List Price: $479.00
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Today's Bonus: 13% Off
For some reason this was available in New Zealand, via Asia, before the US/UK release. I've had it for about a week now. So, it is as spec'ed in the preview comments about it so far from the various websites.
It starts fast, focuses quickly, does not have shutter lag and is easy to handle and has tons of functions. It handles well for its size and does not feel heavy. Having the zoom on the side of the lens is great makes it more stable to hold the camera. I've taken some pretty amazing shots with it the zoom allows good creativity and the low light capability produces detailed and pleasing shots. How much different this camera is to the previous model I'm not really sure in terms of the additional megapixels via the new sensor. My previous camera was a Olympus E620 DSLR in comparison there is less detail with the Sony, although not hugely noticeable on a 23" LCD computer monitor. The camera is a lot of fun to use and it just begs you to be more creative when shooting. The partial colour shots are great. The LCD screen is very good, nice and bright. Nice touch to use the optical viewfinder and have the screen turn off. The built in user manual is great to look up what a function does without having to refer to the manual. Also when you find what you want it provides the option to go to that function right away so for example I wanted to look at the ND filter function, once I've read what it does I can then select to open the function from the help screen rather than exiting help and then trying to find it through the menu system.
It provides good flash coverage and the slow-sync function is great to prevent those deer in the headlights shots as this flash can put out a lot of light.
The superior auto mode is good for the stability/less blur in long range shots as it takes multiple photos and apparently works out which is the best photo to save. This is great as at maximum zoom the camera shake from your hands can be a problem if you've ever experienced using a megazoom before. Personally without that image stabilisation and multi-shot taking having a megazoom is a bit pointless as you'd never take good photos at long range without frustration.
Shooting movies and the ability to shoot a good sized still at the same time is very impressive probably one of the best features as I've always wanted to be able to take a high MP shot during a video shoot because that's when you typically need it and on other cameras it was always one or the other but not both at the same time. The video quality is very good. No issues there and the zoom works well when videoing. The microphone does pick up background noise around the camera (ie from people talking nearby) and without a zoom mic option is somewhat limiting. That said the audio capture is good.
Other good things HDR similar function to my iPhone 4S produces good highlighting without overcooking the photo. When it is taking multiple photos with HDR and other functions it takes a few seconds time to process and save these but I guess thats normal. The menu system is good particularly given how many functions this camera has.
I use it with a Sandisk 32GB Extreme 32GB SDHC Flash Memory Card (Class 10). Seems fine to use saves quickly. It is probably better to get higher spec cards like this one if shooting HD video.
On the downside... the lens cap can get stuck if you don't remove it before turning the power on. Flash there's no button to pop it up as per usual cameras you need to use the jog dial and select flash to get it to pop-up. Once set it then pops up the flash when needed. The LCD screen doesn't fully articulate but that is not a major for me.
In summary it will never please the pro's out there the image quality is very good but not perfect. Good enough for most people wanting the "best for me" rather than "best in the world" class of camera its affordable, has huge capabilities, more than acceptable image quality and fun. A family orientated camera for sure that everyone can pick up and use and get pleasing results (and compliments).
There is a link to a few photos in the comments section (all handheld shots, no photo editing). Have added some more photos very pleased with the colour accuracy.
A bit more on zooming in photo or video mode and focusing speed which is typically an issue with superzooms. To me the Sony seems quick to focus at maximum zoom in photo or video mode. We're certainly not talking more than a half a second to a second say from one subject to another at the far end of the zoom. It's quick and smooth with no hunting zoom noises. Would be nice if someone else reviewed this camera to concur!
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