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Sony DSC-HX300 (1 Viewer)

Cortonbirds

Well-known member
Just bought this new bridge camera and am impressed for the price (around 350 pounds). Optical zoom of 50x and very good at video. Superior auto mode which overlays several images to reduce noise. Starting this thread to share results if anyone has one and look for advice on settings when shooting in different circumstances.
 

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Just bought this new bridge camera and am impressed for the price (around 350 pounds). Optical zoom of 50x and very good at video. Superior auto mode which overlays several images to reduce noise. Starting this thread to share results if anyone has one and look for advice on settings when shooting in different circumstances.

Nice photos.
I have the 200V and have been very happy with the video from it but less happy with the stills at the long end of the zoom. I was more impressed with the Canon SX40 and SX50 for stills.
Look forward to seeing more from the 300v.
Neil.
 
zoom can be manually controlled or by lever. Stills at the long end of the zoom seem fine to me, for the price of course. You cant expect dslr standard at this price. The linked photos were all at 50x by the way and they seem ok.
 
Would be nice to compare this camera to the canon SX50.
The gull in flight shot is very nice, was it shot using the viewfinder? Coming to England next May so would like to ask what the low light performance is like?
I would guess that you are mainly shooting in auto, tried any other settings?
Would love to see some other shots, not all at full range but some close shots would be good!
 
Hi Cortonbirds,
I've been contemplating buying the Canon sx50, but I came across this camera recently, and was a little intrigued by the looks of the manual focus.
On my previous cameras it has always been a problem for the autofocus to make sense of a small bird surrounded by branches and leaves in a bush, often resulting in pix with a blurred bird and sharp background. Though there is a manual focus option on the Canon sx50, it seems quite difficult and timeconsuming, when faced with a bird making it's way around inside a bush.
Have you tried out the manual focussing on the Sony, and how good does the focussing ring work? It looks big (good thing, imo) and easy to work, but I would like hear a little more from someone with hands-on experience.

Jens
 
manual focus ring and lack of posts on this camera

Hi Cortonbirds,
Have you tried out the manual focussing on the Sony, and how good does the focussing ring work? It looks big (good thing, imo) and easy to work, but I would like hear a little more from someone with hands-on experience.
Jens

I agree Jens. Any users on the forum who can advise on the Sony especially the manual focus ring which looks great?

Whilst the Canon SX50 is clearly a good an popular camera with 100s of posts it's a shame that it's difficulat to get more information on its competitor.

So few posts on this and the Panasonic Lumix DMC FZ70K - with earlier models of the Lumix getting great reviews for sharpness it could be a contender.

Cheers!
Ade
 
Great bird images with Sony HX300

I was looking for reviews and examples of images taken with the HX300.

Found a series of great images taken by Brazilian birder Aisse Gaertner

See
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aisse_gaertner/tags/hx300/

Colourful and sharp images of hummingbirds, tanagers and parrots. Also some great macro shots of insects.

Worth a look even if you're not interested in buying a HX300!

ade
 
I was looking for reviews and examples of images taken with the HX300.

Found a series of great images taken by Brazilian birder Aisse Gaertner

See
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aisse_gaertner/tags/hx300/

Colourful and sharp images of hummingbirds, tanagers and parrots. Also some great macro shots of insects.

Worth a look even if you're not interested in buying a HX300!

ade

Thanks for the link. What beautiful birds.
Neil.
 
Still enjoying the camera. Attatched a couple more shots. To my eye the sony gives a more natural neutral colour to the image than the canon. I have found when on max zoom of 50x then switching to movie mode the image gets larger due to the aspect maybe. I have found the movie capacity to be superb and often produce better results than a photo especially at range.
 

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Very nice shots!

I am starting to think about a bridge camera, but while there are plenty of reports, pics and comments on the different products available, there is not so much on comparison of different models.

To my eye the sony gives a more natural neutral colour to the image than the canon.

Could you compare the sony with the canon? If yes, I'd be very interested to hear some comments on how they compare, e.g. regarding speed of autofocus, easy of use of manual focus, quality of viewfinder, etc...

Thanks, Florian
 
Im only comparing them on pics posted on this forum. The Canon seems to give more bright and contrasting colours to me while I prefer the sonys more realistic image tones. As for comparisons most birders seem to have gone with the canon 50x and the thread on the canon forum for that model is very long. I like to be different though and chose the sony which is as good in my opinion. The video is extremely good and most comparisons have noted this also. I may try to put up some videos on youtube at high quality later.
 
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Hi, thanks!
I find it quite difficult to find the info here with helping decisions. Masses of posts on different cameras, but very few in terms of real comparison between different current models. I guess that's natural, as people are reporting here on the cam they bought, and rarely anyone buys two of the more current models.
Well, I'll have to do the work and dig through all those long threads I guess :-O
Cheers,
 
Hi, thanks!
I find it quite difficult to find the info here with helping decisions. Masses of posts on different cameras, but very few in terms of real comparison between different current models. I guess that's natural, as people are reporting here on the cam they bought, and rarely anyone buys two of the more current models.
Well, I'll have to do the work and dig through all those long threads I guess :-O
Cheers,

Florian
Do a search on Flickr. You'll find more users.
Neil
 
Three years on, and I'm still in love with my Sony DSC HX100V, 30x optical bridge, and 1080p video. The single most important contributor to a good image (apart from a steady hand, superb specimen, and in the right posture) Is the lighting!!!

This was shot hand held, through a ''double glazed window'', at 30x optical, c10m distant, in automatic (taking 3 layers for one shot...ie gold mode),...and this is a (48kb) low resolution image!

cheers
 

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I am currently torn between the Canon SX50 or the Sony HX300.

I like the fact you can shoot RAW with the canon but I also like the manual focus ring idea on the sony.
I appreciate that neither will give the sharpness of a DSLR, but a zoom lens in DSLR terms is well out of my budget.

Advice welcome please
 
I am currently torn between the Canon SX50 or the Sony HX300.

I like the fact you can shoot RAW with the canon but I also like the manual focus ring idea on the sony.
I appreciate that neither will give the sharpness of a DSLR, but a zoom lens in DSLR terms is well out of my budget.

Advice welcome please

Unless you need 1080/50p video go for the Canon. Raw, built in teleconverters and great IS make it a good walk around camera. Good pricing on it now too.
Neil.
 
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