Rating: 
Summary: Reasonably good
Review: This was my first attempt at buying a digital camera and i've been quite happy with the picture quality of this Sony. A few quibbles I have are the fact that Sony addons (like additional memory cards and card readers) are Sony-specific and are thus very expensive in comparison to less exclusive brands. I would expect to buy about $50-100 in addons while buying the camera. The angle that one holds the camera is a bit awkward as well. Instead of putting it in the cradle of your palms, one puts it in the cradle of your index finger and thumb in somewhat of a L fashion on both sides. Theres a long lapse between clicking the shoot button to actually taking the shot when the camera is set in autofocus making it somewhat hard to capture split second events or motion although one could always turn this autofocus feature off.
On the plus side, I was pleasantly surprised that the camera doesnt seems to eat up battery time as much as I expected. I'm slightly disappointed with the zoom of the camera in that its a bit lacking but this may be a problem with all 3X digital zoom cameras. I would definitely have to say that the camera is not the best for its money if you consider the addons (when compared to the A10) but it gives quite good pictures none-the-less which is, after all, the whole point; hence I gave it 4 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Great first digicam ... with lots of features
Review: The Sony DSC-P30 is a terrific first camera to use for great 4"x6" snapshots or good 5x7s, or for email or web use. (You would need more pixels to do bigger enlargements). It takes great pictures; is very well-featured for a camera in this range; and is well-designed and easy to use.
- The 3x optical zoom is a huge plus, and will give you much better composed and better quality photos than non-zoom or digital zoom cameras.
- If you like close-ups, the "Macro" feature will amaze you.
- It's all automatic when you want to point and shoot, but allows you some control when you want it.
The features and components are based on more expensive Sonys, a big plus.
...P>A few things to know up front:
- All digital cameras eat batteries. Get NiMH rechargeables rated 1700-1800 mah (cheaper and better than the Sony lithium pack for this camera). The DSC-P30 is actually better than most in that it uses only 2AAs, and lasts a fairly long time on that. So you can easily carry a spare set, shoot all day, and your battery worries are over.
- The Sony Memory Stick format IS more expensive, but since this is a lower-resolution 1.3MP camera you need only 64 to 128mb (gives you 100-200 photos at high quality). Unfortunate, but not enough difference to avoid this camera, as some suggest.
- All digital cameras have "shutter lag" and longish shot to shot times. This is one of the major adjustments new digicam owners face when they get their first camera. The Sony DSC-P30 starts up very fast, and has a typical shot-to-shot time.
- All digital cameras have trouble in low light. The "autofocus illuminator" on this camera helps with that, and is rare on lower-priced cameras.
- The viewfinder (used in bright light or to save battery by not using LCD) doesn't show the full picture. It's a common problem, you can somewhat get used to it, but it's one of the few negatives for this camera.An alternative would be the Canon A10. Less features, a little heavier (uses 4AAs), but the Compact Flash cards Canon uses are cheaper. Both cameras require you to buy rechargeable batteries and a bigger memory card to be really usable - that's industry practice, unfortunately.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best at this price
Review: Although the feature set is quite nice on the DSC-P30. There are to very bad problems. The Image focus is finicky and motion images are typically of poor quality. You could excuse the camera but there are others like the Canon A10 that gets it all right.
Rating:
Summary: Bang for the buck
Review: I did a ton of research before buying this camera and concluded that it had the best set of features for the price. After purchasing it I am quite sure my research paid off. The pictures are crystal clear, and although only 1.3 MegaPixels, that is more than enough for me. High points are: -3x OPTICAL zoom (you almost NEVER find this feature in any camera [in this price range])
-excellent auto-focus (not focus-free like many in this price range) and flash pictures
-Crisp backlit LCD viewfinder -PRICE!!! The only caveats are that sony's accessories are a bit more expensive than the competition, but you can get around that by using lexar or sandisk brand memory sticks (which work perfectly), and using NiMH 1600MaH+ batteries. I bought a set of 4 maxell batteries with charger for [price] and can take 60-80+ flash pictures while using viewfinder on each set of 2 batteries. No need to opt for the $80 InfoLithium + charger unless you really want to. If you want a great camera for a great price, this is it.
Rating:
Summary: Good little Camera
Review: I bought this camera for my girlfriend. Not being a camera guy this was my first camera I ever bought. I wasn't too excited about it but my girlfriend was. Turned out the camera was fun and really useful.
We bought the Sony rechargable batteries after realizing the regular ones last about 10 minutes. The new batteries last about an hour and a half, which makes them a good bargain. The memory card it comes with is not very useful, but I reccommend atleast 32MB.
The digital camera is fun, especially for an electronics junky like me. I recommend this camera highly. The picture quality is outstanding in my opinion, being a novice the pictures are clear and that is good enough for me. We have a portable sony printer and the images we have printed are amazing.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Camera
Review: Ok, we have beat the battery issue to death. If you get 4 Ni-MH batteries and a charger you will be just fine. You don't need the ac adapter. I found the best thing to do is just download the file folder on the memory stick in the camera into your computer. (it takes a short time) Then, look or work on your photos from there. I would also recommend a 32 meg memory stick. they are $30 dollars or so and hold a lot of photos. Even with the batteries, charger and additional memory stick....you are under [item price] for a really nice camera. This size is perfect too. Easy to put in a pocket or carry in your fanny pack. Oh, one additional bonus I found from using recharge Ni-MH's. Just as it will do with the sony recharge pack, when the Ni-MH's are getting low, the power light starts to blink. No guessing if the batteries are low!
Rating: 
Summary: Good camera if you can afford the batteries
Review: Good camera, with lots of features, EXCEPT battery life. Tried alkaline AA batteries and got about 10 minutes on the first set. Finally turned off LCD and flash and got more time, but no AC adapter means using the batteries to transfer pics to the PC. I got tired of this, returned the camera, and bought the DSC-P31, which has 2.1 Megapixel AND has the NMH batteries with recharge. Only has 3X digital zoom, but otherwise it is similar to the P30. Also comes with 8MB memory stick instead of 4.
Rating:
Summary: An amazing little camera!
Review: I love this camera! For my purposes, it has proven to be the perfect choice - easy to use, easy to tote around! Everyone I send pictures to, comments on the color and picture quality, and asks what kind of camera did I purchase? I'm having much fun and it has ignited my interest in photography all over again! This is my first digital camera, and so I cannot comment on it in comparison to what else is on the market. It was a bit disappointing to find that the batteries drained SO QUICKLY, but I've since purchased some rechargeables made just for digital cameras, and also a larger memory stick. Both were too skimpy, and forking out more money was also a bit disappointing, as I thought I'd found such a wonderful deal on the camera itself, but the extra's I've chosen to get are proven good investments over the past two weeks of having the camera. Overall, I would recommend this little camera to anyone!
Rating:
Summary: Its a good camera....if you can afford the Ion battery
Review: The camera is small, neat, spiffy and works well. Easy to use. Only problem so far it eats batteries like nobodies business. the first pack lasted all of six pictures. Mind you I was playing around with the LCD but man. Next pack was almost just as bad - perhaps a dozen pics. I have gone through about 4 sets of batteries quick. Ran a test to see how many shots I could get on fresh batteries. Got 55 with the LCD on and flash by taking shot after shot. Got 185 with flash on but no LCD, again just taking shot after shot. Looks like the batteries must be draining if left in the unit 'cause I can't see why the first few sets got only a few pics.....anyhow I ordered the Ion battery....we'll see...
Rating:
Summary: Bummer! Open the box, read the manual, go shopping again!
Review: Oh, man! As soon as I opened the box and read the manual, I found that I needed to go shopping for a new AC adaptor (list price $50) and bigger memory stick (probably $60). If the camera can't upload pictures without the AC adaptor, one should be included with the camera! Who takes pictures and never uploads? Other than the skimpy capacity of the included memory stick and the missing AC adaptor, a pretty spiffy little camera.
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