Image Quality Review:
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 18
megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average
image size of around 5Mb.
The inherent beauty of any super zoom camera is the ability to choose
from a wide range of framing options, and photograph a broad range of
subjects, without having to take a single step forward or back.
Unfortunately most new product releases appear to be about impressive
specification lists rather than impressive performances. Fortunately for
the 30x optical capacity of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V, it’s not
just an exercise in numbers however. Here the entirety of the focal
range is actually useful in that we were able to achieve sharp results
consistently from shot to shot when shooting handheld at maximum
telephoto - a rare thing indeed. The performance at the telephoto end
of most competing models is distinctly soft.
Conversely, at the extreme wideangle setting we did notice some slight
fall-off towards the corners of the frame, though this is only visible
if you’re looking for it and is subtle at best, as is the inevitable
pixel fringing between areas of high contrast. Generally though, the
HX200V acquits itself very well indeed, with bags of detail in every
shot and good, even exposures too that manage to maintain both
highlight and shadow detail. The result is that you will very rarely
find yourself wanting to alter any of the results straight out of the
camera in Photoshop or its ilk.
For shooting in low light, this Sony of course offers the
impressively broad light sensitivity range option of captures between
ISO100 and ISO12800 at top whack. You’ll want to stick at ISO3200 or
below however if you want to avoid the effects of vigorous processing to
keep image noise well under control. However at ISO 6400 we’d offer
that results are still perfectly usable, so it appears this pushing of
the spec is advantageous to the user rather than just a number to stick
on the box.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V is a super zoom camera that is
actually not only a jack-of-all-trades, but also a master of most of
them. Picture wise, there’s not a lot here to find fault with.
Noise:
There are 8 ISO settings available on the Sony CyberShot DSC-HX200V.
Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO
setting.
 |
| ISO 100 |
 |
| ISO 200 |
 |
| ISO 400 |
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| ISO 800 |
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| ISO 1600 |
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| ISO 3200 |
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| ISO 6400 |
 |
| ISO 12800 |
Focal Range
The Sony CyberShot DSC-HX200V's 30x zoom lens offers an incredibly versatile focal range, as illustrated by these examples:
 |
| 27mm |
 |
| 810mm |
Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in
Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in
Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are just a little soft and
ideally benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe
Photoshop. Alternatively you can change the in-camera sharpening
level.
 |
| Original (100% Crop) |
 |
| Sharpened (100% Crop) |
Chromatic Aberrations
The Sony CyberShot DSC-HX200V handled chromatic aberrations well
during the review, with some purple fringing present around the edges
of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.
 |
| Example 1 (100% Crop) |
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| Example 2 (100% Crop) |
Night Shot
The Sony CyberShot DSC-HX200V's maximum shutter speed is 30
seconds in the Manual mode, which is great news if you're seriously
interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a
shutter speed of 4 seconds at ISO 100. I've included a 100% crop of
the image to show what the quality is like.
 |
| Night Shot |
 |
| Night Shot (100% Crop) |
Conclusion:
Undoubtedly the biggest recommendation we have with the Sony Cyber-shot
DSC-HX200V is that, by daylight, we were able to achieve sharp results
shooting handheld with it with greater consistency than we have been able to achieve with pretty much any super
zoom camera to date. The hand-held twilight mode selectable from within
the scene modes also comes in very useful by night. Simply put, if you
line up a trick-sy shot there is more chance of you actually pulling it
off with this Sony, which many would agree is worth the admission price
alone, even if it is a rather pricey £479.
OK, so there’s no ability to shoot raw files here which will be a deal
breaker for some, but to be honest the results from the HX200V's JPEGs
didn’t give us much cause, if any, to find fault. Though it might
satisfy the enthusiast looking for a portable means of gaining some
extra poke in the lens department as well as the family user who would
like a wealth of framing options at their fingertips, this is after all a
consumer level camera, and has to be rated as such. Fortunately then
impressions are more favourable than not.
As an all in one with ‘DSLR lite’ style handling that really does offer
most, if not all, of what you need - and delivers consistently high
image quality - the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V takes some beating if a
big zoom really is chief among your imaging requirements.
Photographyblog highly recommends it.
Final Ratings:
Design: 4.5
Features: 4.5
Ease-of-use: 4.5
Image Quality: 4
Value for money: 4
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