Sony cyber-shot dsc-hx400

Introduction

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 is an affordable super-zoom camera, offering a 63x, 24.5-1550mm zoom lens, 20.1 megapixel Super HAD CCD sensor, 720p HD video recording with stereo sound, and Sweep Panoramas. Other key features of the Sony H400 include a 3 inch LCD screen, electronic viewfinder, ISO range of 80-6400, Optical SteadyShot with Active Mode which cuts camera-shake while you’re shooting handheld HD video, Intelligent Auto, Program and full Manual shooting modes, a range of Picture Effects, support for both Memory Stick PRO Duo and Secure Digital cards, and a lithium-ion battery. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 is available in black for £250 / $299.

Specifications

Size & Weight

Dimensions (W x H x D) (CIPA): 129.6mm x 95.0mm x 122.3mm (5 1/8 in. x 3 3/4 in. x 4 7/8 in.)

Weight (CIPA): Approx. 655g (1 lb 7.1oz.) (Battery and Memory Stick DUO are included) Approx. 628g (1lb 6.2oz.) (Body Only)

Sensor Type: 1/2.3 type (7.76mm) Super HAD CCD

Effective pixels: Approx. 20.1 Megapixels

Lens type: Sony Lens
F-number: F3.4(W)-6.5(T)

Focal length: f=4.4-277mm

Zoom

Optical Zoom: 63x (Optical Zoom during movie recording)
Digital Zoom (Still Image): 20M Approx. 126x / 10M Approx. 89x / 5M Approx. 120x / VGA Approx. 500x / 2M (16:9) Approx. 160x

Digital Zoom (Movie): Approx. 126
Filter Diameter: Yes (φ55)

Focus

Focus Mode: Multi Point AF, Center Weighted AF, SpotAF, Tracking Focus, Face Tracking Focus
Focus Range: iAuto: AF (W: Approx. 1cm (0.03 ft) to Infinity, T:Approx.350cm(11.48 ft) to Infinity) / Program Auto:AF(W:Approx.1cm(0.03 ft) to Infinity, T:Approx.350cm(11.48 ft) to Infinity)

Light Metering Mode: Multi Pattern

Exposure

External Flash Mode: Auto / Flash On / Slow Synchro / Flash Off / Advanced Flash

External Flash

External Flash Range: ISO Auto: Approx.0.4m to 8.8m(1.3 ft to 28.8ft)(W) / Approx.3.5m to 4.6m(11.4 ft to 15.0ft)(T) / ISO3200: up to Approx. 12.4m(40.6 ft)(W) /Approx. 6.5m(21.3 ft)(T)

Screen Type: 7.5cm (3.0type) (4:3) / 460,800 dots / ClearPhoto / TFT LCD

Brightness Control: 5(Bright) / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1(Dark)

White Balance

White Balance Modes: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy,Fluor.: White Balance 1 / 2 / 3, Incandescent, Flash, One Push / One Push Set

Storage Media

Internal Memory: Approx. 55MB

Compatible Recording Media: Memory Stick Duo;Memory Stick PRO Duo;Memory Stick PRO Duo(high speed);Memory Stick PRO HG Duo;Memory Stick XC-HG Duo;Memory Stick Micro;Memory Stick Micro (Mark2);SD Memory Card;SDHC Memory Card;SDXC Memory Card;microSD Memory Card;microSDHC Memory Card;microSDXC Memory Card

Recording

Still Image Resolution: 4:3 mode:20M(5,152 x 3,864) / 10M(3,648 x 2,736) / 5M(2,592 x 1,944) / VGA / 16:9 mode:15M(5,152 x 2,896) / 2M(1,920 x 1,080) / Sweep Panorama:360°(11,520×1,080) / Wide(7,152 x 1,080/4,912 x 1,920) / Standard(4,912 x 1,080/3,424 x 1,920)
Movie Recording Mode: 1280×720 (Fine) (1,280×720/30fps) /1280×720 (Standard) (1,280×720/30fps) / VGA (640×480/30fps)

Panorama (Recording): Intelligent Sweep Panorama (supports 360 format)
Recording Format: Still Images: JPEG (DCF, Exif, MPF Baseline) compliant, DPOF compatible

Built-in Flash

Built-in Flash Mode: Auto , Flash On , Slow Synchro , Flash Off , Advanced Flash

Built-in Flash Range: ISO Auto: Approx.0.4m to 8.8m(1.3 ft to 28.8ft)(W) / Approx.3.5m to 4.6m(11.4 ft to 15.0ft)(T) / ISO3200: up to Approx. 12.4m(40.6 ft)(W) /Approx. 6.5m(21.3 ft)(T)

Shooting

Shooting Mode: Intelligent Auto, Easy Shooting, Program Auto, Movie Mode, Panorama, Shutter Speed Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual Exposure, Scene Selection, Picture Effect
Continuous Shooting Speed (maximum): Approx. 0.71 fps (100 shots)
Self-Timer: Off / 10sec. / 2sec. / portrait1 / portrait2
Scene Selection: High Sensitivity, Night Scene, Night Portrait, Portrait, Landscape, Portrait, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Gourmet, Pet Mode,Party Mode

Picture Effect: Still: Toy camera / Pop Color / Partial Color / Soft High-key, Movie: Toy camera, Pop Color, Partial Color, Soft High-key
Panorama (Shooting): 360 Sweep Panorama
Shooting Functions: Intelligent Auto, Easy Shooting, Program Auto, Movie Mode, Panorama, Shutter Speed Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual Exposure, Scene Selection, Picture Effect

Exposure

Exposure Compensation: +/- 2.0 EV (1/3 EV steps)
ISO Sensitivity (Still Image): Auto/80/100/200/400/800/1600/3200

ISO Sensitivity (Movie): Auto: (ISO100-ISO800 Level)

Power Consumption (Camera Mode): Approx. 1.5W

Battery Life (CIPA, Still Images): Approx. 300 / Approx. 150min

In The Box

Accessories: Rechargeable Battery Pack NP-BX1;AC AdaptorAC-UB10C;Multi USB cable;Shoulder Strap;Lens Cap;Instruction Manual

Main Rivals

Listed below are some of the rivals of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400.

Canon PowerShot SX510 HS

The Canon PowerShot SX510 HS is a small super-zoom camera with a 30x zoom lens. The Canon SX510 also offers 12 megapixels, a 3-inch LCD screen, wi-fi and GPS connectivity, full manual controls and 1080p HD movies. Read our in-depth Canon PowerShot SX510 HS review now…

Fujifilm FinePix SL1000

The Fujifilm FinePix SL1000 is a brand new super-zoom camera sporting a massive 50x zoom lens. The SL1000 also features a 16 megapixel sensor, tilting 3-inch LCD screen, electronic viewfinder, 1080i movies, 10fps burst shooting, full range of manual shooting modes and RAW format support. Read the World’s first Fujifilm FinePix SL1000 review now…

Kodak PixPro AZ521

The new Kodak PixPro AZ521 super-zoom camera features a massive 52x zoom lens with a focal range of 24-1248mm. Other highlights of the affordable Kodak AZ521 include a 3 inch LCD screen, full 1080p HD movies, and a 16 megapixel CMOS sensor. Read our in-depth Kodak PixPro AZ521 review now…

Nikon Coolpix P600

The Nikon Coolpix P600 is a new super-zoom bridge camera with an incredible 60x zoom lens. The Nikon P600 also has a back illuminated 16 megapixel CMOS sensor, 3-inch 921K-dot vari-angle LCD screen, full 1080p high-definition movies with stereo sound, built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, an electronic viewfinder and 7fps burst shooting. Read our Nikon Coolpix P600 review to find out just what a 60x zoom lens is capable of…

Olympus SP-820UZ

The Olympus SP-820UZ is a bridge compact camera that boasts a 40x zoom lens with an incredible focal range of 22.4-896mm. The 14 megapixel Olympus SP-820UZ also offers a 3 inch LCD screen, 1080p movie recording and a Backlight HDR mode. Read our in-depth Olympus SP-820UZ review to find out if this super-zoom is worth the £280 / $330 asking price…

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ72

The brand new Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ72 super-zoom camera (also known as the DMC-FZ70) features a massive 60x zoom lens with a focal range of 20-1200mm, the biggest of any camera on the market. Other highlights of the FZ72 / FZ70 include a 3 inch LCD screen, full 1080i HD movies, 9fps burst shooting, P/A/S/M modes, RAW support, a flash hotshoe and a 16.1 megapixel MOS sensor. Read our in-depth Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ72 review now…

Conclusion

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 is a rather unexciting super-zoom camera with one stand-out feature, at least in marketing terms — its mammoth 63x, 24.5-1550mm lens. Whilst this sounds incredible on paper and is sure to gain the DSC-H400 more attention than it perhaps deserves, the reality of trying to take a sharp photo at such extreme focal lengths is a frustrating one, thanks to the DSC-H400’s glacially slow autofocus, terrible electronic viewfinder and noisy images at ISO 400 and above. We can’t help feeling that many would-be buyers of the otherwise beginner-friendly Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 will ultimately be disappointed by the camera’s image quality, especially when they naturally take advantage of that huge zoom.

In bright daylight we were just about able to achieve satisfactorily sharp results shooting handheld with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400, but once the light levels fall, it’s tricky to keep the subject in focus, unless you use a high ISO speed and accept that your images will be very noisy and lack any fine detail. This is most definitely not a camera for low-light shooting, something that’s accentuated further when using the extreme reaches of the focal range. Video quality is also disappointingly still limited to 720p, rather than full 1080 HD as most cameras seem to offer these days.

Build quality is surprisingly good considering the modest asking price, with a very nice handgrip, but as you’d expect the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 doesn’t have too many bells and whistles in terms of features — you’d need to spend a lot more on the company’s HX-series super-zooms to get the latest technologies. For some users, this might actually be a plus point, as the H400 is at least refreshingly simple to use for beginners, but the poor EVF, so-so LCD screen and only 720p video look out-of-place on a 2014 super-zoom camera.

In summary, specifying such a long zoom lens on such a cheap camera seems more like a marketing exercise than anything else, with the zoom range seemingly replacing megapixels as the latest must-have feature. Ultimately, the rest of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400’s specification simply can’t match up to its lens, which will ultimately alienate the beginner target audience, rather than impress them.

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	3.5
Features	3.5
Ease-of-use	3.5
Image quality	3
Value for money	4

Image Quality

All of the sample images in this review were taken using the 20 megapixel JPEG setting, which gives an average image size of around 5Mb.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 produced images of fairly good quality during the review period. It didn’t handle noise that well, becoming all too obvious at ISO 400, and then becoming progressively worse at the faster settings of ISO 800 and 1600, and finally the unusable ISO 3200 setting.

Chromatic aberrations were in evidence but were well-controlled, with some limited purple fringing effects appearing in high contrast situations. The 20 megapixel images were a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting and require some further sharpening in an application like Adobe Photoshop, or you can increase the in-camera sharpening level.

Macro performance is excellent only allowing you to focus as close as 1cm away from the subject. The built-in flash worked well indoors, with no red-eye and adequate overall exposure. The maximum shutter speed of 30 seconds allows the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 to capture enough light for most after-dark situations.

The DRO feature dramatically increases the detail in the shadow and highlight areas, there’s a handful of creative Picture Effects on offer, while the Sweep Panorama mode makes it simple to take wide-vista shots.

Noise

There are 7 ISO settings available on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting.

ISO 80 (100% Crop)	ISO 100 (100% Crop)


ISO 200 (100% Crop)	ISO 400 (100% Crop)


ISO 800 (100% Crop)	ISO 1600 (100% Crop)


ISO 3200 (100% Crop)

Focal Range

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400’s 63x zoom lens offers an incredibly versatile focal range, as illustrated by these examples:

24.5mm	1550mm

Sharpening

Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web — Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are just a little soft and ideally benefit from some further sharpening in a program like Adobe Photoshop. Alternatively you can change the in-camera sharpening level.

Original (100% Crop)	Sharpened (100% Crop)

Chromatic Aberrations

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 handled chromatic aberrations fairly well during the review, with some purple fringing present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.

Chromatic Aberrations 1 (100% Crop)	Chromatic Aberrations 2 (100% Crop)

Macro

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 allows you to focus on a subject that is 1cm away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.

Macro	Macro (100% Crop)

Flash

The flash settings on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 are Auto, Forced Flash, Slow Syncro, No Flash, with a Red-eye Reduction option in the Main menu. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.

Suppressed Flash — Wide Angle (24.5mm)	Forced Flash — Wide Angle (24.5mm)


Suppressed Flash — Telephoto (1550mm)	Forced Flash — Telephoto (1550mm)

And here are some portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Forced Flash setting or the Red-Eye Correction option caused any amount of red-eye.

Forced Flash	Forced Flash (100% Crop)


Red-eye Reduction	Red-eye Reduction (100% Crop)

Night

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400’s maximum shutter speed is 30 seconds, which is great news if you’re seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 30 seconds at ISO 80.

Night	Night (100% Crop)

Dynamic Range Optimisation (DRO)

DRO is Sony’s solution for improving shadow and highlight detail in photos taken in contrasty light, significantly increasing the image’s dynamic range. The examples below show the effect of turning this feature on.

Off	Standard


Plus

Picture Effects

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 offers a limited range of 4 creative Picture Effects.

Off	Toy Camera


Pop Color	Partial Color


Soft High-Key

Intelligent Sweep Panorama

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 allows you to take panoramic images very easily, by ‘sweeping’ with the camera while keeping the shutter release depressed. The camera does all the processing and stitching and even successfully compensates for moving subjects.

Standard

Wide

360

Характеристики

Сенсор

Тип матрицы

BSI-CMOS (Exmor R CMOS)

Форм-фактор

1/2,3″

Разрешение полное

21,1 млн пикс.

Разрешение эфф.

20,4 млн пикс.

Процессор

BIONZ X

Макс. размер кадра

5184×3888 точек

Соотношение сторон

4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 1:1

Запись RAW

нет

Форматы файлов

JPEG

Оптика

Фокусные расстояния

24—1200 мм

Оптический зум

50×

Цифровое увеличение

4×

Значения диафрагмы

F2,8—8,0/F6,3

Стабилизация

оптическая

Фокусировка

Типы фокусировки

автоматическая по контрасту; ручная

Автофокусировка

многозонная с выбором зоны, точечная; покадровая, непрерывная при записи видео

Минимальная дистанция

0,01 м; от 2,4 м до бесконечности в телеположении

Непрерывная АФ

нет

Брекетинг по фокусировке

нет

Подсветка автофокуса

есть

Фотографические функции

Чувствительность

авто, 80—12 800 ISO80–3200 ISO в автоматическом режиме с настраиваемым верхним порогом

1/4000—30 с

Экспозамер

многозонный, центровзвешенный, точечный

Управление экспозицией

авто, приоритет диафрагмы, приоритет выдержки, ручное; 15 сюжетных программ

Компенсация экспозиции

±2 EV с шагом 1/3 ступени

Эксповилка

нет

Баланс белого

7 пресетов, по образцу, установка в градусах Кельвина; брекетинг по балансу белого

Серийная съемка

10 кадров/с, 10 JPEG в серии

Запись видео

1920×1080 точек, 50 кадров/с

Особенности

режимы 1080@50p, 50i, 25p в формате AVCHD; 1440×1080@25p, 480@25p в формате MP4

AVCHD, MPEG-4/AVC/H.264

Форматы файлов

AVCHD (звук AC-3, стерео), MP4/AVCHD (звук AAC-LC, стерео)

Управление экспозицией

нет

Скоростная съемка

нет

Стабилизация

есть

Оптический зум при записи

есть

Вспышка

Встроенная вспышка

есть

Дальность действия

от 0,5 до 8,5 м

Внешняя вспышка

нет

Режимы работы

авто, заполняющая, синхронизация по первой/второй шторке; беспроводное управление внешними вспышками

электронный (201 тыс. пикс.)

Дисплей

3,0 дюйма, 921 тыс. пикс., TFT

Поворотное крепление

наклон

Тачскрин

нет

Встроенная память

нет

SD, SDHC, SDXC, MS Pro Duo, MS Pro HG Duo, MS XC-HG Duo

Физические характеристики

Материал корпуса

пластик

Защита от внешней среды

нет

Габариты, Ш×В×Г

130×93×103 мм

Вес

660 граммов

Питание

литий-ионный аккумулятор NP-BX1

Автономность

300 кадров

Порты и связь

USB-порт

micro USB

HDMI-порт

micro HDMI

Встроенный Wi-Fi

есть

Функции беспроводной связи

802.11b/g/n, NFC; подключение к смартфонам и планшетам на базе iOS и Android, к совместимым ТВ; выгрузка данных в ПК; публикация в соц. сети; дистанционное управление спуском

Пульт ДУ

есть

Product Images

Front of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400

Front of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 / Pop-up Flash

Side of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 / Image Displayed

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 / Turned On

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 / Quick Menu

Rear of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 / Main Menu

Top of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400

Bottom of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400

Side of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400

Front of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400

Memory Card Slot

Battery Compartment

Sample Images

This is a selection of sample images from the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H400 camera, which were all taken using the 20.1 megapixel Fine JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.

Download

1/640s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/160s · f/5 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/60s · f/6.1 · ISO 400

Download Original

Download

1/80s · f/6.1 · ISO 400

Download Original

Download

1/200s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/5.8 · ISO 320

Download Original

Download

1/400s · f/4.1 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/250s · f/4.9 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/4.9 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/6.2 · ISO 160

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/5.7 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/5.8 · ISO 400

Download Original

Download

1/30s · f/3.4 · ISO 200

Download Original

Download

1/30s · f/4.7 · ISO 160

Download Original

Download

1/20s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/25s · f/3.4 · ISO 100

Download Original

Download

1/50s · f/3.4 · ISO 200

Download Original

Download

1/100s · f/3.4 · ISO 400

Download Original

Download

1/200s · f/3.4 · ISO 800

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/3.4 · ISO 1600

Download Original

Download

1/800s · f/3.4 · ISO 3200

Download Original

Download

1/25s · f/4.7 · ISO 400

Download Original

Download

1/100s · f/5.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/30s · f/4.3 · ISO 400

Download Original

Download

1/320s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/320s · f/4.1 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/320s · f/4.6 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/100s · f/5.1 · ISO 400

Download Original

Download

1/60s · f/6.4 · ISO 400

Download Original

Download

1/50s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/40s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/400s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/100s · f/4.7 · ISO 400

Download Original

Download

1/250s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/1250s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/800s · f/4.3 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/5 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/5 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/640s · f/4.3 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/160s · f/5.8 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/5.5 · ISO 100

Download Original

Download

1/1500s · f/4.1 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/640s · f/5.5 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/200s · f/4.7 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/200s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/4.7 · ISO 320

Download Original

Download

1/1250s · f/4.7 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/2000s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/1250s · f/4.5 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/1000s · f/5.3 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/4.7 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/5.5 · ISO 100

Download Original

Download

1/1000s · f/4.1 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/250s · f/5.7 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/200s · f/5.5 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/160s · f/5.5 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/400s · f/5.7 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/6.1 · ISO 100

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/6.1 · ISO 100

Download Original

Download

1/400s · f/6.1 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/200s · f/4.7 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/200s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/100s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/1000s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/4.7 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/250s · f/3.6 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/5.2 · ISO 100

Download Original

Download

1/500s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/1250s · f/3.4 · ISO 80

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/5.2 · ISO 100

Download Original

Download

1/125s · f/6 · ISO 80

Download Original