1. 10.1-megapixel Super HAD CCD image sensor
2. 10x optical zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens; Optical SteadyShot image stabilization
3. 720p high-definition movie capture; BIONZ image processor
4. 3.0-inch (230K pixels) LCD; Face Detection and Smile Shutter technology
5. 11MB built-in memory; capture images to Memory Stick Duo/PRO Duo Media (not included)

Editorial Review :

The Sony DSC-H20 is a full-featured point-and-shoot with outstanding high-power zoom capability and fast shutter speed. It includes Smile Shutter technology which captures smiles the moment they happen, as well as Face Detection technology to optimize focus, exposure and color for up to eight faces. Capture detailed images with 10 megapixel resolution, and get in close to the action with the 10x optical zoom Carl Zeiss lens. Intelligent Scene Recognition helps you avoid failure picture, while Sony’s Double Anti-Blur solution (Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization plus High ISO) helps keep your images blur-free. The DSC-H20 completes the package with a 3.0-Inch Clear Photo LCD Plus Display that lets you easily view your images and menu options. Supplied accessories include a rechargeable battery (NP-BG1), a battery charger (BC-CSGB), a multi-connector cable, a lens cap and the CD-ROM software. Memory sticks are only optional.

Customer Review :

Great Camera!

I was very nervous about buying a new camera that was this much money, but I am very glad I did! I had an old Sony Cybershot, and wanted an update.

My main thing I was looking for was a Sony camera that zoomed in while filming, and this is the cheapest one I could find. Although I haven't had the chance to do much filming with it, I am very happy with it so far! I took it to my little brother's basketball game and got some amazing photos! I couldn't believe the clarity, and they weren't blurry! I also love how far it zooms in. I got some awesome shots of some bald eagles and they were across a field! I am looking forward to taking this to concerts with me and trying it out.

Although this camera is a little more bulkier than I'm used to, it's definitely not as big as I was expecting. If you're questioning whether this is a good camera for you, I recommend going to Best Buy and looking at it in person. But be sure to buy it from Amazon, it's cheaper and the free shipping was SUPER fast!

Rating :

much improved from the h5

this is my 3rd sony digital camera and each one has improved from the previous model. the sony h20 has intelligent auto which knows what type of picture you want to take and sets itself accordingly. compared to the h5, i lose 2x in zoom (10 vs 12), but the size is cut in half. i thought it would make a great backup to the h5. it looks like the h5 is the backup to my h20. i will write more when i return from new zealand and australia and let you know how the h20 faired.

Rating :

Excellent for tne novice

This is a camera I purchased for my wife who has problems with setting the camera to the proper shot mode. Put this camera in auto and she's ready to go. All of her shots turned out great. She lost the blury pictures and the dark figures with the bright background. Easy to off load pictures so she can do that herself now. It is bigger than her last sony but she claims this is easier for her to hold steady and the hand hold makes that possible. As far as battery life goes we are getting approxmittly 150 to 175 pictures per battery. However these are batteries she had from her last camera. Overall we are happy with this purchase.

Rating :

Great Buy

This Item is just super. The HD video taping is just excellent,Picture quality great ease of use great. You all can close your eyes and buy this one. The best mid level camera.

Rating :

Sony is superb!

My first digital camera was a Sony Mavica (MVC-FD73) --remember? The one that recorded to 3.5" disks. I loved that camera but became unhappy with the low resolution. My second digital was an HP. I was unhappy with that one because it had such a slow response time. Not a good feature when you're trying to capture pics of active grandkids -- also, I missed the 10x zoom of the Mavica. I read all the reviews of high zoom cameras and decided to go with the Sony Cyber-Shot. My good experience with the Mavica was the deciding factor in purchasing the Cyber-Shot. I have not been disappointed. The camera is easy to use, takes excellent pictures, has an almost indetectable click-to-record delay, and has many other good features. I was very impressed by the clarity and color of the pictures. I also like the feature that allows you to select the resolution from the 480x640 size to a 10 Megapixel file. With a 4 GB memory stick, there's room for hundreds of 10 Meg images or thousands of lesser-sized images. The camera also takes videos and with a 4 GB stick will record for several minutes. The ease with which I was able to show the pictures and videos on my TV was impressive. Transfer to a computer is equally simple. I have had the camera for about a month and am still learning about some of its features. I am very pleased with my purchase.

Rating :

More reviews...

1. 12.1-megapixel Super HAD CCD image sensor
2. 5x optical zoom, 28mm wide-angle Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens; Optical SteadyShot image stabilization
3. 720p high-definition movie capture; BIONZ image processor
4. 3.0-inch (230K pixels) Clear Photo LCD; Face Detection and Smile Shutter technology
5. 11MB built-in memory; capture images to Memory Stick Duo/PRO Duo Media (not included)

Editorial Review :

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 camera combines style with power and intelligence. The W290 comes in 4 sophisticated colors and has a stylish look. With the W290 taking great pictures is now easier than ever. The iAuto mode goes beyond the traditional auto mode, thinking and working for you; recognizing scenes, lighting conditions, faces, and automatically adjusts camera settings resulting in clearer images, and faces with more natural skin tones and less blur. The W290 also features HD Movie mode, recording in 720p for capturing your precious moments on video. Compose, review, and share your memories on the large 3.0” (230k pixels) LCD.

Customer Review :

Disappointing

I bought this more expensive camera hoping its quality would be better then the canon I tried about a week or two before but it ends up actually being worse. Pixelation occurs on almost all pictures on the LCD and when you upload it to your computer. My much older casio (6mp from around 2004) still took better pictures then this camera. It also doesn't take what I thought was a standard memory card size

Rating :

Bad customer service outweighs everything else

Beware, if you like this camera buy it only if you believe you will never have to get anything fixed. Sony's customer service/relations is surprisingly terrible. I sent a product in for a superficial fix (at sony's request as part of a recall), I got it back with the lens not working. Understandable, it happens. But sony refused to fix it unless I paid for it or produced my proof of purchase to show it was still under warranty. After 3 hours speaking to various people over the course of two weeks (so it was not just one random person, but seems to be policy), Sony insisted that they would not fix the camera, they basically said 'the camera has a problem and we don't fix anything for free without a proof of purchase, regardless of circumstances'. Blew me away, they would not consider that they could have been at fault, that I would not have sent camera in unless they had asked me to in the first place. Customer relations and marketing have to get together and talk, marketing is spending millions to get me to buy all sorts of high margin products (playstation, flat screens, audio equipment, video cameras, etc) and customer service blows it all away over a fifty dollar fix.

Rating :

Good, but not great

Bought this camera a few months ago to replace a 4 year old Canon Elph. I'm generally happy with it considering the price, and C-Net gave it very good reviews. Had I known about it I would have bought the DSC-H20/B 10.1 instead, because this camera really isn't that much smaller.

+Price to feature ratio is the best out there
+Smile Detection works better than any other camera I've seen. This has been a great feature for capturing my camera shy toddler.
+Picture quality is pretty high.
+Video quality is pretty high, and I don't mind not being able to zoom.

-Auto focus is an absolute must. I could just snap with my old elph and the quality would still be pretty good. With this camera you have to use the focus.
-Picture button is really annoying. It's pretty hard to focus without accidentally snapping a pic. The button itself is too small. I thought I could live with it, but it's pretty annoying.
-Zoom button is a bit of a pain as well. It's on the back of the camera as opposed to near the snap button like on other cameras.
-Can't zoom on video. I knew this when I bought, but I don't use the video feature very much.
-Pretty bulky camera. Atleast 30% bigger than my old elph.

Generally the picture quality is good, but the ease of use is poor. I think sony just wanted to be the first to get HD video in a point & shoot camera of this class, and released it quickly without working out the kinks. Unfortunately this happened at the time when I desperately needed a new camera. I'm happy with the picture and video quality, but now that this camera has a lot of competition, I would not buy it again.

Rating :

excellent

This is my first camera and really have much expectation about making a good investment. And what can I say, I am very happy that I had chosen this camera, its image quality is very good and if you use the 12-megapixel photos will have an excellent presentation on the details, the video is very good can see very clearly and sharpness. I can only say THANK YOU SONY!!

Rating :

Great choice!!!

Great camera! I've had it for a couple months - easy, fast, light, portable - NO issues!!!

Rating :

More reviews...

1. 26mm equivalent Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 4x optical zoom
2. Capture breathtaking images in Sweep Panorama Mode
3. 14.1-megapixel resolution; 2.7-inch LCD screen for easy viewing
4. Capture your videos in HD Movie mode (720p); Optical SteadyShot image stabilization reduces blur
5. Accepts Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick PRO Duo/Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo (not included)

Editorial Review :

The DSC-W350 captures images with amazing detail with its Carl Zeiss 26mm wide angle 4x zoom lens. Take breathtaking panoramas in Sweep panorama mode and review them on a 2.7” LCD. Record 720p high definition movies while Optical SteadyShot™ image stabilization, iAuto and Face Motion Detection makes taking great images in various conditions easy.

Customer Review :

Very good compact point and shoot

I was looking for a small camera to keep with me when I didn't want to lug my big and heavy pro grade DSLR, and I'm finding the Sony generally works out for me pretty well. It's easy-to-use and relatively high performance for a compact point and shoot camera, and it's capable of producing good images under a wide range of conditions when used properly.

I usually start my camera shopping by paying close attention to the lens, and the Sony comes with a Carl-Zeiss 4x zoom, biased towards the wide-angle end of the spectrum. I generally favor less zoom range if it means getting a higher quality picture, and this is exactly the approach Sony implements. Yes, you can get 5x - even 10x - zooms in camera like these, but in my experience, the sacrifice in image quality isn't worth it. Sony's 4x tends to mean I get pretty solid lens performance in a useful zoom range. To be clear, any DSLR with a good quality lens will beat the pants off the small lens on this sort of compact camera, but that's the nature of the beast...besides, if I'm doing something where absolute best performance is a requirement, I'm carrying my heavy-duty DSLR and lenses that cost ten times what this Sony does - that's not the mission I have in mind for the Sony anyway.

The 14.1MP sensor seems to be high quality, so long as you're using the camera in well and evenly lit conditions. Where the camera struggles somewhat is low light (high ISO), or when there is substantial dynamic range (difference between brightest and darkest parts of an image). Under good conditions - bright and evenly lit - the sensor provides excellent detail, certainly way more than adequate for email, web sites or prints up to maybe A3 (13x19 inch) size. Still, under more challenging lighting, the Sony may be a bit disappointing...where a large DSLR can capture details in highlights and shadow, the Sony tends to blow out the highlights or will transform shadows into a sea of black. Again, this is really normal for cameras with small image sensors - the Sony's performance is very good indeed considering the small form factor and product price point.

The camera's built-in software is also very good, helping to capture lots of detail even as images are compressed to manageable sized JPG files. In Photoshop, I compared a Sony-compressed image to a similar image taken by a pro grade DSLR, and there are few if any differences due to the image processing. Noise reduction and sharpening is handled well, and there are few digital artifacts visible. This is really the best performance I've seen for a camera in this price range.

In terms of construction quality, the camera is solid and seems to be well built. Most of the controls are easy to use, and you don't get the sense of "fighting" against it. The 2.7" LCD display is sharp and easy to use, although it can be a bit difficult in bright sunlight or for those like me with aging eyes that struggle with small text on the screen. Performance is generally quick, and you're not waiting for the camera to figure out what to do next. The camera is small, and one thing that helps me is Sony's well-designed image stabilization feature. I tend to have a hard time holding small cameras steady, and image stabilization helps me get sharp photos in most conditions.

Sony adds a number of cool features, such as Sweep Panorama, that allows you to take multiple pictures of a scene, and then have them "stitched" together in the camera for a wide panorama view. I have similar software in Photoshop to do this, but it's cool to see it implemented right in the camera. Sony also provides a workable HDR (High Dynamic Range) capability in the camera, giving you a way to handle certain otherwise difficult scenes. Both of these features make up for camera limitations, such as low dynamic range capabilities of small sensors and the limited zoom range. Sony also makes it easy to upload photos and videos to popular sharing sites, saving you a few steps from doing this on the computer.

The camera can also record HD (720p) video clips up to half an hour long. I rarely use this feature, so other than to say it works, I'll leave that one to other reviewers.

I considered several other choices from Nikon, Canon, Pentax and even the new Leica X1. I like Nikon because the software and menus are the same as my DSLR (also a Nikon). Canon seemed to produce slightly better image quality. I've owned several Pentax point-and-shoot digital cameras and found them rugged and long lasting. And of course, the Leica is in a class by itself in terms of quality. Still, while all of these competitors offered unique advantages, the overall package of price and performance seemed to be best with the Sony - at least today.

Overall, considering the price, I'm happy with the Sony DSC-W350 and would recommend it to anyone wanting a low-cost, easy to use digital camera that gives good quality images under a wide variety of conditions.


Rating :

Pleasantly surprised

Took a chance on this camera as it was just released by SONY and no reviews were available. But I really like this camera. The pictures are sharp. Color reproduction and exposure is accurate and all of this is done automatically. This camera has 14 mega pixels but I shoot with an aspect ratio of 16 X 9 which uses 10.5 mega pixels. The camera has a panorama feature that with a little practice takes cool panoramas that could definitely come in handy for some landscape shots. This camera has a 26mm wide angle lens with 4X zoom. I love the wide angle which works beautifully with the 16 X 9 aspect ratio. Indoor low light performance has been very good. In bright rooms with the camera on auto flash it often chose not to flash and still the pictures were very good. My other cameras always flash indoors no matter how brightly lit the room was. Indoor shots without a flash create more natural colors. Of course this is probably only possible due to the really good anti shake technology built into the camera. The camera can also shoot hi def movies but I haven't taken any movies yet. One other thing that I like is that this camera can easily fit into any pocket. It is slim and light.

Rating :

Excellent piece ....

I bought this camera recently as I found my old one not upto the mark from sony itself. This camera is really amazing with its features, image qualities under various conditions and pricing. I will vote 10/10 for this awesome item from Sony.

Rating :

1. 26mm Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 4x optical zoom
2. 14.1-megapixel CCD sensor and 3.0-inch LCD screen (230k pixels)
3. SteadyShot Image Stabilization reduces blur; iAuto mode automatically optimizes camera settings
4. Smile Shutter technology automatically captures a smile
5. Card slot for optional Memory Stick Duo media and SD media

Editorial Review :

The DSC-W330 captures amazingly detailed images with a Carl Zeiss 26mm equivalent wide angle 4x zoom lens. Taking and reviewing images is made easy with a large 3.0” LCD and advanced features including Easy mode, iAuto and SteadyShot™ make it easy to capture great images in various conditions.

Customer Review :

Perfect for the price.

I purchased this camera as a gift for my younger sibling and was shocked at how well it performed from a beginner's point of view. I was pleasantly surprised to see the camera recorded video (albeit SD) since there was no mention of it on Amazon or Sony Style. I have the Sony DSC-HX5V 10.2MP CMOS Digital Camera with 10x Wide Angle Zoom with Optical Steady Shot Image Stabilization and 3.0 inch LCD on pre-order for myself and can't imagine how impressive the image quality will be since I don't see a point and shoot getting much better than this Sony DSC-W330 from a technical standpoint.

Rating :

Great Camera

Cant beat it for the money. Nice big display. Easy to use. Takes great pictures.

Rating :

Great Camera!

I just got this camera to replace my Canon Powershot SD1000. I love the fact that I'm able to crop and trim pictures in the camera. I coudn't do that with the Canon. It has a big screen and it's very light. Love it!!!

Rating :

1. 3.5-inch touch screen for easy focus selection and photo viewing
2. 10.2-megapixel "Exmor R" CMOS sensor for stunning low-light performance
3. iSweep Panorama Mode captures stunning panoramic images
4. Fast capture with 10fps at full 10.2 MP resolution; 1080i AVCHD Movie records high-quality HD movies
5. Accepts Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick PRO Duo/Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo (not included) as well as SDHC cards.

Editorial Review :

The sleek and stylish DSC-TX7 offers a large 3.5” touch screen to easily take and review photos. An advanced “Exmor R” CMOS sensor provides stunning low-light images and sweeping panoramic views with iSweep Panorama mode. Plus, enjoy 1920x1080 Full HD video recording and playback.

Customer Review :

Not easy to use, but does take good photos

I am not going to list all the features of this camera; you can read the details in the description. I will only write a review from my personal experiences.

I have an older Olympus 4mp camera and wanted to update to a better one. After reading all the positive reviews, I decided on this Sony DSC-TX7. I was hoping for a simple point-and-shoot that I did not have to think about, but just use. Well, it did not quite turn out that way with this camera.

I discovered that the Intelligent Auto Mode worked well under normal lighting conditions. However, when I used it indoors under low light, or outside on a cloudy day or late evening, then the Auto Mode only worked sometimes. So, I began to experiment and I suggest you do the same thing.

I used the camera under less than perfect circumstances by first using the Auto Mode. Then I took 2 or 3 more photos of the same scene using different manual modes. I did this on indoor low lighting, back lit objects, cloudy days, night time, etc. What I found is that most of the time you have to use a certain manual mode to get the right picture. Plus, the manual mode to use was different in each lighting condition. This may sound time consuming and complicated, but it really is not. After just a few hours I had most of the optimal settings memorized.

Once you figure out the best setting, the camera takes great pictures. With the micro mode you can get extremely close to the subject and the photo is super clear and sharp. The panoramic mode works well, once you figure it out. The manual just says not to move the camera too fast or too slow, but does not give you any idea just how fast or slow that is. I found the best way is to count from 4 to 7 seconds. Depending on how fast or slow you count, that should give you a good panoramic photo.

I like the touch screen. It is easy to use and responsive. The battery life is a little short compared to other cameras. I just ordered another battery so that I would always have a charged battery ready to go. The video mode quality is average at best. I tried using the video on the highest HD setting indoors under normal lighting conditions and the video was grainy. My older video camera actually did a better job under the same conditions, but the Sony video shinned in brighter light.

Overall this camera does a great job if you take the time to figure out how to use it. But, it is not perfect. My 2mp camera in my cell phone does almost as good on a panoramic photo. And my Olympus 4mp photos look almost as good as this Sony. I took a few pictures with the Olympus and Sony of the same scene and I was hard pressed to tell any difference in quality until I zoomed in on the pictures. That was when I could tell that the Sony was a little clearer. I also ask a friend which photos looked better. Most of the time he picked the Olympus photos as being better. I am use to the Olympus and I think once I spend more time and practice more, then I will be able to get better results with the Sony.

So, here is the bottom line with my experiences:
The good:
1. Several manual modes come in handy under less than ideal conditions.
2. Picture quality is great when settings are correct.
3. The large touch screen makes previewing much easier.
4. The touch screen is about as responsive as the iPhone and easy to use.
5. The compact size of the camera make is very convenient to carry.
6. The panoramic mode works well and has 2 size settings.
7. Outdoor night time photos with very little light are amazing with the right setting.

The bad:
1. Be aware this is not as simple to use as you might think except under normal conditions.
2. The latch cover holding the battery comes open easily.
3. The touch screen gets smudged quickly so get a screen protector.
4. Photo quality is mostly noticeably if cropping or zooming in. Otherwise, a 4mp camera's photos look almost as good.

The Sony has many more features that I like compared to my old camera. And the Sony does take good photos. Therefore, I am going to keep learning and keep taking dozens of pictures until I get it right. For example, I played with different modes and was able to get much clearer pictures indoor without any noise at all. Practice and experiment is the key.

Rating :

KINDA EXPENSIVE BUT WORTH EVERY PENNY, AMAZING CAMERA

I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHERE TO START, THIS CAMERA IS THE BEST PURCHASED I MADE IN A LONG TIME . I HAD A SONY CYBERSHOT T-20 8.1MP AND IT WAS ALSO A GREAT CAMERA AND WANTED TO UPGRADE TO A CAMERA THAT CAN RECORD MOVIES IN HD. WELL AT FIRST I ENDED UP BUYING THE 12.1MP W/ 4.6X OPTICAL ZOOM PANASONIC TS1 WATERPROOF CAMERA AND IT WAS AN OK CAMERA , IT HAD MANY FLAWS AND THE BATTERY COMPARTMENT FELT CHEAPLY MADE SO IT WAS NOT AS WATERPROOF QUALITY AS THE OLYMPUS ONES. ANYWAYS I ENDED UP RETURNING IT BECAUSE OF THE QUALITY PICTURES AND THE FACT THE CAMERA HAD MANY FLAWS IN TERMS OF QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE. SO I DID A LOT OF RESEARCH LOOKING FOR THE BEST COMPACT CAMERA OUT THERE THAT COULD FIT MY NEEDS. I WANTED TO TRY TO BUY THE CAMERA BUT THE PRICE WAS THE ONLY THING HOLDING ME . ANYWAYS AFTER CAREFUL CONSIDERATION AND COMPARISON BETWEEN THIS CAMERA AND THE OTHER ONES OUT THERE , I FINALLY REALIZED WHY THIS CAMERA WAS THIS EXPENSIVE. THIS IS A TOP QUALITY BUILD CAMERA WITH A GREAT LENS, GREAT SCREEN AND PICTURE QUALITY AND OUTSTANDING HD RECORDING . I WAS ALSO WAITING FOR CNET TO GIVE A PROPER REVIEW ABOUT THE CAMERA BUT AFTER GOING TO YOUTUBE AND SEEING VIDEO RECORDING QUALITY AND PICTURES AROUND THE INTERNET , I DECIDED TO GO FOR IT . WHEN I FIRST TESTED IT , I WAS AMAZED BY THE WHOLE EASE OF USE AND ALL THE DIFFERENT FEATURES. BOTTOM LINE IT IS AN AMAZING CAMERA AND ITS A GREAT REPLACEMENT TO MY OLD SONY CYBERSHOT T-20 . I WOULD LOVE TO SEE THIS SAME CAMERA SOMEDAY WITH THE WATERPROOF/SHOCKPROOF FEATURE.

GREAT THINGS ABOUT THE CAMERA:
PARONAMA PICTURE : AMAZING FEATURE AND WORKS WAY BETTER THAN PREVIOUS MODELS WITH THIS FEATURE .

DIGITAL ZOOM : DOESNT JEPORDIZE PICTURE QUALITY AS MUCH AS OTHER CAMERAS OUT THERE , IT LOOKED PRETTY MUCH LIKE OPTICAL ZOOM THE WHOLE TIME. GREAT DIGITAL ZOOM.

3.5 LCD SCREEN.

1080i 60fps hd recording . amazing feature to record fast moving objects.

ease of use.

reads both memory stick pro duo and sd cards alike. (new feature from sony cameras)



CONS:

Expensive

Blue camera is a fingerprint magnet. ( I recommend to get the gray one , it looks like a dark gray instead of silver color)



Rating :

Deserves a product review ever written by these lazy fingers...

well - i am a regular consumer and perhaps own a ton of electronics that my wife hates me for (wires all over our little appartment :-) ....

i got to say...this camera is so terrific that it inspired me to pull open my keyboard and do something which I have never done before - write a product review...perhaps my first ever on net..though i research a lot and benefit from all the reviews people take time to write..hmmm..feel a bit selfish right this moment..he he

Ok let me take that back...i am not writing any extensive review or jot down all the pros and cons and comparisons etc...others have already done a pretty good job there..just what i like the most..

Bottom line observation - this camera is the first ever compact digital P&S camera i have come across in its times that ACTUALLY brings amazing pictures to life in Low light conditions with its "HandHeld Twilight" mode...its amazing how Sony has made huge progress over others in capturing and rendering clear NO-FLASH pictures achieved not just by focusing over the lens and aperture hardware but also employing software algorithms which combine multiple snaps into a single picture and eliminate noise/darkness from the pics..[disclaimer - i have no technical in-depth knowledge of how their technology works..just found a whole lot of videos on youtube saying the same thing..]

The hardware ability of this camera to take multiple pictures in a short time frame and then using microprocessor/software/hardwired algorithms to give out variety of image patterns has been utilized to add all the bells and whistles this camera exhibits.

Panoramic mode is great..Burst mode is great..Drawing and painting pics right inside the camera is great..but the single feature that separates camera in THIS category is its ability to take clear No-Flash pics in low light..because guess what..on an average..i concluded that many of our pics are taken indoors and thats why it matters so much..

Also worth mentioning is that this camera records HD video better than my present camcorder (2.5 years old though...) Videos are very sharp, non-shaky and I recommend downloading the K-Lite Full codec pack that includes codecs to play the video format generated by this camera right inside windows media player.
Also if you want to see a smooth video without any frames getting skipped, get a Class 6 or higher speed card..because camera needs to write a large amount of data per second to the card while recording continuous stream...

Cons - relatively short battery life...I can live with small details or flaws like this one that any critic could point out in any product under the sun, as long as it does what its supposed to do best - take good pictures..

A dozen Good pics you wanna print each and frame them is worth more than perhaps several hundred snaps you could take with some camera with better battery life and stuff 'em as usual in your hard drive along with thousand others..right?

Rating :

Very Cool Camera But Not Without Flaws

I am actually a Canon fan, but the TX7 is a small compact that takes good stills *and* video, as well as having a bunch of special features (panorama, HDR, etc). Canon currently has no feature match for the TX7 in a P&S style camera this small.

I think other reviews have done a great job of running down the pros and cons, but I have to say that, besides the slew of interesting features in such a small package, the thing that got me interested was that this is the first Sony camera that takes regular SDHC cards (it also can use the proprietary Sony Memory Sticks).

Summary:

Pros:

- Great camera features in a small package!
- May be the best low-light performer for its size
- AVCHD *and* MP4 video formats (your choice)
- SDHC *and* Sony Memory stick compatible (your choice)

Cons:

- Short-ish battery life and longer-than-average recharge time
- Poor lens cover design
- No audio leveling of any kind (not even a distortion light)
- Only one physical connection port and it's proprietary

As others have mentioned, the slide-down lens cover is the biggest ergonomic gaffe, though it's probably not going to be a dealbreaker for most folks (just adding a couple of little metal ridges to the cover would have significantly improved it). It's easy to run your thumb over the lens when pushing the cover down. People with large hands may also find the tiny buttons and skinniness of the camera a bit daunting.

The "blue" camera, by the way, is actually "dark blue" and is so dark that it looks like it's black - my friend and I could barely see any blue in it. (Is there also a "blue" as well as a "dark blue"? The photo on Amazon looks like a considerably lighter shade of blue than my camera).

The video capability has been heavily touted, but I haven't read much about the accompanying audio. Unfortunately, the camera provides no way to control the volume levels at all. You get whatever comes in the stereo mic on the front of the camera (Sure, it's just a tiny P&S, but if you're going to put high quality video formats into the camera, why not basic audio level control too?). There's not even a distortion light.
I tried recording a very loud band, and, of course, it did distort, but, overall, it definitely handled audio better than my Canon TX-1.

By the way Mac users, MP4 videos files show up in iphoto9, but AVCHD files do not. However, the SDHC card mounts as a disk on your desktop, so you can simply drag the AVCHD files to your hard drive when USB connected. There is also Sony's PMB software, but I didn't feel like installing it. There is the option of using TransferJet, but I don't feel like paying for the expensive TransferJet card and I don't have any TransferJet-compliant devices anyway.

Speaking of USB, one thing that bugged me is that the only I/O port on the camera is a proprietary Sony port. Sony supplies a little dock with the camera and your standard cables (HDMI, USB, etc) plug into the dock. Some may like that, but I prefer just plugging a USB cable directly into the camera. Fortunately, you can buy a USB cable that has USB on one end and the Sony proprietary connector on the other (I've seen a 6ft long one for $15 or so, but is there a short one?). The dock has a DC-in port but you have to buy an AC adapter for that. The manual says that the AC adapter does not charge the battery (I assume it just maintains the battery level at its current level).

The slide-down lens cover is a bad enough design (in an all too-important place) to give 1/2 or 1/3 of a star off. The lack of audio control is also problematical (at these prices, anyway). Battery life isn't that great, especially when shooting video. The proprietary connector port is a nuisance. I'm going to have to give this 4 stars though it does have a very nice feature set in a very small package.

Rating :

Low Light Leader

This camera has delivered what it has promised, great hand held low light shots, clear hd video and 10fps bursts. The battery dies quickly when shooting video. When shooting video in low light the frame rate got choppy, but I only have a class 4 sdhc card, so I'm going to try a class 6 and see if that helps. The video is perfect in sunlight. When taking burst shots it takes a while for them all to process, but again, probably has something to do with card speed.

The slide down lens cover is a plus for me, as I have broken two telescoping lenses, one from it accidentally getting turned on in my pocket.

I've owned a few Sony video cameras, but only Canon still cameras. My opinion of Sony stuff was that they would pack every bell and whistle they could manage, whether it made sense or not, but I have used pretty much every setting on this camera in the two weeks I've had it and been happy with the results.



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