Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9B Digital Camera

Nice but not a H5 upgrade

By Elvis P  Jun 1, 2007 | 43 out of 48 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9B review helpful

Pros: Tilting screen, remote control, very quick, burst mode, night vision, good flash

Cons: Sports mode is useless, no fine/standard setting, fiddly menu, image quality not consistent

I sold my DSC-H5 to buy a DSC-H9 assuming that the DSC-H9 would be an upgrade. Feature wise yes it is but for image quality it is no better and the H5. To start with the positives, the H9 is a nice camera and has some fantastic features. The tilting... 3" screen is superb and along with remote control, you can take pictures that were previously impossible. The remote has quite a range to, I am able to operate the camera from the bottom on my garden - about 50 feet away. In use the camera is fast, it focuses quick and the burst mode is amazingly nippy with about 2.5 frames per second. The menu has changed from the H5 and can take a while to get used to, but there are quite a few options for those who like to do stuff manually. As with all the H series the colour in the shots is also wonderful especially with the "vivid" colours option selected. The 15x optical zoom does provide some great shots though a few had a bit of purple fringing but nothing that worried me. The zoom seems no greater than the 12x zoom on the H5 though since the H9 actually starts off from a lower angle (31mm) so at 15x zoom, it is only just a fraction more than the 12x on the H5. The camera isn't perfect (but then what camera is for this price). The option of standard / fine for image quality has vanished and so you are at the mercy of the camera's noise reduction system. Often this strips noise and strips details as well leaving a photo that appears to have watermarks or brush strokes in it. It doesn't happen on all the shots, just random ones here and there. In low light situations the noise reduction can really kick in with a vengence so you can end up with a Monet masterpiece. You can of course select the higher ISOs but in my opinion they are only suitable for printing images around 4"x6". I print images no larger than A4 and for me most shots are outdoors in good light so it isn't a problem but for people who want to print A3 it may be. The biggest mistake on this camera to me is Sports mode. Sony advertise it as an advanced sports mode with a shutter of 1/4000 second - except it is no where near that. Sports mode seems flawed as it always defaults to 1/60s - that's useful for catching your granny asleep but there is no way it will give nice sports shots. Choosing Shutter priority mode though, you can select a 1/4000 shutter but as I'm a novice, it takes a bit of thinking to select the right ISO and aperture. I never needed to know about that with the H5 but my knowledge of photography has increased with the H9 as the manual modes are better than the auto modes. The thumb wheel on the front of the H5 has also vanished and turned into a dial around the controls at the back. To me that is a step backwards as I have huge hands and preferred the old thumb wheel. With the H9 I have taken some bad shots (more to do with being a novice than the camera) and I have taken some shots that I have been really pleased with. When it comes to macro shots, the camera really excels and I always seem to get good outdoor shots. The images are not DSLR quality and probably not quite as sharp as the H5 but it does have some fun features that make it more enjoyable to use than its predecessors. For me I really like the additional features of the H9 and I can print in A4 and get images that I am happy with so I like the camera. For folks who do not really need a tilting screen, remote control and night vision - the H2 and H5 may be better alternatives. Read more Less