Sony H200 Review

The Sony H200 looks rather like a digital SLR, and that's no accident -- its styling and grip design are intended to evoke Sony's Alpha DSLR cameras. And while its lens is fixed in place, consumer photographers aren't likely to mind, because with a powerful 26x optical zoom on offer, the DSC-H200 likely offers all the range they'll need in most shooting situations (and then some.) 35mm-equivalent focal lengths range from a very generous 22.3mm wide angle to a far-reaching 580mm telephoto. The maximum aperture falls from f/3.1 to f/5.9 across that range, which is about par for the course for a 26x zoom, although we've seen some models that were slightly brighter.

What we certainly haven't seen before is a long-zoom camera with such a high sensor resolution. The Sony Cyber-shot H200's 1/2.3" Super HAD CCD sensor has an effective resolution of 20.1 megapixels, and that's higher than we've seen in almost any fixed-lens camera, until now. The only prior fixed-lens cameras with more than 18.2 megapixels are Sony's own RX100 and RX1, both of which have much larger sensors than does the H200. Of course, the difference between 18 and 20 megapixel cameras is relatively slight; in linear terms, there's actually only about 6% more resolution, and with smaller pixels, that's going to come at the expense of some added noise.

On its rear panel, the Sony DSC-H200 features a 3.0-inch, Clear Photo LCD monitor. There's no optical or electronic viewfinder, so you'll be doing all your image framing on this display, so it's good news that it has a reasonably high resolution of 460,000 dots. On the top deck, a popup flash is included, with a range of 6.8 meters at wide angle when using Auto ISO sensitivity.

Ease-of-use features include Sony's Intelligent Auto mode, which recognizes the scene type and then configures the camera appropriately, as well as a 360-degree sweep panorama function that handles image capture and stitching automatically. All you need do is press the shutter button once and pan across the scene. There's also a Beauty Effect function that lets you retouch portrait images to smooth and tone your subject's skin, whiten their teeth, widen their eyes, and remove shine. And as well as stills, you can shoot high-def 720p movies, with a resolution of 1,280 x 720 pixels.

The Sony Cyber-shot H200 is powered by four standard AA batteries, and includes both composite standard-def video output and USB 2.0 High Speed data connectivity. Images and movies are stored either on SD or SDHC cards, or on Sony's own proprietary Memory Stick Duo cards.

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Model Name:	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H200
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Manufacturer URL:
General
Model Number:	H200
Camera Format:	Mid-Sized
Currently Manufactured:	Yes
Retail Price:	$249.00
Street Price:	$205.44
Date Available:	2013-01-15
Tripod Mount:	Yes
Weight:	18.7 oz (530 g) includes batteries
Weight With Batteries?	Yes
Size:	4.8 x 3.3 x 3.4 in. (123 x 83 x 87 mm)
Waterproof:	No
Image Capture
Image Resolution:	5184 x 3888 (20.2 MP, 4:3), 5184 x 2920 (15.1 MP, 16:9), 3648 x 2736 (10.0 MP, 4:3), 2592 x 1944 (5.0 MP, 4:3), 1920 x 1080 (2.1 MP, 16:9), 640 x 480 (0.3 MP, 4:3), 11520 x 1080 (12.4 MP, Other), 7512 x 1080 (8.1 MP, Other), 4912 x 1920 (9.4 MP, Other), 4912 x 1080 (5.3 MP, Other), 3424 x 1920 (6.6 MP, Other)
Continuous-mode frames/second:	0.8
Movie Resolution:	1280x720, 640x480
Movie Frame Rate:	30p, 30p
Movie Audio:	Yes
CCD Sensor (Megapixels):	20.40
CCD Size (inches):	1/2.3"
Focal Length Multiplier:	n/a
Aspect Ratio:	4:3
Sensor Type:	CCD
Effective Megapixels:	20.10
Lens
Focal Length (35mm equivalent):	22 - 580 mm
Zoom Ratio:	26.00x
Digital Zoom:	Yes
Digital Zoom Values:	Up to 2x, up to 70x Smart Zoom (total)
Auto Focus:	Yes
Auto Focus Assist Light?	Yes
Manual Focus:
Normal Focus Range:	20 cm to Infinity 7.9 in to Infinity
Macro Focus Range:	20 cm to Infinity 7.9 in to Infinity
Aperture Range:	f/3.1 (W) / f/5.9 (T) - ??
Lens Thread:
Lens Thread Type:
Viewfinder
Viewfinder:	No
Viewfinder Type:
Display
Eye-level Viewfinder:	No
LCD Viewfinder:	Yes
LCD Size (inches):	3.0
LCD Resolution:	460,000 dots
Touchscreen:	No
Articulating LCD:	No
Max Playback Zoom:
Exposure
ISO Settings:	Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
White Balance Settings:	Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent 1/2/3, Incandescent, Flash, One Push, One Push Set
Shutter Speed Range:	30 - 1/1500
Exp Adj Range (EV):	+/- 2.0EV in 0.3EV steps
Metering Modes:	Multi-pattern, Center-weighted, Spot
Program AE:	Yes
Aperture Priority:	No
Shutter Priority:	No
Full Manual Exposure:	Yes
Creative Exposure Modes:	Scene modes: High Sensitivity, Soft snap, Soft Skin, Landscape, Night Portrait, Night Scene, Gourmet, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Pet mode; D-Range Optimizer: Standard, Plus, Off; Sweep Panorama, Sweep Panorama 360
Self Timer:	2, 10, Portrait1, Portrait2 seconds
Flash
Internal Flash:	Yes
Flash Modes:	Auto, Flash On, Slow Synchro, Flash Off, Advanced Flash; Red-eye Reduction: Auto, On, Off
Flash Guide Number (Meters):	n/a
Flash Range Description:	ISO Auto: Approx. 0.4 - 6.8m (W) / Approx. 1.5 - 3.6m (T)
Ext Flash Connection:	n/a
Image Storage
Usable Memory Types:	MS Duo / MS PRO Duo / SD / SDHC
Memory Included (MB):
Uncompressed Format:
CCD Raw Format:	No
Movie File Format:	MP4 (AVC/H.264) with monaural sound
Connectivity
Video Out:	Yes
Video Mode (NTSC/PAL):	n/a
Video Usable as Viewfinder:	n/a
External Connections:	USB 2.0 High Speed
Other Connection:	Multi-Terminal (AV/USB)
Included Software:
OS Compatibility:
Power
Battery Form Factor:	4 x AA
Usable Battery Types:	Lithium or Alkaline disposable, NiMH rechargeable
Batteries Included:	4 x Alkaline AAs
Battery Charger Included:	No
CIPA Rating:	350
Notes & Features:	Optical SteadyShot image stabilization, 720p HD movies, 360 Sweep Panorama, Advanced Flash mode, New Beauty Effect, Face Detection and Smile Shutter, AA batteries.