Sony DSCHX400VB.CEH Digital Compact Bridge Camera with Lens (Electronic View Finder, 20.4 MP, 50x Optical High Zoom, Wi-Fi, NFC) - Black

This is a replacement for my aging Finepix bridge camera, with only ran on replacable AA batteries and did not have any wireless capabilites for transferring images to the cloud or a laptop or smartphone storage, so not easy to share directly with family & friends. The camera comes with all the featrues you might expect for a camera of this price and specification and is perfect for 'point & shooters' as well as those who like to make manual adjustments ib oreder to create the perfect 'shot'.In use, the camera has a 50x zoom an produces very good quality images with varying light and in auto mode, adjusts quickly to meet the requirements fo a decent shot. Being a bridge camera, there are no interchangeable lenses but the mode dial allows macro shooting of close up objects.'Compact' is not however a description I would personally use - in overall size terms, it is a round the same dimensions as my Nikon DSLR and you would need very big pockets to tuck it away. Certainly not compact compared to my Panasonic Lumix TZ80, which will indeed fit in my pocket. Nonetheless, the Sony camera performs well into the upper reaches of expectation - something of a requirement at over £300 a pop. Anyway, all the connectivity features make it a nice camera to work with and highly suitable for shooting whilst on the move. Everything needed is on the camera and the battery life is OK, so perhaps only one replacement needed on a day out, which can be carried in your jacket pocket. Same applies to filters - any special effects or polarising filters can easily be carried in pockets. A versatile camera, which produces images that do not disappoint.

Before purchasing this camera, I perused the comments and reviews on many different sites and forums. What I saw were professional photographers not giving useful feedback but merely expressing that this camera could never be suitable for anyone. Well, I'm anyone and I'm certainly no professional, so hopefully this review will help the average Joe with some helpful advice. I took their useless opinions on the chin and went ahead with my purchase as I had also seen non-photographers post more positive comments. The equipment is impressive for it's price. Lots of wonderful specifications, one big seller being the 50x optical zoom and let me tell you... It is great for special effects. Not too heavy but definitely not a pocket camera of any kind (as you can see). Carl Zeiss glass (lens) and not your average Sony, which makes a huge difference. This is the closest you will probably be able to get to an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) without having that ability to change the lens. One other function that I personally love is it's focus, quick and precise that allows you to capture beautiful images effortlessly. I don't want this to be a lengthy review, so I'll start to wrap this up... Once you've got to grips with this kit, you can use it's shoe to add external flashes, microphones (for bloggers) and many other wonderful accessories. No need to buy a shoe cap because it comes with one, even though it doesn't specify. I went out and bought one because it prevents it being damaged or being filled with dust etc. So now I have a spare. Learn it and study it until you know this camera like it's an extension of your arm and you will not be disappointed by it's image quality. Great for landscapes, up close, events, family affairs, arts, beginners photography and much more! Hope this has been helpful to some people. Here are some of my pictures I've taken with this camera...

Amazing "point-and-shoot" camera. Really powerful 50x zoom (24-1200 35mm equivalent), decent optic stabilizer for such a big zoom. Surprisingly very good "superior auto" mode, the risk is getting lazy and almost always use this function instead of analyzing the shot and use the manual options, which are the same of an Alpha SLR. I used to have a Canon T3 SLR with 75-300 35mm lens, and feels like a big improvement in image quality, functions and range power.You can focus manually, something really useful to use like for a birdwatcher. The only cons I could mention is that the zooming and focus is quite slow compared to a SLR, so if using this camera as I do for wildlife photos, you are going to miss some great shots because the slow zoom and focus.The WIFI and NFC are great additions, and are really useful if you want to share in social networks some pictures immediately, or during a travel, also the phone as remote control is quite handy in some occasions, specially for group photos, nevertheless sometimes the NFC does not respond immediately and I need to try over and over again until it works (I have a Sony Xperia, so the brand is not the issue).This is an excellent camera if you are looking for a camera that does a little bit of everything, or if you don't know much of photography and you want a powerful camera to learn and to have a great range of options, but if you are looking to replace a really specialized and heavy SLR camera with a zoom equivalent photo-lens with this compact camera you are going to be very disappointed.

I have been quite an enthusiastic amateur photographer over many decades and spend many thousands of pounds on cameras and lenses. Being a bit older now, I really don't want to lug around a back-pack fully of lenses, camera bodies, and accessories. I still have my favorite section of camera kit when I’m ‘in the mood’ so to speak, but otherwise I like the easy life.I have bought a number of these Sony Cyber Shot Cameras as they have upgraded specs etc. The HX400V is the current model from Sony. I find them so versatile for just ‘taking a photo’ when you just want one camera with you. The lens zoom range is extremely useful and can handle a multitude of shooting requirements. The image quality is good, but due to the sensor size, ‘blowing the image up’ to a large size or cropping, does reveal it’s limitations. Other than that, the camera takes very nice images and is quick and comfortable to handle. Video quality is acceptable and fun to use.