Sony HX80 pocketable superzoom camera announced

Sony has officially unveiled the HX80 compact camera for travel photographers. The new device offers a 30x optical zoom lens and a built-in electronic viewfinder, whilst remaining a pocketable device.

A new compact camera with a superzoom lens has been unveiled by Sony. The Japan-based company has taken the wraps off the Cyber-shot DSC-HX80, which has become the tiniest camera with a 30x optical zoom lens in the world.

The new device is placed below the HX90V, but it retains some of the features of its higher-end sibling, such as the integrated electronic viewfinder, which is retractable. Moreover, the new device is said to be small enough to fit even into a shirt pocket.

Sony HX80 becomes official with 18.2MP sensor and 30x optical zoom lens

The first proof of its existence showed up in mid-February, thanks to some leaked promotional materials from Germany. Well, it is time to leave our doubts behind, as the compact camera is official.

Sony has revealed the HX80 with an 18.2-megapixel sensor.

Sony HX80 will offer an 18.2-megapixel 1/2.3-inch-type Exmor R CMOS sensor and a BIONZ X image processor, which will provide a continuous shooting speed of up to 10fps.

Users will also be able to take advantage of an ISO sensitivity range between 80 and 3200, albeit a 12800 ISO setting will be available in Multi-Frame Noise Reduction mode. Additionally, the shutter speed extends between 30 seconds and 1/2000th of a second.

The 30x optical zoom lens of the Sony HX80

The 30x optical zoom lens is a Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* unit that offers a 35mm focal length equivalent of 24-720mm. The maximum aperture stands at f/3.5-6.4, depending on the selected focal length.

The lens features built-in Optical SteadyShot technology with support for 5-axis stabilization to counteract camera shakes. This system will be quite useful when capturing photos in low-light conditions or at slower shutter speeds.

WiFi-enabled superzoom compact camera to be released this April

Sony HX80 provides two ways of framing images or videos. Photographers used with a viewfinder can take advantage of the pop-up OLED Tru-Finder. The other one is a 3-inch LCD with a resolution of 921,000 dots and which can be tilted upwards by 180 degrees in order to capture selfies from an arm’s length.

The display on the back of the Sony HX80 can be tilted up by 180 degrees.

The electronic viewfinder is not the only thing that pops-up. There is a built-in flash which can do the same and which will come in handy in darker environments.

This compact camera shoots videos at up to full HD resolution and it supports the XAVC S codec with a bitrate of up to 50 Mbps. Videos as well as photos can be sent to a smartphone or tablet via WiFi and NFC technologies.

As stated above, the new HX80 is a pocketable camera, which measures 102 x 58 x 36mm / 4.02 x 2.28 x 1.42 inches and weighs 245 grams. Sony will release it by the end of April for a price of $350, the announcement reads.