Sony HX5 / TX7

[ciro2001max]

Originally Posted by DonalDuc

I do not make photos of wine and beer barrels - so I never saw barrel distortion.
But who searches ... he will find. :-)

Thank you, always so kind to respond. If I ask is because I thought he had tried the video on your camera. Beware of allergies.

[meanstreak]

Originally Posted by ciro2001max

DonalDuc, have any idea if the Sony TX7 has the same problems that the Sony HX5V with barrel distortion? Thanks

I saw a snapshot from a video of the TX7 on one of the forums and it also had some barrel distortion. I noticed it on my HX5 and it's not that bad. It only at extreme wide angle. Honestly I don't shoot video with cameras except for spur of the moment stuff and I would rarely shoot that wide. I have a wide angle lens for my DSLR and by nature it has some barrel distortion.

[meanstreak]

I just went outdoors to see how the barrel distortion impacted video of people and street traffic in NYC as opposed to trying to delibertely video straight lines or square objects around the office. You really have to look for the barrel dsitortion and even then it's barely noticeable. You might see some if there are straight lines near the edges of the screen. This is only at the extreme wide angle and diminsihes as you approach the 1.5x setting. Simple soultion if it is bothersome is to set the lens at 1.5x before you start shooting.

My conclusion is that for most purposes the video is fine. If you need video for professional purposes as in architecture or other trades, I reccomend a camcorder. Camcorders are better suited in most cases for video taping regardless of barrel distortion and are easier to hold steady.

[FiveO]

I have to disagree somewhat. At the widest angle the Sony's barrel distortion is severe and easily noticeable in all situations. I do agree that however that it's not enough of an issue to dissuade me from buying me since you can zoom in a bit and presto.

[meanstreak]

Originally Posted by FiveO

I have to disagree somewhat. At the widest angle the Sony's barrel distortion is severe and easily noticeable in all situations. I do agree that however that it's not enough of an issue to dissuade me from buying me since you can zoom in a bit and presto.

You can certainly disagree, but I'm only stating what I experianced based on my camera and my actual results. Based on some of the samples I have seen posted by others on the HX5 I can also tell you that level of severity may vary with each camera. I have also seen samples of extreme distortion on the TX7, while others claim there is none.

[Ric01]

I did a quick test on my Hx5 to compare which mode on the dial has the worst barrel distortion or all modes carries the same distortion. I first set the camera to the widest angle, 0 zoom, aim the camera at a table top with the edge of the table appearing horizontally across the bottom of the camera's LCD screen. Then, without moving the camera to keep the same image on the LCD screen, I rotated the dial mode by mode in turn and observe the image of the table' edge on the LCD screen

Results:
Movie mode; barrel distortion is quite pronounced. As many had mentioned, it can be resolved by zooming 1.5x and it will remove the distortion when taking movies...

Paranomic mode: barrel distortion is the WORST! no ability to zoom

Manual, P, Intelligent mode, scn etc...minimal non-noticeable barrel distortion or none at all. I believe the camera is doing its own lens correction with standard still photography modes. I think correcting barrel distortion for still camera shots is very important otherwise people will not buy the camera because no one wants to look fatter than we really are. Not good for on-line dating photo

Do you all agree? Do you all have the same experience?

[Ric01]

meanstreak, after having played around your new Hx5 for a few days, what is your verdict? do you like it based on your "rubber-hits-the-road" experience the last few days? How's Hx5 performance compared to the other cameras you had experience with? What are the things you like in the Hx5 and what are your dislikes regarding Hx5?

[meanstreak]

Originally Posted by Ric01

Movie mode; barrel distortion is quite pronounced. As many had mentioned, it can be resolved by zooming 1.5x and it will remove the distortion when taking movies...

I can't really say that I consider it quite pronounced, however our individual viewpoints are much too subjective. I don't find it that bad in movie mode as I only notice it around the edges. It could be there are differences between cameras as I have seen worse samples. Yes, 1.5x eliminates the distortion as far as I'm concerned.

Originally Posted by Ric01

Paranomic mode: barrel distortion is the WORST! no ability to zoom

Did you mean before taking the shot or the end result?
Though I took a few shots in Panny mode, I didn't pay attention to distortion as I was facinated that the camera could stitch those picture together so well.

Originally Posted by Ric01

Manual, P, Intelligent mode, scn etc...minimal non-noticeable barrel distortion or none at all. I believe the camera is doing its own lens correction with standard still photography modes. I think correcting barrel distortion for still camera shots is very important otherwise people will not buy the camera because no one wants to look fatter than we really are. Not good for on-line dating photo

I found none at all in all still modes.

[ciro2001max]

The Panasonic TZ10 has a panoramic mode? works like the HX5V?

[meanstreak]

Originally Posted by Ric01

meanstreak, after having played around your new Hx5 for a few days, what is your verdict? do you like it based on your "rubber-hits-the-road" experience the last few days? How's Hx5 performance compared to the other cameras you had experience with? What are the things you like in the Hx5 and what are your dislikes regarding Hx5?

I only got to try it out Tuesday eveing and yesterday during the day. Not enough time to give you final verdict. First impressions are that I like the camera and will most likely keep it, though I didn't really need another pocket camera.

The barrel distortion for me is not enough reason to cross this one off the list, though I understand how it can be annoying. I did not buy this camera or any camera I own for its movie feature. I personally find taking movies on a pocket camera awkward and would do so only for spur of the moment oppoutunities. I much prefer taking movie on a camcorder. I can maintain a better steadier grip and too improve on that I often prefer to use the viewfinder when shooting handheld. Even the movie feature were a consideration, I would still buy this camera, movie distortion included.

Pros:

: Picture quality is great for a camera of this size.

: 10x zoom in a small package.

: The Intelligent Scene Recognition works great.

: Face, smile, and blink recognition.

: Impressive, fast Autofocus and 10 FPS.

: I'm really impressed by this cameras Steady Shot Active Mode. I was walking along at rapid pace snapping blur free photos.

: Panorama Mode is a really fun impressive feature.

: Loads of other features I have yet to experiance.


Cons:

: I find it too easy to cover left microphone with finger, menu a bit confusing.

: Fingerprint magnet... I find myself constantly polishing this thing. I guess that's the price you pay for it's polished high tech look.

: I can't think of any other cons yet except that the Movie Mode Barrel distortion may be a negative for some considering the purchase of this camera.