Mark

An ultra-zoom digicam with HD video recording capabilities and some handy functions for still shooting.Sony has brought its Exmor CMOS technology to the super-zoom arena in the form of the 9.1-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-HX1. Styled like a mini-DSLR – but too big to be pocketable – the HX1 is the highest-priced model on the current market. However, it boasts a 20x optical zoom lens plus a couple of features that make it stand out from the crowd, including a Sweep Panorama mode and 10 frames/second continuous shooting speed.

A compact,15x optical zoom digicam with high resolution and advanced image processing functions.Sony’s top-of-the-range ‘super zoom’ digicam, the Cyber-shot DSC-H9 combines a compact Carl Zeiss 15x optical zoom lens (equivalent to 31-465mm in 35mm format) with an 8.1-megapixel (effective) CCD imager. Like the DSC-T100 model reviewed in late April, the H9 comes with Sony’s BIONZ image processor which was first featured on the DSLR-A100 model but has been adapted to support new functions like Face Detection and Double Anti-Blur stabilisation.

A pleasing long zoom digicam with above-average performance for both still shots and video.Sony has replaced last year’s DSC-H1 long-zoom model with two new cameras, the 7.2-megapixel DSC-H5 and the 6-megapixel DSC-H2. The H5 sits at the top of the range, offering not only higher resolution but a larger LCD and 30 MB of on-board memory. As the built-in memory only holds nine high-resolution shots, you need additional storage in the form of a Memory Stick Duo card (a 1GB card was supplied for our tests).

The DSC-H1 Cyber-shot is Sony’s first entry in the competitive, image-stabilised, ultra-zoom digicam market. Designed for photo enthusiasts, the 5-megapixel H1 provides a generous suite of controls and can record JPEG stills with 4:3 or 3:2 aspect ratios plus MPEG movie clips at 30 frames/second with VGA quality.