The Sony DSC H9 is a super zoom digital camera. Even for a super zoom model it has a longer than standard zoom lens, 15x as opposed to the normal 12x. Image stabilisation is built into the DSC H9. On models with shorter zoom lenses image stabilisation is of less importance, but it is a useful feature on a camera with a lens of this length.
Lenses of this length are useful for types of photography such as wildlife and sports.
This is an 8 megapixel camera. This should be plenty for top quality prints up to A3 size.
As you would expect a camera with such a lens is not small and pocket sized. It weighs just over 400g and is roughly 85mm wide. A case to protect the camera is a good idea. If you are not sure where to go for a case try your local camera shop. A good sized camera shop is likely to have a selection for you to choose from.
For the more advanced photographer Sony have added manual exposure controls to the DSC H9. These give you control over the aperture size and shutter speed. Manual focusing is available too. If you do not want to use these features, but are attracted by the length of the lens then the camera has a fully automatic mode and can be used as a point and shoot camera.
Being a larger camera gives Sony some extra room to play with. They have used this wisely by adding a three inch LCD screen. The screen pulls up by a total of 90 degrees. This can help if you need to hold the camera at a lower level to take a shot. There is also a viewfinder. The viewfinder has it's own focusing. This allows you to change the finder to suit your own eyesight.
With this type of camera you also get a flash unit that is much more powerful then you find on a smaller, compact camera. The flash unit pulls up. This helps to increase the distance between the flash unit and the lens, thus reducing the possibility of red eye blighting your photos.
A battery and a charger are supplied with the camera. Sony estimates you should be able to take in the region of 280 shots with the DSC H9 in between charges.
No memory card is supplied. This is because Sony have built 31mb of storage into the camera. Although this is more generous than most brands you will soon need to pick up a memory card to go with the camera. Therefore it is advisable to factor this additional purchase into your budget. When you do buy a card you will need to pick up either a memory stick duo or a memory stick duo pro card.
I found this camera quite easy to use when you take into account the number of features it has. To get the most out of it you will need to set aside some time to sit down a read through the manual or at least be prepared to experiment with the different features and controls the DSC H9 has.
