Sony Cyber-shot HX60V review

30x optical zoom, Wi-Fi, full manual control... it seems like the HX60V has it all.

Sony HX60V
A great travel compact with a superzoom lens

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Image smoothing

If you examine an image like this at 100%, you'll see that there is a noticeable degree of image smoothing, resulting in a painterly-like effect. However, if you view at normal printing or web sizes, it appears to have plenty of detail – which is how you will view your images most of the time.

Depth of field

The HX60 is capable of producing relatively shallow depth of field effects, despite the fact that its widest aperture is f/3.5. Click here to see the full resolution image.

Picture Effects

Shooting with Picture Effects gives you a nice amount of flexibility. Click here to see the full resolution image.

Vibrance

Images straight from the camera are bright and punchy, showing a good level of vibrance without being overly saturated. Click here to see the full resolution image.

Optical zoom

With its huge optical zoom range, the HX60 is appealing to those who want to photograph subjects such as nature. Click here to see the full resolution image.

Panorama

The camera's Sweep Panorama mode is quick and easy to use, merging images successfully in camera.Click here to see the full resolution image.

High sensitivity

At high sensitivities, such as ISO 1250, you can see image smoothing taking effect where noise reduction has been applied, but again, at normal printing and web sizes it's not particularly noticeable.Click here to see the full resolution image.

Metering system

The camera's metering system is a little prone to underexposure, meaning you'll need to dial in some positive exposure compensation to get a correctly exposed image at times. Click here to see the full resolution image.

Toy camera

Toy Camera (Normal)

Toy Camera (cool)

Toy Camera (cool)

Toy Camera (Warm)

Toy Camera (Warm)

Toy Camera (green)

Toy Camera (Green)

Toy Camera (Magenta)

Toy Camera (Magenta)

Pop Color

Pop Color

Posterization (Color)

Posterization (Color)

Retro Photo

Retro Photo

Soft High-Key

Soft High-Key

High Contrast Mono

High Contrast Mono

Soft Focus

Soft Focus

HDR Painting

HDR Painting

Rich-Tone Mono

Rich-Tone Mono

Watercolor

Watercolor

Illustration

Illustration

No filter

No Filter

Zoom range

Wide scene

At its widest point, the HX60 offers an equivalent focal length of 24mm, which is great for capturing a lot in a wide scene. Click here to see the full resolution image.

Maximum zoom

At the maximum telephoto zoom end of the optic, the 30x optical zoom offers an equivalent of 720mm, making it incredibly flexible for travelling and holidaying photographers. Click here to see the full resolution image.

Clear Image Zoom

If the optical zoom still isn't enough reach, then you can shoot with Clear Image Zoom – a sort of digital zoom. This boosts the focal length equivalent up to 1440mm, and still performs reasonably well. Click here to see the full resolution image.

Amy Davies

Amy has been writing about cameras, photography and associated tech since 2009. Amy was once part of the photography testing team for Future Publishing working across TechRadar, Digital Camera, PhotoPlus, N Photo and Photography Week. For her photography, she has won awards and has been exhibited. She often partakes in unusual projects - including one intense year where she used a different camera every single day. Amy is currently the Features Editor at Amateur Photographer magazine, and in her increasingly little spare time works across a number of high-profile publications including Wired, Stuff, Digital Camera World, Expert Reviews, and just a little off-tangent, PetsRadar.