Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9

By Lori Grunin, CNET.com
Jun 29, 2007

Sony changed quite a few details, inside and out, between last year's H5 and its latest megazooms, the Cyber-shot DSC-H9 and DSC-H7. An F2.7-4.5 31mm-465mm 15x supersedes the 12x zoom on last year's, and the resolution kicks up a notch from 7 to 8 megapixels. Say goodbye to AA batteries and hello to a proprietary lithium ion.

Two features differentiate the H9 and H7: The H9 retains the same excellent 3-inch flip-up LCD as the H5, while the H7 uses a fixed 2.5-inch version, and the H9 includes Sony's NightShot infrared mode. They are otherwise identical, and we expect the same performance and photo quality. We tested the H9.

Design
The plastic body feels a bit cheap, and the grip--a bit larger than the H5's--could use more of a rubbery texture. Sony also "improves" upon the simple four-way-plus-set navigation controls of the H5 by adding a scroll wheel and now-Sony-standard Home and Menu buttons. We love the scroll wheel, but it takes a little while to get used to the operation for adjusting shooting settings.

   
For more details on the DSC-H9's design and image quality, click on the image.

You toggle between changing the particular setting and changing the settings values with the OK/Set button; the changeable option turns yellow. In theory, it's all very logical. But in the heat of the shoot, it requires a little too much thinking. Still, it makes sense, so it shouldn't take long to adapt.

And after using several Sonys, we're still not thrilled with the Home button. When you press it, the first item it shows you is Shooting; but when you select that, it displays the current mode dial setting and tells you to use the Menu button to change the current settings. In other words, telling you that you've pressed the wrong button. If it's that confusing, perhaps it needs some restructuring.

On the other hand, you have to scroll over four categories and down a level to get to settings such as AF illuminator and AF mode, then down another level to change the flash-sync mode. (Especially since you can get to these more easily via the Menu button.) True, these aren't settings you want to change frequently, but why bury them quite so deeply and keep the useless info close to the surface?

Features
The H7 and H9 offer a typical set of manual, semimanual, and automatic exposure options, including scene modes for high ISO, portrait, twilight portrait, landscape, twilight, beach, snow, and fireworks. (Inexplicably, on the H7, the metering and bracketing/continuous shooting must be changed via the LCD, while on the H9, they have dedicated buttons.)

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There are also newfangled choices such as Face Detection, Advanced Sports Shooting, and NightShot infrared mode. Face Detection only operates within full automatic mode, and you have no control over which faces it sees or selects. The Advanced sports mode sets the camera to a fast shutter speed and uses a continuous autofocus.

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