Advises regarding SONY CYBER-SHOT DSC-HX200V

AfXv237 · Dec 20, 2012

Hello,
I am looking forward to buying a Compact Digital Camera which has the following:
-Optical zoom 20x+
-price range: up to 400 euros
-MP: 16-18
-1080p @50/60fps
other facilities doesn't really matter. I know this sounds too general. That's why I need some help.
In the past weeks I've been searching for a camera and I found Sony HX200v the most suitable. I read about general specifications, watched a lot of video test(the quality seems to be ok for my inexperienced eye) , reviews, but I'm still undecided.

So these are few specs:
-Light sensivity: 12,800 ISO
-18 MP
-Optical Zoom: 33.8x
-Sensor size: 1/2.3" 6.2x4.6mm
-The lens seem avarage: Wide angle: 24mm; Aperture(wide angle): f/2.8; Aperture(telephoto): f/5.6

All in all, i guess at this price it's good enough. What worries me is the Sensor's Pixel size: 1.6 µm² , which it is said that is below average.

I want to find more information to be sure I will buy a good product. The question is: are these specs good? I do not expect to get quality of a DSLR but I don't want low quality or blurry photos/videos. I know it depends on memory card's speed but all I refer to are the components of the camera. I'd be grateful for every advice. And in case there is any better Compact digital camera at this price range please recommend. Once again, I do not care about facilities (3D panoramic photos, slow motion etc) or size/weight or whatever but the specs(or similar) I've mentioned. Thanks!

brunerww · Dec 22, 2012

AfXv237 - The 359€ HX200V is a very good camera in this class. Its competitors, the 428€ Canon SX50 and 465€ Panasonic FZ200, are both above your 400€ limit and have fewer megapixels than you are looking for (although higher megapixel count is not always better). And the Canon only shoots 24p.

If you want 16-18MP, 1080/50p, and a 20x optical zoom below 400€ - the HX200V is pretty much your only option - except for the 339€ Praktica 18-Z36C, which no one has ever heard of

I hope this is helpful and best of the holidays.

Bill

AfXv237 · Dec 25, 2012

brunerww said:
AfXv237 - The 359€ HX200V is a very good camera in this class. Its competitors, the 428€ Canon SX50 and 465€ Panasonic FZ200, are both above your 400€ limit and have fewer megapixels than you are looking for (although higher megapixel count is not always better). And the Canon only shoots 24p.

If you want 16-18MP, 1080/50p, and a 20x optical zoom below 400€ - the HX200V is pretty much your only option - except for the 339€ Praktica 18-Z36C, which no one has ever heard of

I hope this is helpful and best of the holidays.

Bill

Thanks for advice. What do you think of Nikon P510? Would it be better than the HX200v? What about the others you mentioned? The Panasonic FZ200 or Canon SX50? Which one of these 4 would be the most suitable disregarding the conditions I assessed.