10. Other Characteristics

As we just mentioned, the HS60 bears a close resemblance to the earlier Sony model. The nicely finished anthracite-gray shell has an innovative shape: rectangular but rounded on the edges. The dials for the lens-shift adjustment are located discreetly on one side, and the adjustment rings for the zoom and focus are barely visible. If you're thick-fingered, you'll have to be careful because the rings are so thin that you can inadvertently touch the lens.

The rear panel is just as discreet, with the inputs hidden, but HDMI, YUV, cinch, and S-Video are all there. The HS60 is a handsome unit with interesting esthetics that won't leave people indifferent. It could benefit from being just a tad less heavy and bulky to make it easier to move around when necessary, however.

Technologically speaking, everything is the best available, such as 12-bit video processing that works on the details of the image, "Crisp Focus" optics, three 1280x720 active-matrix LCD panels, a 1.6x zoom, a short focal length that lets you display an 8-foot-diagonal image from 10 feet away, and so on. It's all pretty much state-of-the-art; Sony has gone all out to satisfy buyers.