The new Sony Cyber-shot camera boasts an equivalent focal length of 24-720mm and offer image stabilisation that’s twice as effective as its predecessor, the Sony Cyber-shot HX200V, according to Sony.

Onboard the Sony HX50 is a 20.4-megapixel3 Exmor R CMOS sensor and BIONZ processor, with high-speed autofocus that works at more than twice the speed of the Cyber-shot HX200V4, Sony says.

Among the camera’s other key features are a dedicated Exposure Compensation dial on the Sony Cyber-shot camera’s top plate and integrated Wi-Fi that allows photographers to share photos instantly or use their smartphone as a remote control for the camera.

A Multi Interface Shoe allows photographers to incorporate accessories such as an electronic viewfinder, flash or microphone for better video sound quality, and the camera boasts a Multi Terminal for using a remote controller.

Other features on the Sony HX50 include a Memory Recall mode, which allows photographers to store three favourite camera settings, a battery life of 400 images and a range of creative effects modes.

The Sony HX50 price tag will be £350, with a release date set for the first week of May 2013.

Official Sony HX50 Specs

Effective Pixels (approx.)
20.4 megapixels

Image Sensor
1/2.3 type (7.82mm) Exmor R CMOS sensor

Processor
BIONZ

Lens
Sony G, 24-720mm, f/3.5 (W) – 6.3 (T), 11 elements in 10 groups (including 5 aspheric elements)

Zoom
30x

ISO (still image)
Auto/80/100/125/160/200/250/320/400/500/640/800/1000/1250/1600/2000/2500/3200/
4000*/5000*/6400*/8000*/10000*/12800*
* Achieved using “By Pixel Super Resolution” technology and overlay burst shooting.

Display
7.5cm (3.0type) (4:3) / 921,600 dots / Xtra Fine / TFT LCD

Wi-Fi
Yes

Battery
NP-BX1 and USB Charge/USB Power Supply

Battery Life / still image shooting (approx.)
400 images / 200 minutes

Approx. dimensions W x H x D
108.1mm x 63.6mm x 38.3mm

Weight (body only, excluding media and battery)
Approx. 272g (Battery and Memory Stick DUO are included) Approx. 246g (Body Only)

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Aimed squarely at Canon’s IXUS range and Fuji’s “F” series, the T10 packs in some great features but struggles to deliver great pictures.

Upgrading last year’s almost identical-looking Cyber-shot, the similarly flat-faced T10 snapshot brings another million pixels to the party, crammed on to the same physical size chip.

Just 21mm wide, it also boosts maximum light sensitivity from its predecessor’s ISO 640 to ISO 1000 for low-light photography without flash, adding in optical image stabilisation (under the billing ‘Super SteadyShot’), designed to avoid camera shake.

You also get a low-light Movie mode for the first time on a Sony. All this sets the T10 up as a rival to Canon’s IXUS range and Fuji ‘F’ series compacts – the former now boasting real image stabilisation; the latter, increasingly high ISO speeds.

The slender T10 trumps the boxier Fuji in the style stakes, even if its brushed steel fascia and internally stacked 3x zoom lens fail to give Canon a true run for its money. A love-it-or-hate-it sliding faceplate maintains the minimalist feel, protects the T10′s optics and powers up the camera when opened.

But there’s a real danger of flipping it open and accidentally activating the T10 when sliding it into a bag or pocket. Still, the camera automatically powers down when left inactive and the lithium battery is good for an okay-ish 250 shots.

Done to a T

On the plus side, the T10 is well constructed and user-friendly. A bright and clear 2.5-inch LCD screen overshadows solid and responsive controls on the back, in the absence of an optical viewfinder. Usefully, the screen displays battery life remaining, and in both Capture mode and Playback a live histogram can be called upon to double-check exposure.

Shooting options within the menus are shown as an unobtrusive tool bar along the bottom of the screen that expands when you switch from Auto to Program setting. Selecting Set Up provides access to five more sub-folders, where the likes of digital zoom can be turned on/off; Super SteadyShot set to continuous, or activated at the point of capture only; and a memory card formatted.

Speed of performance can’t be faulted – the T10 powers up in just under two seconds (officially 1.3 seconds). A full press of the lozenge-shape shutter button and a shot is taken with no discernable shutter delay, while committing a full resolution, maximum-quality image to optional Memory Stick Duo card or internal 56MB cache takes a speedy second.

Whereas so many digital compacts suffer from underexposure, the T10 goes the other way, with the result that daylight images look slightly washed out, with an inevitable loss of highlight detail.

Under bright sunshine it’s difficult to avoid lens flare, while the positioning of the lens to the top right of the camera body means that users also have to guard against the occasional fingertip straying into shot. Pixel fringing is also noticeable between areas of high contrast, though it’s less pronounced than on previous generations.

Unfortunately, image noise is visible even at the Auto default setting of ISO 320, though not infuriatingly so. Still, it’s advisable to steer well clear of ISO 1000 unless there’s really no other way you can achieve the shot you have in mind.

Sharp results are achievable, but images are often softer than we like, and it’s difficult to be convinced that 7-megapixels offers any more genuine detail from the same chip than 6-megapixels.

Although the T10 is certainly one of the quickest snapshots off the mark outside Ricoh’s acclaimed Caplio range, ultimately it seems better suited to the point-and-shoot brigade, who are likely to attach as much importance to style as substance.

Inevitably, it feels like certain headline features have been rather over-egged and others over- compromised in order to bring a camera boasting these dimensions to market at a street price of around £230.

Sony’s second generation bridge looks a bit like an old sci-fi prop; it’s also a well-specced all-in-one alternative to a budget SLR.

Like last year’s H1, Sony’s second generation bridge camera has a touch of the Flash Gordon about it.

There’s something about its eyepiece, lens barrel and silver plasticky body that recalls the helmets and spaceships of a 1950s TV show. However, on first inspection it also looks chunky, clunky and unwieldy.

Still, it helps the H2 stand out against the near-identical specifications of Canon’s more solid-feel PowerShot S3 IS and Panasonic’s acclaimed Lumix DMC-FZ7.

While both rivals boast optical image stabilisation to prevent image blur at the telephoto end of the zoom, Sony has christened its own anti-shake mechanism ‘Super SteadyShot’.

Denoted by a wobbly hand icon, this has a dedicated button that can be set to continuous adjustment, or activated on a shot-by-shot basis. And, as you’d expect with Sony’s camcorder heritage, it’s also present in MPEG Movie mode.

Common JPEG

When it comes to still capture, the H2, like the Canon S3, eschews TIFF or RAW formats and sticks with common JPEG. Though Panasonic’s FZ7 combines TIFF capture with light sensitivity up to ISO 600 for shooting in the near dark, the H2 stops at ISO 1000.

Nevertheless, it betters the Canon’s noisy ISO 800. Sony claims to have minimised noise problems at high ISO by improving signal-to-noise ratio, which, for those looking for available file formats, it has confusingly dubbed Clear RAW NR technology.

The rubberised grip to the right of the H2 affords comfortable one-handed operation and houses two rechargeable AAs. They’re claimed to be good for up to 400 shots, though the battery indicator was showing half full after 50.

Shot composition is via the 2-inch LCD or, a better bet, the tiny but higher resolution electronic viewfinder. Although you can quickly swap between them, it would have been great if (like Sony’s Alpha DSLR) the EVF sported an eye sensor that immediately activated it and perhaps even pre-focused.

One thing to bear in mind: as the eyepiece juts back proud of the body, it’s awkward to use if you’re wearing glasses.

On a positive note, the H2 powers up in a couple of seconds, the lens barrel extending to maximum wide angle in anticipation of the first shot, while the LCD bursts into life. Screen menus have a clean, legible layout, while the mode wheel atop the camera is mirrored by a virtual on-screen equivalent, complete with explanations of the settings.

What’s immediately noticeable on review is Sony’s typically vivid handling of colours. Images aren’t quite as sharp as those from the Canon S3 IS, despite the H2′s inclusion of Carl Zeiss optics. It’s a trade- off though, as the H2′s handling of image noise is better than the Canon’s.

On close inspection, it starts to creep in from ISO 400 upwards, though we still got usable images at ISO 800 and IS0 000. While the Panasonic also loses detail at higher ISO, the addition of that camera’s TIFF settings may give it the edge for some.

As expected, the H2′s Super SteadyShot anti-shake system isn’t infallible, but it will allow more usable shots at the telephoto end when shooting hand-held. There’s also a screw thread for a tripod. No MemoryStick came with our review unit, although a 30MB internal memory – enough for nine maximum-quality JPEGs – is included to get you started.

Indeed, Sony has ensured that the H2 features sufficient hand-holding to allow a beginner to take the camera out of its box and start shooting straight away, but crammed with enough real photographic functionality to satisfy the expert. It should also be noted that it’s roughly £100 cheaper than a budget digital SLR.