Last Updated on 10/18/2018 by Mark Beckenbach
The new Sony Cyber-shot HX99 is worth considering if you’re still looking for the compact, travel camera of your dreams.
Sony has recently introduced the Cyber-shot HX99, a versatile camera geared toward travelers and weekend photographers, and touted as the world’s smallest camera of its kind. It boasts of an upgraded image processor, 4K video recording capabilities, an extreme zoom range, and a bunch of other advanced features packed into an ultra-compact body.
The new HX99 is equipped with a ZEISS® Vario-Sonnar T* High Magnification Zoom Lens, which not only provides the 24 – 720mm extreme zoom range but also comes with Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization which minimizes the camera shake and blur typically seen in handheld and telephoto photography. There’s also a Zoom Assist function that provides a view of a wider area through a quick and temporary zoom-out display, enabling users to zoom more accurately into far away subjects.
With the upgraded BIONZ X™ image processing engine, the new HX99 is capable of capturing 4K video with full pixel readout and no pixel binning, and significantly less “moire” and “jaggies.” It can also shoot high-frame rate HD video at up to 120 fps for creating impressive slow-motion sequences.
This new compact camera also locks focus in as quick as 0.09 seconds, can shoot continuously at up to 10 fps for up to 155 shots, and locks focus on the subject’s eye through the Eye AF technology seen in Sony’s αTM interchangeable lens cameras. It can shoot images in RAW format and a maximum sensitivity of 6400 ISO.
Other notable features include the Touch Focus and Touch Shutter functionality, a Touchpad function for shifting focus points smoothly with the retractable OLED Tru-Finder™, customizable Control Ring and “My Menu” options, and a 180-degree tiltable LCD screen.
The new Sony Cyber-shot HX99 Travel Zoom camera, priced at $449.99 USD and $599.99 CAD, will be available through authorized dealers across North America once it ships in early November. Check out the HX99 page on the Sony website for more information.