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43 of 45 found the following review helpful:
Affordable and -MORE- than adequate for the average to novice photographerMay 31, 2006
By J. Wild
Despite the less than glimmering reviews on this page, I researched this camera and others for 2 weeks before ordering it on Amazon. Being neither a camera-know-it-all with the leverage to criticize a Carl Zeiss lens nor being technologically deficient, I use this camera to take casual photos of family and friends and landscapes and am greatly looking forward to taking it with me on summer travels.
If you are an average to novice photographer looking for a lightweight, slim, sharp, and efficient camera, don't be put off by other reviews which throw around numbers and names and put this camera down. It is not designed to be a $500, state-of-the-art, professional piece of equipment so I do not know why people are writing about it and putting it down like it was supposed to be.
:: This camera does the job and the 1000 ISO speed is superb. Without flash, I can take clear pictures that are not grainy.
:: There are no functions on the camera that are difficult to figure out, and many optional funtions which I like such as an auto-focus on the foreground subject with slight blurring of the background, which makes the subject seem sharper in contrast.
:: Start-up time from pushing power is incredibly fast.
:: Battery stamina is truly impressive (my previous camera guzzled AA batteries like no tomorrow). I half filled my 1GB memory stick before recharge. Sony has improved their Stamina line of batteries a long way.
:: The flash is not over-powering and white-washing like on other cameras, but is still powerful enough to light subject fields nicely
:: For the $50 price difference from the DSCW50, it seems like the only considerable difference is a bigger LCD screen, and the screen on the DSCW30 is quite sharp enough.
:: I agree with another review though that the only particularly discalming feature is the plastic slide-cover over the battery and memory chambers. At times it seems as though it is not protective enough, and it is just a little too easy to slide open.
For a little over $200, 6 MP, versatile shooting modes, great battery life, and the sleek, compact design, I think this product is the best bang for the buck and I don't regret my purchase in the slightest.
16 of 16 found the following review helpful:
 Very nice portable cameraNov 14, 2006
By N. Reyes
"The gizmo guy"
The main selling point for this camera is the fact that it's very small and portable. It's about the size of a cigarette box. I also like the fact that there is no wait-time for this camera as far as going from the on button to taking pictures -- it doesn't take as long as some cameras I've seen. It also doesn't take long from taking a picture and viewing it. There is virtually no wait time. Also, I'm very happy with the picture quality. It has a very nice natural look to them, instead of some cameras that are over-saturated with unnatural colors. Another great feature I like about this camera is the battery life. You can pretty much take lots of pictures (over 400 according to Sony) with one battery charge. Overrall, I'd recommend this camera for anyone who wants a good quality camera that is light and easy to carry around, with a great battery life.
32 of 36 found the following review helpful:
comments on reviews....Jun 07, 2006
By Christopher T. Palmer
"CTP"
Other reviewers in quotes:
"The construction of DSCW30 is cheap (plastic) and rather flimsy."
Every W30 I have seen are metal and feel great...as far as I know they never made a plastic cased W30, but I could be wrong.
"Overall, the photo quality is below average for this class of camera."
After doing a lot of research, and trying a lot of cameras in this camera's class, the W30 is great. No, it doesn't perform as well as cameras that cost 50-100% more, but why would it?!?! It does perform better than everything else I tried in this price range.
One of my top priorities is how quickly a camera powers up, how quickly you can take the first photo after turning it on, and the overall shutter lag - out of all the cameras I tried, in this price range, this was the clear winner.
"I ended up selling mine and got a Sony DSC-P200 instead. Superb construction (made in Japan) with all-metal body, much better quality images."
While it is true that you can find P200s for good prices now that it has been discontinued, comparing the W30 to what had originally been a >$400 camera hardly seems fair...there is simply no reason the W30 should perform as well as the P200, it was never designed to.
I have owned (and currently own) a lot of cameras. The W30 is a great camera for the money, and does what it was designed (and priced) to do very well.
17 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Great camera that gets the job done and thensomeMay 17, 2006
By Time2Jive
I felt the strong need to write this review because its overall rating of 2 stars does not do the camera justice at ALL...
Now I'm not a professional photographer by any means- I'm a college kid who does a lot of travelling, and I wanted a point and shoot that takes quality pictures, is compact and lightweight, and has good battery life (the Canon i had before guzzled battery power.) So far I haven't been let down by this little camera. Not only is it tiny and pocketsized, but it can take up to 400 pictures between charges- fantastic! I'm also pleased with the range of photos that you can take- it has several scenery settings, including landscape, beach/water, and snow for instance, and a comprehensive auto mode with programmable settings. The video capturing is surprisingly clear and it picks up sound much better than I thought it would.
Its ISO sensitivity (that goes up to 1000) feature is GREAT and is something I haven't seen with many digital cameras- I took recently pictures in low light and the clarity was spectacular, and the photos didn't look washed out at all. I took pictures with my old Canon in a similar setting and the photos didn't come out nearly as good.
The playback button is also a very innovative design, and I love the trimming feature- you can crop a picture using the camera itself, instead of using photoshop afterward.
My only qualm with the camera so far: the battery/pro stick cover is a cheap plastic that was poorly put on the camera... other than that, I *love* this camera and would recommend it for anyone who wants an easy to use point and shoot!
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
Good investment, more research would've helped...Nov 10, 2006
By Booker T. Law
The Sony Cybershot DSCW30 digital camera is not made with a metal body! A metal framed slim-bodied camera was what I really desired. Instead, I received a slim-bodied metallic looking camera. If anyone is looking to purchase a metal framed camera and is conflicted about who's right on this feature of Sony's Cybershot, visit any electronics retailer and view the Cybershot DSCW30 for yourself. I was lucky enough to have a Sony company store near my home where I was able to talk to the manufacturer's people directly. They confirmed that while the camera appears to be metal, it is really all plastic. I too have experienced problems when focusing on images I've zoomed in on via the LCD on the camera, but these focus issues are not reflected in the image once captured. I took this camera to Europe and it was a real gem. I highly suggest purchasing a memory stick, as I used a 2GB Memory stick duo (the manufacturer's website instructs users to only use the "duo" and not the standard sized stick for all who are wondering about compatibility) and the camera captured approximately 450 images and says it could get about another 400 in 6MP fine format. To boot, the battery is awesome and never required charging for all those shots and still shows more than half power remaining. A good camera deal, though I might have chosen the larger LCD of the DSCW50 for an additional 40 dollars.
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