-light settings inside and outside. I also work to keep the ISO at or below 400, around 200, if possible. I have also set the internal sharpening and contrast camera settings to "+".Overall, I have found I get the crispest shots with bright sun, low ISO, high shutter speed, and very high contrast between the subject and its surroundings when using the "P" mode dial setting, even at high zoom. With such conditions, the pics turn out almost razor sharp, with little or no post editing needed even with very high zoom (<= 40x). I have taken some stunningly sharp shots, including macro, near zoom, and distant zoom ones under the aforementioned favorable conditions. The inherent camera focusing system seems to "love" (perform best in) the high contrast, bright light scenario because it seems to work its best then regardless of zoom setting to produce very sharply focused pics. Yes, you must hold the camera very, very steady (as noted in other posts) to allow the Image Stabilization System to do its best as well at long zooms.The low light situation seems to be this camera's Achilles' heel because shooting under this condition is something I am still working on to get a satisfying picture. The camera tends to use high ISOs (and thus, introduces more noise) to compensate for low light, but so far, in the case, most of my pictures show that much clarity and detail are being lost probably due to the low aperture setting, and small image sensor, in particular at the high end of the zoom. Engaging a longer shutter speed (as opposed to higher ISO) in this case may be an alternative. I am also still exploring the in-door "people" picture situation, too. Though I have taken a number of such pictures, I am still working on achieving the best lighting "set-up" indoors with and without flash, but I tend to shoot outdoors in the landscape, wildlife, or macro modes mostly so I have not been very troubled by this yet. It has been suggested that the "Superior Auto" Mode on the camera is a good way to take indoor portrait shots w/o the necessary use of flash.In most cases and situations that I have experienced so far, the camera also seems inclined to produce fairly soft, smooth "edges" around the outline of the subject and surrounding objects regardless of the mode dial/camera settings used and situation. This may be result of the built-in noise reduction system and the fact that the camera has a pretty small image sensor considering the use of its 20+ mp design. These soft edges around objects may appeal to some people because they do appear smoother and somewhat more natural to the naked eye, but I generally prefer sharper edges and have explored using the "Unsharp mask" editing feature within the camera after shooting the image. This definitely helps make the edges much, much crisper which I favor and find more satisfying, but what I don't like is that you have no control over how much the picture is sharpened when using the camera's Unsharp mask, while a photo editing program like "Picasa" or "Photoshop Elements" allows you to determine how much sharpening you want to apply. The camera's adjustment may be just right given the picture taken however as I have also experienced. In any case, as a result of these available options, I can now sharpen any of my pictures as much as I like. This has greatly improved the overall crispness of my images in spite of the aforementioned camera design limitations which is not

First, I am a Sony Digital fan. In 2001 I purchased my first Sony Digital Camera, a 3.2MP Mavica with Carl Zeiss Lens and I thought it served me well for 5 years before moving into semi-pro DSLR cameras with Nikon (D200 and later D7000). Once you step into DSLR-s, it's hard to be a fan of Point-and-shoot cameras. However, this year, I purchased 2 Sony point-and-shoot cameras for my family (the HX10V and WX-50) and received this one for review from Amazon. I was not going to go back to point and shoot - until I got this camera. It is not a perfect camera, yet it has some unbeatable features (The Zoom for pictures and video) that would be very expensive in the DSLR option. I wanted to use it frequently during at least a month before settling on a review for Amazon.NOTE ON THE (AMAZON) AVERAGE STARS for this camera.If you are like me, you look for the average number of stars for Amazon products. In April 2013, this camera had an average 3.5 stars while the HX200 (last year's model) had an average of 4.5 stars despite being an inferior camera in my opinion (no GPS or flip-out screen on the HX300, yet more than 2X better zoom). At the end of May 2013, the HX300 moved up to 4 stars. Even on Snapsort (a site for camera comparisons), the HX300 now scores 1 point higher than the HX200 (a month ago, the HX200 scored higher).MUST HAVE ACCESSORY: A 55-mm UV filter. I recommend Hoya 55mm HMC UV Digital Multi-Coated Slim Frame Glass Filter. I accidentally fell with my camera, and the only thing that cracked was this filter, the lens was fine. Got a replacement right away.3 REVIEWING ITEMS and my (subjective) grades:BASIC PICTURES - 3.5 STARS. I looks at some other reviews that praised the quality of the pictures yet I was surprised at the large amount of bad pictures I took. And I used other point and shoot cameras for comparison. The Intelligent Auto can be very misleading - I can be zooming in on someone 50 feet away and the info reads it as a macro. I would not recommend this camera to a person new to photography - it is also relatively bulky. Once I adjusted the camera settings manually, I was able to take better pictures. I am also not impressed with the panoramic mode and the way pictures are combined - I believe some less expensive cameras are better at that. One last thing on this topic: in my opinion, the 350 pixels per inch for high quality is nowhere close to cameras with a larger sensor that have 300 or less PPI.SUPER-ZOOM - 5 STARSFor a DSLR to have this type of zoom range, you may have to spend thousands. I can finally took nice pictures of the moon (I uploaded a picture under customer images) and of birds from far away - especially if I use a tripod. I was able to take relatively good pictures of my son playing soccer even right after sunset. Some of the reviewers are disappointed with the quality of pics at full zoom. I got my lesson while taking a picture of the moon: even though I used a tripod, I could see the image shaking from even the lightest vibration and wind gust when focused on the moon. I placed my camera on 2 second delay (with tripod of course) to get the best results. The auto-image stabilizer really does a great job - otherwise all pics would be shaken. Every time you add to the zoom, chances for shake are increased exponentially. That is why cameras such as the wx-50 can have 4.5 stars even though the zoom is only 5X.VIDEO - 5 StarsThe most memorable experience was when I took this camera to some choir practices and performances held at a mega church. During practice, I held it in my hands. During performance, I used a tripod. I can say that both videos look great on a 50-in TV. I sat in rows 6-7, in front of me there was some open 12-15ft.of space, then about 10 stairs, then some more space (20-25ft) for the performance area, and only in the back there were the bleachers for the choir. I could film the entire choir (each row had about 35 kids) at once, then zoom in to focus on just 1 or 2 faces at one time. I really felt like a kid in candy land with this feature. The focus may not work 100% of the time right away, yet it is very quick to adjust. I definitely prefer this camera even over my digital Camcorder. You can even take pictures while recording video.TOTAL: 4.5 STARS - as a basic camera, I would give it 3-3.5 Stars. As a super-zoom camera for those who understand how to make manual adjustments, I would give it 5. I have to admit - I've been struggling for a month whether this is a 4 star or 5 star product. The limited focus in low light pictures made me go for the 4.UPDATE 6/10/13 After playing with the multiple frame feature at the pool, I have to say that I'm impressed with the 8-10 frames per second feature. I asked my son to do some flips while jumping in the pool and they turned out great - even on a 50-in TV. One neat thing about the camera: you can go through the multiple frames by simply tilting your camera after you take the pictures. I am so impressed with the quality

Summary: Only this camera empowers me to quickly tweak focus, freeze framing a duck on the other side of a large lake, or a Robin bathing in a neighbor's birdbath -- complete with the individual water droplets falling from that duck's bill as she drinks, or flying off that robin as she shakes herself dry.- - - -Concurring with the positive reviews, I write to highlight essential points.::::: (1) Image Quality (IQ) :::::Some blame "20 megapixels" for the poor IQ of their disappointing photos. Reality check: you can *choose* 20, 15, 10 or 5mp as the default. Some just generally declare "bad IQ" at the extreme zoom end; others love the IQ. The reason you're seeing such opposing opinions likely comes down to one fact: 50x zoom is new to us all. Some learn how to tame all that power; some don't. (More on this issue at #5&6 below.) Incidentally, Noise Reduction errs on the side of details (thankfully!), rather than smearing; configure as desired, in the Settings.::::: (2) "Superior Auto" Modes :::::There are two, one with a "Plus" designation. Plus adds a sort of *realistic* HDR, among other features; you'll hear machine-gun shutter snaps--- Sony uniquely blends them all into one final picture. Thus, you can not burst shoot while in SAP, but it is available in SA. Great surprise: each mode is pretty darn good! (Hanging out in auto mode when testing a new camera = cheat sheet to inherent firmware flaws. I've experienced no deal-breakers here.) It's even smart enough to apply a bokeh effect re zooms! (Still learning EXACTLY when I can expect that to kick in.) Scene modes are also quite helpful, and exploitable for more than the described purpose.::::: (3) Lens, Zoom :::::The lens is threaded for 55mm filters. (See #10) . . . . The headliner 50x optical zoom is complimented by at least 100x "ClearZoom." The latter delights *much* more frequently than disappoints. Toggle it on/off in the settings. There's a separate toggle for straight "digital zoom," which I keep off.::::: (4) NeatOh! :::::There's a customizable (limited) button on the top of the camera (oddly placed), & a *convenient* rotating push-in ribbed wheel that keeps, e.g. exposure compensation immediately accessible -- right hand for both. Optional always-present histogram & grid on screen; one tap to change/remove it on the fly (right hand, thumb).::::: (5) Mechanics :::::Zooming is reliably fast, as is auto tracking focus. Even at max zoom (50x & 100-140x), IF you adequately brace yourself. Think: you know 20x magnifies your slightest shake; whaddaya think 50x will do? Failing to respect that reality, and prepping yourself accordingly, results in eye-assaulting photos. Likewise, the complex nature of some scenes induces auto focus woes. Quickly curable, thanks to Sony's smart Plan B-- the zoom/focus ring, with a no-eyes-required ridiculously-easy-to-manipulate flip switch (auto/manual focus, left side). . . On the other hand, while snapping itself is fast, an irritating but tolerable wait-state materializes in burst mode's aftermath, per writing the shots to a Class 10 card.::::: (6) Image Stabilization :::::The system is golden. But expect no miracles when mimicking a modified version of a rapper within a mile of a microphone. Extreme zoom (50x/optical; 100--140x/ClearZoom) power is new to us all! Each additional mm of zoom necessitates additional care in bracing yourself. Approach the HX300 with related humility ("I don't know diddly 'bout handling a 50x+ camera, so I NEED to be super conscious of my body"), genuinely respect/ learn/ tame it, & you'll be a happy camper. Approach it in the same manner as a less-than-half(!!!) the zoom camera, and the predictable "ugh!" results will spark a bullet-speed return. Bottom-line: This NEW & INTENSE degree of zoom = doom, unless/until you develop bracing techniques (plural!) to harness all that power, AND study the options of *this* camera as well as *its* unique sweet spots. Don't misread me here -- experience via other cameras is helpful. But old-school kinda-braced ain't gonna cut it. Trial & error = my/your BFF. But I assure you, it IS doable! I own a tripod and monopod, which I've yet to use here. Was the learning curve frustrating? You betcha. Worth it? Oooo baby, you better believe it!::::: (7) You Can D/L the PDF Manual, Now :::::The full 240 page PDF user manual is linked at dpreview >> Forums >> Sony Cybershot >> search: hx300 PDF. While I rarely RTFM, the HX300's incredible reach alone inspired grabbing & studying that manual while awaiting delivery. Time well spent, as I have zero complaints about image quality, zooming or focusing. At the very least, play CliffNotes by studying the charts outlining what features are available per mode (starts around p80).::::: (8) A Winning Review :::::(March 30, 2013 - Amateur Photographer)For those who depend on formal reviewers for camera purchasing, FYI: This UK zine (Zinio on iPad, Web) reviews ultrazooms from Sony, Canon, Fuji & Nikon, awarding first place

The HX300 is a megazoom bridge camera. It's fairly large when compared to typical digicams. However, it is still smaller than most DSLRs, if even by only a little. Ergonomically, the camera feels good. The body is constructed of plastic which makes the camera lighter than it appears. I personally like the controls placement. Everything is neatly and logically arranged. The top has jog and mode dials which should be familiar to anyone who has previously used a DSLR or bridge camera before. There were no head scratching moments when looking for controls or features.Size and Weight---------------The size and weight of the HX300 are pretty decent for the type. It fits somewhere in the middle on the size scale for bridge cameras. For example, it's larger than the Canon SX50 but smaller than the Fuji HS50. The plastic body looks deceivingly heavy but is actually lighter than I expected. I have no problems handholding the camera for steady shots, but personally, this would be strictly a specialty camera and not my first choice to lug around somewhere like Disney World all day. That's not a knock against the camera because even my smaller (body) NEX 5N isn't my first choice. That would be my Canon S100, a tiny camera that takes excellent stills, video and is small enough to be unobtrusive while I'm running around the park. The HX300 would be my first choice for sporting events, wildlife photography, vacation photos around the resort (where I could easily stow the camera away when finished), weddings, graduations, shows, or any other event where I would benefit from having as long a zoom as possible. That's not to say the HX300 won't make a suitable every day camera, because it most certainly would. I just prefer not to haul a large camera around all day, and make no mistake, this is a large camera when compared to standard non-megazoom digicams.Performance-----------Performance so far has pretty decent. The camera starts up relatively quickly and the auto-focus is very good with no excessive hunting. The controls are conveniently placed and everything is within easy reach. The menus are logically arranged and super easy to navigate, even easier than my NEX touchscreen. The speed is great. I sometimes get a little shutter lag in dim light depending upon the circumstances, even with the flash enabled, but at least so far I've experienced no excessive write delays between shots. In bright light, like an outdoor sunny day, there is no delay whatsoever and the camera is very snappy and responsive. That's important for shooting situations like an outdoor sporting event, where a slow camera can really ruin your day. So far, I've had no problems focusing on moving subjects, even fast moving. There is no RAW mode which is sort of a bummer for enthusiasts but won't bother most shooters. The quality of the jpegs can range from excellent to downright awful. More on that in the next paragraph. Video mode shoots 1080p video. Focusing during video is usually good and the internal microphone does a decent job of capturing sounds without excessive background or wind noise. You can zoom during recording without excessive internal mechanical noises ruining the sound. It has a dedicated video button, so switching from still to video mode is not only easier but also allows both to be used simultaneously. It also eliminates the possibility of mixing up the two while shooting. I've had numerous occasions where I've missed still shots on other cameras due to forgetting to turn the dial back to still after shooting a video clip. The rear tilting 3" LCD is very sharp. The sharpness is a double edge sword because sometimes pics look great on the LCD until transferred to a larger screen. You can adjust the brightness and resolution on the rear LCD to conserve battery life. The LCD doesn't swing outward, so no easy self-portraits. That's not a big deal for me personally, but it may be for some. It also has an EVF that actually isn't too bad. Burst mode so far has been okay but I only tested it sparingly and admittedly haven't yet gone beyond 5 or so frames, which all came out great in good light.Image quality--------------Image quality is sometimes a mixed bag. For example, I took numerous outdoor and indoor shots in a variety of lighting conditions, from partly-cloudy to bright and sunny. Most of the pictures taken outdoors in perfect lighting came out perfect, not surprisingly. Focus was spot-on and the images were sharp, clear and colors were vibrant, even when enlarged. None of the pictures taken in the overcast conditions were keepers. Some were mediocre while others were downright terrible, with tons of artifacts and pretty shoddy focus especially at the far end of the zoom. I can forgive the bad photos at the far end of the zoom, especially taken hand-held, but I honestly expected a little better dim light outdoor performance. However, the most perplexing photos were the ones taken in bright sunl

Despite being a professional photographer I have a variety of point-and-shoot pocket cameras for family events, vacations and just having fun and I will let you know right now nothing included in my review will be techie, just real-life things that can help you decide if this is the camera for you.Recently, adding to my collection of little pocket cameras, I acquired an Olympus XZ-1 in an attempt to get better results than I've previously experienced with low-end pocket cameras and it does an admirable job while still remaining portable. The DSC-HX300 is not pocketable, it is what is known as a "bridge" camera. I've generally thought of bridge cameras (SLR-like with non-detachable zoom lenses) as a compromise ... almost as large and heavy as a real DSLR, lacking the versatility of swappable lenses, tiny sensor, mediocre lens and much too automated. But I do realize that all consumer-grade cameras just keep getting better and better and if you read on you will hopefully get some insight about the capabilities of the Sony HX300 and how it compares to state-of-the-art.This is the first Sony-brand camera that I've owned, although I did early development work with them regarding the original Mavica digital cameras. I respect their ability to design and manufacturer most of their components in-house, especially after they acquired the photographic experience of Konica/Minolta. The DSC HX300 can safely be called a "premium" bridge camera as it reigns with only a couple of other similar cameras in worthwhile features.As I said, I'll avoid getting techie in this review; there are well-established resources for that. Nor will I republish the specs which can be found at the Sony website or compare a consumer-grade camera with a $5000 professional DSLR. Just a real-life user report that I hope will help you decide if this model is what you're looking for.WHO WOULD BUY THIS CAMERA?Likely the #1 reason someone might choose the DSC HX300 is the astonishing zoom range of 24mm - 1200mm (35mm equivalent). Even with a pro DSLR a zoom of that magnitude would not be something you would use handheld and you certainly wouldn't want to take a DSLR fitted with a 1000mm lens on a family outing to Disneyland. For all of its extreme zoom power, the overall camera weighs lighter than an entry-level Canon or Nikon DSLR with a stock 18mm - 55mm lens attached. Because the camera is much larger and heavier than a compact pocket camera and less enabled than a DSLR this is probably not going to be your one and only camera, however the HX300 defines why bridge cameras exist and for most people would certainly be well suited as an all-in-one still/video camera for that Disneyland trip. At its price and relative sophistication of controls the average user will probably use it to take to sporting events and other such applications where an extreme zoom lens is important. That describes how I will use it, I doubt it will ever be a "take everywhere" camera to me.A very likely target audience for a camera with a zoom of such range would be those with a love of birding, and well they should, the zoom range is quite mindboggling. The best analogy would be to compare the results to using a fine pair of Monarch model binoculars for birding compared with a decent low price pair. With the lower-priced scope you will certainly see the bird and be able to recognize it but the image will lack crispness and richness of color. The HX300 isn't a bad choice for birding, one should simply be aware that the image may fall short of the glory of detail a quality pair of binoculars can deliver.FEATURES AND CONSTRUCTION:The camera makes good use of the plastic construction, feeling solid in the hand but not fragile. The second best feature, in my opinion, is the large ring around the lens which is the perfect place to place your hand to steady shots being taken at long zoom ranges. That ring can be used to manually zoom the lens (much better than using a tiny rocker switch on the camera body, although the DSC HX300 has one of those too if you prefer). By flicking a large switch, which is placed in exactly the right location for your left thumb, the ring can be turned into a manual focus ring. That combo on a camera of this type is absolutely brilliant. Well done, Sony! But DON'T expect that ring to have the exact feel to it that any DSLR has ... it is a "fly by wire" type, which means turning the ring simply activates a motor that controls the zoom or focus function. There is significant lag before the command is received and executed and not a lot of precision. Once you get used to it, the benefit of having the zoom/focus ring on the lens makes you promise you would never want to give it up.The camera has both a large 3" high-resolution articulated (up/down)LCD on the back and a decent electronic viewfinder (EVF) that is bright and sharp. I suspect when zooming in tightly on something most users would prefer to use the EVF so they can brace the camera against th

A couple of things about me, and what I needed in a camera. First of all, while I have some basic understandings of how these kinds of cameras work, I am not a professional techie guy, and I usually have to look up every spec I read and usually end up not getting it entirely. I did do a lot of research, but the Camera Spec Snobs in some of the review sites just go to an extreme that will never, ever matter to me. Second, this camera was a replacement for my old bridge camera, a Sony DSC H-5 (12X optical, 7.2 megapixel). That camera served me well over the past 6 years, after thousands upon thousands of images. I bring this up because there have been a mountain of improvements on all technological fronts since then, which has resulted in an entirely and spectacularly different photographic experience I am having with this new camera after only a few days, and may explain my giddy five star love-fest I am having with this thing! I use my camera for everything from artistic photos to nature photography to family events, so I want a camera that shoots great, better than average pictures in a variety of circumstances over a specialized camera that takes outstanding pictures in limited circumstances.Unlike many other reviewers (but most probably like the majority of shoppers), I do not own several high end cameras and am therefore not going to be comparing this one to my other high end camera that I bought last year. So, in my comparison, all I can say is if you have an older bridge camera that seems to be losing a bit of steam and you are looking to replace it, look no further. You don't have to spend hours fretting over this spec and that, when you get this camera and take a few pictures you will feel like you did as a kid when you replaced that brownie camera with your first 35mm! The improvements made over that past half decade make the experience like night and day!Every problem that I had with my old one is gone (or at least vastly improved) with this new one. That purply fringe line you sometimes got on the edges of your subject, or that white glare that seemed almost neon in brightness on a sunny day? Gone. That problem with focusing on a fast moving object? Gone. The blurry images from moving objects in anything but bright sunlight? Vastly improved. The issue of losing all definition of dark areas if anything was remotely back-lit? There is a setting called HDR on this camera that makes it possible to take those pictures you just didn't even bother trying before. That problem with taking indoor shots without flash where the quality was so low you never shared the pictures with anyone? Oh my God, what a difference.Like my old camera, this one has a fully automatic setting, settings that allow you to over-ride some of the auto settings and others to completely over-ride the auto settings. It also has a large variety of other specialized settings, like "pet" or "portrait" that adjusts things for certain scenarios. In the cases of "landscape", "hdr", and "background de-focus", the camera's auto setting seems to do this for you. The macro setting is also automatic, coming on when your lens gets close enough. Over time, I will learn all these new settings, because I know that sometimes, the auto setting will misread the situation and I will want to be able to adjust. However, I am really impressed with this cameras ability to auto adjust well.The quality of my pictures are stunning. If I crop in to a ridiculous, unreal point and compare it to a picture taken by a $2000.00 DSLR, would I notice a difference in crispness? Probably, but I will leave that debate to the spec snobs. While they are busy fretting over such things, I will be in the mountains taking awesome pictures of my grandkids in the snow, and enjoying my camera. Color, composition, saturation, detail, contrast, etc. are all outstanding with this camera. Details that my older camera could not pick up just stand out like crazy with this one. The camera is not magic, my black lab running in the white snow on a back-lit landscape still comes out as just a pure black shadow, but in less extreme situations, this camera is doing an awesome job.And that crazy, insane 50X lens! First off, on the wide end, 24mm is much wider than my old 36mm and the difference is phenomenal. But when you go off the other end, I just cannot describe what happens. I have pictures of a building on a hill where you can see people on a deck, then you zoom out and that building is just the tiniest spec on your picture. I love birds, and am really looking forward to taking this out and getting details I never could before.Played a bit with the video, and frankly I have a lot of homework to do on it. One thing I did notice though, is that the anti-shake technology on this camera made some of my video shots look like a pro took them with a tripod.Bottom line, this camera is awesome. I have three situations where I took a picture and was stunned by t

Over the years as a serious amateur photographer I have owned and used extensively Nikon and Hasselblad film cameras and lenses and when digital cameras arrived I began with the Nikon Coolpix 900 and 950, then DSLR's including the Canon EOS 10D, and today I am using a Canon 5D Mark II equipped with L lenses (Canon's premium glass). The Sony HX300 is my first super zoom camera, and as such I spent several hours after receiving the camera from Amazon on March 14 thoroughly reading and studying both the Sony pdf manual and the Sony User's Guide in html format. This was time well spent as there are many useful features on the HX300 that are not found even on my much more expensive Canon 5D Mark II. During this study with both manuals, I tried each feature in the quiet of my living room making sure I understood exactly how the feature worked and what it did. Only then did I set out to explore the performance of the Sony HX300 under "real world" conditions and to compare it to the Canon 5D Mark II under controlled conditions.The two most import things about any camera are its image quality and its performance in actual shooting sessions. Image quality is, of course, a combination of many things including the camera's ability to resolve detail, to properly expose scenes shot under a variety of lighting conditions, color quality, absence of both chroma and luminance noise, etc. Performance is how responsive the camera is and includes such items as how quickly the camera is ready to take a picture after being turned on, the time delay between shots in single shot mode, the ability of the camera's autofocus to work quickly and accurately without "searching", and certainly in the case of a super zoom camera its ability to smoothly and rapidly zoom through its entire set of focal lengths. For a camera of its price and likely use, the Sony HX300 does a remarkably good job of providing high quality images and a very responsive camera.My first test of image quality was to simply walk around my yard and the neighborhood taking images of a variety of flowers that were in early bloom as well as taking pictures of birds coming to the bird feeder in our backyard from about 75 feet away using the Sony HX300 at full zoom. In virtually every single situation the HX300's autofocus was very quick and very accurate, and the powered zoom using the lever on the shutter release was highly responsive and quite fast. The images produced had exquisite detail with good highlight detail retention, perfect color rendition, very good exposures in auto modes, and under these cloudy but bright daylight circumstances with the camera working at low ISO's very low noise. These images straight out of the camera with no post-processing looked very good to excellent. Using very small amounts of post processing mainly to slightly sharpen the images, I was able to obtain excellent large prints (13 X 19 in.) using my Epson 3800 Pro large format printer. The shots of birds on the feeder at the maximum optical zoom (1200 mm) of the HX300 were all hand held, in focus, and showed good detail, albeit not equal to the ISO 80 shots previously described. With one exception (vide infra), I had absolutely no problem hand-holding and autofocusing these 1200 mm maximum zoom shots. The one exception is when I happen to line up a tree in the shot that was about 50 feet behind the bird feeder. In that case, the HX300 always wanted to focus on the texture of the tree trunk behind the feeder. The feeder is plastic without high contrast. I was able to solve the problem completely by switching the focus mode from multi-autofocus to center auto-focus and placing the center focus frame in the EVF on the edge of the bird feeder where there was sufficient contrast for the focusing system to work properly. This initial collection of maximum zoom shots brought home an important lesson about super zoom lenses including the Carl Zeiss lens on the HX300. Remember that the HX300's lens has a maximum aperture of 6.3 at 1200 mm and therefore the ISO will be set at higher values (400-800) to provide a sufficiently fast shutter speed to allow the camera to be hand-held at such a zoom setting. Of course, the higher the ISO, the higher the visible chroma and luma noise in the captured image. I found that these outdoor shots at 1200 mm zoom on a cloudy but not overcast day came in at ISO 800 and a shutter speed of 1/160 - 1/250 sec. The maximum zoom shots were reasonably sharp, but benefitted from noise removal in post-processing which, of course, is always a compromise between detail and noise reduction. Nonetheless, these images gave quite good prints and beautiful images up to 11 X 14 in. I believe with experience I can hand-hold maximum zoom shots at shutter speeds even below 1/160 second and manually set ISO to 200 and achieve even better maximum zoom shots. I think it will be difficult and perhaps impossible to get good maximum zoom images with excellent detai

I have owned the 50, Hx-1, HX200 and now the 300. The best camera they made was the HSC50, The HX-1 is ok as a back-up camera. All three of those had one great feature that they eliminated in the HX300. That is the lens cap falling off when you turn the camera on. It is caught by the string so you cannot lose it. It makes it fast to grab your camera a shoot moving birds. I have to fumble with the lens cap to get it off of the 300. I use all of my cameras on Automatic for speed and have always gotten shots to be made into posters and powerpoints. Also as a bird and wildlife photographer I always carry extra charged batteries. All of my other Sonys were designed with a charger so that you could charge the battery out of the camera. The 300 can only be charged through the camera. Having the camera sitting on the floor (the cord is too short to reach other outlets) with a large dog in the house is asking for trouble. Also everyone knows that you should never plug your camera directly a wall outlet or computer as the chance of damage to the camera is huge. I have made a couple of good close-ups of frogs but when you use the zoom the photos seem fake. It does a poor job on photos with artificial light. They also eliminated the option of using the flash on other than auto. Because of the type of photography I do, I need speed and good automatic settings. This camera is so slow recording the images on zoom that I can only get one shot where as on the others I could get 5. The body is bulky and very light which makes it awkward to hold. I use the peep site all of the time so it is ok for me but I wouldn't want to have to hold it out from my eye for any length of time. The other models felt more solid in the hand. I owned the HX200 but it broke a week after buying it, was repaired, then broke again at 14 months (out of warrantee) and they said it would cost $160 to fix. I should have bought another 200 with an extended warrantee but after my old one dying on vacations twice I was gun shy. The manual that comes with it sucks.It doesn't tell you how to get it off of digital zoom. I would not recommend this camera to photographers who care about the quality of the images. I have had it a few weks and so far I am not impressed.

Admittedly I have previously used a Nikon D90 which is known for its crisp photos. The D90 is a 12 MP camera and the DSC HX300 is a 20 MP camera. When you read that a camera is about the sensor and not the pixels, believe it. The Sony DSC HX300 may have almost twice the pixel count, but the pictures are not even half as good, as sharp or with as much detail.The auto focus does function, but very very slowly. That one word describes almost every feature of the camera - SLOW. The zoom is exceedingly slow and the auto focus even slower. I used the camera with a Class 10 SDHC 32GB card that functions superbly fast in my Nikon, but takes one to two seconds to write from the Sony DSC HX300. While this may not seem like much of a delay, it is significant if you want to take more than one picture of an object. Children, animals, sports and most other live photo opportunities just don't stand still and wait for you to shoot one picture, wait for the camera to write to the card, then shoot another. If an object is moving, all you will get is a blur no matter the ISO setting used.The camera is supposed to work well for sports, wildlife and other normal types of shots. It doesn't. Again, the delays in shooting, focusing and zooming spoil many photo opportunities. I tried taking pictures of my dogs at play which is easy with the Nikon, but almost impossible with the Sony.While the camera advertises that it will shoot bursts at a high rate of speed this is not the case when using a higher quality image. I knew that the camera did not take pictures in RAW, but the JPG even at the finest resolution the Sony is capable of is simply not up to par.I very much wanted this camera to work for me, as it would significantly replace the amount and weight of gear I would have to take with me on a day outing or for travel. It is so light and plastic-y that it is hard to steady properly anywhere past half zoom. The build quality seems lacking and more toy-like than most cameras I have used.The instructions that come with the camera flat out state that the camera will pick up noise from the shutter and the zoom if you use it with movie mode. It does. I tried the movie mode, and while the picture was fairly good, you could clearly hear the motor of the zoom and some other extraneous noise from the camera on the playback.I dislike reviews that totally pan an item. It always sounds to me like the writer has it in for the manufacturer or there is something else driving the bad review. I wish that were the case here. For the first time, I am writing a review that really downgrades an item. I did a good bit of on-line research about the ultra-zoom bridge camera sector and thought that based on pre-release reviews and analysis of the camera that it would be a hit. Unfortunately I just couldn't recommend this camera to anyone whether a novice, enthusiast or other user.The summary is that unless you want the camera to take pictures of static objects like scenery, buildings, statues or the like, this isn't the camera for you. It definitely doesn't work for vacations, action, children, pets, wildlife or anything that moves.This has nothing to do with my review of the camera, but be careful about buying this item from Amazon or any dealer on-line for that matter. I am trying to return the camera, but Amazon is telling me that there is no refund on this item. I didn't see that warning when I bought the camera, but you should be aware of that. If you make a mistake buying this camera, you're probably stuck with it. For me, it was an expensive lesson.

mMX41IF3140YW / mo2VI1M6LDEPFHC Length:: 1:10 MinsThis is a simple review so I won't go into every single detail about this camera. I bought this camera because of the 50x zoom, which is very impressive. The camera is easy to use. The menus and options a very user friendly and you don't need to be an expert to use it. It has a build-in user guide if you need help with options. This is not a DSLR camera so don't buy this expecting it to perform like a DSLR. The camera does take great pics and in good lighting it takes some impressive picture. video recorded in 1080p looks crisp. The camera is not very heavy. I can hold it one handed and not feel like I have a brick in my hand.I use this camera primarily to photograph my vacations, outings, family events etc. The 50x zoom has really come in handy. I have used it at the zoo, sporting event and even out deep sea fishing. Using the 50x zoom is great but once you go pass 20x you need very steady hands or a tripod. At 50x zoom the smallest movement made will render the image useless. I find the using the barrel on manual zoom works best at getting less shaky images and video.I have uploaded a short video showing the 50x zoom. The camera was mounted on a flimsy tripod so the video is some what steady. I did not use the barrel to zoom, I used the button so every time I zoomed you could see the camera vibrate.Some may not be happy with the image quality of this camera but I am happy with it.SpecsLens: Max Aperture f/2.8 - f/6.3 35mm equivalent 24mm - 1200mm Optical Zoom 50xImage Sensor: CCD pixels 20.4Mp (Megapixels) Pixels (W) 5184 Pixels (H) 3888 Sensor Type Exmor CMOS Sensor Size 1/2.3 inchAspect Ratio: 4:3/ 16:9LCD Monitor: 3in Screen resolution 921,000 dots No Touch ScreenFocusing: Min Focus 1cm, Focusing modes Manual, Spot, Face Detection, Multi, CenterRecording modes:Easy, Intelligent Auto, Superior Auto, Program, Manual, Aperture-priority, Shutter speed-priority, Memory Recall, 3D Still Image, SCN, Intelligent Sweep Panorama, MovieISO sensitivity: ISO 80 to ISO 12800White balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent white, Fluorescent natural white, Fluorescent day white, Incandescent, Flash, CustomShooting Options: Continuous shooting 10fps,Movie modeVideo Resolution 1920x1080, 1280x720 720p, 640x480 VGAVideo FPS 60Stereo Sound YesOptical Zoom with VideoImage Stabilisation YesInterface: HDMI, USB, USB 2No Wi-FiNo GPSStorage: SD/SDHC/SDXC; Memory Stick Pro DuoFile Type: JPEG/AVCHD (MTS); MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (MP4)Power Source: LITHIUM ION NP-BX1 3.6VBox Contents: Rechargeable Battery Pack NP-BX1, Shoulder Strap, AC AdaptorAC-UB10, Lens Cap, Micro USB cable, Instruction ManualDimensionsWeight 650gWidth 129.6mmHeight 93.2mmDepth 103.2mm

m1OAVZBLYLL7A1 / mo3KV9I6Q6UH0H8 Length:: 0:42 MinsI've written numerous camera reviews for Amazon since 2008, all in more detail than this one. What this HX300 excels at is 50X optical zoom, even the 100X Clear Image zoom isn't half bad. There isn't much more technical detail I can say about this as reviewers before me have done a fine job of that.**********NOTE #1: My video showing 50X zoom was taken at 1080 MP4 as Amazon doesn't support AVCHD uploads - I made another movie right after, same location, in 1080 AVCHD and comparing them on my PC, I think the MP4 appeared to be slightly better quality. Cloudy, dreary, windy day. BTW, you can zoom using the manual ring or the W/T toggle during the movie mode. I toggled. I did not have the wind buffer turned on but I should have since the wind was strong at the video's end. The camera was hand-held, I used the EVF and my forehead to steady the camera, so not too bad considering no tripod. One thing I want to add after seeing this video HERE, and going to full-screen mode it looks HORRIBLE on Amazon's full-screen mode! Nothing at all like it appears full-screen on my own PC, or streaming my YT video to my TV -- so it must have something to do with Amazon, and not the camera's movie quality. (I also uploaded this video to YouTube, I am Yarii41 on YT if you want to do a search for it).NOTE #2: I used this camera to upload another video for this item: Smart Solar Aquatic Range Floating Lily Solar Fountain This video I used the lowest movie setting, MP4 VGA and it turned out better quality for an Amazon upload than the video above. I remembered to turn on the wind buffer this time!**********This is the first bridge camera I've fallen in love with. It's larger but lighter weight than others, yet the build quality hasn't suffered. It has a lithium-ion battery in place of 4 AA batteries, which helps with the weight and makes the battery door a breeze to close. It has good battery life. Shutter response/focusing/recovery to take the next shot is FAST.As long as you don't mind toting around a large camera, this will work for beginners who want more than a basic Point & Shoot, to more skilled photographers who don't want to carry a DSLR. With a choice of Intelligent or Superior Auto or P/A/S/M this works for a beginner who eventually wants to learn about Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Full Manual, Etc. What this camera doesn't have is RAW. That's not a big deal to me because I've never used it, but it may be to YOU and a camera in this price range usually has the ability to shoot RAW.My major complaint is Sony (as well as other manufacturers) think we want higher MP's but they don't increase the sensor size. For this having 20 MP, the 1/2.3 sensor is too small, but having the Bionz CMOS processor seems to help. As a reference I also reviewed the new Sony H200 which has the same size sensor but a Super Had CCD processor and that camera is so much slower with worse images. Of course, that camera is half the price, too.Here is a bag that works: Case Logic DCB-304 High/Fixed Zoom Camera Case (Black)No camera is perfect, I've owned over 50 and haven't found the perfect one yet. This one comes close for a bridge camera.

I purchased this item a year ago and have used it quite frequently. I've also purchased several Wasabi batteries to go with it and placed them against the Sony battery, four stars. This camera works very well for my needs, I also have the Sony HX200V and it's a good back-up system for this camera. I just purchased the Sony H400 & the HX400B; tried them both for a day each and returned them, reason was too complicated for this 67 year old guy. The menus weren't user friendly like the HX200 and HX300, trying to navigate was a lesson in futility. I don't have the patience for fiddling around with several different pages of set-up.The way I feel out my cameras, if I can't work the camera within the first 30 minutes, it's a dead deal. Don't get me wrong, I've got the A-850, the A-77 and the A-580, I know that I have to spend time getting the camera in it's appropriate mode but with a bridge-camera, it shouldn't have to be that difficult.I'll say the Sony system is good but, I just want to keep it simple, I'm sure the 400's will prove themselves but I'll pass them to the ones who have the patience for them. I'll give them a good rating but not for me...

I just bought this camera locally from a guy who knows cameras inside out and convinced me that this beats the Nikon Coolpix P520 and Canon SX50 as well as my 3-4 year-old Nikon P90.While the reason I like the telephoto bridge/zoom cameras is that I like to shoot wildlife from great distances. We're about to embark on a drive to Alaska, and the HX300 looks like a good solution.But, as usual with camera makers, the manual and users' guide are terse to the point of being almost useless.For example, when I try to take vertical (portrait) pictures of trees, towers, people, etc., the LCD screen and view finder black out. I've searched the web high and low for an answer.Because I may return this camera, I haven't registered it. Thus, I can't post a question on the Sony Cybershot forum, which is what I usually do when I have questions about products and issues.As previous reviewers have noted:1. The camera is very slow in extending the telephoto lens and retracting it. But it does extend and retract very smoothly. Similarly, the time it takes to process a shot and give you a chance to another one is way too long when you're trying to take wildlife and action shots. I'm still mulling that problem.2. The features are so numerous that few users will go beyond iScene. I've used SLR cameras since the 50s and have some experience with setting apertures and speeds, but I'm the kind of user who learns just enough to get my jobs done.3. Online tutorials are nice, but they're too basic and don't help trouble shoot.4. The camera feels pretty good in my hands. I'm amazed that I can get distant shots that stop action pretty well without a tripod.5. I like having the ability to put a protective filter on the lens.6. Attaching the strap was a pain, thanks to designers who apparently don't use or setup cameras.So I'm here on day two, pretty pleased with my initial shots but not so happy with Sony manual or support or forums.But, then, Sony has never gotten Apple and Macs, which is why it's still only Sony, not Apple and it doesn't make anything like Macs or provide the kind of support Apple does. Part of Mike Camera's deal is that you get a 45-minute training session with the sales person on your schedule. I'm hoping Marc can resolve my frustrations and help me get to the next level with the HX300.

I am a parent of two young children. We wanted a camera that was not too heavy for travel, but with a nice zoom to be able to capture moments when the kids are at one end of the pool or field or stage and we're at the other. I also wanted a quick camera for action shots and sports events. I was so, so disappointed with this camera because the 1.5-2.5 second delay between the time you snap the photo and the time it's its ready for the next shot (in other words, the writing speed or how long it takes the image to record onto the memory card) is unacceptable. It really feels like an eternity before you can click again!!!! Certainly, you can set it to burst mode and take multiple shots with one click, but then you still have to wait 3-4 seconds for it to write before you can initiate the next burst. And this is with use of a ScanDisk HD 32GB/80 MB card, the fastest available! I was surprised not to see more reviews about the slow writing speed on line when I was researching. If you're looking to take action shots of your kids or pets, this is likely not the camera for you.

I am a compulsive photographer, and started shooting people and objects when I was 15. A friend presented me with my first digital camera when I was 45, and life has never been the same again. That was Sony Mavica, and it used 3.5 inch floppy disks to store pictures. The highest resolution was only 1.2 mega pixels, but with its 16x optical magnification it did wonders for me.This is my fourth digital Camera in 15 years. In fact the moment I read the specification and the Sony name, I sold my non Sonly Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) camera, removable lens, and telephoto lens (puchased for a futune) at a loss and bought this model. Once again, life has never been the same again after I bought it.Here are some of the features*** It offer 20+ Mega-pixel resolution, something that can do wonders*** It offer and unbelievable 50x OPTICAL magnification, again something that can do wondersCare to Take:*** The camera offers so much in terms of resolution and optical magnification that most users need to learn afresh that a powerful tool can be used in unbelievable way. Do explore all the possibilities*** Do use a monopod or a tripod for shooting at magnifications greater than 20xUniqueness:*** High resolution*** Super-high magnification*** Ability to keep the flash off in any and every situation (a manual switch is provided)*** All other standard software features are available*** Very light and ergonomic designRecommendation:*** If ease of use, high resolution, and high optical magnification is your need, then this is THE camera for you*** It is very economically pricedI have been using this Camera now for 3 months and for me it is dream come true.