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Sony Cybershot DSC-H9 8MP Digital Camera with 15x Optical Image Stabilization Zoom | List Price: $529.99
Discount Price: $360.00
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Brand: Sony
Binding: Electronics
Release Date: 2007-05-01
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Features: - 8.1-megapixel Super HAD CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 16 x 22-inch prints
- Carl Zeiss 15x optical zoom lens; 3.0-inch LCD display
- High Sensitivity Mode (ISO 3200) allows for shooting even in low-light conditions
- MPEG Movie VX Fine mode captures VGA (640 x 480) audio/video clips at high frame rate
- HD output; HD slide show with music feature
the big camera that wasn't [Posted on 2008-04-16]
I obtained this camera with great expectations. I have got to say that it takes decent pictures but we are far from that optimal product sought to bridge the simple point&shoots and the DSLR. If all intermediate products were like the H9 I would definitely suggest 1) take a big DSLR and 2) keep a good point&shoot at hand instead.
On a practical point:
PROS
1) Nice DSLR-like feel
2) Interesting manual options
3) Image quality in settings like face-detection is superb
4) If you manage to keep the digital noise down (i.e., below ISO 200)and understand all the different options and crevices to get to them (see CONS) then you can manage to have some incredible shots!
5) The possibility of using infra-red photography is exciting (but then again see CONS)
CONS
1) Overall image quality is not satisfactory, particularly if you aim at having perfect, non blurry, stock-quality images; color fringing is a big bummer!
2) High sensitivity (up to ISO 3200!) with all that noise means little to me
3) The choice of having a 74mm filter size is absurd, and this alone should entitle owners to full reimbursement: How on earth did Sony come up with this one? Very expensive, Sony brand-only filters, with limited choice and, on top of that, a big, giant halo that ends up covering flash light (Q: Was this done on purpose to irritate customers or simply because they are perceived as dumb?)
4) Use of infra-red photography could be fun, but then again you will go nowhere without an appropriate filter (I've got one, but it seems not to be the good one, for a good one expect to spend over $200!!!), and anyway instructions for IR are nowhere to be found (unless they are in the enclosed CD)
5) The learning time to get to know this camera is bound to be too long; probably, by the time you're done a few dozens of newer, better cameras are out there at a lower price than this one.
CONCLUSIONS: Don't waste time and money with this camera, unless you get it for free (i.e., as a gift). Then again you can always get some nice shots. But, overall, what was the point from Sony to generate such a hybrid consumer product?
great [Posted on 2008-05-19]
I would have liked a comparative report on this model and the "DSCH7" one. There's a difference in price and I actually think they are pretty much the same!
Excellent camera [Posted on 2008-05-26]
Simply great, easy to use, great pictures, fully loaded, a very fun camera for amateurs photographers
Awesome camera [Posted on 2008-06-18]
I chose this camera for its high optical zoom and for its little shutter lag and it has not disappointed me. I love it and the photos are clear and crisp.
What a deal! [Posted on 2008-06-27]
I was all set to buy the Sony H50, but found the H9 at Fry's for $249. Wow! I was looking for a bridge camera to play with HDR photo editing. My dad is a big Canon user and for the life of us we cannot get either of his two Canons to take bracketed still shots. The manuals stink for this camera, and the pdf I loaded on the home computer doesn't mention the bracketing either. BUT, it's quite simple. Figured it out in just playing with the camera after about 5 minutes, and it actually works. I'll be taking this out to the Getty Center this weekend and will take some 2 to 3 hundred pictures and see what this camera can really do. Will add to this review afterwards.
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It's a keeper. The quality of the pictures is simply amazing. I played with a lot of settings for taking pictures indoors of priceless painting and then Macros of the flower garden and of pollenating bees, and each shot amazes me. You'll be very hard pressed to buy a better camera for the $249 I spent at Frys in El Segundo. I posted a picture here in Amazon consumer images, titled 'JP Getty Museum Bee' as a example of the quality of shot I am seeing.
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