I must thank for your posts, I too own HX1. For sure this chitti[hx1] receves very good appreciation from everywhere for its quality of pictures and especialy for its clarity. Of course, its a machine with little intelligent built in and it acts the way the camera man operates it.

I definetly enjoy clicking with this camera though I have soft corner for Nikon :)

Do you think the Steup ring size 52mm-58mm will fit to our Sony HX1?

See this ad from ebay.
http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/52mm-58mm-52-58mm-52-58-Step-Up-Ring-Filter-Adapter-/390081933055?pt=Digital_Camera_Accessories&hash=item5ad2b1eeff

Thanks.

Nap

I´ll try to use your hints but, just for talking, I still have an old sony w7 that makes really good low light pictures. Of course that for this old camera I need a tripod, but even when using a tripod for the hx1, I remain disappointed… but I still hope to learn to use the camera and get more from it (specially due to the money that I invested!).

thank you once again! and sorry for my bad english ;)

In low light conditions, I agree that the camera is lacking here. The flash is not quite powerful enough and the shots come out rather grainy. I have found the best mode is to use the Twilight Steady mode without the flash when there is enough ambient light on the subject. For portrait shots, just use the Twilight Portrait under Scene mode but like I say, sometimes, the flash is too strong or too weak for low light environments which is to be expected of these types of cameras.

Here are some example of some shots taken in various modes on the Sony HX-1:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brianwong73/sets/72157624838027123/

I bought recently a HX1 but I´m feeling a bit sad about the image quality, specially for night scenes. If I want to print the photos on A4 size (or even smaller) they look with a lot of noise on.

Maybe I still do not know how to operate, however I´m used to Sony cameras… Did you faced the same problem? Do you know how to make images quality better just with the camera adjustments?

Thank you a lot

Daniel

I Will newer say that the camera is an underperformer. Its just that the pictures from the SX1 makes it look like one. HX1 can get you great pics with very less amount of effort from your side.. (the camera does the ffort for you :) ). The main problems with the HX is that the sensor’s low light sensitivity is very much less when you compare it with cannon P&S. the anti motion blur mode does help but most of the time, the 6 shots take too much time that the subject moves in between and the resulting image is no more the good one you expected, but a blury, dim one which you might decide to delete than keep. and in the anti motion blur, you don have any control over the light. its fully automatic.

The HD video is better at 720p than the 1080p. and

The 10 fps burst mode is fast enough to get some fantastic shots, but you have to wait another 10 seconds to take another picture after the “SAVING” screen to go away. in effect, if you want to keep on shooting, the average speed will be lesser than 1fps. Not to mention about the continuity you will be loosing in between the “saving gap”.. where the SX have a 4 fps which you can keep on shooting till your card gets filled.

the wheel in the back side top right cornor makes it really easy to change the values and browse through pictures and will give you an “SLR like” experience. the mannual zoom is also better with this one feature.

the manual modes are good enough. they are as good as any competing cameras’.

Another main problem you will face with this camera will be the accessories. The camera takes only pro2duo card which is really costly compared to the “microSD+adapter” combinations we can get for SX. this combination might not be as fast as the pro2duo, but you can have some 5-6 good quality cards for the same cost you will have to give for a pro2duo card.

the battery is also an issue. SX1 can take in AA batteries which you can get from any small country shop if necessary. but for the HX, you have to get a backup batry which is kinda costly.

Lens/filter adapters. The HX is not designed to be really helpful in this field. these is only one ring adapter for this camera, which seems to be out of market. i have been tring to get such a piece for a small price if possible.. no results yet. all we have is a cup shaped adapter which will fit to your camera body rather than the lens. if i go on explaining the disadvantages of this, i won be able to get back to my work :D. this adaper is a 72 mm if i remember it right. the usual 58 mm adapters are out of question for the HX1. and they don even provide a hood for the camera in the box. Canon products are more compatiable for third party accessories.

but if you know how to handle the camera, you WILL be able to capture really great pictures from this camera.. the Automatic mode is inteligent enought for a starter to get good pictures. but for a “semi proffessional”, HELL NO..

I would say “GO GET AN SLR” to any of the fellows like me who needs an advice. But, even i din hear this advice when i was goin to buy a camera. now i do feel that it would’ve been better if i had bought an SLR. you have to spend a bit on lenses. but the image quality you can get with an SLR is somethin you have to pay for..

HX1 is not BAD, But I would have preffered the SX1 instead.. (if i cant afford and SLR)..