The Sony Cyber-shot HX60V is a point-and-shoot travel camera with a big 30x optical zoom. Announced in February 2014, it’s the successor to the best-selling Cyber-shot HX50V, which was the first camera of its size to squeeze-in a 30x optical range.

Sony’s opted for the if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it approach to the HX60V which shares a great deal with its predecessor, including the same 30x optical zoom range, packing into essentially the same body with the same hotshoe / accessory port, separate mode and exposure compensation dial, 3in screen, built-in Wifi and GPS, and the same 20 Megapixel resolution from an EXMOOR R CMOS sensor. Interestingly Sony has resisted equipping the HX60V with a built-in EVF as Panasonic has done with its 30x zoom rival, the Lumix TZ60 / ZS40. In this respect the HX60V is like Canon’s 30x PowerShot SX700 HS announced on the same day.

So what’s new? Well beyond a silver shutter release button, the HX60V – in line with other 2014 Cyber-shots – features enhanced five-axis stabilisation, improvements to the user interface, NFC to aid Wifi negotiation, the chance to install apps to expand the functionality, and most importantly, the much faster BIONZ X image processor which supports faster burst shooting. While these are nice to have, I’d say it’s a good time to keep an eye on last year’s HX50V for potential bargains while stocks last – see my Sony HX50V review for more details. The HX60V is expected in March for around 340 GBP, or if you hate the idea of GPS for some reason, there’s also a version without, the HX60, priced for a tenner less.