Sony Cybershot DSCV3 7.2MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom

Rating:
Summary: Best in its category
Review: I own several photo equipment and nothing will suit every situation. For huge enlargements needed for professional work nothing beats medium and large format film. Which is not what these cameras are made for. In the 7MP range the V3 is the best choice. Fairly priced and very good quality picture in a reasonably compact body.

Canon G6 may have a little better quality image, but what is also important for snapshots is shutter lag time, that is the time between the moment you press the button and when the picture is taken. Here the V3 is unbeatable with less than 0.1 sec. This means that you won't loose the photo or have a blur instead of your children recorded. This is why I bought this camera, it is better to have a little less detail looking through a lupe than loosing the picture. Despite the startup time, 3 sec, which is not too long I think that this camera beats the other 7MPs because of the smaller shutter lag.

Another thing that helps is that it accepts Compactflash. the only problem is having to buy a MS pro to be able to record high quality video, but I can live with that.

When I can carry heavy stuff I bring film equipment or my Canon 10D. Otherwise the V3 is my choice, the ultra compact ones just don't have good enough picture quality for printing and the shutter lag is usually unbearable, so I think it is better to carry something a little bigger.

If you want very high quality pictures, film like quality, you have to buy bulkier equipment like the Canon 20D (US$1,500.00). And for professional work Canon 1DS Mark II or a medium format digital, but then you have to spend from US$8,000.00 to US$25,000.00.

So there is no point in people complaining about picture quality in a compact US$700,00 digital camera that delivers pictures with about the same quality as its competition. Sony makes very good digital cameras, not miracles.

Rating:
Summary: SLOW START UP
Review: I own the FUJI S7000 and E550 both are 6.3 MEGs. I also just purchased the SONY DSC-P150 (7.2 MEGs) I took 20 pictures using each camera using the settings all set to AUTO. The pictures were from close up to max zoom. I then had the best of each camera enlarged to 12 in. by 18 in. at COSTCO high end FUJI processor. The FUJI colors were rich and not actual colors.
The SONY P-150 was more true to actual color. Both SONY and FUJI were about the same in detail of the subject and were intuitive to operate plus fast to start up. I was looking for a smaller compact camera and the SONY is the best small and yet very good quality pictures. The FUJI has a 6 optical and excellent body shape. when I viewed the DSCV3 7.2 I was disapointed at how slow the start up was. For that reason I decided not to buy the DSCV3. My NIKON 35MM is still way ahead in detail quality/color for enlagements!

Rating:
Summary: For serious family photographer!
Review: If one is looking at this camera you should be glad that this camera can record not only on Memory stick but also on CompactFlash Type I cards. So, for anyone trying to upgrade from Sony digicams with plenty of Memory Sticks, you can't beat this one. Also, for all those who complain about expensive Memory sticks, you have no reason to complain on this Sony ;-)!

V3 has lot of advanced features professional photographers demand like those found in F717 while having all the auto features needed for normal family photographer.

For someone trying to move from V-1 to V-3, you will be glad about the higer capacity battery and larger LCD, while you will miss the compactness of V-1. If you prefer smaller pocketable size, this will not fit your needs. You should consider DSC-W1.

I feel V3's main strength is it's capability to take excellent indoor pictures. As a dad of two, I take most of my pictures indoors at parties and home and this camera stands up to the best digital camera I used for indoor photography namely, Sony's DSC-F717.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome pictures, camera with great features
Review: This 7MP camera stands by its own. Has all the basic adjustments and the quality is top of the line. Although Sony accessories are not cheap, they are long-lasting and some items, like the tripod can be used with other cameras. Dual memory option is pretty useful.

The battery lasts a long time and it displays the remaining battery time. Some cameras just don't offer this option which is a MUST.

If you plan to invest in a good camera, buy this one.

Rating:
Summary: Top of the 7Mp Game
Review: This camera though very similar to the Canon G6 comes out ahead in some aspects:
1) Cool Sleek Black Body with a nice feel and made out of metal and plastic;
2) Several Night shooting modes including a very nice laser hologram focus tool;
3) Dual memory slots for CF and MS;
4) This one is the killer: Full Screen VGA video (G6 does not even come close);
5) Pictures are more detailed and sharper than G6.
6) Great 2.5-inch LCD which auto-brightens in low light
7) Full on high speed USB2.0. Canon G6 has the older slower USB 1.0.

I have always found the Sonys to be more reliable than the Canons.. So as far as this one is concerened..I went for the Sony

Rating:
Summary: Never Expected
Review: This was the first purchase that I have made through Amazon.com and I coult be more pleased. I the kind of person who comparison shops before making a purchase to be sure that I have the best deal. I normally came to Amazon for descriptions of pricing but never to buy. Well this time around they had the best price overall and I mean overall. Im in the military and live in Hawaii. So alot of companies charge like crazy for S&H. Not only was there price cheaper then our Military Store by $130...I also got FREE S&H to Hawaii. Oh yeah, the camera great!

Rating:
Summary: A Great Camera! But add $200-250 to the price.
Review: Took about 100-150 photographs before realizing this camera needed a little help with both indoor and outdoor photographs.

Indoor: The onboard flash is just not sufficient. Large amounts of redeye, pets eyes looked like something off a horror movie and picture colors weren't the quality I was expecting. I spent 3-4 hours touching up my first set of pictures with photo software (not included). I purchased the HVL-F32X flash and the whole indoor world changed. Redeye almost totally disappeared, my pets look friendly again and colors were much richer and fuller. So add $140-150 to the price for an external flash, don't go cheap here.

Outdoor: Pictures weren't as crisp as expected. I believe it was caused by sunlight glare and the cameras aperture choice, so I added the VAD-VHA adapter and a Circular Polarizer which helped along with opening the aperture a little. Other online reviews can explain how to do this.

So my second set of photos needed almost no editing and I am very impressed by the quality. The camera is solid and time from shot to shot is amazingly fast. I am using a High-Speed MSX-512N Sony memory stick and a 256MB SanDisk Ultra II CF Card. I noticed the write speed on the memory stick are slightly faster than the CF card. But to be honest, I don't think the difference is that much to justify the extra cost of the memory stick.

Rating:
Summary: Good Camera - But Read the "Fine" Print
Review: Very nice camera all around. Only 2 major issues with it:

1 - More noise in pictures than I expected
2 - Sony crippled the camera so you can't record Movie Mode in Fine unless you buy a Memory Stick Pro (which cost at least 2x as much)!! Even if you have a 80x CF card - what a joke!! Come on Sony!