I bought in Oct ’09 for Rs 29, 800 in mumbai. It was my first digi cam purchase and I wanted a super zoom camera - a prosumer camera. Went through a lot of research as I didnt understand the terminologies. Following sites could help u to streamline ur search:
1. https://jjmehta.com
2. https://photographyblog.com
3. https://dpreview.com
4. https://cameralabs.com
You could also google or youtube ur search and check the revews....
The 9 megapixel Sony HX1 features a new Exmor CMOS sensor which delivers outstanding images with reduced noise. It has a 20X optical zoom and G lens that was originally developed for the Sony Alpha DSLR series. Other interesting features are the sweep panorama shots and the HD movie recording. Its quite compact and light on weight as compared with its peers. The LCD swivels up n down but not sideways… a bad point I must say. Sony HX1 has all the typical P, A, S and M modes. The intelligent Auto mode works brilliantly…letting the cam decide the exposure, the scene selection, shutter speed, blah blah blah. For the sweep panorama function, all u have to do is just keep the shutter button pressed and just move the camera horizontally or vertically as the subject is. After you are done with the sweeping, the camera does all the processing required, and presents you with a finished panoramic image. Also there is a customisable button marked with the letter C, which activates the Smile Shutter by default, but can be reprogrammed to provide quick access to the metering modes or white balance options. One more good feature is the camera displays how much battery and recording time in minutes is left. Another novelty of Sony HX1 is its ability to shoot a burst at up to 10 frames per second. Flash is equally good. Some how I was not happy with macro shots, coz the camera took too much time to focus on the subject; at times it would even lack clarity. May be am not able to use it effectively. Also it lacks capturing pics in raw mode. Images are stored in jpeg format…with typical file size of 3MB if u have opted for 9 mega pixel option. Picture quality is decent.... its adequate for non proffessional users. Battery life is good as it makes use of lithium ion batteries. Also the camera prefers Sony branded Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick PRO Duo cards…internal memory is mere 11 MB.
Overall it’s a decent camera though not the best. I had a hard time narrowing my option as I wanted good after sales service too apart frm a wonderful product. So the choice had to be between Sony and Canon. Canon has this beautiful piece Canon SX10 but the company would be phasing out this model soon. Also it was slightly heavier than Sony HX1, since canon made use of 4 pencil cells. Also I realised, selecting a digital camera is like selecting a woman, you wont find every feature in one model. Every model has its unique feature. Happy clicking….