Sony - Cyber-shot DSC-HX80 18.2-Megapixel Digital Camera - Black

I have been buying Sony compact digital cameras since about 1999. I have had a Sony Mavica and two Sony compacts before this one. In addition to this Sony I also have a Nikon D5500 (also bought at best buy) and an iPhone 7 plus. This Sony is not an expensive compact but puts out quality images well above what I expected. This includes close ups, people, distance shots, and so on. The only thing I have had some issue with is a 3.5-6.4 lens means low light shots might be a problem unless you use the built in flash. The built in viewfinder is small and takes a while to get used to. But now that I have it works fine. You NEED a viewfinder to shoot in full sunlight. If you don't have one you are just guessing on your shots. The images size of this viewfinder is small, but it is a small camera, which is one of it's best features. Sony also puts an auto shutoff and turn on into the viewfinder which is handy. The color rendition of this camera is excellent. Plus you can adjust the color to how you want it. I have found that the automatic functions work really really well. The camera's computer seems able to know a close up from and landscape and people and so on. The Zeiss lens is very good. I take lots of close ups. Used right this lens is very sharp. Plus it has amazing and I mean amazing ability to zoom. And the camera is stabilized! That means you can take birds in flight with high zoom and they turn out well. Amazing for this size and cost camera. I caught a hawk in flight a couple of weeks ago and the results were very good. The downsides are not great low light ability. My iPhone 7+ works better in low light. Sorta cheep feeling case and body compared to my last Sony compact (A DSC - W100). The thing is this camera is SMALL and packs a lot of capability into your pocket. I carry this in one pocket and my iPhone 7+ in my other pocket and have a really great duo. This camera is far better for long zoom. iPhone better in low light.

I bought this camera to replace my 7 year old Sony Digital camera. It still worked after many campouts, hiking, kyacking, and sightseeing trips, and riding in my briefcase. I bought it because I wanted to upgrade my pocket sized camera capabilities. for 379.00 this is not a cheap camera so I had pretty high expectations. It will not replace my Canon D60 completely but I was surprised at how good the pictures are and how clear and capable the 30x optical zoom lens is. I find that the pop up view finder is indispensible for use in bright sunlight, that is one of the reasons I picked this camera. I do wish the flash was on the front of the camera instead of a pop up. I have had great experiences with my old Sony compact digital camera so another Sony was my first choice. The viewfinder even focus adjusts to your eyes, important if you wear glasses or want to use the camera without your glasses. The camera takes bright clear pictures and focuses quickly in different lighting situations. The automatic modes and semi auto modes give you great flexibility in setting the camera. Of course the physical lens size also limits the f-stop range of the camera which can be a problem in low light photography. That is an issue with any compact digital camera. The WIFI feature of the camera is nice and if you have an Android or an Apple phone it will connect seamlessly. Play memories does not work very well on any of my windows 10 computers and I cannot connect directly via bluetooth or WIFI because there is no play memories mobile for Windows 10 machines. Dear Sony please fix this issue. Play memories does work OK if you plug the camera in via USB but at that point its easier to use the camera as a USB drive without Play Memories software. All in all I would highly recommend this camera for a beginer or for a dedicated SLR fan who wants a compact pocket alternative without giving up too much in capability.

I primarily use the Sony a6000 with vintage pentax kmount prime manual lenses. While this setup is great for landscape and portrait photos, it is not so good for variable distance photography nor is it well suited for action shots. I was looking for ZEISS Vario-Sonnar lenses to put on my a6000, but they are very expensive and hit only about 50% of the photos I like to take while out for the day. I decided to I wanted two cameras, to have on demand access to the type of lenses I would use for the day; enter the DSC-HX80. The HX80 had the optics I was looking for, the size I was looking for, the right cost point and close to the aperture range and max shutter speed I was looking for. It is nice that the buttons, menus and software for the HX80 are just like the a6000 so I didn't have to learn a bunch of new stuff and when switching between the two won't have to adjust my thinking. Heck, in full manual mode (ISO, Shutter, Aperture) are all individually manually configurable and aperture stops are range bound by the zoom level (24mm- 720mm) - this is a nice feature. I used the HX80 for the last few days and it is really simple to use, even on full manual. It is great outdoors! Indoors, the low light is so-so. In low light it has a nice "automatic" feature where it takes several pictures at once and overlays them to eliminate has much "shake" as possible with the slower shutter speed. Outdoors it is a star and the max shutter of 1/2000 is sufficient. The 30x digital zoom is really nice for such a small camera and helps cover the 24mm on the small side and the 720mm on the big end. Only thing - the HX80 only takes photos in jpeg format so there is limited post production opportunities (just adds a little more pressure to take the picture right the first time). Overall this is a great camera, with many advanced features, well worth the buy - just pay attention to indoor low light (but all cameras struggle with this unless you are using a $1.5k lense).

I love this camera, I was needing something with a zoom that could reach the football field from the stands, while having really good quality, I get the best pics and videos with this camera, it’s small and easy to pack in purse , the wristlet came very handy as well... love it!! Definitely recommend, ,, Quick note... this works best with a tripod stand. So it keeps a steady video. The pic I posted was zoomed out way too much but it’s the only pic I had on my phone from the camera.. it’s way better in person I promise!!

I researched a few different P&S cameras because I wanted one that had great quality but wasn't too expensive. I already have a Sony a6000 but wanted something smaller and compact to carry around. I stumbled across this one and I really liked it because of the 180° screen. The only downside which is also a complaint by other customers is that it doesn't perform really well in low light. I bought it primarily to follow my toddler son around and capture silly moments on the fly. It does the job, even in the low light. But my Samsung S9+ is wonderful in low light, so I'd expect more from a camera, nonetheless a Sony. But other than that, I love it!!! And so does everyone else! I also love that it is compatible with PlayMemories Mobile app so I can transfer pics and vids (in mp4) to my phone within seconds. And can also use my phone as a remote so that I can take pics by using the PM app. Would definitely recommend!

Needed a small, easy to use camera that took great pictures so I bought this Sony. It does exactly what I need. Point and shoot with great results. Nice unit for a couple hundred bucks. My home Christmas morning...

I bought this camera to take on my trip to Ireland. It is lightweight and did the job great, but I truly underestimated other peoples reviews about how it handled in low light. Some of the photos that I look in low light would have been better if I took the photos on my phone. When we did get the occasional blinding light the view finder was very helpful! Overall I would purchase again!

This is my first Sony camera. I got it to replace my Canon SX710 which I dropped by accident and broke the lens. I wanted a camera that has the same 30x zoom and sharper lens and decided to give the HX80 a try. Having now had the Sony for a couple of months have to say that while it is overall a pretty nice travel camera - lens is super sharp with fast focusing, very compact size easy to carry around, wide angle is great for landscapes - it did not measure up to my expectations. Specifically it doesn't perform well under low light, or in closeups, and the image quality gets very coarse if your subject is small and you need to crop afterwards. In photos of animals, birds and insects the fine details of fur or feathers gets lost, no matter how sharp the image is, no matter the lighting or the resolution, especially if you need to enlarge the image afterwards - everything would look splotchy and muddy when enlarged. In terms of ISO settings - I usually use the P or A and set ISO manually - anything above 400 will look pretty rough, a lot more so than the same or higher ISO in other cameras (in addition to the SX710 I also use an Olympus TG3, both provide smoother images and the latter is excellent for low light and closeups). Wifi transfer to phone or tablet works fairly well. The "Download all on date" feature is very convenient. I'm attaching two sets of images for comparison - same size subjects shot under similar conditions and focal length: Birds - blue taken with SX710 at ISO800, red with HX80 at ISO400 - while the red has better focus and at lower ISO, it gets splotchy feather details when enlarged Insects - yellow with SX710, green with HX80 - again while the green has sharper focus and at lower ISO, it can't be enlarged because of the noise.