SONY make.believe

JUST PLAIN AWESOME! THIS CAMERA RULES!!!!!

Pros: video and still quality, low light, speed, ease of operation, size

Cons: battery life shortened by video use, inabiity to use 3rd party batteries

I had for several years what was at the time the thinnest, lightest, and most well designed digital snap camera, also made by Sony, the T 7. I knew that with the advance of technology, 5 mgs was fine but I wanted 10 mgs so on my veture to find a replacement, the only choice I had was another Sony. This one gives me the same compact features, just slightly thicker footprint, but with the digital video 720p wide screen capability, my choices were made for me! The quality of the images, digital stills AND digital video, are nothing short of SUPERB!!!! Knowing that everywhere I go, I can reach in my pocket and take photos and videos without the bulk of the standard video camcorders, I am ready to continue to capture those moments in life! And WITHOUT having to say, "wow, I sure wish I had a camera for that sunset, or that smiling child's face"....and to top it off, with the higher quality video, (the T7 had video too, but quality of video was basic), I can now take full advantage of viewing these videos on my Sony 50 inch flat panel! I only wished that the smile detect feature was included, but that is a small sacrifice for all else this camera offers! Sharing the wonders of life with family and friends is really why most of us purchase cameras, so if you can afford this camera, and want the benefit of higher rez video, this IS the camera for YOU!

A Croc

First its too expensive, it ate your money right away. 2nd, battery too short for descent amount of use, doesnt last for one outing in the zoo. No choices of editing pictures like the other thinner product (dont remember name). Did not come with pointer for the screen, it only have the regular wrist band, My 5.0 mega pixels is much even better than the 10.1 Too expensive for a shelf filler.

NOT WORTH IT!!!

Pros: HD Video, Touch-Screen, Good Close-Up Pic quality.

Cons: Poor general Picture Quality, Poor Battery Life, Heavy.

I was so excited to get this camera. I did my research and this was the one camera that suited all of my wants and needs. HD pictures. HD video. Small. Touch-screen. Great features. What else could you ask for? Well? Out of the box the camera seemed slightly bigger, heavier, and bulkier that I originally thought. Far from pocket size, unless you wear giant baggy pants. PICTURE QUALITY: The quality isn't so great. There is a heavy ?grainy? look to everything, especially dark objects or backgrounds. Colors come out brilliant and vibrant but anything dark will just come out as a big grainy mess. I thought it was just the camera screen. But I checked it out on a Sony HD TV, an HD PC monitor, and I even printed a photo out on my HP Photo printer. I also tracked down a local store which had this camera hooked up. I took a picture of a dark object, with and without the flash, not zoomed in, in a well lit area. Still came out grainy. I immediately sent the camera off to be checked out by a certified Sony company, the one that Sony recommended. Once returned, it still has the same grainy problem. They say nothing is wrong with it. I?ve never seen anything like this. This camera replaced my four year old cheap camera which was one of those ?ok? ones you pick up at Target or Wal-mart. That one was better than this one with darker objects/areas. With that said, the close up (micro) feature of this camera is great. Still, some darker areas of the picture will turn out grainy/pixely. But in well lit areas, very close up pictures all came out great. I took a very close up picture of my eye. Not only could you see every tiny little detail of my eye, but you can see everything in the well lit room reflecting off my eye. Very cool. VIDEO QUALITY: I think the video quality of this camera is pretty good. You wouldn?t think you would get such quality out of a camera of this compact size. Again, just like with all cameras and pictures, you want it to be well lit to reach the full capabilities of the camera. BATTERY: This is the worst life of a battery in anything I have ever seen. After a few pics or messing around with the options, you?ll be at half-life. Terrible. OVER-ALL: If you are looking for a camera to take indoor pictures of family get-togethers or anything indoors, you may want to look elsewhere. The close-up option and the HD video option would be the only benefits of this camera. And what?s the point in that if it takes bad basic everyday pictures. The touch-screen feature is pretty neat once you get use to all of the options and placement of menus n? such. The dock is kinda neat, but you can only have your HD TV (HDMI cable) OR the PC (USB cable) hooked up at one time. A little silly to keep un-hooking the USB cable every time I want to view pics on the TV. Basically the USB hook-up takes priority. So if you have your PC (turned on or off) hooked up to the dock, you will get nothing on the TV. You?ll have to unplug the USB cable. I plan on returning this camera and looking around again. Back to square one.

Love Hate Relationship

Pros: Great Videos Focusing Macro Zoom

Cons: Program Noise Battery Life

I had this Camera since 11/10/2008. It takes great pictures on ISO 80 while moving. Unbelievable. I took pictures while on top of a mountain and took great quality pictures. But the best part to me about it is the Macro options. Taking pictures as close as I can get and the results of the pictures are flawless. Posting the videos online is great too! Better than any quality video I've seen online so far. But only 10 mins long of video time is discouraging but then it is a camera. Another thing that I like is when I take a picture the person and the background is in focus. oOo0o the zooming!!!!!!!!! 10x zoom is a dream!!!!!! I'm used to 3x on other cameras which is such a drag. But the 10x zoom. LOVE IT!!!! What I don't like about the camera is Flipping the image clock or counter clock wise. I go through soOo0o many steps to do just one thing! On the T700 it's a one button step! But it's only temporary on that camera. Even so It's super annoying flipping the pictures. Another thing is the noise. I find that a lot of times I take pictures I get noise on my camera on automatic. So I'm practically forced to go manual. Which I don't mind at times. Although I'm always in different scenarios and I have to switch back and forth the programs and by the time I switch I can't take the picture cause the moment has gone by. Last the battery life. I hate that it drains soOo0o quickly! Two batteries aren't even enough. I might as well get four more in the future. On top of that taking the battery out or installing it is a nightmare that I may break off the lid that holds the battery in! One of my worst fears on that camera is that thing alone. Even though there's a lot of flaws. I do love this camera. A love hate relationship I'm willing to work on. I actually have a T50 SLR which is a year older than I am. HaHaHa And that camera right there is gold!

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kinda disappointed

Pros: fast response times and pictures are recalled from memory instantly

Cons: almost no manual control, picture quality is a sad average, the high ISO actually specks your pics badly

Unfortunately this camera is not worth the $400. The picture quality is not what I expected from Sony. The video is 720p, but the 30 frame rate is jittery on a large screen. The HDMI cable is obviously not included. Battery life is extremely bad, with the battery loosing charge in 1 to 2 days (with the camera just sitting there). Although a charger is included, it would have been much more convenient to include a DC cable for the docking base, which Sony also failed to include (even though the base has the port for it, and it is the unusual Sony square design). The camera lacks manual control, you can't change the aperture or the exposure speed, the camera conveniently (NOT) does that for you at the wrong times. The only pro is that the response time of the camera is not bad, if you buy the memory stick pro duo MARK 2. With any other memory stick, the camera won't even be able to record video.

Half of it works, the other half doesn't

Pros: decent video

Cons: terrible picture quality in10.1 megapixel, poor battery life, cloudy video at night with normal inside lighting,

I have had this camera now for several months. I got one of the first production models. The picture quality is basically horrible for a camera of this price and resolution. I have taken pictures from a tripod on 10 second timer in normal daytime light inside on auto and the picture is blurry. The camera works better in low light. The video works better in normal light. The video is very good on HD only and that is the best part of this product. I found that a hand held mini tripod is the best way to take video. It is cumbersome to hold the camera when taking video of any length. As others have said, the battery life is marginal at best and make sure you carry an extra battery if you intend to shoot any kind of video. If you have any minor hand movement when taking HD video the picture will jump all over the board.

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Upset

Pros: the touch screen is the best part of the camera.

Cons: The battery is no good

I'm very upset with this camera... I paid so much and was very disappointed... I have a canon that was cheaper and takes better pictures... I guess this camera should not be used for taking pictures but is very good for the HD Movie...Hopefully the battery doesn't run out on you when recording.

Really enjoy this camera

Pros: Zoom on video is crystal clear - nonblurry while zooming

Cons: Some noise rarely, have to get used to the touch screen

The camera does have low battery life when you take lots of photos and use the touchscreen often, you absolutely need a backup. I bought a backup brand new Sony battery on Ebay for $20 and it's perfect, takes seconds to switch it out. The camera is really incredible. 3.5 touchscreen gets lots of looks. It works great, have had it a year and use it all the time with no trouble. Videos and sound are fantastic, pictures can blow up and look professional. Kind of a pain that you have to use a special memory card so have to use the USB when you plug into the TV or laptop instead of the memory card slot (but thats Sony). It took me awhile to get used to it (I have always had Kodak EasyShares, which are great cameras but Kodak didn't offer the HD video and touchscreen features). I love love love the quality of the video with HD and stereo sound, and the ZOOM is fantastic. When I zoomed during video on my Kodak it would temporarily blur until it refocused, not with this. Also, you can take 3 photos during video which is neat. I don't know why people complain about 10 minutes of video, if you're taking more than that you need a video camera. 10 minutes is a very long time. 1 year of use and still in excellent condition, the camera/video button switches too easily when it's in your pocket so sometimes when you think you're taking a picture you're actually taking a video. Lens is too close to the corner so until you're used to it you get a few finger shots (and have to advise others when they use your camera). Bottom line - I get tons of complements on photo and video quality - playback on TV with slideshow and music is a neat feature. Great all around camera.