Digital-Camera Reviews

Outstanding camera! Even took it to Iraq on Day 1 of the northern invasion. Took pictures with the camera up against the Night Vision Goggles, came out clear. Don't know what that other guy is talking about who rated it low....poor photographer or got a lemon. The internal memory is awesome as well, it is aways there so use it as a back-up. You can select which memory source you want to use ie. internal or flashcard. Rec you get a 256mb memory card, then you don't have to worry. I don't have the docking station, nor do you really need it. It has a USB plug that is very easy to hook up to your computer to download photos. Software they send you is a little awkward, during set-up, when it asks "do you want it to start up auto", say no...or it comes up in task manager running all the time. USE THE LITHIUM BATTERIES, no normal Akal batteries. Easy to use and nice size. It's a Kodak, they've been doing this photo stuff for a little while, wouldn't you say?

I am a pretty die hard fan of film, so I was very hesitant to buy a digital camera. My opinion was finally swayed when I recently went on a trip to Ireland for a wedding. My sister had the digital camera and I the film. I was so delighted to be able to see her pictures right away that I decided to buy one of my own when we got home.
I chose the Kodak brand because 2 of my family members have one and rave about them. I agree. They are easy to use for everyone. This one was $279.99 when I purchased it and I couldn't be happier. It is quick, has great quality and I LOVE the features. I really like the option of being able to choose how many MP you want to use up for each picture. That makes it simple for email and prints. Overall I have no complaints about this camera. Enjoy!

There surely are some things that could have made this camera better, but nothing is perfect. But when you talk about picture quality, reasonable price, ease of use for occasional photographer, this camera is a great value.
I purchased mine with the charging dock and have no regrets. The rechargeable battery seems to last infinity longer than my previous ricoh digital camera which absolutely ate the aa batteries. Maybe there's a slight exaggeration but I have found the rechargeable battery seems to have a good life before it must be recharged.
Kodak is a name to be trusted. I've seen cameras come close to this price on ebay, and that's for a REFURBISHED MODEL. Buy new to ensure your warranty.
I'm having a lot of fun with this camera and am well pleased with the accompanying software and the picture quality.

We've had this camera for a little over a year. From the beginning, I didn't like the fact that the green light which tells you that the camera is on and ready to go is placed so that it shines directly into your eye when looking into the viewfinder! Very distracting. However, it does take great pix and we overlooked that. NOW, it has simply ceased working consistently. Sometimes it will turn on, sometimes it won't .. regardless of whether the batteries are charged. It DOES turn on when docked, but I can't take pix then!! Sometimes, we have to turn it on and off repeatedly before it "takes" and turns on, then it will turn off again just as suddenly. Also, it doesn't always recognize that there are pix on the camera, even though it will transfer them later.

I have read other reviews that indicate that we are not the only ones having this problem. From what I've read, contacting Kodak would be useless, so we're just considering this $300 badly spent. We've already replaced it with a GREAT little camera - the Canon Powershot A75. I'd recommend that ANY DAY over this model.

This is a simple camera that does a lot. It's lightweight, takes pretty good pictures, has excellent storage and battery life. I have had a lot of trouble with the software; sometimes it won't download, or it will take several tries until the pictures download. This can be frustrating. Kodak has been helpful and concerned but has not been able to do much about this. Some cautions/advice: you do NOT need the docking cradle unless you really like rechargeable batteries. The cradle takes up room and is no easier than the USB cable, in my opinion. Also, you should ONLY take pictures in the "Highest Quality" setting; anything less can be grainy. The camera cannot focus on moving objects, and the flash is only useful in quite close shots; for others in even soft light, it's best to set the camera on "night" or "landscape," as another reviewer also advised. Red-eye is chronic and the software has been of limited utility in correcting them (and my son has bright blue eyes, which end up devilishly red every time). The memory cards are invaluable. Get as much as you can on one card; there's no reason to get less than 128MB. I took 175 pix on 2-64MB cards but was always worried about losing the full card. The travel kit is very useful: I used the case as a purse while traveling (with the camera nestled inside) and it comes with all kinds of adapters that travelers need. However, battery life is looooong: on a two week vacation on which I took 175 pix, I only used two (non-rechargeable) batteries. Otherwise, the travel case is kind of big, so a smaller case would be useful and they are easy to find. I bought a smaller case direct from Kodak.

Summary: great camera, great value, fussy software, excellent customer service, excellent accessories, skip the docking cradle.

Outstanding Digital Camera. Heck of a change from my 6 year old Casio QV-100. Extremely easy to use and images are super sharp up to 8X10 at max resolution...to be expected with a 3.1 MP camera. Great at the midrange setting also. Opt for the largest SD memory card you can afford as you will be firing off pics one after the other. A 64MB SD card will save just a little over 4 minutes of reasonably good quality video. A dock, which simplifies image transfer and recharges the battery ([$$]), is not necessary unless you are a novice and/or are really into convenience. The camera comes with a USB cable for connection to a PC and you can purchase an additional battery and a charger from Kodak for a lot less. Kodak's Easyshare (included)software is a no brainer and will work fine transferring the images into your PC. It also has good image editing/viewing capabilities. It will save the transferred images to it's own folder (no choice), requiring you to move/copy them if desired. The only drawback (IMHO) is the videos are in apple quicktime format (which I detest) and are quite large compared to the MPEG format. Overall a great camera.

When I first bought this camera (2 years ago) I used the 'Auto' and
'Portrait' settings. I found myself taking average quality pictures
then proceeded with the manual setting and the whole perspective on
this camera changed, all I can say is WOW.

The camera consumes a lot of battery so make sure you are carrying
a fast charger and at least 3 sets (2 each) of fresh batteries.

I often have problems with the selector changing the picture mode
from auto to manual or portrait without me turning it. I often
lose shots while previewing them.

Would've I buy Fuji again ? Maybe, the competition is a lot
better than 2 years ago and unbelieveable prices ...

I reviewed the spec's on this and other cameras for about a month before making my decision. My biggest concern was support under NT 2000. None of the product info or reviews mentioned support for the NT OS, but it works like a champ. NT2000 usb drivers were even included in on the cdrom! I had the camera up and running in <5min and was transferring outstanding pictures to my NT2000 laptop in <10min. A brief reading of the manual unlocked all of the camera's secrets. The camera provides for control over both pixel count (640x480 to 2400x1800) and image quality (basic-normal-fine). With the included 16MB chip you get ~49 images at 1200x960 using normal quality -which look great! However, image count drops to 8 at highest settings. Definitely thinking about a 32 or 64 MB chip. Red-eye reduction flash is a little sketchy, still some residual effect. Only real disappointment is poor battery life when using alkaline batteries -REALLY BAD.. I barely was able to run the set up and have enough power for 4 or 5 flash pictures. Good thing they included 2 sets of Ni-MH batteries (80-230 shots depending on flash and LCD usage). My 'old' camera is a Nikon 35mm FM2 and although you could argue that it's comparing apples and oranges, I have no regrets over transitioning to this Fuji digital!

I did alot of research before buying this camera. I was looking for a camera that had three specific qualities. 1)Easy to use for the beginner. 2) Produce quality 8' x 10" photos. 3) Movie mode. This little Fuji fits the bill in all three categories and on top of that the price is very reasonable compared to other cameras and I definitely like its distinct, compact look. To me, it has an oldtime European look to it. This camera produces very high quality photos using its highest setting. I would prefer a stronger flash for indoor shots but for outdoor shots its perfect. The colors on outdoor shots are just amazing. This little camera only uses (2) AA batteries instead of the typical 4. The batteries do last surprisingly long. I was able to click off 36 high resolution shots with flash and LCD screen on and power lasted over an hour. The batteries that come with it are excellent at 1600 mah. I also picked up some rechargeable Monster Cable AA's from 800.com, they are 1800mah and are very long lasting. NOTE: I couldnt wait to for the batteries to charge when i got the camera so I used some duracells. I went through a 4 pack in 10 minutes. Only use these batteries in dire emergency situations. They are not meant to be used for digital camera no matter how much they claim to be. At first the controls on this camera seem complex, but once you actually get into using it you find out how logical the placement of the controls are. Just spend one hour with the manual and camera and you will be an expert on this camera. Also, you can hook this camera up to your TV and play the movie back and do a slide show of all the pictures. I did this for family members at a get together, took orders of who wanted which picture and then printed them out so they would have instant photos of only the ones they wanted. Big WOW factor there! I am sure there are better digital cameras out there, but if you are looking for the criteria that I listed and want get it at a great price this is the one.

Coming up to 1000 pics with this camera now and this Coolpix does the job. A slightly older design, but now down in price to compete with the newer kids on the block, so look out for the deals. Feeling feels solid in the hand with a pleasingly positive shutter button, it is slightly heavier than the competition which helps to steady your shot when you capture the moment.

In the 'green' all auto mode it produces pretty good results with a low button count. Switch to the scene mode (fireworks, sunset etc) and you don't have to worry about f-stops and apertures, your pictures will also benefit. There is also enough scope for the developing photographer to explore in the manual mode. Manual white balance, shutter speed and focussing are all here although there are only 2 true apertures from which to choose. So sit down, get a tripod and read the manual - the menus at times can be a little esoteric. Take some time to play at home and become familiar with the camera, it's well worth it.

Essential accessories:
- Battery - this camera does not take AA's so buy one or two 3 rd party batteries
- Compactflash cards - again 1 or 2 128MB (or larger) cards don't go crazy and get a huge 4GB CF - buy a couple of smaller cards rather than one large one - you will sit on one, drop one in a cup of tea one day, transfer regularly and you won't lose you precious pics
-Card reader - less than $10 for a PC card for your laptop or not much more for a USB reader - save your batteries and faster transfers

A day shooting about 120 pics will use up approximately one 128MB card and 1 battery (using LCD, shooting 4mp JPEGs etc) so don't get caught out, stock up!

Pros:

-Clean, sharp images that print nicely at 6x4" 5x7" size (4mp is more than enough for this and gives you a little leeway for cropping)
-Superb macro out of the box - very easy to get great results
-Not too button heavy - 'auto' modes yield good pictures without delving in the manual
-Uses cheap, readily available Compactflash media
-Feels solid and comfortable in the hand, heavier and less plasticky than Canon A70/80

Cons:

-Proprietory battery - not AA so you're stuck when you can't recharge you Li-ions, but 3rd party battery so far is cheap and running well
-Lens cap - it will get on your nerves
-Huge shutter lag (5-6 secs) when LCD is turned off good for saving battery, bad for catching the action

But go to a shop, pick it up, play with it then buy it on Amazon!

With our compact 35mm broken, and a vacation in Europe at hand, I finally decided to enter the digital age. I first intended to buy the 3100, but am really happy to invest the extra [money] for the 4300. The lense is a lot better, and the 4MB produce fantastic pictures.
The possibilities with auto, manual, and the very helpful "scene" mode, which offers 11 optimized situational settings like portrait, landscape, beach/snow, sunset etc., are endless. The movie mode is also working great.
The 4300 comes with excellent easy to install software (I use it on XP and Win98 without problem), battery charger, USB and video cable. A 64MB flash card (camera comes with a 16MB) holds 52 pictures on "normal" resolution. I experimented with online print ordering with the two major US brick and mortar retailers, and they both delivered great results. Even at the "normal" setting, a 8x10 print (!) shows not a single sign of visible rendering or pixels - you could never tell that the picture has been taken by a "digital".
The battery life is ok, but can be somewhat short when working a lot with the monitor on. I therefore bought a second battery as a backup, and due to the lightingfast charging with the included charger, which by the way works on 110V as well as 220V in Europe, we ran never out of "juice".
I highly recommend the accessory kit, which provides you with everything else you need: A nice camera bag, which holds camera plus all the cables and the charger. Furher it contains a card reader, a flash card folder for up to 8 cards, a lense cleaning rag, and an AC adapter, which is very helpful when working in an "outlet environment".
Over all a fantastic very compact camera, which made us experience photography on a totally new level!

I am a Nikon fan, and owned and used SLR Nikon FE, N50 and N90s for many many years.

Recently bought this Coolpix 4300 along with a 256MB ULTRA flash card ... As expected, I happily found that qualities of the picture are excellent with 3M-4M Pixel/FINE combos and many of the user-friendly functions are very similar to SLR models, and with added convenience of a digital camera that you can see pictures immediately. I particularly like the "TXT" file which records all the Control information for all the pictures you take...The compact digital camera is especially useful if you have little children around and you can always take the camera with you and take many pictures of them.

Try to buy a high capacity Ultra card, as it's 2X as faster as the regular CF card. Consider the time you save during picture taking (especially not missing a good moment) and during download, it's well worth the little extra money.

An extra rechargeable EN-EL1 battery.. is also handy, so you will seldom run into "out of battery" situation. Use the rechargeable because that saves you money and helps the environment in a long run.

One thing puzzles me is that for "FINE and 2200+" quality pictures, one Ultra 256MB CF card can only hold 130-140 pics, but the size of the pictures are only around 1.2MB, the math does not add up. I would expecct the card to hold over 200 pictures for size of 1.2 MB/per. Anybody can explain that?

A Nikon will make you happier and leave you lots of good memories, as always.

I bought this camera in December 2003 for my boyfriend as a Christmas gift. I bought it because of the good review, all the features, light weight, small and most of all because is a 'SONY'

First we were pretty impressed with it. The only problem we had was the standard memory card given was way to small. We can take only about 30 shot each time. Then after a month the picture turn blurry and fuzzy sometimes. So far we took only 250 pictures with it.

Then last month the flash gave up on us. We read the manual and tried to fix the problem but nothing help. We call the SONY help line and they can't solved the problem either. If we want to get it repair we have to send it all the way to TEXAS as they don't have any customer service or repair technician here in LA or California. And it will cost us $171.00 excluding S/H for the workmanship. What made me mad was I paid $420.00 for this camera and it is not cheap. I expected much more from this camera for the amount I paid. If the camera cost only $200.00 I won't be so heart sick about it.

We decided not to repair it because with the cost of the repair we can buy a BRAND NEW CAMERA that works much better than a "SONY'. So to everyone out there who wanted to buy one 'THINK TWICE'. To SONY hope you will improve on your product.

i feel that this camera is geared towards novice users who are looking for an ultracompact, high resolution, point and shoot. in that regard, the dsc-p10 succeeds but i kept thinking that it would be nice if the camera had more features that users could grow into.

pros:
- 5MP resolution and 3X optical zoom
- very compact (smaller and lighter than the competition) with a stylish body
- excellent build quality - no squeaks or rattles here
- easy to use
- convenient e-mail features
- good battery life
- good neutral colour balance
- automatic white balance worked well under both daylight and incandescent lighting
- infrared AF assist lamp - i definitely prefer this to white light assist lamps
- MPEG recording only limited by the size of your memory stick
- selectable ISO sensitivities
- has a multi-burst continuous shooting mode
- good on-screen information
- quick acting auto focus - typically locks within a second
- relatively quick startup
- automatic lens cover
- battery charges while in the camera - you don't have to remove the battery to recharge
- usb 2.0 connectivity means faster downloads of pics

cons:
- occasional image noise
- operational times could be faster
- the included 32MB memory stick is inadequate; be ready to shell out additional $$ for more memory
- you pay a premium for the sony brand
- softer images than the competition
- occasional ghosting
- very limited manual controls (no aperture- and shutter-priority modes!)
- autofocus points are not selectable
- no control over colour saturation or tone
- no manual white balance
- no RAW file capture

this is a very nice camera. for someone looking for an ultracompact point and shoot, this would be perfect. however, if you think that you'll want more manual control in the future, i would recommend getting a camera such as the canon s50. about the same price, a little bigger, but you'll have a camera you can grow into. good shooting!

The Sony dsc "P10" Digital Camera is the top pick for CSC. Running against cameras like Olympus stylus, Canon Powereshot, Sony V1, Nikon, Fuji, and More. The new release of 5.0 mega pixels has shot prices for digital cameras up to $1000+. This camera I purchased through a Private Dealer cost me $400.86. The Retail Price is Running $499.00 to $599.00. Purchase this camera from a wholesale dealer for the best price $377.00. Great Photo Even in dim light w/o a flash. The p10 is very compact. Can eaisly fit into any pocket. The camera can record 90 minutes of mpeg like a home movie. There are alot of great digital cameras on the market that shoot good pictures and video. What makes the p10 the top pick is it comes with a rechargeable lithum battery. Many use AA batterys, the digital camera consumes theses AA batterys in about two hours time whill the unit is on. That can add continious expense to the camera. It's also the best resolution on the market. 6.0 megapix is out, though only a few. And the smallest that we found. Also the best price for a major brand.

While this camera boasts lots of features, and for the most part that is true, it is not easy to use. There is so many buttons to change to get the right photo, it is time comsuming and awkward.

Battery life- none- batteries are only good for about 20 pictures then, new ones must be put in.

Quality of pictures are variable and enhancements need to be done on almost all pictures taken.

Eye piece and other connected plastic pieces seem to fall off easily and permanently

The worst is the video, the quality compared to lesser priced camera is poor and WIHTOUT SOUND. What good is that.

Overall I would go with another camera and I will. Most people don't need 5+ megapixels anyway.

I bought this camera 1 week before Christmas and had it in our trip to Rome. I did ~1000 picture and I don't know better camera now. I had a Nikon 5000 for few days after trip and decided to keep Dimage 7. This is real ZLR camera, very good (and fast) zoom, many manual settings. My camera included Quest rechargable bataries and they work good. I had another set of rechargable batareies and these two sets work for whole day. I had little problem this my old Mr. Flash CF. It doesn't work with Minolta, but new Lexar CF card works fine. Only one negative things I found in Dimage 7. Dimensions are 4:3, but photopapper for my Epson Photo printer has dimension 3:2 and you'll need crop your picture before print. The same problem when you put images to your video. Unfortunately, looks as most advanced digital cameras have this as default, including Nikon and Sony.

I read lots of reviews and handled lots of high-end digital cameras before deciding on the Dimage 7. I'm not disappointed. The Dimage 7 handles very like a good 35. The manual zoom, an astounding 28-200mm, provides lots of composition latitude. All controls are handy and easy to use. Learning curve is really flat. Photos are sharper than 35mm film images (when resampled to 300 dpi and printed at a lab).

Most complaints seem to be in the power consumption area. One must understand that battery operated equipment is only as good as the batteries one uses. By purchasing an extra set of NiMH AA batteries and conditioning them properly, I've had NO problems with lack of available power. You've got to cycle the batteries through the charger four or five times, after fully draining them, in order for them to go the distance. I'm getting about 80 to 100 hi-res shots per set.

Overall, I'm very pleased with the Dimage 7. I've even begun a selloff of all my trusted Nikon film cameras. Digital is finally affordable, dependable, and definitely here to stay. If you're looking for a digital camera that is easy to operate and delivers consistently great photos, the Dimage 7 will do the job.

I'd also recommend Adobe PhotoShop Elements as an affordable, feature-packed photo editing software. For the money, you can't beat it.

Ok, so I was walking in a Best Buy store and saw this cool toy. I picked it up, read the package, put it down, continued shopping, went back, read the package again and bought it. It has it's good and bad points.

Good points:
cheap ...; cool (small, pocket sized); expandable (has a compact flash card socket); photos can be set to 1.3, 2 or 3.1 megapixels; can connect via USB, hook up to your TV or if you use CF, just pull the chip and plug it into your CF reader.

Bad points:
It feels cheap, all plastic; 1t only has 16MB of memory built in, so you'll need to use that CF card (BTW, the CF card REPLACES the internal memory, not suplements it, so if you add a 16MB card, you still only have 16MB); no zoom (the book talks about 2x digital but I can't figure out how to activate it); NO FLASH (indoor pictures and videos are grainy and red tinted); pictures and video are easy to shoot, just open it up and press one button for stills or another for video; voice recording requires you to open it and select voice recording from a menu (guess they couldn't afford another button).

Misc:
It comes with all needed cables, a cheap tripod and they even throw in the batteries.
Files are stored as jpeg, avi and wav.
with just internal memory, figure 5-15 pictures, 2 to 4 minutes of video or 1 hour of audio. (256MB CF is now about $50.00, buy one).
I still think it's a neat toy, but next year's will be better.

I'm a sucker for cost-effective gadgets, and by those standards, this nifty little 4-in-1 camera is up there with the best of them. First and foremost, you get a 3.1 megapixel digital still camera for a third of the cost of most other products in that category. If it stopped right there, this would still be an amazing deal. However, you also get a palm-sized digital video camera, a digital voice recorder, a USB webcam, and a removable USB storage device. All for $$$ . Now that's a deal I just couldn't pass up.

However, approach this product with eyes wide open, and don't expect it to be the greatest performer in each of its distinct capabilities. For example, as a digital still camera it isn't very tolerant of low light situations. Adequately-lit photos come out fine, but indoor lighting or overcast outdoor shots tend to produce muddy, red-tinged tones. A built-in flash would have overcome this problem, but alas, there is none. So take your shots in well-lit areas and situations, and you'll be fine. Also, the fact that its native image format is lossy JPEG rather than a lossless format such as TIFF is of concern, but probably only to gearheads like me. Most casual digital auteurs won't really care. You can shoot and store roughly 60 digital photos at full quality (2048x1536, Fine Quality) on a 64Mb CompactFlash card (not included, purchased separately. On-board storage is 16Mb.)

Next, as a digital video camera: don't expect it to fulfill all of your home movie needs. At 10 frames-per-second and 320x240 video resolution, it's hardly broadcast quality. However, I find this limited quality just right for shooting, editing, and posting quickie, low-bandwidth web movies. The camera saves movies natively in .AVI format, so usually no conversion or extra steps are required to get your movies out of camera and on the web. As a Mac user, I prefer QuickTime to .AVI, but I found that conversion to .MOV format was quick and easy. You can shoot about 20 minutes of compressed video on a 64Mb CompactFlash card (not included, purchased separately -- internal storage is 16Mb only). The length of your videos is limited only by your available storage space and supply of batteries.

As a digital voice recorder, it features no Cue or Review buttons, so going back and forth over the day's notes can be a pain. The workaround is to keep your notes short; the camera creates a new audio file for each new note you record.

As a webcam, it works quite as most low-end USB webcams do. No real complaints in that department.

The 1.5-inch LCD screen does its job well enough. The fact that it's present at all in a product this low-end is a pleasant surprise. However, it does drain the two AA batteries rather quickly. You can sidestep this issue by using rechargeables, as I do.

PROS: Small, light, handy, packs an amazing amount of features and value for an unbelievably low price.

CONS: Picture quality suffers in low-light situations, no flash, digital video is web-quality only, digital voice recorder has no Cue/Review buttons.

BOTTOM LINE: This nifty litttle gadget is a jack-of-all-digital trades, but master of none. However, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts -- having one device that does all these things makes it a great little toy for the big boys in your family. It won't replace your main digital still camera or digital camcorder, but it makes a great backup unit to either, in situations that don't warrant lugging around the first team. Buy it -- you know you want it.

I love this little camera. It is fun and easy to use. to thee TV/Pc playback is not difficult at all but if you would like longer recording times then no but this is a graet present and i really have been enjoying it

The Canon PowerShot A300 takes some really awesome pictures. It has a lot of features that are easy to figure out and is user-friendly to those new to the digital cam world.

A couple pros:
-Takes great pictures, even when set to low quality (1 megapixel)
-ISO
-Great quality for price
-Many features

A couple cons:
-Eats through batteries in minutes. A suggestion would be to turn off the LCD when using the camera. The LCD isnt very necessary for taking pictures, anyways. Also, buy some Canon NIMH rechargable batteries. I found some at Circuit City for $35. If you dont get NIMH batteries, you'll go through a 12 pack of regular batteries in an hour.
-Flash doesnt reach far enough. Sometimes I find that using the camera in low-light situations is pointless because the flash wont even reach the object I'm taking a picture of.
-Sometimes "automatic" features (ISO, flash, etc) make the picture come out blurry or fuzzy. Try experimenting with the features to find something that suits you.

For the money, its a great camera, but dont expect miracles out of it.

I upgraded to this model from a polaroid pdc640, so its lightyears better than what I'm used to. I'm a bargain hunter so I got a good deal on this and a 256meg CF card. As mentioned by most all previous reviews, this thing EATS regular alkalines. Buy some decent NI-MH AAs and a charger...and save some benjamins, seriously. Here's a list of what I like about this camera:

-easy to switch to movie mode and back
-15fps movies are excellent quality and have SOUND!
-easy to change picture quality (hit FUNC>left or right>FUNC)
-no drivers needed with Windows XP (just plug it in and POOF!)
-excellent quality pictures even at low-res
-changable startup image/theme and sounds
-powerful flash lights up a pitch black room
-lens protector keeps the lens cleen/unscratched
-auto focus works well in good-light conditions and easy to use

Things that aren't as good
-auto focusing takes a while in low light, I turn AF off most times
-EATS batteries, buy rechargables. do it.

-digital zoom...what do you expect for the money (compare a 3.2mp sony)
-no TV-out (no complaint here)
-16mb card will last you about 20 pictures at the highest resolution (fortunately CF is cheaper than memory stick, SD, MMC...)

This camera is great for close-ups, short videos, any generally any type of picture that zoom is not a priority. Personally I love it, but if you want to be able to zoom in on your subjects, definitely pony up the cash and move up to a more expensive camera.

I bought this camera as a spare for taking pictures while on vacation. It is nothing like my 10D or Pro 1, but I only paid $150 for the A300. The pictures are very decent, and much better then most, if not all cameras in this price range and class. Simple to use, readily availble AA batteries, and it shares the same Compact Flash cards with my other cameras.

I bought the camera 2 months ago, never failled. It takes very good pictures, good quality, EXEPT at night
CONS:
1 the shots come up blury and with a low definition. I actually couldn't recognize myself in a picture that was taken at night.
2 The memory stick that is included doesn't have much storage room (about 10 pics in 3.2 mp)
3 Zoom is not that great.
4 In pictures taken with flash, takes to long to reactivate for use again. AND the long time between the pressing of the botton and the actual picture being took makes the "moment" you want to preserve not possible.
5 I don't like the software that's included, but is user friendly and VERY easy to use

PROS:
1 Very good quality pictures (with daylight)
2 Very easy to use
3 battery life is amazing
4 High conectivity PC (UBS) or TV (very easy to do so)

I would recomend to buy this camera if you are not professional, 3.2 is MORE than enough for the size of pictures you would need-

Pro's
1. Has all the desirable features like video out, only 2 AA batteries, decent movies w/sound etc.
2. Nice build quality, the battery compartment door is the best I have seen so far.
3. Bundled rechargeable batteries and 4hr world charger are excellent.
4. Smart Zoom is useful feature and works much better than digital zoom on other cameras.
5. Fast shooting time (with option to take a burst of 2 pics), if you turn flash off.
6. The lens retracts itself when you are in view mode for a while, very sensible feature to protect the lens.
7. Very good battery life inspite of bright LCD.

Con's
1. Not really pocketable, thick/bulky/long. Included errata says the correct thickness is 37mm. Sony P8 or Nikon 2100/3100 or Canon S200 are smaller in size.
2. Only a superfine 1.5MB size available in auto mode for 3MP images.
3. Proprietary MS/MS Pro is 2 to 5 times cost of CF cards. And still can't be used even in many Sony devices which need MS MagicGate or MS Duo version.
4. White balance and colors for indoor/flash pics are bad.
5. Very less control over what camera will shoot. No action mode for fast shutter. Most flash or low light pics are blurry because camera chooses 1/40 sec or slower shutter speed.
6. Lens is noisy and a bit slow to startup/zoom/shutdown.
7. Colors are very saturated and many pictures are not crisp.

If lens was brighter and took low light/flash pictures better it would have been a superb camera. Every digital camera has its limitations, choose the one you like the best and enjoy!

This is my first ever camera, and in comparison to my relative's and friend's cameras, it fares very well. Comparatively inexpensive against other cameras in its class.

Sony makes it very easy to just take photo shots on a whim and still comes out with great pictures. Of course, I had to teach myself to hold the camera still, but maintains excellent picture quality. I love the movie mode which allows for awesome pictore movies, great if you want to take family videos, but don't want the hassel of a huge camcorder. Or, just to capture that moment.

But, as wtih many things, it's advisable to get an extended warranty.

I love this camera! It is so easy to use. I was using mine within 20 minutes. Other cameras have more bells and whistles but if you are a beginner and dont want to spend the same type of $$ you can on a camcorder this is what I would recommend. The battery life is great as long as you don't use the LCD display to take pictures. One thing..using the serial port for downloading photos from the camera to your PC is too sloooooow. I recomend buying a flash reader for the flash card at any local electronics store. The reader is USB and it takes about 5 seconds to swap the card from your camera to the reader. It cost around $30.00. It's made by the same manufacturer who makes the card. Once the card is in it acts as a drive and it takes a second or two to bring up the pic compared to 10 to 15 minutes to do it before. The best thing about this is that you waste no battery life! The reader doesn't require batteries or an ac adapter! A much better deal than buying an AC adapter for the camera to download photos.

As an entry level digital camera, this is a great value. For $299 I wasn't expecting miracles, but I've been very impressed so far with this camera. Photo quality indoors, even at the lowest resolution, is amazingly good for Web work. Outdoors photos can sometimes get a little washed out, typically in very high contrast situations.

Other reviewers have mentioned their frustration with very short battery life. I too experienced this for the first few days. Expecting the 500 photos per set of 4 AA batteries the manual told of, I was very disappointed when I got maybe 30-35 shots before having to put in fresh batteries! I later learned that two things contributed to the short battery life. (1) Constant use of the flash. This situation can be fixed by turning off the auto flash when not needed, especially in most outdoor situations. (2) Constant use of the LCD screen. I thought it was cool at first, that you didn't even have to use the viewfinder--just frame your shots on the LCD! Come to find out, doing this sucks the life out of the batteries super fast. So use the traditional viewfinder to take pictures; if you're not sure how the picture came out and want to review it, use the LCD screen.

Lately, following the two rules above, I've been getting 200-300 pictures per set of batteries--including about 30-50 with the flash on. This is perfectly acceptable.

HP's $50 AC adapter should be priced at about $9.99. Instead, buy yourself a good quality set of rechargeable batteries and a charger (you can find them for about $30). This is a much more flexible solution that an AC adapter, especially if you get the 12 volt adapter for the charger so you can charge your batteries while on the road!

I am very happy with my camera but I am having a problem with the computer reading the camera for photo imaging. I have the imaging software on my home and work computer but they both say that it cannnot read the camera. I have check everything but it still will not work. Can you help with my problem? Thank you.