Tag Archives: Sony HX9

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After recently posting up the Palo Alto adapter from PhotographyandCinema.com, I decided to take mine out for a spin (literally). With this little adapter and a cheap Shurline Pole, you can get some really cool views in both Photos and in videos. It's more than strong enough for something like the Sony HX9V. This time out, I decided to see what it would look like if I spun it around pointing towards myself. It's definitely weird, but stems more ideas on some cheap yet creative camera movements. I'm seriously going to stack two of these poles together to see if I can double the height....


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Just for fun, thought I would test to see how much difference a basic ND filter and CPL could do to improve on the HX9. The ND will bring the shutter speed down on bright days to reduce the strobe like effect. The CPL, of course will improve overall image when dealing with Polarized light. This is a basic Cokin P system filter holder (this one can hold up to 3 filters). There is a slot for a CPL that can be rotated. I've also stacked two Cokin P hoods to help prevent lens flares on the large filters. Normally the filter holder is attached to the filter ring of a lens. There's no filter ring so a friction arm keeps things in place while still being adjustable in case I need to zoom. Yes this can all be used on pretty much any other camera. If it all works well, i'll build a stage of sorts to be able to mount it on a tripod.

[Update] Here's a video sample with and without the ND Filter. The focus was thrown off from pulling the ND in and out, but if you leave it in the Auto Focus is fine. I could try stacking ND filters to cut down the shutter speed even more. Notice how choppy the water looks without the ND filter and how it flows with the ND filter on. Overall, the ND filter makes a pretty big difference.

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find-price-button Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX9V 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS

Screen shot 2011-08-05 at 11.54.53 AM
find-price-button Camera Filter Holders

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(above) Just testing out my new Sony HX9 point-and-shoot camera. What an amazing little thing. Besides the ability to capture full 1080 60p at it's highest resolution (much more than Canon DSLRs), there's a plethora of very cool features to make sure your photos come out perfect. Imagine that not very long ago we paid several thousands of dollars for high end video cameras that don't even come a quarter to the quality we have today in a tiny inexpensive point and shoot.

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Remembering the VX2000

The new HX9 has built in HDR mode that will take three pictures and balance out the shadows and highlights. Sure that's something we've seen before. It also has a built in Anti-Shake mode which will take about 6 images together, takes all the best ones, removes all the motion blur and leaving you with one very sharp image. This is especially helpful when going hand held using the full 16x optical zoom. There's also built in image stabilization which keeps both photos and videos incredibly stable.

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Taking an image in low light and worried about ISO noise? There's a feature for this too. The HX9 will take about 6 images in fast succession, merge them one on top of the other, and apply a very subtle noise reduction. Macro modes, shooting in high key lighting, sports, landscape, and more. The HX9 can make any amateur a seasoned photographer in a few minutes. Of course I believe Sony has 'the best' algorithm for taking panning Panoramic images too. Just sweep your hand across a scene (even in a small room) and the Sony HX9 will automatically stitch it together into one long panoramic. Guess what? You can also do these sweeping Panoramics while the camera is in Portrait position (tall wise), and the camera has a fast enough processor to stitch these 43MP images in about a second. (Yes about 43MP).


(above - My sample slow motion from Sony Vegas when played back at 40%).

Several others have already owned this camera since it's release, and I've only had the camera for the past few hours still learning the features and menu. There has already been some excellent footage shot with this camera like the one below from Vimeo member Jeen de Vos Producties.

I won't say it's better footage than a Canon 5D Mark II, but a fun test from Vimeo member Ryan Czaplinski shows you what it looks like in a side by side comparison. (Below)

The DSC-HX9 can use both Memory stick and SDHC cards, and a few things i'm not a fan of is limited Manual Focus (only in certain modes) and that you need to charge the battery with the camera. This would be just a bit troublesome to carry a spare battery and have it charging on the side. Of course, for the quality that this new camera provides and for the cost, i'm super happy with it. If you're not into interchangeable lenses, the HX9 with it's full 1080 60p features (good for slow motion) are hard to pass up.

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find-price-button Sony DSC-HX9 Digital Camera Full 1080 60p

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