I own the Sony RX100 II. I will not upgrade because this model has a hot shoe that excepts all of Sony's current line up of flashes. I shoot a lot of shots at sundown and after dark in the city. Use a lot of rear shutter curtain shots. I can mount my Sony 60 AM flash or the much smaller 20 AM flash and both work great. This hot shoe feature alone makes this camera work for me. The results equal my Sony A99 most of the time, how ever the RX100 II fits in my pocket and the 20 AM flash fits in my other pocket. So, this rig becomes the duo pocket camera witch does not meet the original specs outlined in this post.

Sony DCS HX50V is a very nice camera. You can also get the 30V and 20V versions almost new on EBAY for a great price and the results are outstanding. I have several shots blown to 18X24 and they hold up on the 50V.

Some thing is way wrong here. Your 250 mm bird is almost the same size as your 600 mm bird. They were not taken at the same distance, if you had shot the 250 mm bird at 600 mm you would have looked it in the eye. Folks some times try to take bird pictures from too far away, and when they are not sharp they blame the camera or lens.
This may not always be the case, especially if you shooting on a warmer day from long distance. Heat waves, atmospheric conditions, all play a roll when you shoot at these distances. If their is a multiplication factor on your camera, ie, the 600 becomes a 900, you are increasing the chances that your photo's will suffer from these effects. Early morning light travels through more air than at Noon, so this will also effect your shot. At 900 mm it gets very difficult to get that one defining shot. Advise, use Harry Potter's blanket until you are closer.

Contrary to popular opinion Nikon's, Cannon's, and Sony's and probably all others are put through very tight tests on the assembly line. Focus is checked on equipment that costs way more than you would think.
I have owned more than 50 Nikon camera's. None, that is none, has ever had a focus problem. I love the folks that spend hours fine tuning their camera's to get that sweet spot so that they can look at a 50 X 100 print and see every pixel is in sharp focus. This focus frenzy is OK if you are a perfectionist, but for those of us who just love to shoot and enjoy our shots, good luck to you because you are chasing some thing you may never get, perfection, and not enjoy the love of photography.
My two cents worth. And I am sure many will disagree with me.

I am waiting for the camera that shoots video and each frame is 50 megs. I don't know if I will last that long. But that is my choice.

My two favorite lenses this week are the Nikon 200-400 mm f4 and the Minolta 400mm f4.5. Use both for wild life photography in Florida. We have a Northern Harrier in one Preserve and hunts in the morning, use the 200-400 on her. Great bird, flight pattern very unpredictable, rises in flight when she thinks she finds prey. Cannot use a tripod or monopod, flight pattern just too jumpy for a stable platform. Some times she fly's close and some times further away so that's why I use the 200-400. I rest between fly over's to give my arms a rest. The Minolta 400 f4.5 is a best kept secret, use it on my Sony A77II and Sony A99. Light, fast, sharp, and you can still get them at a good deal on E bay and sometimes Crieg's List.

I shoot the Nikon 16-35 F4. Primary use is with ND filters to blur water flow. It works great and is very sharp. My advice, buy used near mint condition with box, the Nikon will hold it's value, Tamron's not so much.

Ah, the old days when my Hasselblad lenses used to show depth of field with two moving red tabs right on the lens, they moved of course every time you changed F stops. You could see instantly what was going to be in and out of focus right there on the lens. Then my early Nikon's, Cannons, and Minolta's had a depth of field preview button, remember those, you press them as you look through the lens and it showed exactly what was in focus and out. As you looked through your lens you could even refocus the lens to change the DOF and you could see what was going on right their through the lens, neat. Ahhhhhh, the good old DOF days.
Didn't this guy say he owned an F2? And he knows nothing of DOF. Some thing is screwy in Denmark, and maybe the USA. Is he putting us on? You are putting us on, aren't you!

You remind me of the beginning of The OUTER LIMITS TV show a few years ago. "There is nothing wrong with your TV, we control the vertical, we control the horizontal".
Buddy, there is nothing wrong with your camera or lenses. The flower in the middle is as sharp as you can get.
I WOULD SUGGEST NEW GLASSES. OR SHOOTING IN "A" MODE AT F16 FOR ALL THE PICTURES YOU TAKE FROM NOW ON.
Try this, take the same picture 7 times on a tripod, first at 2.8, then 4, then at 5.6,8,11,16,22. Look at the shots after you get a new pair of grasses.

I called them on a camera that your discussed and asked only one question. Is it a Nikon USA or gray market, they replied that it was a gray market. Enough said. Their cheapie prices are mostly grey market and you will not be able to get it serviced in USA by Nikon. But, you have to ask, have your other Nikon's broken. If no, then do you really need a Nikon USA warranty. If the answer is NO, then by all means buy it, there are camera repair shops in the USA that will repair your camera if something goes wrong. But, unlike Nikon USA, if something goes wrong under warranty, they, Nikon, will pay for repairs. If you buy gray market, you are stuck for the cost of repairs.

OH YEA, Minolta makes a 400 4.5 that is very sharp, is not weighty, and you can set any focusing range you want on the camera,how about that, and you can set near and far limiters also, how about that, and you can get this wonderful lens in Mint condition from Ebay for under $800.00. How about that. And, it comes in a case with drop in filters, a cover for the manual focusing ring if you don't want to use it, How about that, someone else does make a 400 mm and faster than the Cannon, How about that. You were misinformed, but that's OK, that's what us UH's do, set the record straight. And, for me, the optics on the Minolta are great, sharp and contrasting, just the way I like it. Did I mention, this 25 year old lens even focuses faster than grease lightning. How about that.

Feel the need to reply. Nikon is not, was not a camera company to start with. It is a optical and scientific instrument company. Nikon is one of the few companies that grind their own glass. Nikon camera is a very small part of the business. When Nikon came out with the original F SLR, they asked actual professional photographers what they wanted in a camera. The result was the F and then the F2. And then the F3 and so on. As the camera part of Nikon grew they got more into marketing than satisfying the needs of the photo journalists. The resulting late 80's and 90's saw a shift away from R&D and sticking to what it had built. If you stand still, you get run over, and Cannon did. Nikon is now paying more attention to what photographers want and a little more on R&D. They are hiring young gun engineers for their camera end of the business once again. Only time will tell. For Cannon, camera's are the bread and butter of the business. With the keen competition between the two, both will build great camera's and prices will stay in line with each other. If their was only one manufacture, we would be paying a lot more. With the addition of Sony on the scene, they move inventory that is not selling for great prices. Case in point, recently B&H offered a Sony A77II with winder, $1800.00 retail for a price of $895.00, no battery or charger included. Keep your eye on Sony, with the availability of older, super sharp Minolta glass that work well on these modern camera's , they are a great value for the beginner and advanced photographer alike. Happy shooting.

I shoot sports a lot, use a D810 with Group AF. Works this way, I choose a point on the screen I want to use as a focus point, the camera then puts 4 points around that spot. I loose very few shots, focusing is fast and accurate. I would put my camera against any out there. On the other hand, I also use Sony equipment, here I use their new focusing mode called Lock-on AF Expand Flexible Spot, it works very well with moving subjects, I even use older Minolta lenses, 200 f2.8, 300 f2.8, and even a 400 f4.5, my shots never miss, and this is using lenses that are at least 25 years old. I am sure Cannon has great stuff for sports too. My point is the comment that Cannon is better for sports is not only misleading but in my opinion may not be based on facts, only opinion. I used to shoot for new papers and mags. We had an inventory of lenses to use, if we had Nikon stuff, we shot that, if we had Cannon stuff, we shot that. It really doesn't matter what you shoot but HOW YOU SHOOT that counts.

Their are always simple solutions to difficult questions. It appears, since you felt the need to post on UH your delivery problems that you are really appealing to all of us to help you out. So, here is the answer you are looking for, since in your post you mention that the first place your packages go to from your camera store is Kansas City, Missouri, simply move to Kansas City, Missouri. In this manner you will receive your package on time and without the need to post to UH about your troubles and complaints about very reliable shipping that just doesn't seem to be fast enough or efficient enough to satisfy your GAS attacks. Or, you could just go on living at your current address and continue to rail against the establishment, which, seems to be the way it really is.

Yes, in very poor light, the beam is used to help the camera auto focus.