Information Madness

The segment involving super zoom cameras in a mini DSLR frame is going through a lot of growth in the last few months. Sony’s offer in this segment is the HX 100V that has a 30X optical zoom lens which gives it a very big advantage over the other cameras on view. It manages to focus extremely fast despite the full zoom.

Even though the Nikon Coolpix P500 and the Canon Ixus 301S have higher optical zoom lens, but the Sony HX 100V provides a whole range of features that make it stand out among the competition.

The camera also has GPS functionality and the ability to capture 3D images. Its 1080 pixels full high definition video capturing is great.

The Sony HX 100V has a 1/2.3 Exmor R CMOS sensor with 16.2 MP effective megapixels resolution. Sony is branding it as the ultimate super zoom camera in the market because it is better even than the precision digital zoom as it crops up a portion of a photo taken at the maximum image size to obtain a zoomed image. When compared with normal digital zoom functions that directly enlarge the image data, the smart zoom offers better image quality by cropping the data.

The 3 inch LCD which can also tilt makes it a treat to view the captured images. The LCD is flanked on the left by the hardware controls which include the dial, menu, delete, video record and the play buttons. Apart from the LCD, the optical viewfinder has a sensor that can automatically detect when you place your eye on it. The Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T Lens has a focal length of an equivalent of 35mm. The maximum aperture of f/2.8 is again a great advantage.

The camera also comes with an automatic pop up flash. The ISO range of the camera starts at 100 and finishes at 3200. There is a whole range of shooting modes you can experiment with including the full manual mode, program mode, iAuto mode, Speed priority and Aperture Priority. Some other photo modes include the Superior Auto, the iSweep Panorama, 3D Sweep Panorama, 3D Still Image, Handheld Twilight, Backlight Correction and Anti Motion Blur. The scene selection includes Advanced Sports Shooting, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Soft Snap, Snow, Beach, Fireworks, High Sensitivity, Gourmet, Pet and Soft Skin.

The camera is entirely black with a tainted look.