Rating: 
Summary: another perspective
Review: As a former pro-photogrpher and now web/graphics developer, I had heard the usual negative comments about digital cameras. And I am, to say the least, a fanatic about quality. However, when I saw this camera (looks alone) I had to have it. The response from other digital camera owners is generally raised eyebrows. Other reviews here reflect those concerns: "It's a great camera, but no optical viewfinder?" Yes, I thought so myself at first. But consider the following: The lens rotates vertically 180 degrees on the camera body allowing the photographer to hold the camera directly overhead - or anywhere down below - yet still see the LCD pefectly. The advantage? Complete mastery of that universally dogging fact of photo-life, PERSPECTIVE - the single most important factor in any good photograph's composition. To my knowledge, the F505 is the very first hand-held camera in the history of photography to accomplish this. So whatever is lost by the lack of a viewfinder is compensated ten thousand times by this magnificent fact. Further, when I took my first photo (indoor with flash), my jaw dropped to the floor. I could read the cover notes on CD cases across the room. Color? Absolutely precise. Frankly, I had never seen anything quite like it. The new version - the F505v - adds the TIFF format for pros, which places this camera precisely at the pinnacle of its class. Drawbacks? There is a slightly noticeable lack of extremely tiny detail in certain type of outdoor images. And, as with all digital cameras, dynamic range could be improved. But all-in-all, the F505 is, in my view, the hands-down, all around winner.
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Summary: Best purchase I've ever made!
Review: Bought this in Japan while on a trip through Asia. Unbelievable quality pictures! One of the best features is the ability to take pictures which are saved in two resolutions, high res plus a smaller format for emailing. The memory stick technology is very cool. It comes with a 4MB stick, but you can get up to 64MB -- I highly recommend getting a 32MB or 64MB, especially if you use the dual resolution mode. Downloading is a snap with USB connection to the camera, plugging into your pc's serial port, or my personal favorite, purchase the optional pcmcia card into which you can plug the memory stick -- similar to using USB. Takes terrific pictures, and the video mode is pretty cool, too. 5-10-15 seconds of mpeg video which you can output directly to tape, or download and edit.
Rating:
Summary: My new Night Companion
Review: I - or rather my wife - found this marvel on "Jala Raja" in Kuala Lumpur. After having held it in my hand I heard myself saying: "You will never get it back". I have been using Kodak and Ricoh DCs before and there has always been something missing. Resolution, optical zoom, manual settings, light senstivity, a fast computer interface, cargeble batteries, expanadble memory. Yes, none of my prior DCs had it all. But this beauty has! I use it for drawings, paper articles, documenting electric wiring, PC boards (the macro function is invaluable!), nature, grandchildren and night pictures. I could never do that before without the flash, but thanks to the "night enhancement" function I have taken som truly great pictures from our Charcoal Stack (a hoby activity) and they turned out great. Think of it, the object is charcoal black and a faint moon as the only light source! The only thing that I miss is an interval timer so that I can take sequences of pictures over several hours. But then again, I had to think long before I could find something that I miss in this engineering marvel.
Rating:
Summary: DSC-F505 Absolutely Fantastic
Review: I just received the Sony DSC-F505 this past week, and I must say that I absolutely love this camera. The picture quality is excellent, and it supports resolutions up to 1600 x 1200. The image sizes range from approximately 100KB/picture at 640x480 up to approximately 400KB/picture at 1600x1200. The majority of the photos I have taken have been approximately 200KB/picture at 1024x768. As a result of the relatively large image sizes, I highly recommend using the USB interface to the camera. Image transfers from the Memory Stick are much faster via USB as compared to a serial connection. You can also capture MPEG video at resolutions of 160x112 and 320x240. The unit takes a little getting used to in terms of holding it comfortably while taking pictures or shooting video, but other than that it is nearly perfect. I would highly recommend looking into this camera.
Rating:
Summary: another perspective
Review: Just purchased the UK version of the 505V, it seems that this is a great advance on the 505 model. It has 3.3 megapixels and comes as standard with an 8Mb Memory Stick (saving up to 118 640 x 480 images). I have owned a Mavica camera for the past 2 years and felt that with advancing imaging technology now was the time to change - a decision which has been confirmed as being right by the increased quality of pictures I have achieved already (28 dots per inch on Mavica to 72 on 505V). Sony have a great range of accessories specifically for the 505 and 505V models; including USB Memory Stick hubs and specially designed carry cases. Whilst the camera quality is terrific, don't expect the same from the Sony Europe online ordering site - they lost my order for $350 worth of accessories and I had to re-order by telephone 4 days later. Just can't wait for the UK weather to improve to take some more great shots.
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Summary: Sony DSC-F505V Review
Review: Just purchased the UK version of the 505V, it seems that this is a great advance on the 505 model. It has 3.3 megapixels and comes as standard with an 8Mb Memory Stick (saving up to 118 640 x 480 images). I have owned a Mavica camera for the past 2 years and felt that with advancing imaging technology now was the time to change - a decision which has been confirmed as being right by the increased quality of pictures I have achieved already (28 dots per inch on Mavica to 72 on 505V). Sony have a great range of accessories specifically for the 505 and 505V models; including USB Memory Stick hubs and specially designed carry cases. Whilst the camera quality is terrific, don't expect the same from the Sony Europe online ordering site - they lost my order for $350 worth of accessories and I had to re-order by telephone 4 days later. Just can't wait for the UK weather to improve to take some more great shots.
Rating:
Summary: This is a Great Camera!
Review: My father bought one of these cameras - and I found it so user friendly that I had to buy one for myself. We took his camera to Europe and took over 200 pictures in 2 weeks. For once in my life I was actually pleased with the pictures I had taken. The only difficult aspect about this camera is locating one to buy - they have been very popular!
Rating: 
Summary: Great features but missing the most important one of all!!
Review: NO OPTICAL VIEWFINDER!! No serious photographer would even consider using a dig cam with no optical viewfinder. The LCD display is ok, but like most LCD's it's horrible with any kind of sunlight or movement of clouds and ever changing patterns of shade. Sony had a chance to have a truly great beast here - the 5X optical lens is top of the line, closeup macro shots are on par with the Nikon coolpix 990, the metal frame is very well built, but I keep coming back to the lack of an optical viewfinder. Why build an $800 camera without an optical viewfinder??? Very frustrating - they have that beautiful optical viewfinder on the DSC-S70, but no 5X lens, they have that beautiful 5X lens on this camera, but no optical viewfinder!! Cmon Sony, get with it and combine the best features of both cameras and you'll have a juggernaught!! The 4mb card is completely useless, why even bother including it Sony???? It's like selling a $1500 PC and throwing in a single floppy disk as storage media!
Rating:
Summary: Great features but missing the most important one of all!!
Review: NO OPTICAL VIEWFINDER!! No serious photographer would even consider using a dig cam with no optical viewfinder. The LCD display is ok, but like most LCD's it's horrible with any kind of sunlight or movement of clouds and ever changing patterns of shade. Sony had a chance to have a truly great beast here - the 5X optical lens is top of the line, closeup macro shots are on par with the Nikon coolpix 990, the metal frame is very well built, but I keep coming back to the lack of an optical viewfinder. Why build an $800 camera without an optical viewfinder??? Very frustrating - they have that beautiful optical viewfinder on the DSC-S70, but no 5X lens, they have that beautiful 5X lens on this camera, but no optical viewfinder!! Cmon Sony, get with it and combine the best features of both cameras and you'll have a juggernaught!! The 4mb card is completely useless, why even bother including it Sony???? It's like selling a $1500 PC and throwing in a single floppy disk as storage media!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful camera
Review: Picture quality is excellent and USB connection is just lightning fast. It can take about 100 fine pictures with 32MB memory stick.
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