Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony Cybershot DSC-HX1 9.1MP Digital Camera with 20x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization and 3.0 Inch LCD

Had this camera for about a week now and have already taken hundreds of photos and hours of video, it's difficult to put down. Simply stated, this camera is ideal for anyone wanting a technologically superior, intermediate/advanced, point and click digital camera, without the knowledge required or hassle of a DSLR. The panorama feature worked flawlessly right out of the box, just be careful not to have fast moving objects in the frame. The gorgeous, articulating LCD is a godsend. Expected a little better still picture quality from the CMOS sensor but is overall satisfactory, color reproduction is very accurate. 1080p video quality is superb. In camera editing features are great. 20x optical zoom is outstanding. I can achieve very sharp, high contrast photos using basic editing software such as Picasa. Video and stereo sound is top quality. I bought this camera after retiring my DSC-H1 (the original ultra-zoom, 12x). The H1 was the workhorse of my camera collection and I relied upon it to get the job done, quickly and conveniently. The upgrades from the H1 to the HX1 are immeasurable. I especially love the G lens, the speed (10fps burst) and the fact that you can zoom video. It's as if they took every issue I had with the H1 (which were few) and fixed, upgraded, and or added it to the HX1 and then some. My only con is the fact that it doesn't seem able to fit aftermarket lens filters. I am hoping to rely on this new version for many years to come. Great camera!

I agree with the above reviewer who talked about the lens popping off on power up, brilliant!!! Makes me smile every time! :)

Advice: Purchase an extra battery, good case, LCD screen protectors, basic cleaning kit, large memory stick (at least 4gb), and I would recommend a car charger (has saved me many times). Note: Most if not all Sony products are proprietary, meaning only Sony accessories will work with your Sony product for the most part, i.e. batteries, memory card, etc.. This is not an issue for me as I trust Sony quality.

I just took this camera on a 2 week trip to Brazil and Argentina and I absolutely love it! I have owned 5 Sony cameras and this is the best that I've seen. Prior to this, I've had 4 point-and-and-shoot cameras from the cybershot series as well as the DSLR A100. I travel extensively, so I mostly use the camera for scenic shots. I've had the A100 for about 3 years now. While I am happy with the image quality, it does weigh quite a bit especially if you have to carry 2 lenses with it. Also, my fiance loves to take videos, so he's been using the T10 as a backup camera and camcorder. I was looking for a lighter camera that also has good video capabilities, and viola! I found the HX1! I struggled between giving 4 or 5 stars on this review, and at the end decided on 5 stars. Here's why:

You must know what type of camera you need before making a purchase. For me, the HX 1 has the perfect package. It has 20x optical zoom (which also works in video mode), perfect for spotting small animals in the Amazon jungle. The innovative hand-held twilight and anti-motion blur modes take 6 burst shots and even out to give a clearer picture. I've tried all these modes with maximum zoom and the image qualities were excellent. Even with super-steady-shot in place, I could not achieve the same clarity with my A100 in low light conditions or with motion. I took pictures of monkeys in motion, landscape shots on a wobbly canoe, zoomed into flowers across the river...and the HX1 always delivered. The panoramic mode was really awesome. I took fantastic panormas of Rio de Janeiro and Iguazu Falls, vertically and horizontally. While the resolution is not high and there are glitches if you look closely, I cannot complain because I would not have taken any of those shots if I had to stitch together the panormic image myself. The 10fps burst mode is really cool. It's true that you have to wait for it to process, but who cares if you can catch something in live action. The HD videos came out very very clear, even on my HDTV. I bought an 8gb memory stick and almost filled up the whole card because it was so much fun to play with all the features of the camera. And the weight really mattered. This camera was so much lighter than what I expected given it's slew of functions, that I took it everywhere, even on long hikes. Many of the photos that I took would not have existed if I had to lug the SLR because it was just too bulky and heavy.

That being said, this camera does have its shortcomings. It is a high end point-and-shoot, so do not expect it to deliver SLR quality shots. For that, you need a real SLR. All the reviews that said it performs poorly in high ISO setting are true, and the noise is definitely noticeable beyond 800 or so. But again for me, I take mostly daytime outdoor shots, so it didn't really matter. In the intelligent mode and program modes, you can only choose "no macro" or "automatic macro". This is kind of annoying when you really need a macro shot of a flower or insect, because the camera sometimes doesn't know what to focus on (it will automatically focus on the object closest to it, which may not be the desired subject). You can choose manual focus, but it's a bit of a hassle to keep changing settings, as you cannot really move the lens back and forth like a real SLR lens. Thus, you will have to choose the distance for the camera to focus on, which may seem too long when the butterfly is about to fly away... =)

I give this camera 5 stars because it's perfect for my needs - namely the 20x zoom, the smaller size compared to DSLRs, the HD video capability (a good HD camcorder will cost upwards of $600), strong battery life (takes up to 380 shots on one charge) and the innovative functions. such as panoramic mode, hand held twilight, and anti-motion blur modes. It does have enough manual functions such as shutter priority or aperature priority modes and manual focus should you choose to use them. All in all, it fits all my needs and I had loads of fun with it.

Few months ago I got H50. I loved it but hated the noise level on pics. I gave it back hoping that Sony will come out with something new. And here it is!!! I've had it for 3 days now and cant say anything except for LOVE iT!! Hand-hend twighligt takes good quality pics. intelligent auto works good, sometimes when used with zoom it gets confused and switches to macro and gives blurry pics, but...still love it!!! Battery life is very good, it shows on the display how many minutes you have left ( I took about 200 pics and still have 170 min left). Great, amazing camera!!!!!

I struggled over a 4 or 5 star rating for this product but ultimately believe that Sony has delivered an excellent package in the HX1. The other cameras I considered prior to purchasing the HX1 were several DSLRs, which I ruled out due to lack of support for video and the Canon SX1. The tipping points for me on the Sony were the panorama, twilight steady shot and high speed burst modes.

The image quality is absolutely excellent and there are more than enough program modes to help you get the ideal image for your shooting conditions. The intelligent mode selection works surprisingly well and is our defacto setting for the camera. I must say that while the panorama setting initially felt like gimmick, it is REALLY cool and works very well. I now look for opportunities to shoot panoramas! There a many more than you think - this feature will change your perspective on shooting images.

The video is high quality, though I've been wrapped up in the still image shots since getting the camera a few days ago so I can't comment fully on this yet.

There are only two significant issues that keep this from being the perfect camera for me. The first is the damn Memory Stick format. What the heck is Sony thinking with this? I realize that corporate greed and ego drive Sony to create their own standards for every thing but this has nearly prevented me from purchasing this excellent product. I have purchased a 4 GB MS Duo Pro and a 8 GB Micro SD with a MS Duo adapter. I have not used the Micro SD with the adapter yet but I'm concerned about speed. We shall see.

The other frustration for me is the speed of writing the 10 shots taken in burst mode to the memory card. It takes 10-15 seconds to write the 10 shots to the card. That seems oddly high to me but I'm sure that they tried to make it as fast as possible.

Overall, the camera is fairly small and light for a "near SLR" experience. I recommend this camera to those who want the super zoom, HD video and image control offered herein.

Only had this camera for 2 days but I can tell you I really enjoy having it already. Very easy to use, very smart auto mode, image stabilization and auto focus. Great quality pictures and videos as well as sound. Love the panorama mode. Love the features: anti-blur, 20x zoom, pictures taken in low lit environments, and the ability to plug it right in to my HDTV!