Just got hold of a Sony HX60 as I thought it would maybe make a good compact camera for carrying with me as an alternative to the RX100 MkII. Although I love the RX100 I just sometimes need a bit extra reach when I am out and about on a walk, and don’t want to carry the Olympus E-M1 and a couple of lenses. I remember back in the days of film cameras carrying a large bag of equipment especially on trips to France and Italy, how did I manage that weight I will never know.

So what does the HX60 give me against all of my other camera gear, well to start with a zoom lens that covers the 35mm equivalent of 24-722mm, that’s a 30x zoom lens in a very small package. Unfortunately, the lens is not very bright, with an f-stop of only 3.5 at the wide end, and 6.3 at the telephoto end. The other key point is no RAW capture, not that is a major issue, it’s just that I would prefer that to Jpeg only.

So how did it perform, well not that bad really, I used it with the FDA-EV1M electronic viewfinder that I use with the RX100 MkII, as I feel it gives the camera a bit more stability, especially on the telephoto end. I would also add that I used the lowest ISO setting of 80 where possible to get the best out of the camera, as I would expect that raising the ISO would result in increasing the luminance noise.

To test the camera I walked to Buxted Park not far from my home in the county of East Sussex in the UK.

A Dragonfly laying eggs in the water @493mm focal length

A lily pond in Buxted Park East Sussex, UK @24mm focal length

St Margaret the Queen Church, Buxted, East Sussex UK @24mm focal length

St Margaret the Queen Church, Buxted, East Sussex UK @24mm focal length

An overflowing dog poo bin at the entrance to the churchyard @28mm focal length

Pine tree in the garden of Buxted Park Hotel @24mm focal length

A jackdaw looking for food @722mm focal length

The entrance to Buxted Park Hotel @50mm focal length

A grazing sheep @722mm focal length

To sum it up my overall impressions of the HX60 is that it can resolve a great deal of detail (as can be seen in the dragonfly picture), albeit at low ISO settings. It is certainly portable and can be used for capturing various subjects with the large focal length zoom lens. I know that it isn’t the latest tech as Sony have quite a quick turnaround on their camera models, but I have never been one to get the latest and the greatest, as I usually like a bargain.

Is it worth adding to my camera bag, well yes I think so, but to be used with caution and also in good light to get the best out of its very small sensor.

Equipment used:

Sony DSC-HX60 camera
Sony FDA-EV1MK electronic viewfinder
LCJ-HN Jacket Case

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