Sony HX400V review

Our image quality tests told a similar story, with generally respectable results but not up to the standard of the FZ200. The lens performed well throughout its enormous zoom range, with little evidence of chromatic aberrations and only a slight softness to details towards the edges of frames. However, noise levels from the 20-megapixel sensor took a heavy toll on details. Brightly lit shots at ISO 80 had a slightly smudged appearance on close inspection, as noise reduction struggled to differentiate between noise and fine details. Even at ISO 80, skin textures looked scruffy.

Click on any image to enlarge it, and then on icon at bottom right to see full-res version

1/400s, f/6.3, ISO 80, 1200mm (equivalent) – Focus is reasonably sharp at the full zoom extension, and there’s not much evidence of chromatic aberrations.

1/400s, f/5, ISO 80, 284mm (equivalent) – Focus looks sharp here but details look a little odd under close inspection.

1/250s, f/4.5, ISO 80, 178mm (equivalent) – Even at ISO 80, these shaded skin textures are quite noisy

These problems became much worse as the ISO speed went up. These photos looked OK when resized to about 1 megapixel to fit a screen, but close inspection revealed grainy, smudged details. This was a problem not just when shooting in low light, but also for telephoto shots in anything but direct sunlight. That’s because zooming in increases the chances of camera shake, so faster shutter speeds are required. Then there’s the HX400V’s f/2.8-6.3 aperture, which means it captures a fifth as much light for telephoto shots than for wide aperture. Faster shutter speeds and smaller apertures mean less light being recorded, so the ISO speed must be pushed up to compensate, which raises noise levels.

Factor in the tiny 1/2.3in sensor size, and this camera has the light-gathering ability of a f/16-35 lens on a 35mm full-frame camera. f/35 means there’s a tiny amount of light being measured for telephoto shots, so it’s little wonder that they tend to suffer badly from noise.

1/250s, f/5.6, ISO 640, 502mm (equivalent) – This photo looks fine at modest sizes, but the noise reduction is struggling with the dark, smooth colours in the water.

1/250s, f/6.3, ISO 1000, 1200mm (equivalent) – This telephoto shot in shady conditions has pushed the ISO speed up to 1000. The resulting noise reduction gives details a syrupy texture.

CONCLUSION

The FZ200’s more modest 12-megapixel resolution keeps its noise levels lower, and its constant f/2.8 aperture means it captures significantly more light in telephoto shots. The HX400V’s maximum (equivalent) focal length is twice as long at 1200mm, but we’d much rather have the FZ200’s cleaner images at 600mm. The Panasonic FZ200 lacks Wi-Fi but offers faster performance and a superior EVF to the HX400V, and it’s still our favourite bridge camera at this price.