Customer Ratings & Reviews

I bought this as a tech refresh to replace my Sony HX-1, which I have loved for 6 years. I know the HX300 has been out for a couple years now, but it has multiple software and image processing improvements over my old camera. I'm still having fun playing with the settings. The thing that impresses me most is the image stabilization at high zoom levels. I can see/feel my hands shaking, but to look at the screen, you would never know it. I always wanted an in-camera HDR (High Dynamic Range) feature, as I had played around with bracketed exposures and creating my own HDR shots using PC software. I have to say, I'm not in love with their 3 (high, med, low) options for in-camera HDR. Fortunately you can still shoot bracketed exposures and composite the shots together on your computer later, tuning the HDR to your preferences. The burst shooting is very good, and the video is fine for my purposes. I don't shoot a lot of video. You can tell a lot of Sony engineering went into the in-camera image processing. Say what you will about the company, they do have some clever people working for them. The "Superior Auto" setting does do a good job of rescuing those difficult-to-shoot situations. Be warned, it does take longer to save an image under lighting conditions where it automatically shoots several exposures and processes them into one in the camera. The one thing I haven't been blown away by is the 3D settings. In fact, I've never been in a situation where I wanted to use it, where the subject matter lent itself to this kind of pseudo-3D shot. (You need a foreground subject, with the background a significant distance behind.) It would have been really impressive if they had included a hyper-3D mode, where you could take a left-eye shot, move to the right and take the right-eye shot, with the first image ghosted on the viewscreen as a guide. You wouldn't be able to view it in 3D on the camera, but it would be cool. Cool things it does have: you can turn on a level indicator on the display. The little arrows turn green when you're holding the camera level, either in portrait or landscape. Very handy! When viewing shots taken in burst mode, you can cycle through them by turning the camera. How cool is that? The panorama mode has been improved. Now you can shoot 360 degrees, or turn the camera to portrait orientation and do a higher-res 120 degree pano. Battery life is surprisingly good, given all the zooming you will want to do. The battery is smaller than the one in the HX-1, but last just as long, if not longer. (Well, it's a new battery, so it should be pretty good.) I bought a spare battery, and for a day of shooting, I did need to swap out. But 2 batteries covered me. One other nit-pick: the lens cap doesn't tether to the camera. I'll have to get one of those 3rd party strings--hopefully before I lose my lens cap. If you get this camera, RTFM (read the fun manual) to learn about everything it can do. Then go out and play.

Great zoom and does really well in low light. I am not a camera expert so I wanted something easy to use. I would like something more compact, but this camera does so many great options at a great price that I couldn't resist.

I purchased this on a whim. My prior camera was about 6 years old (a similar type of camera - only made by Kodak) and the quality of the photos was just not what I was looking for. This model was on a GREAT sale and I am an Elite Best Buy rewards member so I have an extended return period. I bought it and figured, worst case, if I didn't like the camera I would bring it back and try a different one. I had been mulling over a DSLR but didn't want the extra cost. This seemed like a good compromise between a point and shoot and DSLR. Well this camera has vastly surpassed my expectations! Not only are the pictures beautiful and crisp and look like they came out of a DSLR, this camera takes AMAZING video too. I used it to record my daughters ballet recital and also her end of school programs. The viewfinder screen pulls out so it gives you some flexibility on how you can hold the camera. The video quality is actually a higher quality than the professional video I purchased from her school kindergarten program. It does well in low light (like at the recital) and in regular light. If you are wanting an EASY to use camera that puts out a great product do not HESITATE to purchase this. When you zoom in you will need a tripod on the extreme zoom, but that is not to be unexpected. This camera is fantastic! I uploaded a picture I took of a hummingbird through our kitchen window (and in taking the picture realized how much I need to wash the outside of the windows - the camera wanted to focus on the dust!!) on a pretty strong zoom free hand. The bird is not THAT focused but that is partly b/c of the window needing to be clean and my focusing on the feeder while waiting on the bird to show up. I think this shows how good the camera COULD be if you really focused on the correct things and had a good setup.

It's excellent for the price, very light camera, very easy to use and take very good photos

I absolutely love this camera. Its great for people who just want to point and shoot, the camera can automatically choose the best settings for the type of picture being taken (nighttime, portrait, landscape, etc). It is also great for people who have a little more experience and want to choose their own settings plus some (shutter speed, ISO, white balance, etc). The extra features are very nice too. I really love the panoramic setting, the photos come out very well, and the pop-of-color setting that makes the photo black and white except for one color. The list of colors is small (blue, green, red, yellow) but is still nice to have that option. The zoom is amazing and even zoomed all the way in, the pictures still come out crystal clear. The only downside of this camera that I can think of is the lens cover is not attached so it could be easy to lose.

AMAZING camera! I was the envy of every tourist - even the DSLR owners were eyeing the super easy panoramic settings. I kept it mostly on panoramic or auto and had great, quick shots - perfect in low light. The zoom is fantastic, the stabilizer works well, but sometimes at 50x I needed a few re-takes to get the shot. I bought 3 batteries, but 2 would last a full day of sightseeing. With only a week to learn how to use it before my European trip, it was pretty simple. Love the online manual, but never even needed to use it. I would buy this camera again - and recommend it to anyone. It made a huge difference on my trip and made it easy to capture the memories.

I haven't bought a new digital camera since 2002. I went in looking and the sells guy recommended this camera for my needs. I got it home and have been playing with it and love it! I had a friend who is a professional photographer show me how to use it, which was helpful. Just a tip for you, he said on the zoom don't go pass the middle bar and you won't loose quality of picture. Also he said use the superior auto most of the time because it will detect what you are trying to do and will auto set for you, for the best quality pic. So far they have turned out to be great tips. I bought the camera 2 weeks ago and have only charged it once so far. For the price I paid it was well worth it.

I took the Sony HX300 50X camera on an Africa trip and was very pleased with it. I found I could take good pictures from closeups to long range without having to change lens and carry all that heavy gear. Its light weight was nice. Also you can set the camera to be very quiet when taking pictures. I do recommend that you take the time to learn the use all of the features especially manual mode. It was needed to get some of the pictures of lions and such under trees where it is darker than the surrounding area. The manual does not explain all of the functions very well. Another person on the trip who has done several trips used a similar camera which reenforced my choice of the type of camera to bring. Another used a top of the line Nikon DSLR with several different lenses and several times missed shots because the wrong lens was on his camera and he needed to clean the lenses and the camera a lot because of the dust. The weakest thing I found are the user manual does not explain all of the function and how to use them, sunsets did not look as great as I would have liked, and the very long shots (50X) tended to get soft. I expected that with a lens with that much zoom. If you need a camera that is more than a small point and shoot yet without the weight and issues of carrying and using extra lenses this is a very good choice. I did look at the Cannon and liked the controls better on the Sony. Nikon's mid range camera went to only 30X.

i was searching for small camera for small occasions where i don't have to carry my DSLR and i got this This is a very good camera . the best features i like 1.Light weight 2. lion battery 3. Pictures quality is good 4.does not pain your neck or hand when u hang it for long time 5. video quality is also good and you can give it to kids to take your photo :)

The camera is excellent for taking sports photos, it's lightweight. Pictures are clear & crisp! Easy to learn in getting started! Excellent for novice photographer.

Am able to take distance shots, usually without a tripod. Light in weigh for its versatility too. Am enjoying photography again even though I have rather severe arthritis, I can handle the camera and still get really good clear shots of birds in flight and great distances. The camera is easy to set up and operate, with an amazing range of options at nearly half the price of big name cameras like Canon. Great for a novice or beginner.

Easy to learn how to use, takes great pictures, easy to transfer photos. Only thing we don't like is the lens cap isn't attached to the camera, so when you take it off, you have to store it somewhere separately.

I was looking for a camera that was somewhat professional but wasn't looking to spend a ton of money. When the lady helping me took the time out to go over each camera with me this is the one I picked. I was so pleased with the quality of the photos as well as all of the many settings it has that make your pictures look even better. With me being a person who doesn't ally about photography this camera is very easy to use and understand. For sure will recommend it again!

I thought this camera was going to feel heavy like some reviews commented but I did not think so. It isn't super light but it is very comfortable to grip and I have small hands. I got this for my hubby, and he is a beginner and was able to quickly figure out the features even without looking over the manual. I love the zoom effect and the numerous picture formats you can choose from so this is a great camera even for beginners because you can set it to manual or auto setting. The price range is very good for the features it provides. The movie button was a plus for us!

If you want a easy to use but more than a just easy snap and shoot this is a great camera ....it has all the features for just about anything you want to shoot close or distant and will adjust in auto or manual to anything you need ..Its nicely priced and light ...just a great camera for use by a little more than a beginner.

I bought this camera for a trip to Africa. I wanted a camera that could take beautiful pictures for this once in a lifetime experience, but that was easy to use. I wanted a camera that had a powerful zoom, without the hassle and expense of having to switch out lenses. This camera turned out to be perfect for use during safaris, chimp and gorilla treks, and also in a fast moving vehicle. I am not very tech savvy, so I used the auto setting the majority of the time. My cousin brought three different types of cameras with her, including a very expensive camera with three different lenses, and she commented on the quality of the pictures my camera took! In fact, there were times that she asked me to take pictures, instead of using her cameras, because my camera would do a better job. If I had learned to use more of the camera's features before the trip, I may have taken even better shots, however, it may have been challenging to use anything but the auto setting with the fast moving animals. I didn't take many videos because I was concerned about battery life when using the camera for several hours, and there were times when electricity wasn't available to recharge batteries. The videos that I did take were good.

I was looking for a new digital camera, and I didn't want a dslr. I bought the Sony as an open box return for $359, nothing was missing. This camera takes awesome pictures and video the zoom is amazing and the shooting modes are so easy to use that my 6yr old already knows how to use it and he takes awesome pictures too. Great camera for the money don't hesitate to buy it you will not be disappointed...

Have the older version, like the newer version with less cables for charging with an USB rather then the adaptor and regular outlet cord. But kind of felt that is was a little heavier. And it doesn't automatically pop open the flash when needed like the older version. Also there is not a loop for string for the cover of the lens like the older version so you have to make sure that you don't loose the lense cover it sits in there nicely for sure though. I like the higher zoom availability from the older version. But overall I like the camera with all of the features it has. I loved my older version and I'm sure I will love this one too. ;)

It is a great camera, clear pictures and easy to use. The down fall is that you have to charge the camera like you charge your phone, you can't remove it and charge the battery itself. Another bad thing is the program That it comes with is alright on the MacBook it isn't like canon's and nikon's. Also, the worst thing is that the cap is not attached to the camera. All of these are minor things. Overall this is the best camera I have ever had and it didn't break the bank as much as other cameras would. Sony takes the best pictures compared to canon and Nikon, in my opinion.

I purchased this camera while vacationing. I wanted to get better quality photos and I was not disappointed. The settings are easy to use, and for people with no prior knowledge, this camera is a great starting point. The battery life is amazing. I have no complaints.