Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400 question

I have a point and shoot Canon which takes reasonable pictures with no hassle, and a Nikon SLR with a separate zoom lens which is heavy and not so easy to carry around so I am considering a 'bridge' camera.

Does anyone have any experience of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX400?

I am an enthusiastic photographer who really enjoys taking photos, but am an amateur, so need something simple. If I buy it then I am going to take a short course on how to use it properly as I would really like to improve my technique.

Thanks for any help/advice.

Just remember, that there really is no functional or image quality difference between a point and shoot, and most "bridge cameras." A bridge camera just has a larger body.

Image quality is the same or worse than a point and shoot (depends on the cameras being compared)

The hx400 is a small-sensor camera, with slow lens, that offers 20mp and claims "50x" zoom.

The Sony hx50v and hx60v is essentially the exact same thing, except a smaller camera body (point and shoot) and "only 30x." (In real world shooting, those extremes are useless anyway... Professional dslr shoots rarely go beyond the equivalent of 10-20x).

I think some people get the false impression that "bridge" cameras are in between point and shoot and dslr, in terms of quality and function. The reality is they are just point and shoot cameras, in bigger bodies, and sometimes the zoom factor is even more extreme.

The only 2 bridge cameras that actually are "between p&s and dslr" are the Sony rx10 and Panasonic fz 1000.

A nice mid ground is a mirror less.

I have used everything from 10X8 plate cameras to 1/2 frames to "spy" cameras.

I usually take my DSLR [Canon 5d] and my Point and shoot [Canon G1X], but I have recently added a Canon EOS M to the range and am very happy. I did try a SX50, but wasn't really happy, the "M" has the same sensor as the Small sensor DSLRs. Very nice.

I used a Sony Hv-100 for a number of years. I don't think the 400 adds much in the way of features. You can get the 100 at a much lower price, if you can find one. the 200 was a failure and you can find the 300 at B&H.

An example of HX quality is at http://www.pbase.com/gsrunyan/image/154203615.

Glenn:cool: