Sony has announced its new Cyber-shot HX80 compact camera, which features a 30x optical zoom lens for a 24-720mm equivalent zoom range. It uses an 18.2MP CMOS sensor and captures 1080/60p video with Sony’s solid XAVC-S codec.
Sony Cyber-shot HX80 Key Features
- 18.2MP BSI Exmor R CMOS Sensor
- BIONZ X Image Processor
- Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 30x Optical Zoom Lens
- 24-720mm (35mm Equivalent)
- 638k-Dot Pop-Up OLED Tru-Finder EVF
- 3.0″ 921k-Dot Tilting LCD Monitor
- Full HD 1080p/60 Video in XAVC S
- Built-In Wi-Fi with NFC
- Expanded ISO 12800 and 10 fps Shooting
- Optical SteadyShot Image Stabilization
The HX80 offers a budget-friendly alternative the RX100 series, while delivering an incredible zoom range at the same time. At $348, it comes in substantially lower than the most recent RX100 IV model, which is close to $1000.
Even with the 30x optical zoom lens, the HX80 is still small enough to fit in your pocket and features 5-axis Optical SteadyShot image stability to help out with that long reach. A mode dial with quick access to PASM and other shooting modes on top of the camera will please enthusiasts who want to maintain as much control as possible.
The XAVC-S codec for video capture will be a boon to video enthusiasts with its 50Mbps data rate and up to 60p frame rate. Additionally, the HX80 is equipped with built-in WiFi and NFC for connectivity to smartphones and tablets.
The Sony Cyber-shot HX80 will ship in mid-April for $348. You can pre-order it here at B&H Photo.
I say this is a huge Sony fan (own an A7, A6000, and RX100 iii). I really hope that they fixed the ridiculously slow burst recovery that the WX500 and HX90 had. If so, this will be a fun lil travel zoom… if not, well I guess I’ll have to go to the dark side and grab the new Canon SX720! ;-)