Rating: Summary: Compact Camera with Good Picture Quality Review: This is the second sony Digital Camera I've purchased, the first being a DSC-F707, and I am not disappointed.First of all, this is a VERY small camera. One of the smaller camera that Sony manufactures, but it also provides lots of features usually not present in cameras of this size. MOVIE MODE: The MPEG movie quality is just as good as my bigger SONY, the only downside being you can't use the zoom feature while recording. On the other hand, there is also another movie function, 16 frame burst, which my bigger camera doesn't provide. STILL IMAGE: Since my other camera was a 5.2 megapixel, the lesser picture quality on the DSC-P8 was very noticable, but they are still quite good. Considering the photographer is not a professional, this camera has VERY GOOD pictures for a small point and shoot camera. SIZE: This camera is both light AND compact. It's designed well enough to fit comfortably in one's hand, yet compact enough to be carried in a persons pocket or purse. The only downside with the size is that with one hand shooting, it's easy for your fingers to accidentally press the buttons on the back. INDOOR SHOOTING: Differences in lighting and distance has negative effects on this camera. The subject or objective you're trying to shoot may not always recieve the type of lighting you wish with the flash on this camera. The flash battery recovery time is VERY GOOD though, pausing only one or two seconds before you can take another picture. OUTDOOR SHOOTING: Taking pictures outside with this camera is GREAT. If the flash is not needed, the camera takes care of everything, providing sharp, colorful pictures. OVERALL: This camera is exactly the same size as the DSC-P10, only SLIGHTLY lighter, both in weight and in color. The DSC-P10 also has a bracketing feature which takes 3 pictures with different settings for you, so you can pick the best, but most people do not need that. If you're planning to get a small digital camera and don't need extreme quality, buy the DSC-P8 and save a hundred bucks.
Rating: Summary: Fantastic Camera, shame about the service! Review: We purchased our DSC-P8 on holiday in Malaysia last year and have been extremely happy with it. I read a lot of reviews on the net and in magazines and decided this would suit us best. It has taken some fantastic shots, and the battery life, and ease of media (memory sticks) is very practical, although the memory sticks are a bit expensive. Unfortunately I broke the LCD display last month when I fell on the camera whilst snowboarding. The camera still works fine but the LCD is useless. I telephoned Sony UK to see if it could be repaired but the quote they gave me was more than the camera would cost to replace. This seems like such a waste, as essentially the camera still does what it should do, but with out the screen navigating the menu's is impossible. I'm desperately trying to track down a new LCD screen for the camera, as it is very easy to remove and will try to fix it at my own expense and calling our insurance company if it still doesn't work. I find it so frustrating that companies would rather throw things away than try to repair them at a reasonable cost. Even with the engineers time there is know way it would cost the figures they quoted me. After all I managed to remove the screen (6 screws and two cable sockets) in less than 5 minutes! Add another 5 minutes for installing the new screen, if I ever get one, and you'd need to be on a very high hourly rate to warrant the money they're quoting. My advice, look after your stuff, don't snowboard with a camera (in a case) on your belt, take out good insurance, and put pressure on companies that would rather replace than repair.
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