Sony CyberShot HX1

Does anyone know if this camera has continous through the lens autofocus whilst in video mode? This seems to be a big thing with the GH1 - but no mention in the Sony PR / Review. Is this camera any closer to a hybrid photo / video or is this why the Sony keeps saying the real progress is in the camera side of things.... Ian

Panorama feature is great ( http://www.astrologia.pl/sarenka/hx1_firstshots/ )

Is there any stabalisation features on this camera?

Image Stabilisation - yes, it's Sony's 'Optical SteadyShot', which is in-camera lens-based stabilisation. I've added it to the spec sheet for future reference.

does the camera have manual long exposure.ie shutter can stay open for star photos

cna you zoom when in hd recording mode

The panorama image doesn't use the burst mode - it uses the HD video mode. The clue is in the finished image size 7152x1080. I have and HX1 and while the panorama is innovative, it's really a gimmick. Used up close the image produced looks unrealistic because of the space/time continuum bending effect. Use it to capture far off landscapes and at a glance the image priduced is amazing but the resolution is low poor to see the detail you need. Nice idea, but if it used the burst to shoot 30 images it would have been really amazing. The burst mode can shoot 10 frames in 1 second, they're temporarily saved to superfast memory, then written to the memory card. tripling the size of this superfast memory would permit 30 images at full resolution to be taken then written to card. But they didn't do that... The HX1 is a good enough camera, and 1080p HD video is really really good, but if you're looking for great photographic image quality, in anything other than perfect light conditions, look elsewhere.

Easily retouch and enhance images, and 10 in-camera tools to quickly and easily find photos of Image management functions. Plus, with PMB (Picture Motion Browser), it is easy to move, manage, store and distribute images.