Sony HX90V

A compact, robust travel camera with a good zoom – I wanted a travel camera that (a) was small enough to fit in the front pocket of my jeans, and (b) had a good zoom, and the HX90V satisfied the criteria. I have had it for more than a year and have used it on 3 overseas trips and am very satisfied. The 30x zoom is good – I used it to take long distance photos in African game parks and the results… Read more

were excellent.

It is also incredibly robust. Not only has it survived in my pocket for a couple of months while on the road, I dropped it over the side of a canoe and after a few days drying out in a container of rice it came back to life and still worked.

The only gripe is that when photos are copied to my laptop it doesn’t let Windows delete the images on the memory card – storage has to be cleared using the Sony operating system which is cumbersome.

Great Travel Companion – This camera is light, compact and well-designed, love its 180 degree tilting screen for selfies and travel vlogging. It produces good quality daylight photos for daily life or travelling. Video quality is pretty good during the day, a little lagging on auto focusing but quite smooth overall. My only complain is that the grip is a little slippery to hold on to. Show details

Great compact ultra-zoom camera for travelling – This is a smart looking camera that is relatively compact for an ultra zoom camera. This camera easily fits in a pocket which is useful if you are not a fan of carrying a bag with you. Although the 30x zoom is not as big as some of the recent releases from Panasonic and Canon, it does provide a useable zoom range for hand-held photography.… Read more

Compact camera competitors are offering up to 40x zoom albeit at an increased camera size, which can be a problem if you are looking for something that can fit in your pocket without feeling too bulky. Realistically the larger zooms would require a mini-tripod or resting the camera on something to be able to keep it steady.

The pop-up view finder is an essential feature for any camera that is used in bright daylight - it can also be used to review photos and video.

Battery life is reasonable. However, when the GPS function is activated it is considerably shorter, which is normal. The ability to charge the camera using a USB port and a standard mini USB to standard USB cable is a bonus, particularly if you are caught short without the Sony supplied charger. Most power banks will fit the camera and is a useful addition on trips and situations when you may need a further charge but can’t get to a power socket.

Video recording is at 1080 50p. Not 4K like some cameras however still produces reasonable quality. Video recording is easily started by pressing one button at any time when the camera is on and during any still camera function. This camera can eliminate the need to carry a video camera, particularly if it is teamed up with a reasonably sized SD card, say 32GB or more.

The adjustable ring is a good feature which can be customised depending on what you prefer to use it for. Particularly useful when using manual settings. It can be a bit bouncy and laggy when used for zooming in video mode.

Superior Auto (IA+) mode is an excellent feature. In this mode and when in low light, the camera will automatically take multiple pictures and combine them into one with improved quality. This is excellent for indoor photos in museums, historical churches and other places where a flash may not be allowed. This feature is surprisingly good and one that allows the camera to compete with larger aperture lenses.

The tilt-able LCD screen is another great feature, which allows selfies and video blogs. The 24mm lens setting is wide-angle enough to perform this task holding the camera in your hand without the assistance of a selfie stick.

The camera can be connected to a PC or smartphone through a wifi connection. This connection also allows live view and remote control of the camera. Although a useful function for uploading photos and remotely controlling the camera, it can be tedious in requiring to undertake the connection process each time you turn off and turn on your camera again. For example, on an iPhone you are required to access the iPhone’s wifi settings and select the camera each time. It seems as though there is no automatic reconnection, which may become frustrating if you prefer to use the wifi connection function.

The features and options available in the menu are reasonably good and covers the features that would normally be expected for a camera of this type. The selection of features is perhaps not as wide range as some cameras out there. For example, the camera does not provide shooting in RAW format. However, it should be realised that the purpose of this camera is that of a compact travel camera. Features such as RAW format are usually best suited to higher quality SLR cameras which consist of a significantly larger sensor. The camera does face recognition quite well and has the ability to enhance skin tones and other beauty effects to varying degrees of enhancement.

The camera has the ability to download various Apps that are specifically designed for the camera. Although the selection of Apps is quite limited, it does enable additional features to be added to the camera - some unfortunately at a cost.

This is a camera of reasonable quality, does not feel flimsy or too plastic. It features a quality Zeiss lens. The placement of buttons is well considered and buttons are such that they are easily pressed but not too easy that they would be activated by accident when handling the camera. The camera does not feature a touch screen as some cameras do - however, the menu is logical and easily navigated.

This camera is well designed and one that would be a good addition to any traveller looking for a compact and relatively easy to use camera.

Bargain Point & Shoot – I really enjoy my HX90V Cybershot compact camera. A sharp contrasty Zeiss lens, large sensor and clean image processing produce densely saturated accurate pictures under a wide range off conditions. Easy to use with very good 1920x1080 video capture via a dedicated Movie button, with NFC/WiFi (Android phone only) and GPS Geolocation embedding are… Read more

the icing on a very satisfying cake! The zoom is more than adequate for portraits to long distance wildlife shooting and the lens is marred only by mild edge distortion on the widest angles. Low light shooting is average only and in this regard you get what you pay for, newer RX100 models have a better low noise sensor chip but they can be nearly double the price. This otherwise solid metal body camera however, like most other point & shoots, does not like getting wet. This model is now superseded and can be picked up for a bargain $399 from JBHiFi.

Awesome Camer – Had mine a few years now but its a great camera, its been overseas and on many trips, no issues to date, Sony Reliability matched with a decent zoom lens My only gripe is certain menu options could be better layed out for ease of use A very capable point and shoot.  Show details

The best of the best! – I absolutely L.O.V.E my Sony camera! I have always had Sony cameras and have grown accustomed to their menu's and settings. But I wanted the best price and value. I got quotes from multiple stores and the cheapest price was $449. RRP online was $499. Best photo's ive ever taken too! Even if it's windy or my hands wobble the camera is intelligent… Read more

in that it has auto focus/stabilize and my pics come out amazing. Many people have been amazed at the amount of detail this camera picks up. Defines always will opt for Sony!

12 months Report – To be honest we generally change our cameras every year or two. Not because we don't like 'em but because new better models become available in Sony/Canon or occasionally Panasonic. No point though with this one. Are there any 'better' compact cameras available? Yep, sure, but NOT at this price point with that many features, 30x zoom, a… Read more

viewfinder, fold-up screen, manual mode and tilting flash whilst still fitting into my front jeans pocket. Took this camera to Germany and Singapore last year and if you have a $400-$500 budget, enjoy a bit of scene selection, low light indoors photography or even shooting concert video footage, this is as good as it gets for the money. Well done, Sony. Still impressed after 14 months. You should see the indoor close up concert video and photo footage with the built-in image stabiliser. And I was at least 50 rows up in the hall on the side or the zoomed in from the air Changi and Frankfurt Airport footage!

Best Camera I have owned. Replaced my old DSLR – This camera has almost everything. The great things about the camera include; the massive 30x zoom, the Zeiss lens, the amazing EVF (electronic view finder), the camera 180 degree tiltable display, the control ring and its battery life. Only downsides is the lack of RAW. The price is definitely a bargain for this pocket camera. I travelled Europe… Read more

with it and had no problems. Downloading pictures onto your smartphone is a breeze, only needing to download the app.

Amazingly Clear Pictures – The reason I purchased this camera was both as a replacement for my ageing Canon Power Shot and my desire for a camera that would fit in my shirt pocket. I was quite overwhelmed by the choice of suitable cameras now available. Eventually I took the advice of a sales assistant at the camera shop as for the best value for money within my budget and… Read more

also for a device with reasonably conventional controls. At this point of time I was becoming convinced that all of these devices are marvels of miniaturisation.

However, on unpacking this camera I initially thought I had purchased a DOG. On the initial set-up I seemed to get into an endless loop, it took several reads of the rather basic handbook to get it right, there was a little bit of ambiguity as to the Press/Select Enter command to save settings. But as soon as this was understood and I started taking some test pictures I just could not believe how sharp the image quality was. It far surpassed what I had expected from what I will be using as a simple point and shoot camera. I should also point out that this device has an amazing range of features and options, all to be mastered at a later date.

My next problem was downloading images to my computer, this essentially requires downloading an online program from Sony. Again, this has taken a lot of getting used to. (Edit) Please note I have subsequently found out that Windows 7, provides a picture import facility from this camera without any additional program(s)

The very basic handbook is probably my only real concern with this purchase. I do have minor concerns about the miniature connecting plugs and sockets and the slightly fragile looking pop-up flash, but with care they should be OK.

I would also like to make a comment about value for money. I look back some 50 years when it took almost 2 weeks wages to by the very basic Kodak Instamatic, a very popular film camera at the time. By comparison, this absolutely amazing piece of technology that I have just acquired cost little over half a week's average wage. (But you need a computer and some associated know how which was not required way back then).

Best Compact Travel Camera – Sony HX-90V Pros- 18.2 Mega pixel Exmor R sensor, 30x optical zoom; built in EVF, customisable control ring, 180 tiltable LCD high qulity video and best of all the features of this camera are just amazing it has GPS, NFC wireless . Well it may not be rx100 m4 but it sure does do the job well. To think of it this little gem is everything rx100m4 is… Read more

but without the 1 inch sensor. Highly recommend it and I won't put a hole in your wallet. I would recommend a spare battery.