Decently

After extensive research, I have decided on the HX60, the version without GPS (I do not need, I know where I have that image photographed). If you want this camera with GPS, to look for the HX60V.

- Housing / processing
The housing is mostly made of plastic, the front part is made of metal. The workmanship is neat, the cover for the battery / card compartment seems to me to be a bit thin. Let's see how long does that.

- Ergonomics / operation
The buttons and rotary wheels are well placed to spread the housing. I have long, thin fingers and come with the control layout clear properly. The dials on the top snap clean and go neither too light nor too heavy, but just right. The dial on the back can, however, turn to light, which almost did not engage. The buttons and their pressure point seem to rather easily.

-Image Quality
Probably the most important point of the photographic apparatus. Here we are dealing with a tiny crumb sensor in size 1 / 2.3 ", which is more than 20 megapixel still overpopulated massive. This is reflected in the image quality. Namely, in the negative sense. In principle, self-images with ISO 80 is not completely free from noise. And with an initial aperture of f / 3.5 zoom trunk is not exactly high speed, which is why the camera goes up sooner rather than later with the ISO to keep the exposure time is short. These things I knew Of course before you buy, so was known to me, to what I was getting myself into. It's just simply not feasible, such a small camera with a huge sensor and simultaneously provide a high-intensity 30x zoom lens.

If you configure the camera correctly, you still get an amazing image quality that reflects fine details cleanly. There is very little chromatic aberration and distortion hardly (will probably be corrected in-camera). It may also invest in the 1: 1 to search for picture details view (100% view). Cloudy, with fully extended zoom's image somewhat milky and slightly blurred. This is again simply to the laws of optics (diffraction blur for closing the aperture and tiny pixel pitch) and even in the air. As happens more or less moisture contained that one perceives in photographs that have been photographed with a long focal length as milky. In addition, you will always move in the air, which everyone knows - Heat Haze. This one has even at sub-zero temperatures, which one with a large telephoto lens just looks at pictures of distant objects.

So how do you configure the ideal camera comes now.

- Configuration / adaptability
You can configure the camera very extensive and customized to your preferences / needs. This ranges from the aspect ratio (4: 3, 3: 2, 16: 9, 1: 1), goes beyond the ISO limit (minimum and maximum value can be set) and only ends when home-built shortcut menu Fn button. Excellent and exemplary. The summit is that you can buy apps for the camera. Thus functions can be added. These features could actually be included as standard in the camera ...

I set the camera as follows, starting from "Standard":

Aspect Ratio: 3: 2
Picture quality: Fine
Image Size: 8.9 MP
RM (noise reduction): slightly
Contrast: -1
Saturation: 0
Sharpness: 0

This setting can prevent the watercolor effect, have the camera with too many pixels. Up to ISO 400 the pictures with this setting are perfect, at ISO 800 still decent for a travel zoom camera, ISO 1600 is rather what a pinch.

Whether one at 4: (the 3: 2 format 18 or 8.9 MP) 3 format 20 or 10 MP adjusts, makes no difference. The course I tried, as I extrapolated the photo with 8.9 MP at 18 MP and a native 18 MP image (scanned simultaneously) did compare. The photo with 18 MP did not contain more information than the image with 8.9 MP. What is not surprising, since the lens is not able to resolve 18 or 20 MP on such a small sensor. This is simply about what give the optical laws. Interesting: Minor Details are sometimes seen even better in the 8.9 MP Picture.

The sound of the camera to ISO 800 is more like a film grain and less digital noise. Through the image size of 8.9 MP and a part of the noise disappears, without losing details.

So you get better images if you reduce the resolution. In addition, decreases by the down-camera count of photos image noise to washed out without details. This shows just how meaningful is freed of megapixel madness.

Important: RAW can not this camera! So if you absolutely want to RAW, is clearly wrong in this clippers.

- Video
Like any camera you can shoot with the HX60. These are the formats MP4 and AVCHD available. AVCHD can also be recorded with 50 frames (1080p50), the standard for camcorders. When video is virtually no manual intervention possible, which I think is weak. Ok, this is primarily a camera and not a camcorder, the video function is more or less a little bonus.

The picture quality of the videos is good, but does not reach the level of a good camcorder (I have a Panasonic W858, which video images are better). Nevertheless, the videos are fine when you consider that it's a camera, not a camcorder. The sound is very good, the sensitive stereo microphone, it sounds clear and even quiet noises are detected. Therefore, in quieter environments end up camera operation noise on the soundtrack, which can be in such a small case can hardly be avoided. The fact that the case limited to the motor of the zoom is more than neat.

The autofocus is when filming rather fidgety and regulates happy times to (inflated), no comparison with a real camcorder. But this is a general problem with the video function of cameras.

Due to the small aperture of the lens is at the HX60 Video verily no owl. The video function is thus rather something for daylight or possibly even for bright artificial light.

- Others
The AF is fast and very accurate in photo, but when he governs video for some reason happy times to (see above). The auto white balance is excellent, I have never had as little as correct (which can be very accurate and fine).

The so-called. Multi Frame Noise Reduction is very good. The camera shoots multiple photos in succession, and then calculates the noise out. This go much less detail is lost. This only works with static subjects.

There is the obligatory scene modes and other automatic functions as well as semi-manual (aperture priority and shutter priority) modes and of course a fully manual mode. I use 95% of the auto (so make the aperture manually), to 4% of the full manual mode and to 1%, the auto iris. The scene modes I never use.

It is supplied with an external charger, but only a fairly weak USB power adapter (5 V, 500 mA). At least enough a micro USB cable (supplied), so there is no special cables or such nonsense is needed. I use anyway an external universal charger for such batteries and have to buy me a second original battery (bad experiences with replicas). The battery lasts amazingly long, longer than it suggests the small energy bar.

The manual is only online. An insolence. But bearable, because the instructions are simply unusable, the download can save you need. Since the enclosed printed Quick Start Guide is much better.

- Conclusion
I knew what to expect. Today, you can learn more than in detail on pages relevant to a device. Nevertheless me this camera has in many respects a positive surprise. That would only times the image quality that is better with the appropriate configuration of the device, as you'd expect from a travel zoom camera of its kind. Sure, it's not a DSLR or system camera, but in the compact segment, the part here is clearly one of the better devices and clearly better than the comparable Panasonic TZ61 (Abroad TZ60). And then there is the function with the very extensive configurability.

One star deduction is available for the completely mindless 20 MP. This unit with 10 or maximum 12 MP would be an absolute stunner.

The HX60 is therefore the bottom line is a very good all-round camera with which one can enter even deeper into the matter of photography and provides technically neat pictures when the unit is set correctly. Whether the images are the content well, the people responsible with the camera in hand ;-)

- Supplement
Having the HX60 now a few days used very intensively and therefore tried, here are some tips that might be more experienced photographers.

The HX60 is trying to keep in the aperture priority mode, the exposure time is short and is therefore quickly with the ISO value high when the lighting conditions rather poor, and the zoom is widely extended. Here it is better to switch to auto iris and adjust the exposure so that you can still get a sharp and not blurred image. I can thanks to the excellent image stabilization in WW keep quiet 1/3 second, at full zoom I can do it even at 1/125 sec. Because everyone should just try something yourself.

ISO 1600 are just what in case when you do not get there with ISO 800. Yet I leave the setting of the maximum ISO value to 1600 are, because I keep in situations with poor lighting conditions with the auto iris, the camera moves in high ISO areas, provided that it is at all possible. To not always have to manually tune to ISO 1600, if it is essential, I leave the Max-value precisely at this value.

If the light is not enough for video sample (because of the faint optical), then first with 1080p50 and automatic long exposure (means 1/25). If it still is not enough, try to 1080p25 and automatic long exposure (means 1/13). For some subjects that is still quite useful.