Sony HX1

Sony HX1 is Sony's Small Sensor Superzoom camera first revealed on April of 2009. It has a 9 MegaPixel, CMOS 1/2.4" sized sensor and has a maximum resolution of 3456 x 2592.

The HX1 is rated #230 out of 244 in Small Sensor Superzoom cameras and all around #1019 out of 1465 for cameras in our list. Remember to check our Advanced camera finder to see camera results based on your personalized criteria.

The following is a graph of various criteria used in the scoring system.

You can check the HX1 from different angles in the gallery below.

Below is a collection of pros and cons of the Sony HX1 based on features that are normally viewed as crucial in a camera.

The Sony HX1 features the Bionz processor. The sensor dimension in the Sony HX1 is 6.104mm x 4.578mm (1/2.4"). The 28 mm² sensor has the ability to resolve 3456 x 2592 pixels and aspect ratios of 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. The camera boasts Image Stabilization (Optical). Optical stabilization is more desirable than digital stabilization as the latter can easily produce cropping.

Samsung Releases Faster Versions of EVO MicroSD Cards

The CMOS sensor boasts 9 megapixels and has a native ISO range of 125 - 3200. Unfortunately, RAW files are not supported which means that the user has less margin for error.

The graphic below displays the HX1's sensor dimensions in comparison to other common sizes. The HX1 sensor comes with a crop factor of 5.9 and is pointed out in green.

Pentax 17 Pre-Orders Outperform Expectations by a Landslide

To get a sense of different aspect ratios, you should refer to the visual below.

Sony HX1 is 1.20 lbs (544 grams / 19.19 oz) and the volume of the camera is 115mm x 83mm x 92mm (4.5" x 3.3" x 3.6"). The weight of normal Small Sensor Superzoom camera is 387 grams so the Sony HX1 is more heavy in comparison with other rivals.

Apple Innovates by Creating Next-Level Optical Stabilization for iPhone

The following is a pic of the Sony HX1 besides a softdrink to help you have a sense of its scale.

The top view below will highlight the button design on the HX1.

The HX1 houses a fixed lens and it has a focal range of 28-560mm making it a 20.0 x zoom which is ideal and would enable you to zoom right in.

At the widest 28mm, the lens will have an aperture of f2.8 making it kind of slow and not the best in low light events and you may struggle to capture good bokeh. You will also have to boost the ISO setting resulting in noisy pictures. At the tele end, 560mm is incredible zoom and comes with f5.2 which is really slow and you may need to go with slow shutter speeds.

The HX1 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes
• HDMI Yes

Cameras that come with NFC and Bluetooth compatibility can easily be used wirelessly through smartphones. You will be able to send pictures and usually adjust camera settings without the hassle of connecting straight to the camera.

Certain applications even stream a Liveview and click the shutter in case you aren't near the camera. If the camera has a HDMI out, it could be attached to an external monitor. Most cameras will allow you to recharge the battery with the USB socket.

The maximum video resolution in the Sony HX1 is 1440 x 1080 and it can shoot in H.264 format. 1080p is low by today's requirements. You should target a minimum FUll HD resolution for good video. The camera doesn't feature a mic and headphone jack which means you have got little control over your sound. It is perhaps best to look at a different camera if you require good sound in your video clips.

Sony HX1 doesn't include weather sealing so wet conditions can easily damage the camera.

The Sony HX1 has a 3 inch tilting display supporting a resolution of 230 thousand dots.

Unfortunately the display is not a touch screen.

Japan-exclusive Leica Leitz Phone 3 features big sensor and new modes

The View Finder specs regarding Sony HX1 are below:

• ViewFinder Electronic

In those bright outdoor situations which make the camera screens washed out and difficult to view, viewfinders will be pretty helpful.

Sony HX1 has the ability to shoot continuously at 10.0 frames per second. The max shutter speed is 1/4000 seconds.

Sony HX1 boasts only integrated flash lacking external flash ability.

Sony HX1 boasts just Contrast Based Auto Focus and doesn't have Phase Detect Auto Focus. Phase Detection focusing is a lot snappier & accurate in comparison with Contrast Based focusing.

The Sensor has 9 focus points to pick from. Sony HX1 comes with manual focusing if required during low light conditions or you want to have more accurate focusing control.

The general Small Sensor Superzoom camera battery life is 316. Fujifilm HS35EXR features the highest possible (600) battery life within this range of cameras.

Underneath is a listing of Small Sensor Superzoom cameras having the strongest battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm HS35EXR
HX1 vs Fujifilm HS35EXR600 yesnono

Nikon B500
HX1 vs B500600 nonoyes

Photography Glossary

Nikon L840
HX1 vs L840590 noyesno

Panasonic FZ200
HX1 vs FZ200540 yesnono

Leica V-Lux 4
HX1 vs V-Lux 4540 yesnono

The following illustration provides a analysis of the Sony HX1 for various types of photography. To look at more, go to the specific paragraph below.

The Sony HX1 gets a score of 27 which is dreadful, and means the camera is not really suitable to use for portraits. Taking portrait images favors greatly towards sensor size, RAW support and capability to use off-camera lighting.

Coming in at a modest points tally of 50, the Sony HX1 is relatively suited for street photography. A very good street photography camera gives a fine balance of picture quality plus portability.

A dreadful sports photography score of 36 indicates the Sony HX1 is not really suitable for photographing sports. A camera must have fantastic tracking and fast continuous shooting for sports photography.

Weight is pretty important in getting a travel camera. Overall, the Sony HX1 gets a average 48 for a travel camera which makes it fairly appropriate for your vacations.

For anybody who is planning to choose a digital camera for landscape photos, the most significant factor will no doubt be image quality. The Sony HX1 with it's dreadful score of 39 for a landscape camera is not really suitable within the current marketplace.

A camera for vlogging should really posses a articulating screen, mic input and preferably IBIS. Considering every thing, the Sony HX1 is not really suitable for vlogging as it delivers a dreadful score of 22.

If you are searching for alternatives to the HX1, below is a collection of the top scored cameras which fall within the category of Small Sensor Superzoom.

The line graph below provides you an overview of the HX1 vs it's highest scored rivals mentioned previously.

Following are additional cameras you might take a look at as alternate options. To read through a comprehensive comparison, go to the "compare" link.