Sony HX60V Review - The Sony HX60V is the manufacturer's latest attempt to seize the travel compact market, featuring a 30x optical zoom and 20.4MP Exmor CMOS sensor. Does it succeed? Find out in the What Digital Camera review.

Product Overview

Overall rating:

87%

Sony HX60V

Overall score:87%
Value:85%
Image Quality:90%
Performance:90%
Features:85%
Design:85%

Pros:

  • Large focal range; Good image quality; Solid performance

Cons:

  • Not enough improvement on the predecessor; Lacking built-in EVF

Product:

Sony HX60V Review

Manufacturer:

Price as reviewed:

£329.00
Which of Sony’s travel zoom compacts is right for you – the latest model or its predecessor? Find out in our Sony HX50 vs Sony HX60 V comparison

With the last year’s HX50, Sony managed to combine an impressive specification and fantastic image quality, making a big impact on the travel compact market.

The Sony HX60V looks to pick up where its predecessor left off, maintaining a lot of the features and design which made it the HX50 popular.

The question is; has Sony done enough to warrant the cost involved in an upgrade, or are photographers better off opting for the previous generation model?

Sony HX60V Review - front view

Sony HX60V Review – Features

As is the case with any travel compact, one of the key features on the Sony HX60V is its impressive lens.

The 30x optical zoom covers a focal range of 24-720mm in 35mm terms, boasting a maximum aperture of f/3.5 – 5.6 throughout that range. Furthermore, any concerns about image sharpness throughout that focal range are attended to by the dual technologies of Sony SteadyShot and Sony’s Clear Image Zoom.

The former of those technologies also features five-axis image stabilisation technology when shooting video, of which the HX60V captures at 1920 x 1080p and 50 frames per second.
In terms of the camera’s imaging capabilities, the model features the same 20.4MP Exmor CMOS sensor as seen on its predecessor. This is by no means a bad thing as the sensor on the HX50 was certainly capable of some impressive results.

This is no doubt in some part due to the back-illumination technology that the HX60V features, thus improving image quality in low light conditions towards the higher end of the camera’s 80 – 12,800 ISO range.

The model features Sony’s latest Bionz-X image processor, and as such Sony claims it delivers performance speeds up to three times faster than it predecessor. Speed isn’t the only area where the new processor benefits the HX60V as the camera is now also capable of performing area-specific noise reduction and detail reproduction.

Sony HX60V Review - front angled

Connectivity

As you might expect from a travel compact from Sony, the HX60V features both Wi-fi and NFC connectivity for wireless transfer of images between the camera and a smart device.

Thanks to it being a Sony device, the model also incorporates Sony’s PlayMemories store. This allows photographers to add extra functionality to their camera through installing various apps, with many available for free.

Although the HX60V doesn’t feature an EVF, it does sport Sony’s multi-interface tool. This allows for an external viewfinder to be attached, although as Sony’s EV1MK viewfinder sports a list price of around £380 you’ll have to have deep pockets to purchase one.

Finally, the HX60V sports GPS functionality allowing for images to be tagged with location information in the field. Should you not require GPS functionality Sony has also released the HX60, a model without GPS technology available for around £20 less.

  1. 1. Introduction
  2. 2. Sony HX60V Review - Design
  3. 3. Sony HX60V Review - Performance
  4. 4. Sony HX60V Review - Image Quality
  5. 5. Sony HX60V Review - Verdict
  6. 6. Sony HX60V Review - Sample Image Gallery
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