Sony DSC-HX90V 30x Digital Camera

Great alternative to the more costly RX100. This is a camera that works well under good light. In dim conditions, the quality of the pictures suffer. Overall, a recommended camera for recreational use and portability.

Nunca me llegó, espere por 3 semanas y nada. Muy mal, no he vuelto a encontrar el producto. Una pena

I should probably say first that I am a huge fan of Sony cameras. I have a Sony DSLR and 2 previous HX models. First, if you are wanting this camera to perform like a DSLR, this camera will not do that. It is still a point and shoot with a small sensor. As long as you are aware of this limitation, then you will probably be pleasantly surprised. I purchased this camera mainly for use at concerts, going to places like Seaworld, video recording my daughters dance performances, and just general photography. I do have a DSLR but I find that its size and weight prevents me from using it very often. There is nothing wrong with my other HX models but the 30x optical zoom on this camera in a small body was just too much to pass on. My favorite feature of this camera is the control ring. I thought it would be the zoom, but it's definitely the control ring. I find myself shooting in S mode quite often at concerts and the control ring allows me to easily and quickly make adjustments in the dark. This is wonderful!! My least favorite feature is how the pop-up viewfinder works. It pops up but then you have to pull part of the eye piece towards you to get it to work. Its a little cumbersome, but not terrible. The size is nice. Since this was going to be my main concert camera size was extremely important. Most venues do not allow any camera with a detachable lens or one where the lens extends beyond a certain length. My larger HX (sorry, I dont know the model number off the top of my head but its in the "bridge camera" size range) would often give me issues. I would have to explain that no, the lens does not detach but sometimes they still didn't want to let me in with it. I am confident that I will not have that problem with this camera. I know there are lighter and smaller cameras out there but I'm not sure if any of them pack so much into them. The grip took a little getting used to as the body is slightly different than my other HX model, but that was nothing significant. The record button for video recording is in a much better position now and can be found easily in the dark. The menus and scene selections are very intuitive, particularly if you have ever used a Sony camera before. The battery life is as expected. I had no problems during a 3 hour concert taking stills and videos about 40% of the time. The picture and video quality was what I would expect from Sony and this type of camera. It works excellent in great lighting, struggles a bit in low light. I'm not one of those that zooms in at 100% and looks for purple fringing, noise, and so forth. I also don't do large prints - 8x10 maximum, but mostly 4x6. I found the concert images were better than expected. This is really putting the device to its maximum capabilities. I know I'm not going to get perfect images when you zoom in at 30x optical from really far away. But I could tell who I was taking pictures of and wide angle shots caught some really beautiful mood pictures of the overall stage. I was impressed that the camera was able to capture the colors in almost the same hue as I was seeing with my eyes. I've noticed that at concerts cameras tend to not be able to capture the stage lighting well. Purples come out as blue, and so forth. With some experiments with the settings, this camera did a pretty decent job. The tilting screen is nice to have on such a small camera. I kind of wish that it rotated in the opposite direction so that you could hold the camera above your head and use the lcd screen, but this is a minor issue. It worked well for taking a selfie. Overall I am very pleased with this camera. I would definitely recommend it to others.

I bought this DSC-HX90V to replace my old DSC-HX-9V which recently had a scratch on the lens. I searched and compared among Nikon, Panasonic and Sony.Finally I decided to continue with Sony. I was particularly concerned about some reviewers' comments on poor low light sensitivity, but the low light issue was not my prior experience with the 9V model. So I ordered it anyway. Today I received the HX90V and I am happy about my decision. I shot at various light levels and tried at different Scene and Auto settings. I would like to share my observations here: 1. Shooting at very dim indoor lights: It turned photos into very good photos. 2. Shooting at objects placed under dinning table with lights dimmed to minimum: got dim photo just light seen by naked eyes. When the light turned very slightly righter, still dim, it triggered much brighter photo. The trigger level is still low light to me. 3. I finally found the difference: 90V has two auto settings on the dial: Intelligent Auto (Green Symbol on dial)) is not as good as Superior Auto (Yellow Symbol). Superior Auto took a decent photo when Intelligent could not even produce any photo. Also if the Scene (SCN symbol) is set to Steady Night Shot (Half moon with Palm hand), it will take in more lights than other daylight setting. So by choosing the Steady Night Shot and then also use the Superior Auto, much better low light photos are obtained. 4. Other settings that can produce good photos under very low lights: Set dial at A (Aperture Priority) and P (Program Auto). These two settings will take a picture with one shutter click sound. The Superior Auto setting will take a photo with several shutter click sounds. Also I just realized another benefit when I searched the Sony web site. It provides a free download of Play Memories software, which is very extensive in the latest edition. It will be worthwhile for people who may want to try some fancy work on photography or simply organizing the photos on the computer. It search through the hard drive and organize them under one roof. . I would give it a 5 stars if it does not have the following minor issues: 1. The On-Off button is level with the body and very difficult to find it in the dark. Wish it can be found more easily if it can be made more obvious when being searched by finger in the dark. Some difference in vertical height or surface texture will be easier to use in the dark. 2. The zoom at 30X may lock onto out of focus scene due to hand vibration and then I needed to pull back the zoom and restart the zoom a few times before it will refocus properly. 3. The battery compartment door is very difficult to open and close. Wish it is Slide knob is bigger, with more friction for easier opening with the finger. 4. My old HX9V will display remaining battery power for how many minutes. The HX90V does not display that information. That information is very useful to let user know how full is the battery and how much longer usage time is available. Overall, so far I like it.

Great camera, we love it and fit in a pocket.