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SONY H9

I just got back from Vegas and the PMA was HUGE. My main purpose for being there was to have a hands-on feel of the H9.

What I liked over the H5 (which I've only had for 10 days or so) was

A: the titlting screen. Great for those people on the street shots. NOTE: It only swivels and tilts vertically, there is no horizontal movement.

B: superior ergonomics the scroll wheel on the front of the H5 was a little ungainly - causing me to hit the histogram or menu button. The outer scroll and the new menu layout with the H9 seem more intuitive to me than the H5.  CAUTION: Those of you with large fingers will have issues with the H9 - the interior scroll button requires a degree of finesse that even requires my smaller thumb to have a fingernail to use.

 

C: face detection technology. This demonstration was set up and is quite amazing. Watch out though - partially covered or obscured faces (without eyebrows, without an ear etc.) will be dropped by the camera. It seems to rely on the whole face SHAPE including light and dark areas to function correctly.

D: Proprietary Battery. No more rechargable AA batteries. This is good for me because I didn't invest in any and who thought that a 6 hour charge time with the H5 was reasonable?

E: Night Shot. This looks interesting though I didn't fully investigate it, so can't answer any questions.

F: Grid Lines. A nicety for shooting with thirds.

Things to think about if you own a lot of accessories.

The H9 has a larger barrel 78mm vs the H5 72mm

A Sony rep told me there would be an adaptor avaialable. I didn't see one at the PMA but don't own any accessories and didn't look.

I took a couple of snaps of the camera and posted them here for your viewing pleasure. I'm sorry I didn't think to stick my memory card into the H9 and bring back photos from it directly. Ooops! Obviously not a pro review but the Sony reps said there's H9 cameras already retailing in LA and that come the end of March Sony is ready for full scale release.

And oh yeah, I asked, and they categorically deny any upcoming release in the R line. And I quote "There is no pending upgrade for the R lineup." However they also denied that it had been discontinued and said that even though they had NO R1's at the PMA that it was not being phased out. Go figure...

 

 

 
COMMENTS
Zippywinds said at 7:56 p.m. on Mar 12, 2007:
SWEET and congrats :)
Pkeener said at 8:21 p.m. on Mar 12, 2007:
Nice Tabblo DESTINY!! But, i won't be trading my Canon for it..:) I didn't get the battery part? It only lasts 1 HR?
DVP said at 8:46 p.m. on Mar 12, 2007:
Hey Pam. The batteries on the H5 cameras are Nickle Metal Hydrate and take 6 hours to charge. The new Sony H9 will take a Lithium Ion propriatery battery - a 10 minute charge (not full charge) will give you an hour of shooting. If you need a battery in a hurry that's a great thing. Full Charges look like 150 minutes of shooting time.
LatentE said at 8:59 p.m. on Mar 12, 2007:
This is great. Tabblo's own on scene PMA reporter.

This seems like a really interesting camera. 8.1Mpix. Photos in total darkness (infra-red I guess). 15x zoom with 31mm (35mm full frame equivalent) wide setting which is much better than the usual 35mm or more usual for long zooms. The "flippy" screen is definitely a plus. The main use I can think of for horizontal swiveling is for self portraits where you can look at the screen as you shoot yourself. There are times though where access to the back of the camera is limited and any flexibility is helpful.

I think there may be a misimpression regarding the battery life. Getting a hour of use with a partial charge of 10 minutes is likely only for emergency circumstances. The full charge usage time should have been quoted.
Antonio said at 9:31 p.m. on Mar 12, 2007:
Great review— I had sworn off Sony cameras but this review is going to make me reconsider.
DEE-Trow said at 10:50 a.m. on Mar 13, 2007:
Thanks for the input on the H9. Do you think this is the right one for you? You are right about the H5 battery charging time. It does take a while that's why I have lots of rechargeable batteries. Looking forward to seeing the pictures you take with this camera.
Siagian said at 2:35 a.m. on Mar 14, 2007:
thank you for the review. i use a sony cybershot myself and while its not perfect, it does get the job done. i look forward to seeing some fantastic shots in your upcoming tabblos! =)
Engelgrafik said at 7:15 a.m. on Apr 8, 2007:
What's the delay from the moment you hit the shutter to the time the photo is captured? There seems to always be a delay with non-SLR digital cameras, and that delay even if it's 1/3 a second could mean a lot.
Martinezx said at 8:07 a.m. on Apr 21, 2007:
i think that AA batteries are better
because you can use a good charger and full time 0,5 hour ( energizer or hama charger )
and you can buy AA in many places if you want
Thebeautifullife said at 10:27 a.m. on Apr 23, 2007:
I loved this informative Tabblo!! Thanks!!
PALedry said at 11:11 a.m. on May 24, 2007:
I have an H5 and one problem is the time it takes for the flash to recharge. Reviews have said as much as 17 seconds. Do you know if the new battery fixes that problem?

Also, since you have an H5, how noticeable was the differnce in zooming with the 15 x?

Finally, anyone know a place that would do a trade-in? My H5 is less than a year old so I'd hate to have to pay full price to get an upgrade, and then have a camera I'd never use.
DEE-Trow said at 9:13 a.m. on Jul 23, 2007:
Destiny, I love the H5 but I am thinking about upgrading to H9. What do you think?
DEE-Trow said at 1:19 p.m. on Jul 25, 2007:
I've done it Destiny. I've sold the H5 and bought the H9. I will have it on Friday. Looking forward to seeing how it compares! Still love the H5, I just had a whim!!!
Malatesta said at 6:57 p.m. on Sep 3, 2007:
thank you very much...i have to understand how to use this site...
very good your photos!
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