The Sony H9 is a medium-sized ultrazoom camera that is loaded with features and manual controls, although like all cameras it retains a user-friendly automatic mode for those who want to just point and shoot. The H9 has a big 31-465mm (15x) zoom range which isn’t quite as wide as the 28mm on other cameras, but is still a big step up from the 35mm or 36mm of most other cameras, and adequately covers the most useful travel zoom range.

The H9 uses a conventional image sensor (unlike the Fuji S6000fd), so high ISO results won’t be extraordinary. Because of Sony’s slightly more aggressive noise reduction, however, the out-of-camera high-ISO pictures will be slightly better than what you’d typically find in this class.

The H9 makes up for the lack of high ISO performance with its “Super SteadyShot” image stabilization (IS) system, which will help greatly with low-light pictures of static scenes, like buildings or landscapes. As mentioned above, however, IS won’t do anything to prevent blur from moving subjects. The H9 does have a pop-up flash, so flash results will be slightly better than the kind typically found on built-in camera flashes, but not by much.

The H9 uses a Sony battery which lasts 280 shots (CIPA standard) - a bit below average for cameras in this class, but still good enough to last a day of travel for most people.

While not the leading camera in terms of image quality (especially in low-light situations), the Sony H9 is still above average, and the more compact size makes it a better option for those who don’t want to carry something as big as an SLR or bridge camera.