Sony Unveils Two Compacts for People Who Love to Zoom

Sony has just announced two new 16.2-megapixel cameras that pack a lot of zoom into compact bodies. The DSC-HX100V (on left) includes a 27mm Carl Zeiss lens with 30x optical zoom, or the equivalent of a 27-810mm lens on 35mm film. The DSC-HX9V packs a smaller 24mm Sony lens with 16x optical zoom, but is still the equivalent of a 24-384mm lens.

Aside from the monstrous reach, these cameras also shoot 1080p HD video, focus at DSLR speeds, have 3-inch LCD screens, and include many of the features standard on sony CyberShots now (e.g. 3D Sweep Panorama, GPS, and Dual Recording for shooting video and stills at the same time). The cameras will be available starting in April, with the HX100V priced at $450 and the HX9V at $350.