Sony H400/B 20 MP Digital Camera

I like it! As a disclaimer I still have a lot to learn when it comes to photography! I have only been shooting in Auto mode so far. I was looking to replace my old Cybershot that I believe was 10.1 MP & had around 20x zoom (can't find the model for the life of me). It also had the Carl Zeiss lens. It seems this camera's dynamic range is different, so if you are very picky about your dynamic range the hx400 may be worth the upgrade. However, for my purposes: a birthday present to myself with which I can take pictures of birds, it works great!Some people are complaining about the lack of 'auto-focus' but I rather enjoy the fun of pressing the button half-way, trying to get the focus just right and then snapping the picture. It may take some getting used to but I think I would prefer telling it when to adjust the focus to the subject than it auto-focusing wherever it pleases. There is a slight 'lag' when taking the photo but it doesn't seem very significant. Someone said 1-2 seconds. It's more like 200ms. Again, I just consider it a fun handicap. The panorama function is very fun and the included strap feels nice and sturdy.

When I first received this camera I almost sent it back. Then I decided to put it to the test just to see what it could accomplish. I am glad I kept this camera. The color renditions are spot on. You have to learn not to go too deep into the zoom, because the 20+ megapixel processor lets you crop your images and get a closer shot without loss of clarity. Kind of disappointed that it has not got a dedicated macro mode, but being able to get clear focus at just a few inches makes up for it. All around good bridge camera. I would have given it a five star if it were not for the LCD screen being too bright no matter what setting you put it on. That's why I almost sent it back. I learned that a refocus of the shot helps this problem, but sometimes to get a good shot you do not always have time to refocus. Still I am pretty impressed with this camera. Think its a good purchase.

After schlepping around Europe and losing my interchangeable Alpha Sony in a German airport I just bought this camera for a travel option. The 63x zoom sold me. My husband and I have always traveled with multiple lens cameras and thought we might simplify our lives. This sony has a great feel, not exactly compact, so simple to use and the zoom is incredible. We are impressed with the clarity and image detail-THE ZOOM! The negatives are no manual focus, no remote, wifi or GPS but for the price we can do without. This will probably be the camera we grab first in our bag of of DSLRs.Two months later....After using this for a while I have a lot of peeves. The color is pretty bad. The A for aperture setting that is my favorite portrait setting is simply a black fuzzy frame around subject. The focus can be exasperating but for birds and mountain peaks I still love it.

I should have heeded the negative reviews of the model camera, but I was soooo looking forward to the big optical zoom of this camera as well as the fact that this a 20 megapixel camera, too, plus it has a large LCD screen and viewfinder for those times when yoy can't see the LCD screen in bright light.But the operation of this camera is ridiculous.And I can't beleive all of the better and glowing reviews of this Sony H400.This Sony camera model disappoints on soooo many levels.First, Screw the users who bought this camera and are telling people that you shouldn't use the full auto shoot mode and learn to use this camera manually to get, sorta past, this cameras big shortcomings.Really???...When I buy a what I perceive to be a good quality point and shoot camera with full auto shooting features, I expect it to perform fantanstic when using this mode.I may explore the manual photo taking features later as I get used to the camera and all of its feature set, but initially, for awhile, I expect flawless performance of auto shooting camera that touts great peformance and pictures using auto mode!This camera has some sort of issue as the delay in pressing the shutter button and when the shutter actually responds is a good second, maybe two, before the picture is taken.It's a very noticeable lag and I feel this is unacceptable from any good digital camera and very surprised to see this defect in a brand, like Sony.I actually have the hold the camera steady for an additional second or two AFTER I have already pushed the shutter button?I own three Sony digital cameras and one Nikon digital and there is no such shutter lag in Auto mode in any of those cameras.There goes trying to capture ANYTHING that is moving. I would need to try and anticipate when a moving object will reach the camera lens and try to time it so the shot gets taken within that two second delay of pushing the shutter button.Also, both the Electronic viewfinder, as well as the LCD screen are NOT very crisp and clear.The LCD screen ( compared to my other cameras) is very coarse and grainy looking and make it hard to see if the image yoy took is really a good image or not.The color of the images, overall, is good, but still not what I expect from a Sony product and from a company whose products are design for capturing the best images possible in all pricing levels.Also, I tried taking videos (which I realised, that the audio being recorded is only in Monoaural sound and not stereo.And, the video I took which were being taken in good bright sunlight exhibited some strange vertical color streaking/banding effects like either the lens (which is NOT a Carl Zeiss lens I have come to, automatically, expect in their higher priced camera lineups, but a Sony designed lens) couldn't handle the strong sunlight or the Super HAD CCD chip on the backside of the lens was not capable of dealing with the strong sunlight.I have an older, but higher end Sony digital camera and a newer Nikon Bridge camera that take 720p video and neither exhibited this vertical banding/striping/streaking while video-ing a bright sunlight.The video capture of this Sony H400 just couldn't do a video without introducing some weird light artifacts/abborations.It could be either a limitation of the lens or the lower end CCD where newer digital cameras use the more commonly found digital CMOS chips for capturing light.I bought this used, but still paid close to $200.So disappointed and really so unimpressed and upset that Sony created and sells this sub par camera.I will be returning this very soon and pay a little more for something better.Stay away from both the H300 and H400 Sony camera models.I think I am going to spend a little more on Sony's HX camera models, instead or look at other slightly more expensive Nikon models.The Sony HX camera models look to be what the H models should have been.