- Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 24 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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16 out of 16 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"Good camera with great design/features but one big flaw"
Pros: Compact design. Internal optics. Feature rich. 4GB of internal memory. Not much in the way of mechaincal things to break. Better than average shot to shot times.
Cons: Sony proprietary connector/software means difficult to share photos and renders internal memory worthless to me. Must remove battery from camera to charge. Touch screen and menus can be a drag sometimes.
Summary: I was looking for a compact camera with internal optics (i.e. no lens that comes out of the body) since my wife's 5 year old cousin dropped my 3 year old Casio right on the optics, and that was the end of that camera. For what I wanted it for, it fits the bill perfectly. I feel confident that I can hand this to a kid and they won't be able to break it. However, there are a few drawbacks that make me de-rate it. The first, which I should have known, is that the connector is proprietary and it requires the software to get the photos off the memory built into the camera. That stinks if you are traveling, you have to take YOUR laptop. I take my camera every where I go with my kids, and when at relatives houses, I like to take pictures, and then just leave them there. In the past, I would just pop out my SD card and either use a standard usb cable, and have the camera show up as removable storage, or pull out the SD card and plug that directly into a reader in a computer, or a usb adapter that I carry in my camera bag. Realizing this, I will probably go get a 4 gb MS duo card plus usb adapter now, which kind of defeats the purpose of having the internal memory. That was -1 star in my book, but pretty par for the course for Sony. The other big nit was that to charge the battery, you have to remove it from the camera and plug it into a battery charger. I was able to keep my old camera plugged into it's usb cable and it could charge off the computer. That is -1/2 a star.
- 7 replies to this review
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Just plugging the USB cable into your computer is all you need to do to transfer the pictures over. I can definitely say that the internal memory shows up as a removable drive. You don't need to install the software.
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To update my review, the camera does work with out the software which is a big plus. I can now just take the cable to any computer and plug that in. I don't typically go to into photo processing stores to upload my photos, I do it online so this isn't a drag. Other nits I have discovered are the photos are a bit soft out of the box, although I am no photo expert, and probably could tweak the settings to work that out. The other thing that bugs is the "pre-shot" time, i.e. the time for the camera to focus in auto mode seems longer than other cameras I have had (which kind of stinks when you hand your camera to someone who doesn't know they really have to wait for the auto focus). I can't complain about windows/mac since I use windows. I would doubt I would ever need more than 4 gb of memory, but I have noticed it is nice to be able to remove the card and pop it into someones computer with the MS card to usb dongle, but carrying the cord is almost as good.
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Two big flaws!
Second one: only works with Windows! -
I fyou need more memory than 4gb then I don't know how many pictures you are taking on vacation. You also have the option of having back up memory in the form of SD card size of your choice.
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Hi,
So eventually can we use this camera without Sony proprietary programs (= just transfering pics from this "removable drive")?
Thanks for your help! -
do you think it would be worth it to buy this camera if I use a mac? thanks.
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In my eagerness I may have overlooked the fact that the camera does need the software to transfer pictures. I loaded it onto my computer (it is VERY nice), and upon pluging in the camera with the proprietary/usb cable, it does show up as a removable drive, so I will have to try this on my wife's computer. If it works with out the software, I would up the rating to 4 stars.
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