While many of us, including yours truly, have mostly replaced digital cameras, especially a compact camera like the Cyber-shot series from Sony, with a smartphone, we all still wish from time to time that we had one. With the just-announced Cyber-shot HX90V, Sony wants you to rethink the lack of a compact camera in your life by offering a few things that your smartphone simply can’t. That includes a beefy 30x optical zoom and 60x digital zoom with a 18.2-megapixel Exmor R CMOS sensor.

If you’re interested, more details about the Sony Cyber-shot HX90V await you after the jump.

Alongside that impressive zoom with a five-axis image stabilization (Optical SteadyShot), you can also expect full 1080p recording with Sony’s Bionz X processor.

 Better-looking movies are assured by Full HD 60p/50p[iv] recording using the XAVC S[v] format at 50Mbps for great-looking video – with no on-screen noise and artefacts, even when you’re capturing fast-moving kids, pets or jet-skis. P/A/S/M modes give extra creative control over your video footage, while Intelligent Active Mode with 5-axis image stabilization steadies image wobbles when you’re following moving subjects. 

Another added bonus includes GPS for geotagging photos and videos, especially helpful on the Mac where iPhoto/Photos and iMovie can fully take advantage of the data. Sony’s own PlayMemories Home is also able to take advantage of GPS data which can be found on numerous devices, including the PS3.

Sharing the recorded content is also a breeze with the HX90V which features built-in Wi-Fi and NFC, though the old-fashioned taking out the SD card trick still works as well. Seeing how the HX90V is built for the modern user, selfies will be a no problem with its 3-inch 180 degree tilt LCD screen which helps you either take one glorious picture or get just the right shot of your subject without needing to contort yourself. Another unique feature of the HX90V which can also be found on the flagship Sony RX100 is a retractable electronic viewfinder which makes taking photos/filming a much easier affair in the sun.

Available on the HX90/HX90V only, the framing shots on sunny days is a pleasure with the OLED Tru-finder that pops up whenever it’s needed. Images are bright, crisp and clear, with high contrast and vivid colours.

 Top-notch selfies are a doddle with the 3.0-type LCD that tilts up to 180 degrees for comfortably framed arms’ length portraits. The high resolution (921k dots) monitor is also handy for composing and retouching shots with the camera’s built-in Photo Creativity and Beauty Effect functions. 

Despite the large screen and even bigger zoom, the HX90V weighs in at approximately 245g and still manages to offer a battery life that can provide 390 images. The Sony Cyber-shot HX90V will be available for pre-order later this month and will arrive in June with a $430 price tag.

Discuss:

What do you think about the Sony HX90V?