Thoughts on the Sony cyber shot cameras!

[andiwm2003]

......................................... It has almost no manual controls (you can set ISO, Exposure Compensation, Pre-set White Balance) ..............................

i'm thinking about getting this camera. either for me or for my girlfriend as a birthday present.

can you set the exposure to let's say 30sec for a night shot? my dsc-p150 can do that and i would miss that functionality. it's not a dealbreaker though.

how do you like the 5x zoom?

 

[UnclePaulie]

can you set the exposure to let's say 30sec for a night shot? my dsc-p150 can do that and i would miss that functionality. it's not a dealbreaker though.

how do you like the 5x zoom?

There are twilight and fireworks modes available on the camera for night shots, but they increase the shutter speed without any user input. Now that you brought it up, I am going to miss that feature too.

The 5x zoom is pretty nice to have in my opinion. It's a good thing this camera has optical image stabilization plus digital stabilization, the zoomed-in photos have no blurring.

 

[buffalo]

Dang, that is a nice looking camera. I want one!!! How can I justify the expense? The family already has a perfectly good Nikon D50. Maybe I should get the Sony for a Spain / Italy trip I'm taking in June? Who wants to take a DSLR overseas?

 

[MimUK]

Head over here and see some of the impressions its making.

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1009

It seems to be going down well.

Mim

 

[buffalo]

I hope the OP doesn't mind me hijacking the thread.

How would the Cybershot compare to this Nikon Coolpix S50? Feature wise it's seems fairly comparable... 7.2 megapixels compared to t100's 8.1. 3x optical zoom compared to 5x. Other than that, is there anything major that I am missing? I really shouldn't be looking at a new camera, so the s50's $300 price-tag would be more bearable.

 

[andiwm2003]

I hope the OP doesn't mind me hijacking the thread.

How would the Cybershot compare to this Nikon Coolpix S50? Feature wise it's seems fairly comparable... 7.2 megapixels compared to t100's 8.1. 3x optical zoom compared to 5x. Other than that, is there anything major that I am missing? I really shouldn't be looking at a new camera, so the s50's $300 price-tag would be more bearable.

the 5x zoom would be a major advantage for me. the image stabilization is a must have for me as well. the megapixels are not that relevant. i would prefer the sony because i have good experience with them. but i also bought a fuji for my mom and the camera is great.

so if the 5x zoom isn't that important to you then save money and get the fuji or any other older model. because the only thing that is new is the zoom. the rest was available in last years models and you can save a lot of money if you buy those.

 

[Fuzzy Orange]

I was actually thinking of buying a red T100 for walkaround/street photography. There have been many photo opportunites that I've missed beacuase I don't have my clunky DSLR with me. And besides, the red color is smokin'.

 

[buffalo]

Is near $400 the best price that I will be able to find? Any chances of discounts between now and June, or do Sony's prices stay steady like Apple's.

 

[nicolle19]

In case anyone is still following this thread, I finally got my Sony CyberShot DSC-T100 from Amazon today. I must say that I am very impressed. I am coming from a Fuji Finepix F30 which took great pictures and had manual controls, but I just like the look and feel of the Sony more. It has almost no manual controls (you can set ISO, Exposure Compensation, Pre-set White Balance) but it is very impressive to have a camera in such a small package that has takes 8 MP pictures with a 5x zoom and Optical Image Stabilization. The menus and settings are also much more user friendly than the Fuji. Face detection focus looks like it would come in handy in real-world situations. And the 3 inch LCD on the back is amazing, it gets fingerprints on it very easily, but it is so bright and so well detailed. If anyone has any questions, just let me know.

After much research I decided to purchase this camera from sony style.com I purchased the black one which looks pretty sweet it should be here on the 24th. If you go to the website they have a credit card offer if you sign up, you can use it one time before you get your card at sonystyle. When you make your first purchase they will give you a $100 credit to your bill 8-12 weeks later plus 0 % for 12 months. Although I hate applying for credit cards and having them couldnt miss the discount. I just went to BB and got the memory card for it the 2 gig for $49 bucks. Does anybody have any suggestions on using a camera like this on the beach in Mexico. I didnt get the service plan, just want to make sure it dosent get messed up by sand and the weather. Example ziplock bag as cover.

 

[flyfish29]

Does anybody have any suggestions on using a camera like this on the beach in Mexico. I didnt get the service plan, just want to make sure it dosent get messed up by sand and the weather. Example ziplock bag as cover.

I used mine on the beach and just was careful and kept it inside a neoprene case zipped up tight. My neoprene case was like a sleeve really and zipped up very tight and would be water resistant as neoprene is water resistant. But I only took it once or twice to the beach for pics of the kids. You could use a ziplock over a regular case just to be save...I would get one of the zipper ziploc bags.

They also make cases specifically made for wet conditions to seal out everything- just do a search at an outdoor online retailer like REI.com or EMS.com or llbean.com.

Good luck

 

[nicolle19]

I used mine on the beach and just was careful and kept it inside a neoprene case zipped up tight. My neoprene case was like a sleeve really and zipped up very tight and would be water resistant as neoprene is water resistant. But I only took it once or twice to the beach for pics of the kids. You could use a ziplock over a regular case just to be save...I would get one of the zipper ziploc bags.

They also make cases specifically made for wet conditions to seal out everything- just do a search at an outdoor online retailer like REI.com or EMS.com or llbean.com.

Good luck

Thanks REI.com has some good cases.

 

[roland.g]

I have a T-30, slimmer style model that I got last May. 7MP. Great camera. Love it.

 

[Plutonius]

I'm waiting on the Sony H9 (Supposed to be out on May 11th). Impressive specs for an ultra-zoom.

http://www.sonystyle.com:80/is-bin/...ayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=DSCH9/B

 

[buffalo]

I went ahead and bought the black t100 from Best Buy tonight. They didn't have it in stock, but I wanted to apply a coupon so I went ahead and bought it and will pick it up June 1. After taxes, I paid about $420 for the t100 and a 2gb memory card. I'm looking forward to taking it to Spain and Italy in less than three weeks.

 

[epicwelshman]

I had a Cybershot DSC-H1 for a while, and my dad has had a couple of Sony compacts and we've both been very impressed with the quality. The images are much nicer than my mother's Casio and the cameras themselves seem quite durable.

 

[epicwelshman]

I'm waiting on the Sony H9 (Supposed to be out on May 11th). Impressive specs for an ultra-zoom.

http://www.sonystyle.com:80/is-bin/...ayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=DSCH9/B

Like I said above I have the H1 and have always been very impressed. I have a dSLR now, but for an ultra-zoom I think the Sony's are pretty high up there in terms of quality. Despite the inherent shortcomings of an advanced P&S it's a very capable camera and it's nice to have essentially a 50-300mm zoom in one camera rather than lugging around heavy lenses.

 

[Plutonius]

I ended up getting the H2 instead. A store was clearing out the H2's to make room for the H9's and I got a new H2 for $160.00 .

Like I said above I have the H1 and have always been very impressed. I have a dSLR now, but for an ultra-zoom I think the Sony's are pretty high up there in terms of quality. Despite the inherent shortcomings of an advanced P&S it's a very capable camera and it's nice to have essentially a 50-300mm zoom in one camera rather than lugging around heavy lenses.

 

[Xenious]

I love my T-100/B

I bought one last month as an upgrade to my old T-1 for a holiday trip. I think it is an excellent point and shoot camera. The size is good, the lcd screen and photo quality are excellent and as usual the "Start to shoot" time is very small. (Handy for when ol Steven Tyler walks by or your baby does something cool.)

The new UI takes a little getting used to if you had another sony previously. If this was your first one it might not be so strange and it is friendly. If you are concerned check it out in a best buy or other store first.

I wish they had a little more metal on it (like the older T1), but it seems very durable so far. No poor build issues.

Battery life is as stated (I think the estimate was 300 pictures or so on one charge). Performace is better than my T1 was on its first charge. I went most of a week on holiday without having to re-charge. Of course recording video takes more juice.

If you like leather cases the nicer sony ones (39$) have a great feel, soft leather and are easy to open/close with the magnetic latch.

The only things to remember are:
1) The flash is small (as with all T series). This means in really dark situations your flash won't light too far. This is somewhat mitigated by the stabalization feature and the new 3200 ISO.

2) It does take a while to charge the battery (3-4 hours as stated). If you are going to be taking more than 300 pictures or so on one charge you might want a 2nd battery.

-Jim

 

[roland.g]

Now I'm jealous. Got a T30 last year. Great camera, but would love the 5x optical zoom and a slightly better battery.

 

[buffalo]

I just noticed that I bought a 2GB Sony memory stick PRO Duo and I the t100 just uses a memory stick Duo. At the time I thought they were the same. It came with a "Memory Stick Duo Adaptor" that it looks like I could use. Am I alright keeping it, or should I go ahead and return it for a memory stick Duo?

 

[flyfish29]

I just noticed that I bought a 2GB Sony memory stick PRO Duo and I the t100 just uses a memory stick Duo. At the time I thought they were the same. It came with a "Memory Stick Duo Adaptor" that it looks like I could use. Am I alright keeping it, or should I go ahead and return it for a memory stick Duo?

You can go to the sony web site under support and there you can search to see what memory sticks work with what cameras. Then you can decide-

the PRO duo is faster and more storage...
from Wiki...
Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998 [1], and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks. This family includes the Memory Stick PRO, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity and faster file transfer speeds; Memory Stick Duo, a small-form-factor version of the Memory Stick (including the PRO Duo); and the even smaller Memory Stick Micro (M2). In December 2006 Sony added the Memory Stick PRO-HG, a high speed variant of the PRO, to be used for high definition still and video cameras.

wiki @ memory sticks

I also think the adaptor is to use the duo in a regular memory stick camera or drive...but don't quote me. I have one and assume that is what it is for, but have never used the adaptor

 

[buffalo]

The Pro duo works fine in the camera. I don't know what I was thinking earlier.

 

[mkgm1]

I bought a Black T9 (6 MP, 3x optical zoom) last January immediately after it came out. I paid a ridiculous amount for it (£300 :S) and a new one came out a few months later...which annoyed me greatly.

But since then I've grown to love it. It's an awesome camera. It looks fantastic. The photos are great. Its so slim, so well designed, I can and do take it everywhere. It's perfect for me.

Before that I owned some random cheap DSC (3 MP...no optical zoom) which frankly was just plain poor.

 

[Overclocker]

Just watch out on the flash. I still have my Cybershot T-1 and the flash sucked big time. Once the subject was out of the 1.5m range it just acted as though it didn't flash at all. VERY annoying...

 

[jburns]

I'd get the 8 MP camera simply because the 8 MP camera probably takes nicer photos than a 12 MP camera.

I'd love to hear your rational for that statement.