Sony Cybershot DSCW5 5.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (OLD MODEL)

I bought the Sony DSC-W5 few weeks ago, so far I'm quite pleased with it. The choice was between this one and the Canon SD-400, both are 5MP as I think that's the optimum resolution for my use. Looks like both cameras have similar picture quality with a slight edge for the Canon. So what decided me for the Sony? Mainly these 4 reasons: - I have a Canon G2, which is slow and bulky, but most of all, after 3 years of use the image quality is degradating. Paid $800 for it 3 years ago, one would expect a longer product life. -Battery. Canon does not know how to measure battery power, it goes from full to empty in 5mn, that's very frustrating as you have to fully charge the battery the day before you're going to use your camera. Sony gives you a detailed view of the charge left, and even in the case you run out of it, you can plug in 2 plain AA batteries. - Sony is fast, very fast. - Sony has a large bright LCD, it's a pleasure to take shots and look at the pictures on the 2.5' lCD. I found the sony very easy to use, the settings are easily accessible and are memorised through power ups (which is sometimes bothersome as you have to check all your settings before using the camera at the begining of the day) About blurry pictures, on something like 100 pictures I only had a few that were blurry. Mainly if you press the button half way and wait for the camera to autofocus, you'll get a good picture. Also the flash is required as soon as the luminosity dims a bit. The only defect I could find is on the autofocus, I believe the balanced autofocus feature gets confused on some situations, even simple ones like a mountain landscape with no tree in front. Setting the autofocus to center may solve the problem. Also Sharpness should be set to "+" otherwise you get very soft images. Conclusion: A great product for the price, picture quality is fantastic (most of the times), the LCD is a charm to look at.

I recieved the camera and turned it on. The lens came out but will not retract in I e-mailed the sender and did not recieve a reply.

I'm enjoying my new W5. I've had lots of fun taking pictures in every kind of circumstance I can think of. The camera has the capability of a very long exposure, which I've enjoyed immensely, and the night shots I've taken are super. I enjoy remodeling. The W5 has a 30mm screw mount, and I purchased the wide-angle lens at my local Sony Style store. I am very happy that I have the capability to add lenses and/or filters. The person who complains that the "waving hand" shows when the light is low -- yes, it is just a warning -- so you the user knows what's going on. You know if the camer is not stable you could get some fuzziness. I think it's better to know that something requires a little caution, than to get crummy pictures because I didn't know. It has a large screen, it has a screw mount for lenses/filters, it has a metal screw base for tripod use, it uses regular AA batteries, it uses my old Sony memory (plus the new Sony Pro memory I bought), it takes 640 x 480, 30 frame per second video, with sound, and it's among the lightest in this class. Honestly, I think it's hard to beat.

I got this camera to replace an older sony digital camera, an F55. I thought 6 years later their product would be much improved. It is a beautiful looking camera, nice LCD, lots of features, BUT blurry pictures and almost impossible to use inside. For some reason this camera (and I tried all sorts of settings) produces a "soft" (out of focus) picture all the time, and inside it's blurry. The little hand indicating camera movement comes on ALL THE TIME inside and I don't move at all. Compared to my older Sony, which produces a clear, crisp picture, I was very disappointed and I am returning this for a refund and will live with the good old camera. I know blur was a problem often cited for the W1 and thought it would be addressed, but No, it was not. Take some pics at a store and then have them display them on the computer, they look OK in the LCD but on the computer, out of focus big time. I'm not angry with Sony, I love the old one, but I wanted to let buyers know about the focus issues.

the picture quality is great. it's good value for money. serves the purpose of taking pictures at everyday occasions. small and easy to carry

I really like this sony cam but let me get my complaints outta the way 1st. Its kinda big and bulky. It looks small but put in your pants pocket and you'll be annoyed after walking 5 steps. Its also a little on the heavy side. I'm comparing it to the similarly priced Sony T33, a much thinner and lighter camera. If you're shooting something in action you'll probably miss the shot because it takes a few seconds to autofocus. You have to use red eye flash which takes longer and eats the battery faster. Unless you prefer to have red eyes in every pic. But overall I like this camera. The LCD screen is awesome. Its so clear even when you zoom in. You can actually see the pic without having to upload it to your computer screen. This helps b/c you can just retake any bad looking pics. If you only take posed still photos then this camera is all you'll ever need. I use red eye flash because I'm too lazy to go back and remove the red eyes from every pic. I usually shoot 50-100 pics a night. If you only take a few pics then this wont be a problem. But I'm getting ready to return this camera and get a Sony T33 which is basically the same but half the size.