Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9 Reviews and Samples
The new 8.1 MP (Megapixel) Sony DSC-H9 ultra-zoom is the latest H-Series Cybershot digital camera from Sony introduced in February 2007 to replace the DSC-H5, and it's a serious understatement to say that its feature list is impressive.
The 15x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar zoom lens on the Sony H9 has a focal length range of 31 - 465mm and an aperture that starts from f/2.7 at the wide end and goes to f/4.5 at the long end.
All-in-all, an impressive-sounding specifications sheet and looks the part too, but what do the more interesting Sony H9 reviews and user opinions have to report on this camera?
You might like to first download the PDF instruction manuals for the DSC-H9. Two English Language owner's operating guides are available there, titled Cyber-shot Instruction Manual for DSC-H7 / H9 (2.74 MB file) and Cyber-shot Handbook DSC-H7 / H9 (9.47 MB download).
Professional Reviews
Sony H9 First Impressions at DigitalCameraInfo.com
The H9 is closer to the size of a digital SLR and quite a bit larger than your typical compact digital camera, so Emily Raymond's well-written physical tour of the Cybershot H9 is much appreciated as I got a good sense of how it would feel in my own hands.
The LCD screen on non-DSLR cameras are a critical component as it allows you to frame shots correctly. Emily gives her thumbs-up on the high-quality, 3-inch LCD screen on the H9.
Sony touts the H9 as an ideal camera for sports photography, and the availability of a dedicated continuous drive / burst mode button that sits next to the shutter release button seems to support that claim. A maximum of 2.2 fps (frames per second) for unlimited shots is possible, and to make shooting sports even easier, there's a an advanced sports shooting mode that automatically switches on continuous or tracking AF (Autofocus) which maintains focus on moving subjects and also puts the camera into 2fps.
The availability of 9 AF points makes composing very flexible - you could, for example, activate the extreme left point to keep a moving athlete in the left hand side of the frame. It also helps a lot that the H9 has image stabilization (Sony calls it Super Steady Shot) built into the lens - this minimizes shooting blurry, handheld shots and is especially useful at the telephoto end of the zoom range in low light conditions.
The H9 is the first Sony digital camera to have Face Detection technology, but this is available only in Auto and Portrait modes as not only is it used for focusing on faces, but also to adjust exposure so that those faces are "bright enough". Emily compares the effectiveness of the H9 FD feature to Canon and Fuji cameras.
Press Release: DPReview.com
Video overview of the DSC-H9
Here's an excellent video of the Sony H9 done by Quesabesde.com at PMA 2007, Las Vegas.
User Reviews and Impressions
DVP's Sony H9 Tabblo
DVP's tabblo on the Sony H9 makes for an interesting read. First impressions of the camera are shared, and 6 areas where the H9 scores points over the H5 is nicely listed out. You also get to view pictures of the H9's fold-out and tilting LCD screen.
DSC-H9 discussions over at DPReview.com forums
Robert Deutsch tries out the H9 and remarks that it was smaller and lighter than he thought it would be, and that it also responds quickly. The H9 accepts only the newer Memory Sticks Duo or Memory Stick Pro Duo media for storage, the thicker version used by the Sony Clie PDA, for instance, cannot fit into the H9's memory slot. Sam Rowland adds some notes about his impressions of the H9, praising its flash performance, LCD screen, and the lens' smooth zoom mechanism. The face detection and Night Shot features also seemed to work as advertised.
Other user impressions
- After a few weeks of getting acquainted with his new H9, Jordan Justice finds the H9 to be a vast improvement over the Cybershot DSC-H2 in terms of handling and when comparing the size and quality of the LCD screen.
- AAK found the battery life on the DSC-H9 to be excellent, managing 851 pictures in one day with 1 bar left on the indicator, and continued with that same battery the next day until it died at 981 shots.
Sony H9 sample photos and user images
With the Sony H9 already finding its way to the hands of excited new owners, it's time compile a list of links to interesting DSC-H9 photos.
As usual, I'll add my thoughts and I hope you find this summary helps you in your decision on whether this is the camera for you.
A little reminder: most of the image samples will be resized (and sometimes enhanced, edited or post-processed) for web viewing, but if the full-sized versions are available, I'll be sure to mention that.
Sony H9 gallery by Anne Girard
Anne has one of the best H9 galleries for you to enjoy. She's got some nice variety in there, from birds and pets (here's a full-sized ISO 80 cat pic) to candid shots to portraits.
Splash Concert shots by Alan A Katz
Alan is their photographer (see the gallery of his work on their official website) and got to really work the H9 at one of their recent concerts.
He had to put up with the high contrast scene, but managed to enjoy using the DSC-H9's burst mode. From page 53 and 54 of the Sony Cyber shot DSC-H7 / H9 manual:
"Burst mode: Records up to 100 images in succession when you press and hold down the shutter button. The flash is set to Flash Forced Off. The recording interval is approximately 0.46 second and this mode cannot be selected if the shutter speed is set to 1/3 second or slower."
ISO 200 was used for these shots in order to get the shutter speeds up as much as possible. Sometimes, even a 1/400 second shutter speed wasn't fast enough to freeze the action.
Alan also shared his enthusiasm for the design, functionality and ergonomics of the H9, which he feels is a significant improvement over the Cyber-shot DSC-H5. More from his short H9 user review.
Miscellaneous Sony H9 Information
Weight: : 440 g (15.5 oz) (including a 3.6V, 960 mAH lithium-ion NP-BG1 battery, rated at 250 shots per full charge)
Dimensions: : 110 x 83 x 86 mm (4.3 x 3.3 x 3.4 in)
Full specs: DPReview.com | SonyStyle.com | vs Sony Cyber-shot H7
Accessories for the H9: Conversion lenses (wide angle and telephoto), filters and camera carrying cases at SonyStyle.com.
May 17th, 2007 at 10:46 am
The full-review of the Sony Cybershot DSC-H9 has been available for a week at Neocamera. See: http://www.neocamera.com/review_sony_h9_more.html
December 26th, 2007 at 11:32 am
The Sony H7 overall is a great camera. I've been using it for about a month now and I'm quite satisfied with it with only one very big concern and that's the fact that the H7 has no option to set image compression. For me that's the biggest setback of the H7 unless otherwise Sony releases a firmware upgrade which could remedy the problem. Overall though, zooming and controls and the stabilization is very good with this camera.
March 29th, 2008 at 4:21 am
would you please help . i am trying to purchase a dsc-h9 computer lead , from camer to computer , have not had much luck , can you give me the part number for this cable ???
many thanks fred vear
March 29th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Fred, perhaps it's the Sony VMC-MD1 cable, see related information at Amazon UK, Amazon.com, eBay and SonyStyle.