Sony HX400V Compact Digital Camera with 50x Optical Zoom, Black

There are a lot of reviews online about this camera saying that the image quality isn’t good. Ignore those reviews. This is an excellent bridge camera. A lot of people are expecting the image quality from this camera to be comparable to the quality you get from a DSLR, but that cannot be. The sensor in this camera is substantially smaller than the one found in a DSLR (crop-sensor or full-frame). Because the sensor is smaller, the dynamic range and overall image quality cannot be equal to the dynamic range and image quality of a DSLR. But if you know what you’re doing, you can use this camera to get some great images.I’ve had this camera for a few months now, and used it mainly to photograph birds, and I am extremely satisfied with it. The zoom range is fantastic, and the autofocus is pretty good. You can achieve pretty good bokeh (the quality of the out of focus areas in a photograph) and nice, shallow depth of field once you zoom in and isolate your subject. Colors are pretty true, and the camera can yield very sharp images provided your technique is good. I recommend that you use a tripod with this camera and any camera if you’re going to be using it in telephoto mode a lot, as I do.Being a bridge camera (a fixed-lens camera that is between a point and shoot and a DSLR), you’re able to use this camera in Aperture Priority Mode, Shutter Priority, and Manual Mode. There are some automatic modes, but I never use modes like those on any of the cameras I own because they limit your creative flexibility when taking photographs. You’re able to take HD video as well, but since I’m not too much into video I haven’t tested the video capabilities of this camera yet. But I have shot some simple, short clips of birds flying around, and those videos came out great.This is an excellent bridge camera, and I recommend it to anyone. Even if you shoot predominantly with DSLRs (like I do), this is still a great camera to have for those days you don’t feel like lugging around a bag full of lenses or a really heavy DSLR body.I've attached some photos I took using this camera so you can get a taste of the camera's performance. All of the pictures were taken in an aspect ratio of 16:9, and all of the photos were taken with the camera being handheld.

What a terrific bridge camera. Works like a single lens reflex camera without having to change lenses.Can zoom in and focus quickly to capture images that would otherwise easily be missed in fractions of a second. Personally, I'd be lost without the live view finder.Great camera for the price and ease of use.

Well, my journey with Sony started a few years back in 2010 with a Cybershot camera. One of the coolest gadgets I owned as a young man. However, I lost track of it as I moved around. I didn't 'need' a camera for a while.Then, I got settled where I am now and I purchased a used WX-100. Quite a step up from my 2010 Cybershot. It had plenty of processing functions and auto shoot modes. It lasted about a year, under heavy use. That camera's zoom gear's initiating gear had been worn out. I needed a replacement for my established hobby.I began looking for a new camera with better specifications, but with the same basic functions I loved in the WX-100. Obviously, I began my search with Sony's Cybershot cameras. Then, I discovered the Big Zoom Bridge Cameras. I loved them. I went to Best Buy to get a feel for them before I bought. I was so impressed with the ease of use that I decided to invest in the newest release in the line of Big Zoom Bridge Cameras.The HX-400V.Power.First thing with this camera, out of the box.. you have to charge it with a USB cable. Yeah, it's a ball buster.But if you're like me or thousands of other photographers, amateur or professional, you'll buy a battery charger that plugs into the wall. And possibly extra batteries. Extra batteries will come in handy if you are like me, or other people, and carry your camera in a camera bag EVERYWHERE.You won't be on top of charging your one single battery every night. So it's easy to see that it's dying, and pop in a new one. I've had this happen. It's great to have the backups.Storage.There seems to be some misunderstanding about which kind of card this camera, or any Sony camera, will accept. This camera will accept Memory Stick Pro Duo AND SD cards; just not at the same time. You need to work out orientation for putting each type of card in the card slot(s).Pins up for Pro Duo, and pins down for SD card. It's a really cool system, I think.Zoom.As the specifications will state, this camera has 50x zoom with a 20MP sensor; pretty powerful. There is also another 50x digital zoom. Depending on distance and subject, this can come in real handy. I use it for taking photographing the moon; if you try this, you might try using manual focus and setting it to ∞.Shooting Features.Like I mentioned before, there are plenty of ways to shot with this camera. Auto selection, auto with noise correction, creative styles, long exposure, picture effects, 1080p video quality, manual shutter, aperture control, many many more.There is a built in flash, the button to flip up is on the left hand side of the camera in the frontal area.To wrap it up, this is a really great camera. A little pricey, but I don't miss the money. Not at all.

I was dead set on getting a Nikon DSLR even though I didn't know why those four letters meant so much to me. After research and staking photography forums it dawned on me that if you don't really need a fancy crazy expensive camera to take good photos.The super long zoom of this camera appealed to me because I'm nosy and need to be right up in people's faces. You'll see the sleeping primate pic I've attached. That was taken from quite far away and through the hole of a chain link fence.I like the quality of the photos this camera produces. I don't do any post production or editing on my pics and to my eye the colors and details are natural here. There's a wifi photo transfer feature that is a bit cumbersome but it works. There's no input for an external mic, which bugs me. And I wish there was a rotating screen so so can record tutorials and vlogs while being able to see my shot when I'm in front of the camera. Those small factors make this camera lose a point. Still, I wouldn't hesitate to buy it all over again.