Sony HX50V review

Sony's top-end travel compact

Sony Cyber-Shot HX50 review
Despite its compact size the Sony Cyber-Shot HX50 has a big zoom lens built in

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

The widest (24mm equivalent) end of the lens is great for sweeping vistas or when you need to squeeze lots into the frame.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

This was shot at the 720mm (equivalent) end of the lens and it's a detail from the building in the wideangle shot above.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

Colours are punchy and vibrant without being over the top.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

This was shot in manual mode with the exposure set to match the outside conditions, thus rendering the inside of the bus very dark. However, the tonal range looks decent.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

This image is a little soft, but it was captured at the longest end of the lens as the bus moved.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

There's no shortage of detail in this long-range shot.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

The light-coloured building has fooled the camera into slight underexposure here, but it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

Taken with the selective colour mode set to red to render all but the red objects monochrome.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

Nelson in Toy Camer mode.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

And again in Sepia mode at the longest point of the lens.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

The bus had moved a few meters further away from Nelson's column by the time we got this shot at the 24mm end of the lens, but it demonstrates the effectiveness of the 30x zoom very well.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

Another quick grab shot made possible by the snappy AF performance.

Sony HX50 review

Click here to see the full resolution image

The vignetting seen here comes courtesy of the Toy Camera filter mode.