Bridge cameras continue to be one area of the compact camera market that remains buoyant in an otherwise declining arena. The HX400 is one of the larger bridge models available, closely resembling an entry-level or even enthusiast DSLR/T in overall body size at least.

Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-HX400 is the successor to the HX300, and with a very impressive 50x optical zoom that has a 35mm focal-length equivalent of 24-1200mm it is a true ‘super-zoom'. However, while the HX400 supersedes the HX300, the new model has relatively few improvements over its predecessor.

Everyone loves a superzoom. Sony has updated its HX line with the beefed-up Cyber-shot HX400V model to inject a dash of speed into proceedings. The HX400V is, for the most part, a mirror image of the earlier HX300V camera from last year.