Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-HX5 is the company's first truly pocketable super-zoom camera. Announced in January 2010 it features a 10x optical zoom with impressive wide-angle capabilities, Full HD video recording, very fast continuous shooting, a built-in GPS receiver which records your position, altitude, compass heading and local time onto images, and a 10 Megapixel CMOS sensor which claims great low light performance. Sony's earlier Cyber-shot DSC-H20 may have also sported a 10x zoom, but it wasn't anywhere near as small, nor did it share the HX5's impressive array of additional features.
The HX5's zoom offers an equivalent range of 25-250mm, taking you from seriously wide-angle to pretty powerful telephoto coverage in a compact body that'll squeeze into most pockets. This allows you to capture expansive landscapes, cramped interiors or big group-shots at one moment, before zooming-in to grab distant detail in the next. It's a powerful and compelling range to have at your disposal in a pocketable camera.
While most compacts seem happy to stick with 720p video, Sony's equipped the HX5 with nothing less than Full HD at 1080i, along with the ability to zoom while filming. There's also stereo sound, the choice of encoding formats and a dedicated record button.
GPS looks set to be a headline feature of 2010, and the HX5 actually becomes the first super-zoom camera to offer it built-in. The HX5 will record the latitude and longitude co-ordinates into the headers of your images, along with the altitude and compass heading, the latter also shown on-screen in real-time as you compose. Then when you get home you can plot your movements on mapping software.
Going far beyond the capabilities of most compacts, not to mention most DSLRs, the HX5 also boasts continuous shooing speeds of up to 10fps at the full 10 Megapixel resolution. It may only record ten frames in a burst, but this still allows you to capture action sequences which are traditionally out-of-reach for anything other than a professional DSLR.
It all adds-up to a very impressive package that's clearly targeted directly at Panasonic's enormously popular Travel Zoom series. But Panasonic hasn’t stood still and the company's latest Lumix TZ10 / ZS7, announced shortly after the HX5, also sports GPS capabilities along with HD video and a long optical zoom range. Canon's also now onto its second generation pocket super-zoom with its PowerShot SX210 IS, and Nikon's additionally joined the fray with its COOLPIX S8000. All are brand new 2010 models and after the same buyer who wants the convenience of a long optical zoom range in a pocketable camera.
Measuring 103x58x29mm and weighing 200g with battery and card, the Cyber-shot HX5 is on the chunky side of today's compacts, and therefore better-suited to trouser or coat pockets rather than one on the front of your shirt. But it's important to put this into perspective as unlike most compacts, the HX5 packs-in a 10x optical zoom and GPS receiver. It also manages to be 2mm shorter, 4mm thinner and 18g lighter than its arch rival, the Panasonic Lumix TZ10 / ZS7, although in your hands, both models look and feel roughly the same size.
Viewed from above, you'll notice the HX5's rounded right-end dips in ever-so-slightly, before joining the flat front surface. This discreet dip, which runs the full height of the camera, actually provides surprisingly good purchase for your middle finger, which coupled with another dip on the rear for your thumb, allows you to hold the camera fairly confidently with one hand. So while the surface of the camera is pretty slippery without any raised dots or rubber sections, Sony's design team have created a grip that's comfortable and secure to hold without spoiling the look. It's a smart-looking camera, and if you don't like the black finish pictured here, some regions will alternatively sell it in gold. As far as we understand though, there's no underwater housing available for the HX5.
Like many Sony compacts, the HX5 also doesn't like to spoil its exterior with any pesky doors for ports. Instead there's a single proprietary connector on the underside of the camera, positioned roughly in the middle. This connects to a variety of equally proprietary cables and adapters. The camera's supplied with one cable which ends with composite video, stereo audio and USB outputs, along with an adapter dongle which transforms the connector into an HDMI port. An optional cable provides component outputs for those with older HD displays lacking HDMI. It's certainly flexible and avoids having a door on the side of the camera, but this proprietary approach means you'll be forced to buy potentially expensive accessories from Sony alone. Ultimately we'd have preferred standard USB, TV and HDMI outputs, like its rival, the Panasonic TZ10 / ZS7.
It should also be noted the camera is forced to lie on its front or back when the cable or HDMI dongle are connected. The port may be positioned to work well with docking stations, but feels a little inconvenient when used with a cable alone. Its position in the middle of the body also forces the tripod thread to the far corner, and unlike the TZ10 / ZS7, we frequently found it hard to ensure the camera was 100% level when mounted on a tripod.
The Cyber-shot HX5 also supports Transfer Jet for short-range wireless data transfer between compatible devices, although we understand you'll also need a compatible Memory Stick. Unfortunately other Transfer Jet devices were not available in our location, so we were unable to test it.
On the opposite side of the camera you'll find the combined battery and memory card compartment. The HX5 is powered by an NP-BG1 battery, rated at 910mAh, and good for 310 shots under CIPA standards according to Sony. Bear in mind this doesn't include any movie recording or GPS reception though, so if you're using the full features of the camera, be prepared for it to deplete a great deal quicker. Battery life is indicated by a four-segment icon in the top left corner. It's not an Info Lithium model, so you won't see the actual minutes remaining, but it seemed fairly accurate in use.
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