The first appearance of the H9 was in Engadget’s exclusive preview. At that time, not much was known about this camera except for the basic features. Sony recently updated their website with more details about the H9. It is said to ship on the 11th of May, a good 2 months away. Before that I thought I’d give a detailed preview about this camera to prospective buyers. I will also be referring to the low-end version of the H9, the H7 in this preview.

The H9 has a similar build like all its predecessors of the ‘H’ series of cameras. The new features when compared to the H5 which its replacing are not much. The megapixel count has increased to 8.1 as compared to 7.2 which is not a remarkable upgrade.

One new and noteworthy feature when considering the build of the camera is that the LCD is now of a swivel type with sturdy hinges as can be observed in this image. The size of the screen is 3 inches in the H9 and 2.5 inches in the H7. Only the H9 has the swivel LCD.

The lens has also been improved by a minuscule amount. Although Sony claims that it has a 15x zoom as compared to the earlier 12x zoom, the change is not very much when seen in terms of focal length. The older cameras had a focal length of 6 - 72 mm and the new ones have a focal length of 5.2 - 78 mm. The increase is a negligible amount and will not matter much while taking images.

Shutter Speed has doubled from the previous 1/2000 sec to a super fast 1/4000 sec. The Burst Mode has also doubled from 1.1fps to 2.2fps. The image processor has also been improved and uses the Sony Bionz engine which was earlier seen in the Alpha series. It uses the D-Range Optimization so that taking images in tricky lighting conditions is easier.

Taking images in the dark is now a breeze with a spectacular sensitivity of 3200 ISO. Sony has also introduced a NightShot mode in the H9 which takes images in near darkness with Infrared technology using an in-built infrared emitter. This is certainly a useful feature.

It also has Image Stabilization which is now a standard feature of the ‘H’ series. Face Detection is a completely new feature and promises to deliver better facial expressions in every picture, it supports upto 8 faces in every image. It now has a 9 point Auto Focus as compared to a 3 point Auto Focus previously.

A feature totally new to Sony Cameras is ‘In-Camera’ effects which allows you to apply several interesting effects to your images within the camera itself. It also has a Lithium-Ion battery which is supposed to last for 250 shots. This is infact a downgrade from the H5 which had ‘AA’ batteries but could take upto 340 shots.

Both the H9 and H7 support HD output with a Slideshow mode and music playback too. Unfortunately, the cable for HD output is sold separately and costs $40. The cameras can handle Memory Stick Duos upto a capacity of 8Gb which can hold around 1400 images.

The most important feature would be that it supports remote control which can be used to control basic camera functions. This is a feature which was only found in DSLRs until now.

Verdict

The H9 is an excellent camera and a good DSLR replacement. It is priced at $480 and is worth the price. It is recommended for the people who want to venture into professional photography but don’t want to buy a DSLR first. People who already own a ‘H’ series camera can wait for a better model since it does not offer a great change over the H2 and H5. If you have already owned a prosumer camera, you should probably buy a DSLR.

The H7 has a great value for money at $400. It offers most of the features of the H9 except for a few like Nightshot, 3 inch swivel LCD, etc but you can manage without those features. It’s a great buy for the people who have a limited budget but want to have a taste to professional cameras.

Update : Megapixel.net has released a comprehensive review of the Sony DSC - H9. Take a look at it here. You can also read the detailed review by DPReview.com here.

Thanks for taking time to read this preview.

All Images Courtesy of DPReview.

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 21st, 2007 at 2:38 pm and is filed under Gadgets, Media, Photography, Review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.