Sony Cyber-shot HX · on sale April 2011
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V: the pocket zoom that knew where it was
In 2011 Sony fitted a 24–384 mm lens, a GPS receiver and a panorama sweep into a body 34 mm deep, and asked about $350. Reviewers praised the ambition, then argued about the price and the pictures.
- Launched
- April 2011
- Sensor
- 16.2 MP CMOS
- Lens
- 24–384 mm, 16×
- Card
- SD, SDHC, SDXC, Memory Stick Duo
- Battery
- NP-BG1
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V specs: sensor, lens, battery, memory card and cable
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V came out in April 2011 as a 16.2 MP CMOS compact with a 24–384 mm (35 mm equivalent) 16× zoom lens. It runs on the NP-BG1 battery. Sources
- Sensor
- CMOS, 1/2.3", 16.2 MP source
- Lens
- 24–384 mm equivalent, 16× zoom source
- Memory card
- SD, SDHC, SDXC, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo source
- Battery
- NP-BG1 source
- USB / A/V cable
- See our Sony cable page
Meet the camera
It is a slab with a handle. PhotographyBLOG lists the body at about 105 by 59 by 34 millimetres and 245 grams with battery and card, and noted a textured grip on the front and a thumb rest on the back.1 Trusted Reviews liked how it sat in the hand but thought it chunky even for a travel compact: a coat pocket, probably, trousers, probably not.3 Sony branded the lens a G lens, its top optical grade, and the front carries that badge.3
Sony announced it on 31 January 2011 alongside the 30x HX100V, with US shipping promised for April and a planned price near $350.4 Imaging Resource's specification table lists availability from 15 April and a retail price of $349.99;5 PhotographyBLOG listed it at $349.99 and £339.99 in June,1 Trusted Reviews at £299.99 in July,3 and Expert Reviews at £251 by late October.2 The British prices therefore ran from £339.99 in June to £251 in October, though each outlet took its price from its own source.
Why this one was interesting
A lens that started wide and kept going
Trusted Reviews pointed out that 24 mm was among the widest starting points on the market, level with Panasonic's TZ20 and Fujifilm's F550 EXR and ahead of Nikon's 25 mm and Canon's SX220 HS at 28 mm.3 PhotographyBLOG found distortion low at both ends of the range, with macro focus down to about 5 centimetres at wide angle.1 Digital zoom stretched the claim to 64x, and in Smart Zoom to 115x; at the far end the pictures shrank to VGA size, which Trusted Reviews called very much emergency use only.3
GPS in a pocket camera
A built-in receiver geotagged the pictures, with a compass. PhotographyBLOG found it accurate in central London once it had a fix, but it took several minutes to find satellites after power-on, and leaving it running cut battery life from about 400 shots to about 300.1
Sweep Panorama and 3D
Hold the shutter, pan the camera, and the HX9V stitched a panorama for you. Trusted Reviews called it the best in-camera ultra-wide imaging available, and PhotographyBLOG said the high-resolution mode produced about 42.9 megapixels, though a sweep that was too slow or ended early left a truncated picture.31 A 3D still mode, built from two consecutive shots, needed a 3D television to enjoy.1
Full HD with the zoom working
Both PhotographyBLOG and Trusted Reviews noted 1080p video with stereo sound, a one-touch movie button and zoom during recording;13 Trusted Reviews called the video capabilities class leading.3 Our later Sony DSC-HX20V retrospective covers the 2012 camera that carried this recipe to a 20x zoom.
What it left out
There is no aperture or shutter priority mode and no raw file.123 In Manual mode the lens offers only two apertures at each focal length, which PhotographyBLOG explained as a neutral density filter doing the work of a stop-down, and Trusted Reviews said often meant f/3.3 or f/8.13 Expert Reviews added that manual exposure adjustments through the control pad were slow to update on screen.2 There is no viewfinder.1 The HDMI cable was not in the box.1
The dark: its weak point
The reviewers agreed noise arrived somewhere between ISO 800 and 3200 and disagreed about where it became a problem. PhotographyBLOG found it well controlled up to ISO 800 and increasing at ISO 1600 and 3200.1 Trusted Reviews saw ISO 800 as the tipping point where noise became visible, found ISO 1600 very well controlled, and said ISO 3200 lost edge detail.3 Expert Reviews had a different complaint: low-light shots came out smooth but lost fine detail to noise reduction, and the 16-megapixel sensor could not match the cleaner detail of lower-resolution rivals such as Canon's SX230 HS.2
Real photographs taken with this camera. The sensitivity shown is recorded in each file's own EXIF data, which also names the camera as a DSC-HX9V.
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The little wins
Superior Auto and the six-shot trick
Trusted Reviews found Intelligent Auto and Superior Auto often gave more contrast and tonality than Program or Manual, and said Superior Auto's image blending helped in low light and contrasty scenes.3 The hand-held Twilight and Anti Motion Blur modes combine six rapid shots to cut noise, PhotographyBLOG reported.1
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How it drew the picture
PhotographyBLOG scored image quality 4.5 out of 5: slightly soft out of the camera, with chromatic aberration well controlled and some purple fringing in high-contrast scenes.1 Trusted Reviews called the pictures crisp, punchy and well coloured, with some of the sharpest edges it had seen from a compact in recent months, though at 100 percent the fine detail looked painted on.3 Expert Reviews was the least impressed of the three: it found the lens sharp into the corners but noticed visible noise reduction and sharpening on grass, airbrushed skin tones and a slightly blocky look even at ISO 100.2
Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture. The bird picture records a focal length of 68.48 mm in its EXIF data, against 4.28 mm in several of the wider shots here. The lens's actual range is listed as 4.3 to 68.5 mm,5 so by our reading of the EXIF this was taken at the long end of the zoom.
Where it let you down
Start-up speed is where the reviews conflicted: PhotographyBLOG put start-up at just over a second against the 2.3 seconds on the spec sheet,1 while Trusted Reviews timed it around three.3 Expert Reviews thought the autofocus very fast, with about 1.3 seconds between shots.2 PhotographyBLOG listed no way to turn SteadyShot off and an HDR mode with only on and off.1 Expert Reviews found the speed setting for continuous shooting stored in a different menu from the mode itself, and Trusted Reviews would have preferred the AVCHD and MP4 switch less deeply buried.23
What the reviewers said in 2011
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| PhotographyBLOG | 15 Jun 2011 | Design 5, features 5, ease of use 5, image quality 4.5, value 4.5 out of 5. The best travel zoom the site had tested, ahead of the Panasonic TZ20.1 |
| Expert Reviews | 30 Oct 2011 | 4 out of 5 stars. It comes "very close to greatness", but at this price only the very best image quality will do.2 |
| Trusted Reviews | 12 Jul 2011 | 4 out of 5 stars; image quality 9, build quality 9, design features 8, value 7. Pros listed: build quality, image quality, ease of use; cons: restricted aperture control, no raw, price. An outstanding travel compact at a premium price.3 |
We did not find a full lab-style review from Imaging Resource or DPReview; Imaging Resource's announcement and specification table supply the launch facts only. Other full reviews exist that we have not drawn on, such as one by Gavin Stoker at TechRadar,6 and PhotographyBLOG links two more, from PC Advisor and ePHOTOzine, in its review roundup.1
The timeline
- 31 January 2011Sony announces the HX9V and HX100V.4
- 15 April 2011Imaging Resource lists it as available, at $349.99.5
- 15 June 2011PhotographyBLOG publishes its review.1
- 12 July 2011Trusted Reviews publishes its review, at £299.99.3
- 30 October 2011Expert Reviews publishes its review, at £251.2
Should you buy one now?
Buy one if you want a pocket zoom that goes properly wide, shoots good video and makes panoramas with no effort, and you can live without raw files and exposure priority. It launched at $349.99;5 what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. Before you bid, check these:
- The battery. It uses an NP-BG1;5 a fresh one is on Amazon ↗, and the figures quoted run from 300 to 410 shots depending on the source and on GPS.125
- The card. It takes SD, SDHC and SDXC cards and Memory Stick Duo;5 see our memory card guide.
- The GPS. Turn it on and wait: it needed several minutes for a first fix in the 2011 test.1
- The zoom. Trusted Reviews noted a little play between the barrel sections at full extension, so check that it extends and retracts smoothly.3
- The screen. Check the 3-inch screen for scratches.
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card.
See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗NP-BG1 battery ↗
Sources
- PhotographyBLOG, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V review by Mark Goldstein (15 Jun 2011)
- Expert Reviews, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V review by Ben Pitt (30 Oct 2011)
- Trusted Reviews, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V review by Audley Jarvis (12 Jul 2011; review price £299.99)
- Imaging Resource, Sony HX100V and HX9V announcement (31 Jan 2011)
- Imaging Resource, Sony DSC-HX9V specification table (availability 15 Apr 2011, retail price $349.99)
- TechRadar, Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX9V review by Gavin Stoker (multi-page; not otherwise used on this page)
Camera photos by Liondartois (CC BY-SA 3.0); other photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.