Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9 (Black)

Pros: ease of use,

Cons: DVF and lens hood

Summary: I preordered this camera directly from Sony because I wanted the 15x telephoto lens and the night shot capabilities. Having 2 teenaged grandsons into sports, I have needed the extra telephoto over the 3x on my old Sony DSC-P9. I also wanted a better camera for general photos, but didn't want to tackle the learning curve (or the price) of a SLR.

Everything was in the box, although I did have a problem finding the tiny hole in the lens cover so that I could attach it to the string provided. I had also already bought a large memory stick duo so that was ready to go. The camera gave great photos right out of the box! The presets even provide a "sensitive" setting where flash is seldom needed even in doors. I have yet to explore all of the settings as I only got it at the beginning of this week.

CON 1: I don't know why camera makers, Sony in particular, have decided that optical view finders are no longer needed. I used the one on my prior Sony digital camera 100% of the time. It enables me to see even in bright sunlight and to hold the camera more steady when taking a shot. I was hoping that the EVF would be a good compromise. However, since my eyes are no longer perfect, the image through the view finder looks blurry unless I put on my reading glasses. This never happened with the optical view finder. I consider the lack of an optical view finder a minus on this and any other camera offering by any company. In mitigation, the large 3" LCD screen does enable me to see what I am going to shoot most of the time, but I do miss the optical view finder. I put a screen protector on the screen right out of the box, but the colors and view are still excellent.

CON 2: When you install the lens hood and view and shoot, a portion of the view is obscrued by the hood. Since this has been a complaint in earlier cameras in the H series, it is unforgiven that Sony did not correct this flaw.

I can write more later, but since most of the entries here were from those that had never seen or used the camera, I wanted to get my observations in early. I do not regret getting the camera and would recommend it, keeping in mind that "Digital View Finder" and "Optical" view finder are not one and the same, and the usefulness of the lens hood is questionable, although it does look neat when installed. These complaints are all that keep me from giving it a "10."