A decent all in one camera and video solution for travel

[Phaser]

Pros:

Can shoot in RAW
Quick Autofocus at the Wide-End
Pop-Up EVF
Pop-up Flash
Touch Screen Focus
Panoramic shooting
Massive 24-720mm (full-frame equivalent) Zoom range
Smaller size, compared to the Canon SX740 HS, Panasonic ZS80, & Nikon A1000.
Micro HDMI port
4K video has full pixel readout and no pixel binning
Front Grip
Optical SteadyShot

Cons:

Severe RAW Vignetting at the Wide-End
Fair noise handling
Slow Autofocus at the Tele-End
Battery Life is mediocre
Dim F-stop & 1/2.3" sensor limits low-light photography and struggles in dim light
Ugly & Excessive Lens Flair when there's a strong source of lighting coming into the lens
Active & Intelligent Active SteadyShot not Usable in 4K & 120p Video Modes, which can result in Shaky Video
Heat buildup issue in High Bitrate (100m) Video modes
Requires a microSDXC card (64GB+) for full video experience
No ISO AUTO Min. SS option
No Environmental/Weather Sealings
Pop-Up Flash is not tiltable
Tiny & Cramped EVF
Mostly Plastic construction, which will likely lead to hairline cracks especially at the bottom
Threaded hole in the bottom of the camera is plastic
No mic input
Camera powers off when the Pop-Up EVF is closed

Sample photos converted from ARW:











Severe RAW Vignetting at the Wide-End:

 

[TAGooty]

Thanks for the detailed review!

-- TAG

 

[sybersitizen]

Severe RAW Vignetting at the Wide-End

The RX100M6/M7 also have that. Seems to be a requirement in long zoom Sony compacts.

Camera powers off when the Pop-Up EVF is closed

Not if you don't want it to:

https://helpguide.sony.net/dsc/1820/v1/en/contents/TP0001848292.html

 

[tbcass]

Cons:

Severe RAW Vignetting at the Wide-End

That is the consequence of having a compact camera with a long zoom and all such cameras suffer from it. Since it is easily correctable it isn't really much of a con.

 

[Phaser]

Thanks for the detailed review!

You're welcome!

 

[Phaser]

Camera powers off when the Pop-Up EVF is closed

Not if you don't want it to:

https://helpguide.sony.net/dsc/1820/v1/en/contents/TP0001848292.html

Thanks for the info.

 

[John McCormack]

I'd agree that the HX99 is "a decent all in one camera" and maybe better than the review gives it credit for. Damned by faint praise comes to mind. I have the poor cousin HX80 which lacks RAW, lens ring, newer menus and a few nicer features of the HX99, but it's cheaper and I don't worry about throwing it in my pocket or bike bag when I go out. That said I may give the HX99 a try.

I'd say that both the HX80 and HX99 punch above their weight given the zoom range, small size and weight. The images respond to post processing quite well, IMO; see a few samples below. Most heavily cropped. Pixel peepers beware.

FWIW a few samples from walks around the neighborhood.

 

[Phaser]

I may give the HX99 a try.

I really like the Touch Focus, 4K Video & RAW capture over the older models. It also seems to focus a little quicker. I upgraded from the HX90V and don't regret it. The image quality is noticeably better with the RAW + Extra Fine Jpeg setting.

I don't miss the GPS function since I never used it anyway. I do hope for a Mark II someday but I don't see that happening anytime soon.