This is a nice unit to carry in the shirt pocket. I hate the lack of an optical view, the LCD is NOT convenient for point and shoot type photos. Especially out-doors. This is a special purpose camera and is very good for posed in-door or nature shots. Also, in the practical use of this unit, it is best to crank it down to the 3.2 pxl mode, or other lower res. The close shots at 5 pxl are phenomenal, every detail of a product label for example is perfectly reproduced. Good toy, but I like my DSC-P73 for every day use.

I own the DSC-F828 (8 megapixel) Sony...and do a lot of varied work, usually taking it everywhere. But it's a bit slow out of the bag sometimes, for a simple snapshot. Therefore I purchased this camera (the T-3 Euro version) as an adjunct to the big brother.

Frankly, 5 Megapixel appears a bit less sharp now that I'm used to 8 Megapixel ....and the lens CAN be a tiny bit soft focus in low light. Yes, there's relativly few manual adjustments, too.

Flash is not bad, works well as a fill in sunlight, a bit harsh indoors. But then I shot a lot of no-flash, as slow as an 1/8, handheld. It works well. Nice colors, too,

However, this little devil powers up FAST as I draw it from the Sony leather belt holster. Red Eye reduction, 3x zoom, *HUGE* view screen (really impressive for showing off to your friends what you just shot...), neat carry strap.

This thing is really HANDY....not as your ONLY camera but as the all-day, EVERY-DAY camera. It fits on your belt in as little space as a cell phone with the abilty to shoot all day long....

I bought a travel charger & spare battery (these can charge while I shoot), extra memory (came with a 32mb - I bought a 128, then a 256. You buy a 512.), and the nice Sony leather belt case. Look for a USB memory stick reader, like the wonderful SanDisk MobileMate MS (the size, literally, of a USB flash drive, i.e. keyring-able), and you're ready.

You can afford this. Think about it. Super small, excellent quality, out of the way...but ALWAYS there. Get it. Or, let me put it another way, "Can you afford less?".

PS What I REALLY like about this camera is that my big 828 scares the pants off my subjects because it's seen (to them) as "professional", yet no one runs away when I pull this little guy out. You can see the differences in their attitude right away.

I get more intimate pictures, with minimal quality loss, using this camera far more frequently, now, than the 828.

I bought this camera about a month ago and have been truly impressed. I know a bit about digital cameras having owned a few over the years and this camera presses all the right buttons for me. The camera is small, about the size and weight of a pack of playing cards, smaller even. The styling is great and the build quality is top notch. The camera has many features normally found on larger format cameras. The video quality is superb and nearly does away with the need for a camcorder for those holiday videos, works best out doors and in daylight. There is no set limit to video length except for the capacity of the memory card. A 1 Gig card holds about 13min of highest quality video, long enough for any take I can think of. The general picture quality is very good for a compact and the prints I've made to A4 paper are spot on. It is fast to start up and "reload". The LCD screen quality is the best I've seen on a compact. The macro/magnifying mode is a revelation, allowing for some "microscope" type close-ups. The interface is intuitive and user friendly. In conclusion this camera is perfect for the average user who needs a highly portable quality digital camera. Recommended upgrade would be a 512mb or 1Gig memory card for that high quality video.

For as expensive as this camera is, the photo quality is not superb. The pictures come out a little bit soft--not quite as sharp as a Canon's.

I bought this Sony camera at an Apple store a few weeks ago. It was expensive but I think it's worth it.

Pros:
-Lightweight: I bought this camera mainly for concert photography. It's light enough to carry around with you wherever you go.
-Excellent picture quality
-Great features: I love how there are so many settings to choose from. You can play around to see what works well for your shots.

Cons:
-No hole for tripod: This probably isn't an issue for many people. You should know it's not compatible with a tripod though. Then again, this is such a small camera. Why would the average person want to use it with a tripod? It's supposed to be an on-the-go type of camera.
-Battery: A full charge only lasts for approximately 85 minutes so it's a good idea to buy a spare battery if you're going to use this on long day trips. The spare battery is very expensive though.

If you are just an amateur photographer that is either finally switching from analog to digital or just want a decent camera to take on family vacations or school projects, this is a great camera. It is small, lightweight, and does just about anything you could possibly need it to do. It won't take pictures of hummingbirds feeding across a forest bed, but it will take a decent photo of the grand canyon. The quality of the 3x optical zoom is really good, but the picture is sacrificed slightly as you try to artifically enhance it with the digital zoom. The battery life is good enough to take on extended trips from your hotel or on a hike without having to carry around a charger or spare batteries. If you plan on taking lots of high quality large photos, you will need to get a larger memory stick (64 MB will work, 128 MB even better), but the memory stick it comes with will be enough to photograph your child's birthday party as long as you download the photos onto your computer afterwards. At 5.1 MegaPixels, this camera will pick up hairs on a persons head and it will even be able to define a flea in the hair. 5.1 MP is enough to make clear 8x10 prints. There are 6+ MegaPixel cameras out there, but at the consumer level there is really no point in spending the money on one (7.2 MP won't come in handy unless you are making 15x20 prints or are a student taking pictures through a microscope or a telescope--it is more of a prosumer level) All around, while Sony's camera lenses may not compare with Canon or Olympus, Sony makes up for it with their superior knowledge of how to make a great consumer digital device and turn it into a decent digital camera. It is a great value for the price.

Let me start by saying I am a gadget geek. In the last 3 years I have owned both the Minolta Dimage Xi & Xg cameras & loved them both. I bought this camera on March 25, 2005. The positives are, vibrant screen even when on the beach. It is always clear & bright. The size, if the camera were much bigger I would never carry it. The start up speed & speed when taken pictures is as if you are using a 35mm camera. No lag. The only negative to this camera is when shooting indoors, red eye appears in about 80% of the pictures. If you use the red feature, you miss the picture since it slows down the camera with the pre-flash, flash. This problem is easily remedied by using adobe photo album. Which if you use a digital camera on windows is the best organizing photo tool out. It also has the simplest & the best red reduction feature. Since it lets you blow up the picture before removing the red eye. Hope this helps.

Fast functions- to turn the camera on and to take pictures. Great big 2.5 LCD. Great to review pictures. Colors are not as bright as I want them to be. Easy to get blurry pictures when not holding the camera still. But takes really nice clear pictures outside when moving in a car for some reason. Easy to hold. Hassle to buy a special Sony memory card instead of the standard.

This is a fantastic camera. It takes great quality photos and has many amazing features - too many to list. It is very compact as well. Can fit practically anywhere. I highly recommend this camera.

This is a very nice little camera. It shoots great pictures, has great battery life, has a HUGE screen, and is small enough to fit right in your pocket. Highly recommended for anyone looking for a small, easy-to-use, camera that still takes great pictures.

I BOUGHT THIS CAMERA AFTER ALOT OF RESEARCH AND COMPARING PRICES, AMAZON HAD GREAT PRICE.....LOVE THE EXTREMLY LARGE SCREEN ON BACK. IS A LITLE WIERD AT FIRST AS THERE IS NO VIEW FINDER , JUST SCREEN ON BACK. HAVE YET TO GET A PICTURE ENLARGED. WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN ?? YES

If you're looking for style,size,picture quality and easy to use, then this sony camera is the one for you...this is my first ever digital camera and i must say SONY never fails to dissappoint me.The only reason they didn't receive a 5 out of 5 stars is because i have the sliver model and i really wanted the black model..but it wasn't available.

We purchased this camera as a replacement for our bulky Sony DSC-P52, which stopped working after year or so due to a problem with the lens mechanism. Naturally, only time will tell if this is any different, but in the meantime, here's what you need to know about this baby:

The Good:

1) Size and weight - Fits almost comfortably in any pocket. Much thinner and lighter than any previous digital camera I've owned, thus encourages one to carry it most anywhere. The size is also pretty comfortable for one-hand shooting.

2) Big LCD screen - You didn't need me to tell you this, right? Makes previewing images and taking shots much more satisfying, though sometimes it does not appear very clear, especially if the subject is not static. However, it is bright and rich in color.

3) InfoLithium - This is Sony's name for a battery that tells you how much time it has left - only approximately, of course. If use is consistent, will provide you with a good idea. If you use one function then another then another, it tends to vary much more and is not as useful.

4) Integrated charger/USB station - A flimsy plastic cradle takes care of charging the on-board battery as well as providing a USB hookup for downloading images and video into the computer. Minimizes wires and removes the need for a separate charger, though the bright white color is far from a match.

The Bad:

1) Focusing problems - The camera cannot focus on objects that are relatively close to it. I am not speaking about macros, but simply the function - or lack thereof - to focus on small, near objects, such as coins, stamps, or text. Quick focus on objects farther away, though.

2) Integrated Battery - I listed the InfoLithium as a positive, but the fact that you cannot just pop-in a couple of AA batteries means you will always need the station or the plug to charge up if you need some juice. I don't know if the battery is universal, but even if it is, it will cost substantially more to purchase a replacement.

3) Incompatible Memory Sticks - I will not complain about Sony's desire to make consumers pay more for its cards than adopting a standard, but this camera uses the MemoryStick Duo, which is about 1/4 or so smaller than the "regular" MemoryStick. This means that the hundreds you may have invested in memory cards for previous Sony digital cameras are pretty useless, as they do not fit into this or any other device using the smaller cards.

4) Ineffective Flash - The flash is tiny, thus does not provide adequate illumination in the dark. Within a few feet is okay, but farther subjects are not touched.

5) 3x Optical Zoom - C'mon, this is 2005! 3x optical zoom is pretty pathetic for such an expensive camera.

6) Slow Write Speed - There is a decent pause between pictures, meaning you not be able to shoot at a rapid rate. You can certainly take pictures in bursts, but it takes even longer to write to the memory stick. Previewing the images is also slow. This is also disappointing, as it's not faster than my older P52.

Well, there you have it. The negatives I listed may be insignificant for you, in which case this could be a great value for you. I am certainly happy with it, but I only wish Sony would stop treating its customers like cash cows with changing standards, compatibilities, and dubious long-term quality.

We were early digital camera adopters so this model is now our 5th or 6th camera. A requirement for us when we buy a digital camera is the availabilty of an underwater housing since we use these camera during scuba trips. We have a larger Sony DSC-F707 with an Amphibico housing which does a great job for us but requires a crate when we take it diving. This camera was purchased with the Sony brand underwater housing which is tiny and neatly organized so the entire package and is very compact to travel with. Sony has made some significant improvements in their underwater housings since the first generation including double o-rings and ability to support the deepest recreational dives. Camera and housing fit in a tiny backpack and easily goes under an airplane seat. For serious underwater photography you will require heaps of external light and I'm not a fan of Sony's underwater lighting solution but other choices exist.

My favorite things about the camera are the large 2.5" screen which allows me to easily see which shots I want to keep. The small, thin and light size also makes it easy to use. The big selling feature for me was a 640x480 30 fps mpeg movie capability so we can email clips that people can actually see. The docking station makes sure it is always charged and ready. I've been very pleased with the battery life. As far as "cons" go there are few. I would like to see a better flash (which seems to be the case with most digital cameras) and more than the 3x optical zoom. Again, a larger zoom seems improbable in a camera this size. On land, the unit is a bit inconvenient to use with a tripod since it must be in the docking station to mount. I consider all of these to be minor since my primary goal was to have a small underwater-capable camera that would do 640x480 mpegs and bright 5.1mp shots. For me, Sony met those goals in a small form factor and at an attractive price.

excellent pictures, nice big screen, very good videos, very compact.
The only complaints I have is that the charging cord is bulky and you can't download to a computer without the docking station (a lot to carry on a trip, for such a small camera)

Very easy to operate. This camera takes beautiful pictures outside. The lighting has to be right inside.

The camera was exactly what I wanted. The size is great and the quality is very good.

I have had 2 Canon and tested my friend's Sony T33 a lot. A major thing with the T33 is that it distorts the shape... it is more round, or fatter. So you face become fatter. Is that what you want? I guess if you are underweight, you'd like that. With a Canon, I notice a tiny little bit of distortion but not much. So what's it going to be? a camera that make you look fatter, or a camera that does not. I'd choose the one that doesn't.

This is a great camera for travel and everyday events because of its small and convenient size. We bought it to replace our bulkier Sony DSC-F707. The large screen is wonderful! The video feature is a lot of fun but due to the small size it is hard to take a steady video. The battery meter is very useful as it tells you how much time you have left. The main downside with this camera is the flash. It doesn't work well in very dark conditions for distant or even slightly distant shots. If it weren't for the flash, I would have given this a rating of 5 stars. This is overall a good camera.

For more serious digital photography, we prefer to use the Sony DSC-F707 as it has a better flash and zoom. However, it is too bulky to carry around.

This is really a nice point-and-shoot camera. Outdoor pics are really impressible and the clarity is also quite good. The only big problem I noticed about this piece is its night shot mode. Since it does not have any outside flash, the night pics are not good as expected from Sony. The indoor pics are also affected by the same problem.

I had this camera a little over 3 mo when the snap-open lens cap started to jam. This causes the camera to power back down. I can usually jimmy the cap a little with my finger and get it working after a couple tries. It does add a little time to the otherwise lightning fast power-up though. Yes, right here I should have sent the camera in but I needed it for, I don't know, taking pictures...

Next problem cropped up 6 months later, the docking station stopped charging the camera and downloading pictures. I ordered a separate battery charger and I have a memory slot on my laptop that reads MS so I've kind of worked through it.

Now 4 months later the flash is only firing 1 out of 10 times. Of course it waits until now to develop a problem I can't live with.

13 months total and I have a camera that doesn't power up, charge, download or take pictures inside. Other than the listed issues I love this camera, it is fast, pictures are sharp all in a tiny package.

FYI this camera has not been treated harshly. Now, while it's in the shop, I have no camera and will no doubt be adding to the original $600 price tag

I had this camera for about three years. I have taken it to four continents and about 20 plus countries. it with stood being slammed around and banged up all up and down central america and china and Europe. It takes great pictures and is extremely easy to use. I would recommend it for anyone traveling or that wants a nice and easy camera. the only bad part about it is that it doesnt have a very fast film option so that night pictures are not that good if you get out of the range of the flash. I finally managed to break the screen and it is cheaper to get another camera than to replace the screen.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RN50XPK2J6U6O My friend bought this camera about three years ago. I have another camera, but I am constantly borrowing his Sony Cybershot instead of using mine. It took us a while to start using the video feature, but we love it.

We like the flash feature, which works well for inside pictures and to fill in outside in the sunlight. The red eye reduction feature is helpful. The view screen is large enough to enjoy. We love the compact size.

My friend wishes he could get a better view than 3X telephoto in the video mode.

He is very satisfied with his camera and enjoys it when he gets an opportunity to use it. Obviously, I like it too.

Here is a sample video.