***REDUCE PRICE*** £65 OFF SONY DSC-H400 SuperZoom Digital Camera 20.1 Megapix X63 ZOOM 24.5-1550mm

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***REDUCED PRICE***, For sale here the SONY DSC-H400 DIGITAL BRIDGE SUPER ZOOM CAMERA 20.1 MEGAPIXELS X63 ZOOM  24.5 to 1550mm (35mm Equiv.), , SUMMERY, Sony's Cyber-shot H400 is a bridge super-zoom camera with a huge 63.3x optical range.  As such you won't find an articulated screen, support for RAW, a big viewfinder nor video at 1080p, but the core specification remains good for the money: 20.1 Megapixels, a small but usable viewfinder, 3in screen, 720p movies and of course that massive 63X zoom range - Result = Buy it now!, , The Sony Cyber-shot H400 is a bridge super-zoom with a massive 63.3x optical range. Launched in February 2014 alongside the 35x H300, these models join the H200 released at the beginning of the year to form a budget range below the more impressively-equipped HX range. The HX models have higher resolution CMOS sensors, faster processors, accessory shoes, superior screens, viewfinders and GPS and Wifi. But where it arguably matters most, the more affordable H400 boasts the longest zoom in the pack, comfortably outgunning the 50x HX400(V)., , Like the other H series models the H400 has at its heart a 20.1 Megapixel CCD sensor that shoots JPEGs, but it lacks the RAW option on the HX models. It has a 0.2in electronic viewfinder and a fixed 3 inch LCD screen. It has built-in stereo mics and can shoot 720p HD video to which you can apply some picture effects., , Ultimately though, the H400 is all about the long zoom. A range of 24.5 to 1550mm plus a built-in electronic viewfinder means there’s no room for the additional features you might expect on a model of this kind. It’s a similar approach taken by Canon with the Powershot SX520 HS with which I’ve compared it here. Like the SX520 HS, the Nikon COOLPIX P530 has a slighter shorter 42x zoom range and is more compact than the H400, so I’ve also included this latest Nikon super-zoom in the mix. Read on to find out which is the best bridge super-zoom you can buy on a modest budget., , Note: The HX-series Plagued with ERROR 62:10!!! - Unlike this Model., , On the back panel the button layout comprises a four-way control pad flanked by menu, playback and delete buttons, then further up just to the left of the thumb pad there’s a movie record button. The screen is fixed and occupies the remainder of the back panel. It’s a 4:3 proportioned LCD panel with a resolution of 461k dots. One of the disadvantages of a fixed screen is that you can’t fold it in on itself for protection and that said, both the PowerShot SX520 HS and the COOLPIX P530 also have 3 inch fixed screens, so there you go! But if the sun is shining you can easily switch to the H400’s electronic viewfinder by pressing the toggle button on the top panel., On the left side of the H400’s body a plastic door protects the USB / A/V out port. The combined battery / card compartment is accessed in the usual fashion via a door in the base. The H400 takes Sony’s NP-BX1 battery which provides enough power for 300 shots on a full charge. The battery is charged in the camera using the supplied AC charger via the USB port. Unlike many earlier Sony compacts it’s a standard USB port so you can plug into your laptop or any other suitable charger with a standard USB cable. It’s so much more convenient than having to use a proprietary charger and it’s great to see Sony fitting its latest models with standard USB ports., , The H400’s built-in flash is mounted in the hump forward of the viewfinder and is popped up by pressing a small button on the left side. There are three modes, Auto, forced on and slow synchro and the maximum range at the wide angle setting is 8.8 metres though, in all likelihood this is calculated at 1600 ISO. At the Base 80 ISO setting it’s going to be a lot nearer than that (close to 2 metres) but is useful for reasonably close subjects and as a fill in. It’s more powerful than the flash on the SX520 HS, but there’s no accessory shoe so you can’t mount an external unit. Neither the COOLPIX P530 not the SX520 HS has an accessory shoe., , Sony H400 lens and stabilisation - excellent., , The Sony H400 has a huge 63.3x optical zoom with a 35mm equivalent range of 24.5-1550mm covering angles of view from super-wide to super-telephoto. In addition to the usual wide and telephoto comparisons below I’ve also shown the H400’s 1550mm view compared to the 1008mm view from the Canon SX520 HS which gives you an idea of how much extra you get compared with the maximum telephoto range range of the two other cameras tested. This makes for an interesting comparison for anyone considering the H400 purely on the merits of its extraordinary telephoto reach "Hands Down!", The H400’s Optical SteadyShot helps to avoid camera shake at slow shutter speeds and long focal lengths. It has only one mode, is always active and can’t be disabled. So in place of my usual with and without stabilisation comparisons the 100 percent crop shown below right is from the red area indicated on the full frame on the left. This was shot in Shutter Priority mode with a shutter speed of 1/50th, around 5 stops slower than the photographer’s 1/focal length rule of thumb would suggest is safe at the H400’s 1550mm maximum zoom which is very impressive!, , Sony H400 shooting modes, In addition to the four PASM positions, the Cyber-shot H400 mode dial has a green camera icon denoting intelligent Auto, a SCN position, Sweep panorama and a movie mode. In Manual, Aperture priority, and shutter priority modes the four-way controller is used to adjust exposure settings. After first pressing the centre button the up/down positions adjust shutter speed with the left/right ones for aperture. It’s as quick and easy as the second dial on the SX520 HS and COOLIX P530 make it., , Another difference is the way the H400 implements filter effects or Picture Styles as Sony calls them. The H400 doesn’t have a separate position on the mode dial for these, instead they are selected from the menu, which means they can be applied in any shooting mode, giving you more control over exposure. The H400 offers a  subset of the picture effects that are available on HX models. The full (short) list of Picture Effects is: Toy, Pop, Partial colour and Soft High-key, with variants available in the Toy (cool, warm, green and magenta) and Partial Colour (red, green, blue, yellow) effects., , Switch the mode dial to the SCN position and you can choose from one of 11 scene modes, as well as the usual Pet, Beach, food (which Sony calls Gourmet, so no fast food allowed), Snow, and Fireworks options there’s a High sensitivity mode – this isn’t a composite mode though and does little that setting Auto ISO wouldn’t take care of, though it does disable the flash., , So much for what the H400 lacks, one of the features of higher end models it does include is DRO, or to give it its full title Dynamic Range optimisation. DRO enhances details in the shadows and highlights and has three settings – off, standard and plus. It’s on standard by default and, unless you’re particularly concerned about noise (I turned it off for my low-light test) I’d recommend you leave it in that position as it makes a subtle but noticeable difference to shadow detail in most images which is again quite impressive. The H400 provides auto exposure bracketing shooting 3 shots up to +/- 1EV in 1/3EV increments. That’s pretty basic, although enough to provide a safety net in tricky lighting situations and to begin experimenting with basic HDR. It also offers white balance bracketing., , Finally, we can’t talk about a Sony Cyber-shot’s shooting modes without mentioning panoramas. The DSC-H400 features the same Sweep panorama modes as on the HX400(V), which provides several panorama modes including full 360 degree panoramas measuring a maximum 11,520 x 1080. Sony was the first to include panorama features on its compacts and it remains the best. Its panorama modes are versatile, allowing you to shoot in portrait or landscape orientation in either direction and the results are excellent., , Sony H400 movie modes, You can shoot movies with the mode dial in any position on the H400 by pressing the red movie record button. Exposure is set automatically regardless of the mode., , There’s no denying the H400’s movie capabilities are brilliant, beyond budget point-and-shoot compacts there aren’t many models these days that don’t offer at least one. This clip, like the others below was shot using the Sony DSC-H400 set to its 720p30 best quality video mode. There’s good and bad in this clip, but the most distracting thing is the constant stepping of the exposure. The focus is ok, and the zoom motor is quiet and the stabilisation at the full 1550mm focal length is outstanding!!!, , Sony H400 handling, The H400 is an easy camera to get along with in Auto mode, scene modes and when shooting panoramas, but switch to the PASM modes and it seems like there’s an awful lot to do. If you shoot mainly in Program auto mode and confine your adjustments to exposure compensation it all works nicely. Even exposure control in PASM modes is reasonably accessible, using the four-way rear controller., , Take changing the ISO sensitivity for example the H400 the only way to select the ISO value is to press the menu button, scroll down to ISO, then across to the value; that’s a minimum of four button pushes, assuming you’re selecting a value adjacent to the current setting. At least the last menu setting is remembered so it’s easier if you want to make subsequent changes, at least until the camera is turned off., , Sony H400 Sensor, The Sony H400 has a 20.1 Megapixel Super HAD CCD sensor which produces images with pixel dimensions of 5152×3864. Images are saved as JPEG files that are typically between 6 and 8MB. The shutter speed range is 30 -1/2000 (1 – 1/200 in Program auto) and the sensitivity range is 80 – 3200 ISO., Buy it now! Grab a bargain, make an offer, priced to sell. ***REDUCED PRICE*** £65 OFF!