Rating: 
Summary: If it sounds too good to be true...........It probably is!
Review: Being a dedicated fan of Sony Digital cameras for the past 6 years, I was dying to get my hands on the new DSC-F828. From all of the specs. I read prior to it's release I was pummped to go online and buy this camera. In fact as soon as they hit the site I bought one!!!! I could'nt wait for it to be delivered the next day and start reading about it and using it over the Christmas holiday vacation week. Much to my surprise I was very disapointed with some classic action shots I took during my ski trip. The white background of the snowy mountains with the sun reflecting off the snow generated the most hideous looking purple flares accross the photo. When I went to read the reviews at all of the well respected Digital Photo websites I quickly found out I was not alone in my observations. Plus I learned that the defects were running deeper than I thought possible.To be fair the camera is extremely well built and very user friendly. I does take very good pictures. But just don't expect to use it in backlit or bright areas. I wanted so badly to keep this camera and over look the problems. But I did'nt want to be part of a cruel joke that Sony was trying to pull on it's loyal customer base. Bottom line, I sent it back and received a refund. Sony definitely rushed this bad boy to market way to quickly. Be very carful and do your home work before [buying] this camera. There are several better alternatives available for the same or less $$$.
Rating: 
Summary: DSC-F828 Good or Bad ?
Review: I have seen the reports of purple fringing and noise. Here is what I've found. At high ISO settings (above 200) there is alot of noise (big suprise). I usally use the program mode and keep the ISO at 64 and my photos look great.
I have not had the problem with purple fringing. I have tried and tried but I can't reproduce the problem. Is it as good as a $3,000.00 digital SLR? No, even though that's what it is constantly compaired to. The digital SLR that comes close in price is the EOS Digital Rebel. But by the time you buy a couple of lenses you are in the $1,500.00 range, that's 50% more and no you can't take a short video with the EOS. And the DSC-F828 color reproduction is better than the Canon. Is it better that other cameras in it's class? YES! I had a Fuji S7000 and had to return it, the photo quality and focusing problems were horrible. If you want to see purple fringing and noise look at a Fuji S7000 photo! The DSC-F828 takes crisp clear photos under all lighting conditions. It's Auto-focus is super fast and accurate. The camera body is solid. The lens has great range and the macro works great. The camera is EASY to use. You can use the infrared setting to take pictures in the dark without flash (yes they have noise) Or you can use the night framing to take a normal flash photo in the dark and they look great. Why 4 stars and not 5? The only drawback is that there is no black&white setting. I like to see what a photo is going to look like in black&white when I'm shooting. And the tech support is weak. I emailed tech support to see if they are going to do a firmware update and suggested a b&w setting and use an IR72 filter. And they gave me a lame response. "We aren't going to add new chips to the camera." Tech support should know the difference between software and hardware. If your going to freak out about a little noise or you want to blow-up a photo to a poster size you can use Neat Image to remove any noise, and it's free for non-commercial use.
Rating:
Summary: Overpriced, overhyped crap - Give me the Fuji S7000 any day!
Review: I purchased a Sony DSC-F828 as a second camera. Here's what I found: Horrible at action shots.
Picture quality is abysmal when going above a 4" x 6" in size.
Lots of noise at most any speed.
Easy to get your money back on eBay because everyone seems to want this technological piece-o-crap. For the money, the Fuji S7000 is a far superior camera...and I've blown up the 12MP JPEG images on that to 46" x 52" without the problem of noise or purple fringe in low light situations AND I've used those pictures for professional art gallery shows in Los Angeles. Sony needs to get their act together in the digital camera realm. This model was rushed to the floor - and I think everyone expected something with far better quality and versatility.
Rating: 
Summary: It does what it should...
Review: I give this camera 5 stars because I think it does a pretty good job compare to other camera within its range (NOT SLR). I saw too many people expect this camera to be the same performance as the SLR. I do not agree with these people because you need to add around $400 to the Sony price tag (total $1400) to get about the same 8MP camera and lens like Sony offered. Anyways, you can get this Sony camera around $900 or less if you shop around. I haven't tested the noise problem but don't mine at all because it's less than 3% that I will need to do that kind of shoot. However, I read a professional review and show that even Nikon and Canon (8MP) produce high noise also (a little less than Sony). Here are what I like the most about this camera compare to other cameras within the same ranges like Nikon 8700 and Canon Pro1. Full size lens that you can hold like a real SLR camera
Long battery life-188 minutes for full charged.
Use both memory stick and compact flash (I already had 256MB MS and 512MB CF)
Manual control is plenty. Edit on 4/16/04 For those who worry about PF, there're 2 suggestions:
1.Use the lens at 70mm instead of 28mm or 200mm
2.Use higher aperture number F4 or higher.
You can read more information about PF at www.luminous-landscape.com
Rating:
Summary: Bang for your 1000 bucks? A resounding yes!
Review: I love Sony cameras. Started with the P50(2MP - the camera that you can "be at peace" to lend to friends!), then S75(3MP - absolutely superb macro shots!), 77A(4MP - "cheap" compact & sharp camera for my work - construction site), V1(5MP - compact semi-pro backup with tele attachment to compliment the 828 for my photo outings), T1(5MP - the talk of town! & the truly take anywhere!) & finally this baby! I had it since February & yes I know the good & the bad of this stuff. I guess all of you are FULLY aware of the good side of this camera but as for the "bad" news, here are my suggestions: 1. Digital Noise -
(i) Go to www.nextimage.com & download this Noise Reduction Software for free. Yes, freeeee!!! I'm using it for ALL my images now! - Even Photoshop or JASC Pro 8 doesn't have it! 2. Purple Fringing - (i) I have placed an order for 828's Circular Polariser. I believe it will help out, as recommended by some of the guys here. Thks!
(ii) Dial up Aperture Priority & keep your aperture range between f4-f8 & you will see results! Frankly speaking, for 1000 bucks you can't get a PACKAGE like this! I will be getting the Nikon D2X with all the cool lenses later (to fulfill the super high-end photo-requirements), but as for the ALL IN ONE semi-pro job, this is the real-deal!
Rating:
Summary: Another major upgrade from Sony
Review: My wife and I have been shooting the Sony system for several years. We shoot professionally for a conference brochure print publication, inside shooting, no staged shots, using the artificial lighting in the hotel meeting rooms. We also do trade stock shots primarily of landscape scenes in Hawaii, so we push cameras pretty hard. The 707 was fun, but slow, almost unusable for brochure work, the 717 was a big improvement and the 828 is truly awesome. The colors are great, the operating system is fast, you will never lose a shot even with indoor sports, the shooting modes help you adapt to any situation. The 8 Mega Pixel (MP) means you can take a full body shot and if you find you need a head shot instead you have plenty of resolution. Sony has really worked on the layout of buttons and that is a major improvement, no more accidental white balance disasters. And the control modes wheel appears to be more robust ( I touched the 717 wheel with some suntan lotion on my hand and it removed all the painted modes ). The 828 is my favorite digital and with 8 MP I can get the speed to print of digital with every bit of the quality of 35mm film at this point. My wife prefers the Canon EOS-10D with the 828 as her second favorite and to be sure you can put some very fast lenses on that Canon body. My advice to you if you are considering buying is to avoid anything on the low end, if you get less than 5 MP your shots are not worth printing. Don't scrimp on memory sticks either, you would be amazed at how fast you go through a 128M memory stick shooting 8 MP shots and we won't even talk about TIFF mode. And if you invest the money in an 828, really push it. Read your manual and see what this critter is capable of. Play with the nightshot mode, it really works! Some of my favorite shots are from a shark tank with nightshot, it looks like I was actually swimming with the beasts. Try to catch something fast like a bird with the burstmode; what a great way to fill a memory stick with a single button push. Play with the AE lock, it really takes a picture with dificult lighting over the top. These are great days to be alive, who would have ever guessed we would have tools like the Sony 828 at a sub 1k pricepoint? Now, I can dream about the 929 30 MP so I can do digital medium format work!
Rating:
Summary: A Real Jewel
Review: I am not a professional photographer, just a guy who likes to take high quality digital photos. I have now taken over 400 photos with my F828. I love it. The first thing I noticed was how well it fit in my hands. It is really natural. The controls are also conveniently located. I have owned one of the lower end 4.0 megapixal sony cybershots and I found that a lot of the controls are reasonably similar so I had something less of a learning curve. I find the quality of the images to be stunning. I have taken shots of everything from the moon (where I could see craters at full zoom), to the outside of my house at night, to many macro shots of flowers, coins and the like, to my daughter twirling a ball on the tip of her finger and they all came out just superbly. I really love the Carl Zeiss zoom lens which is mechanically operated, not a motorized zoom. Yes there is some purple fringing in some situations (though rare to my experience) and there is a fair amount of noise at ISO settings at 200 or above. However, none of this has gotten in my way and is more or less correctable with the right software on your computer. Sony has done a great job with this camera and I am very happy that I own one. I am leaving for San Francisco tomorrow and you better believe that I am taking my F828 with me.
Rating:
Summary: What PF and CA??
Review: Good Camera.
No Aberrations at all detectable.
Compared it to Digital Rebel (made of Cheap Plastic) and it was no comparision
Rating:
Summary: Bang for your thousand bucks? A resounding yes!
Review: I love Sony cameras. Started with the P50(2MP - the camera that you can "be at peace" to lend to friends!), then S75(3MP - absolutely superb macro shots!), 77A(4MP - "cheap" compact & sharp camera for my work - construction site), V1(5MP - compact semi-pro gear with optional tele attachment, to compliment the 828 for my photo outings), T1(5MP - the talk of town! & the truly take anywhere!) & finally this baby! I had it since February & yes I know the good & the bad of this stuff. I guess all of you are FULLY aware of the good side of this camera but as for the "bad" news, here are my suggestions: 1. Digital Noise - (i) Go to www.neatimage.com & download this Noise Reduction Software for free. Yes, freeeee!!! I'm using it for ALL my images now! - Even Photoshop or JASC Pro 8 doesn't have it! 2. Purple Fringing - (i) I have placed an order for 828's Circular Polariser. I believe it will help out, as recommended by some of the guys here. Thks!
(ii) Dial up Aperture Priority & keep your aperture range between f4-f8 & you will see results! Frankly speaking, for 1000 bucks you can't get a PACKAGE like this! I will be getting the Nikon D2X with all the cool lenses later (to fulfill the super high-end photo-requirements), but as for the ALL IN ONE semi-pro job, this is the real-deal! Edited on 26th April 2004 : - (i) Sorry guys, it's not www.nextimage.com but www.neatimage.com. Apologies for the error. (ii) By the way, I can't find a pro lens that can do f2-f2.8 for 28mm to 200mm. There is nothing like it. Period! (iii) Nobody takes NO-Light shots(eg. Singapore Night Safari - candle light brightness!) better than Sony. Ask the pros!
Rating:
Summary: Best Ever
Review: This is by far the best camera I have ever owned. I am a professional photographer living in Shanghai, China. I have to shoot many different types of scenes under sometimes extreme conditions and I am happy, so happy with the 828. My SLRs and my other digital cameras have taken a backseat to this innovative and highly creative camera. If you are a serious amateur or even a beginner who wants a camera to "grow into" this is the one. Forget the Canon Pro 1; forget the Nikon 8700. This is the one. Buy it. You will be happy. Even the DSLRs are envious of this camera because of the lens - 28-200 gives you a great breadth of focus and even when you use the digital zoom (2x) it is absolutely clear. I never used the digital zoom on my other digital cameras because of the noise but with the Sony, no noise. The only problem is that there is a lot of noise after iso 200 but so what? I never go past iso 64.
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