Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX80 Digital Camera

ost amazing camera ever. I could not be more pleased with my purchase if I tried. I really shopped around and this camera takes the cake. Excellent video and I love the automatic focus. The sound is great, the lack of a jack for an external mic hadn't been an issue for me at all, (and I was worried about it cause it kept being brought up by other people.) I found the G7X Mark II Easy to use, although I know I'm not using all it's advanced features. For straight out of the box with zero fiddling with settings it's still filming great. I have NO experience so that was Very important.I aslo was really happy with the seller. I got my camera faster than quoted and everything was packaged really well. I might not have needed every little thing it came with, but most of ... Moreost amazing camera ever. I could not be more pleased with my purchase if I tried. I really shopped around and this camera takes the cake. Excellent video and I love the automatic focus. The sound is great, the lack of a jack for an external mic hadn't been an issue for me at all, (and I was worried about it cause it kept being brought up by other people.) I found the G7X Mark II Easy to use, although I know I'm not using all it's advanced features. For straight out of the box with zero fiddling with settings it's still filming great. I have NO experience so that was Very important.I aslo was really happy with the seller. I got my camera faster than quoted and everything was packaged really well. I might not have needed every little thing it came with, but most of it I've found useful and a nice value. I'm pleased as it was about the same cost, possibly less, than another deal I saw on the same camera but I got a bit more with this package, not just the camera. I didn't have to try to contact the seller with any issues though so I can't speak to that.I'm happy all around! I highly recommend this camera. If you're shopping around and still on the fence, this is a good choice.

Awesome compact point-and-shoot!

I'd rate this a 5 if it had faster shutter speed, but for a compact point-and-shoot, something is going to be sacrificed. I like the size of it, the features and Zeiss lens, and the overall ease of use. I would not say that it's ready to go right out of the box; there are some settings that the photographer will find helpful that aren't explained well in the small booklets that come with it. For that reason, I bought and recommend the book "Photographer's Guide to the Sony DSC HX80 and HX90" by Alexander White. I've just started the book and I've taken only a few pictures, but I'm pleased with them. I know when I have learned more, I will be doing more with it besides quick shooting in the Intelligent mode. The electronic viewfinder is a must for me because glare ... MoreI'd rate this a 5 if it had faster shutter speed, but for a compact point-and-shoot, something is going to be sacrificed. I like the size of it, the features and Zeiss lens, and the overall ease of use. I would not say that it's ready to go right out of the box; there are some settings that the photographer will find helpful that aren't explained well in the small booklets that come with it. For that reason, I bought and recommend the book "Photographer's Guide to the Sony DSC HX80 and HX90" by Alexander White. I've just started the book and I've taken only a few pictures, but I'm pleased with them. I know when I have learned more, I will be doing more with it besides quick shooting in the Intelligent mode. The electronic viewfinder is a must for me because glare can reduce visibility on screens, and that can compromise your ability to get a good picture. I also like that it has a pop-up flash and a flip-up screen for easy selfies. I don't think I would have bought it new because of the price, but I got an excellent used one that, so far, has not disappointed at all.

Awful! Just awful!

I purchased this camera from Best Buy and returned it the same day. I tested it out in good lighting conditions and it was absolutely awful! This camera is essentially one big gimmick. The zoom range is 24-720mm, however, the images aren't even sharp at 24mm and anything over 40mm is just a blurry, fuzzy mess! by the time you get to the 720mm, the camera is completely unusable. If you crop in on a still image at 24mm, even one that appears to be somewhat sharp, disappointment soon follows as you realize that there is absolutely nothing in the image that is sharp. In anything but great lighting conditions, images are fuzzy and full of noise, even with the aperture wide open and ISO set to 80-400. This is a nicely build little camera, but the result you get is just ... MoreI purchased this camera from Best Buy and returned it the same day. I tested it out in good lighting conditions and it was absolutely awful! This camera is essentially one big gimmick. The zoom range is 24-720mm, however, the images aren't even sharp at 24mm and anything over 40mm is just a blurry, fuzzy mess! by the time you get to the 720mm, the camera is completely unusable. If you crop in on a still image at 24mm, even one that appears to be somewhat sharp, disappointment soon follows as you realize that there is absolutely nothing in the image that is sharp. In anything but great lighting conditions, images are fuzzy and full of noise, even with the aperture wide open and ISO set to 80-400. This is a nicely build little camera, but the result you get is just garbage. Based on the reviews on Best Buy that I based my own purchase off of, I can tell you that they are severely overrated and exaggerated. If you have a decent smartphone, it will most likely take better images and video.

Daytime photos, a strong YES! Dim light photos, Nope.

Takes great day time pictures. Does ok in mid-light, sunrise/sunset. Try taking pictures at concerts or darker sighting, not so good. Camera does extremely well with close ups of flowers and stuff. Sound quality for recording is also not so good. Location of microphone, right were you want to place your fingers is not a good location. Although many cameras are like that. So depending on what you want to do it is a great camera or look for something else. I'm going to look for something else for concerts and sound and keep this for day time.

Excellent Sony Product

Sony is a leader in electronics and I have always been loyal to their products. Most people dont know that Sony makes a lot of the camera components in iPhones. This camera is amazing and produces excellent photos. At first it took me a long time to figure out all the settings and what I can do. Sony doesnt do a good job of explaining the settings. I watched a few videos on Youtube to educate myself. So glad I did. My pictures are amazing now. I like the automatic settings, they do a good job if your a tourist and taking pictures all day indoor/outdoor. You can also choose specific automatic settings for say landscape photos. But if you want to make professional pictures learn to use the manual settings and adjust to your liking. Other likes- the price is ... MoreSony is a leader in electronics and I have always been loyal to their products. Most people dont know that Sony makes a lot of the camera components in iPhones. This camera is amazing and produces excellent photos. At first it took me a long time to figure out all the settings and what I can do. Sony doesnt do a good job of explaining the settings. I watched a few videos on Youtube to educate myself. So glad I did. My pictures are amazing now. I like the automatic settings, they do a good job if your a tourist and taking pictures all day indoor/outdoor. You can also choose specific automatic settings for say landscape photos. But if you want to make professional pictures learn to use the manual settings and adjust to your liking. Other likes- the price is reasonable, photo quality is amazing, battery lasts a long time and fully charges in a couple hours. I recommend buying an SD card no less than 64gb SDXC UHS. Its the min requirement for recording HD videos and gives you about 2.5h or 9500 photos. My only con about this camera is I wish it recorded video in 4K. However its an excellent product and popular. I found a lot of Youtube videos specific to this model.

Great camera in this price range !

Looked quite a bit for just the right camera in terms of features and size. Very happy with this camera. Took on 2 week Alaska cruise tour, took about 300+ pics, the another couple hundred on a 9 day trip thru the National Parks of Utah. The high mega pixel and other features helped me produce some awesome shots which I used to design a Shutterfly photo book of our trips. The color & definition made for an awesome product! No regrets!

Great, compact camera

This is a great, compact camera with all the bells and whistles. I bought this for my companion to accompany her Sony Alpha 6000 that she finds too bulky for traveling. The smaller format of the 80 and 90v camera fits easily inside of a lady’s handbag. The viewfinder is a valuable accessory for bright light situations and something missing from my older Hx9V. The absent GPS will not be missed on the new models, 80v and 90v as equipped with the HX9v and that I found drained the battery. On this topic, the battery life on the 80v is a bit short compared to the HX9v but an extra battery remedies that issue. I recommend this camera to those who want features not offered on a smartphone such as a powerful zoom and a functional electronic viewfinder

Might as well get the HX90 or WX220

I felt the price and combo of free stuff was the best offered at the time. As for the camera itself, I think Sony shouldn't have bothered to make the 80, and only the 90 since the HX90 is the same with a couple helpful features that one might expect to have. The 30x zoom shows a bit of pulled apart distortion, but can make a just for fun good quality little picture.Anyway, how I compare it to my wx220:Pros: manual shutter and aperture, better video quality, a little side grip, Electronic View Finder, exposure is better as the wx220 often over exposes, bigger battery.Cons: no manual focus, twice the weight, bigger size (I expect that), bigger aperture front lens with worse "speed" at min zoom, so it only is big to help the Tele performance, only f8 for smallest ... MoreI felt the price and combo of free stuff was the best offered at the time. As for the camera itself, I think Sony shouldn't have bothered to make the 80, and only the 90 since the HX90 is the same with a couple helpful features that one might expect to have. The 30x zoom shows a bit of pulled apart distortion, but can make a just for fun good quality little picture.Anyway, how I compare it to my wx220:Pros: manual shutter and aperture, better video quality, a little side grip, Electronic View Finder, exposure is better as the wx220 often over exposes, bigger battery.Cons: no manual focus, twice the weight, bigger size (I expect that), bigger aperture front lens with worse "speed" at min zoom, so it only is big to help the Tele performance, only f8 for smallest aperture, but my H2 is the same there, but the wx220 goes to f16 at max zoom, BUT I can hear the HX80 click as the aperture is adjusted while the wx220 doesn't click except for its light filter, so maybe it has an electronic aperture instead of a mechanical one. The flash tube is moveable which might allow it to get broken or dirt get inside while it is fixed in the cover on the wx220. It gets the same macro focusing distance as my wx220, but I think the Canon 720 and 620 with the same lens gets 5x closer, and with macro every milimeter is worth it. I almost got the Canon too, but felt this is the better quality/featured choice, because I also liked the 10fps burst mode like my wx220.With the heavier weight, bigger lens, unimpressive max zoom quality, and lack of aperture sizes and manual focus, I prefer to keep using my wx220 in the Program auto mode.I'm honestly in the middle as to whether I'd recommend it considering the HX90, ,but then there's the lower cost, and also the better reviews and some better features than the Canon 620/720, so I'd say it's not a bad choice. Just get an rx100II if you need good indoors low light performance. It's hard to get both zoom AND low light performance.

Very good camera but could be better

Feels great to handle and produces some excellent results. The software to connect to a smartphone or PC works okay but can be a bit frustrating to get started. I just wish Sony had chosen to have a slightly bigger sensor (say 1/1.7) to improve low light performance and put clear daylight between this camera and that of a smartphone. That would mean the lens would have to be slightly bigger and no doubt increase the cost, but I think it would be worth it. In some circumstances my Xperia XZ1 smartphone, with its f/2 maximum aperture, takes better photos than this camera! Nonetheless compared to other equivalent cameras in the price range, the HX80 is maybe the best choice. Overall, I'm very pleased with my purchase.

Very happy with my new Sony!!

This is my third Sony in this format. The first two had software issues and I didn't know how to get them fixed. I love the camera so much though. My camera, tripod (that's all you need) weigh about 1.5 pounds. No need for lenses with a 30x optical zoom, great for bird shots. The camera will take razor sharp images and I'm pleased with the new eyepiece for sunny situations and the rotating back would be great for selfies!!I have to get used to some of the cameras function and placement of buttons. It's even smaller in fact then my first two Sony's. For the greatest of results use a tripod.I really hope I don't have any software issues on this new camera, time will tell. Still worth the price to me though.