Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX100V (Black)

Pros: Fantastic 1080p Videos, super sharp images,Great Zoom and great sensor, decent amount of manual controls,Good menu and help, Great feature set - Burst mode, background de-focus, sweep panoroma.

Cons: LCD doesn't close swivel, woeful design of camera surface, makes it look all dirty, Image stabilization is good but can be better at full zoom. Definitely not as good as advertized.

Summary: When you pack so much into this price range, its sure to be a winner. The HX100V is a absolute must have for budding amateur photographers. DO NOT compare this to any DSLR. This is a good bridge super zoom. The best in fact in the market.But at half the cost of any decent SLR's it will definitely not win any comparisons.

The camera has a great 30x optical zoom and 120 x digital zoom.The photos can be shot in 5MP,10 MP or 16 MP modes. The images are great for this class of cameras. It comes with the following shooting modes which would make most happy.

1. Sweep Panaroma : My favorite. Lets you take 270 degrees and 40MP shots. Just turn the mode dial and press shutter key and follow the onscreen sequence for great results. No Family is too big to get them all in 1 pic now.

2. Background De-focus : Again very easy. Just select feature and follow onscreen recomendation for distance. The camera does the rest by focusing on the subject in great detail and defocusing the background . Can get some great shots with this mode.

3. Burst mode : 10 pics per second. Enough said.

4. Super intelligent Auto : It does everything to good results. Helps when you just want to take pictures without caring about settings, light quality etc.

5. Capture shots while recording video by pressing the shutter key

6. Has a Memory recall option where you can save 3 sets of manual settings for quick recall.

Many many many more options to choose from but the above are in my opinion the greatest selling points.

If the above awesome features still don't convince you, then get a load of the HX100's great video quality. Being outside US , I got the 1080 p at 50f and the videos are still stunning with vivid details and good sound. Full true HD and the videos are much better than the many many HD camcorders in the market today for same or higher price. Just watch some youtube videos shot from the camera and you will be making your own HX100V unboxing videos in no time.