It's compact but not too small. I was looking at Canon SD500 and Sony W7, and chose the W7, as the SD500 was just too small in physical size and really needed to hold it with both hands to feel secure. W7 is easy to use and picture quality is great. It would have gotten 5 stars if it had shutter and aperture priority mode built in. 1Gb memory stick, 15 minute charger and extra batteries should be considered must have accessories with this camera.

If you are advanced consumer, or thinking about prosumer, 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 7 MegaPixels, this camera will pick up the fuzz on a bee head as its sitting in a flower. 7 MP is enough to make clear 15x20 prints. 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.

Two and half years ago, I bought Canon G2 Digital Camera. Everybody I know complained of me buying a big size camera whilst there are more compact and equaly efficient digital cameras in the market from Sony and other manufacturers. Well, I listened to the complaints and bought this Sony DSCW7 this time, with 512MB in addition to the built-in 32 MB.
I can simply say the following: Canon Gs series (now G6) are definitely better; the grip, the precision of focusing, the quality of lenses, the duration of the batteries, and the techniques of the LCD screen.
One can always argue that Sony turns difficult and complicated programs and manuals to an almost kid's play procedures, this is correct, but the Software of Canon was as easy as Sony, and the procedures of taking the pictures is also as easy with Canon as it is with Sony. Therefore, I really cannot recommend buying this camera instead of the G6 to anyone; it bypasses my old dear G2 with three things: it is 7MP instead of 4.2MP, it records video shots subject to the capacity of the memory card instead of 30seconds ones for the Canon and it is much faster in taking the shot; but I assume that Canon G6 will do the same.
My Canon had to be repaired once during these 30 months, this would be highly unusual for the Sony that is more compact and much fun and easy to use. The choice is yours..

Great camera. Buy it over any other model. Beats all others hands down!

Excellent Camera. Very good pictures. Worth the money spent.

I've owned this camera for about a month and while it is very attractive, fits nicely in the palm of your hand and with 2500 Mha batteries has long battery life, I find this camera to be very frustrating.

My main complaint is the focusing, especially on indoor shots. I've taken quite a few and unless they are seriously blurry, they don't look as such until downloaded to my computer, even though they don't appear blurry on the camera's view screen, either before or after the picture is taken. Therefore, it is difficult to tell if you got a good shot or not.

Also, while the large view screen is nice, it's size just makes it that much easer to damage and I've already noticed a tiny scratch even though I keep it in it's Sony case whenever I'm not using it.

The redeye feature is awful, not only taking a long time for it to work, but useless if you don't hold the camera absolutely steady. In addition, it's ridiculously cumbersome to turn on and off, since you have to go into an annoying menu to do so, rather than just hit the flash button, as with the Canon Elphs.

Lastly, while I love the battery life and memory stick indicators, the lack of an auto-rotate feature is unacceptable.

In summary, while the images are decent, they don't appear to be all that much better than a 5 or even 3.2 mega pixel camera, at least on my computer screen. And for a point and shoot, the focusing should be a lot more reliable. So unless Sony fixes these problems, I won't be buying another one of their digital cameras. I already regret buying this one.

I bought this 7.2 MP camera two weeks ago and have taken over 200 photos. My friend bought a Nikon 5 MP at a department store last week. We got together and took photos (using each other's cameras and switching off) of the same subjects with both cameras - still shots, kids, animals, scenic views.
I was embarrassed. My much more expensive SONY, which cost double the price of her Nikon, took blurry photos. 40% were blurry. My SONY is easier to use, easier to download pics, easier to load memory sticks. But hands-down her Nikon takes better pictures. I was horrified to say the least. There is nothing I hate more than blurry photos. I can't return it because SONY has a no returns clause with most of their sellers. So I'm stuck with it.

I got this cameara because my son loaned me his 5mp sony cybershot camera when I went on vacation. I took wonderful pictures for the first time ever; no chopping off heads or missing what I wanted in the center of the picture. I do not use all the bells and whistles yet, but the point and shoot action is working just fine with the automatic setting. I am very happy with the product and recommend it to anyone who wants to take great pictures.

In this camera's Auto Adjustment Mode (for general, all-purpose shooting) the tint level is heavily and overly greenish-yellow. This is especially apparent when shooting outside on sunny days, where there is a lot of greenery (trees, etc). You can make an adjustment in the White Balance mode so that colors are more natural, but it can be difficult to decide using only the viewscreen as reference. Black and white mode is good. Also, the auto-focusing is not always consistent; don't be surprised if a number of your shots come out less than sharp. I am very disappointed with this camera and will think twice before putting down $$$ for another Sony Cyber-Shot.

I purchased this from Amazon with two-day shipping to get it before vacation. Delivered on time so we could use and enjoy it during vacation. Amazon's shipping is reliable.
I'm not a high-tech guy, but step-by-step instruction sheet and manual are very clear that I don't need to read it again especially connecting to computer.
Resolution is very good(7.2mpx), really good, battery lasts much longer than traditional AA. Didn't count exactly how many shots I made, it was not 20 or 30, lot more than that. It's easy to carry and grip is very comfortable and firm, no worry to drop. 2.5" screen gives a good view for the object and changing battery is easy too.
But when inserting memory stick, have to figure out the direction first. It's not bad, but need more attention than other easy-to-use functions. Internal memory could be bigger. I couldn't do much with 32M, so had to get memory stick right away. I believe no other camera provide bigger memory than this.
The package includes all accessories(USB cable, charger, battery), so I don't need to spend extra bucks to make it work. It has 3X zoom, hope sony improves to 4x or 5x. It's a little shorter than my expectation.
Overall it's a very nice camera, good buy for the money and all my family is very happy about the purchase. Oh! because it's a Sony.

I LOVE IT!! In macro mode at the widest zoom setting and a distance of a little over 2 inches from the subject, the pictures come out quite good with a surprising depth of field. The flash compensates for the proximity and doesn't totally wash out the picture. I could never get this good of a result with my old 35mm film camera even with an arsenal of lenses and accessories!

I was a little hesistant after reading the reviews that said it was blurry. No blurry problems at all. I particularly like that you can use standard AA batteries. Also, it will take regular memory sticks which have really dropped in price.

Before I bought this camera I read as many user reviews as I could. Naturally, I was apprehensive because it appeared to me that there were as many positive reviews as negative ones. But I got a good deal on this camera and bought it anyway.

This is my first digital camera so all I know about cameras is my experience with analogs. I was super anxious about my first shots -- so when I took them and checked out the results -- they were as good as I could expect. Maybe my expectations have been lowered by the negative reviews!!

I have tried a whole lot of types of shots (broad daylight, pitch dark night, indoor daytime, indoor night time with incandescent light, indoor nighttime with fluorescent light, close up, maximum zoom, fast movement) and everything looks pretty good. I just wonder what difference the others noticed from their Canon/Nikon cameras -- wish they put in some snaps to explain the difference. Maybe when I get a chance to see pictures taken with those cameras will I notice the difference.

But from whatever I can discern with my human eyes -- the quality of the pictures look excellent and color is also pretty good (in fact much better than what I got from my analogs -- which had no consistency). It appears to me that Sony uses software to condition the shots after they had been clicked to compensate for various factors. Also the flash works very well. I was pleasantly surprised at the end results from most of the shots. I have not noticed the focus problem (the people have mentioned) yet.

The only item I would have liked to get with the camera is a carrying case. The rechargeable battery works well, but it is a good idea to get an extra pair. I got a 256Mb Memory stick with the camera -- and fell that also is needed.

All in all -- a good camera and I would recommend it.

This is my 5th Sony Digital Still Camera, and with time, I thought the picture quality, ease of use, and overall performance would improve. Well, not so. I use this camera for point and shoot applications, and use the DSC-F707 (high end model) for more precise applications. The W7 needs lots of careful settings in order to achieve good results. I was expecting good results out of the box. The screen size is great, the video part too (high quality video). Make sure you get a large capacity memory stick to enjoy long hauls of 7 Megapixel picture taking sessions.

I bought this camera to take to a concert. Yes, it's small and lightweight, but the pictures were dark and blurry. I also didn't like the software that came with it so I transferred the pictures into my Olympus Master software. I had to do some major doctoring of the pictures to make them acceptable. I was also unimpressed with the zoom capability. My cheap film camera took better photos. I am thinking of returning this to the store and getting another Olympus.

Easy to use great photos better than 35mm
fits in shirt pocket
true colors good white balance
It has never taken a bad photo.

This camera takes excellent pictures, some of the best I have ever seen out of a digital camera. I can shoot from across a field and read the text on the tiny road signs on the otherside if I zoom in on the computer. That is how good the resolution is. To the people who get blurry pictures, you must understand that this is the case with any camera. If you don't hold the camera still you will get blurring. The same thing happens with a non digital camera. The auto mode on the camera works fairly well but if you have shakey hands you can get blurry pictures. If you are shooting shots with a really slow shutter speed then use a tripod or make sure that you hold the camera very still. Also the camera has multiple types of focus and a small warning that flashes on the screen that alerts you to the possibility of a blurry picture.(If the camera is shaking or focused on something very far away etc. with a low speed) Focusing the camera on what you want is really easy. Press the shoot button lightly and the outline of the focus area will turn green, then you can move the camera to change the composition of the shot. In doors and at short distances an amber light is shown upon the subject and a green dot appears on the screen. The screen also has a histogram view which allows you to see the light composition which can be very helpful. The movies that the camera takes are also very very good, and it does have a mic for audio.(Something some Sonys lack). Although the point and shoot mode is good, the true power as always lies in the manual settings and I encourage anyone who buys the camera to learn how to use them although it isn't completely necessary because of the 7 auto modes.

I received this camera from work along with the waterproof housing and a 1G memory card. The photo's are amazing and the quality is the best I've seen from a digital camera. At home I use a Minolta Dimage X which is good but the Sony is far better. If you can afford to get this camera, do so. It's pricey so I wouldn't buy it on my dime...if you want work to buy you one, join the Navy and become an EOD technician!

For work, I have to take a lot of quick photos, which are put into fancy power point presentations. This camera has been fantastic for that.

The pluses:
- Quick shutter speed
- Great autofocus (sometimes needs to be set twice)
- Awesome light settings
- Fun light tricks at night
- Easy to use
- Huge screen for viewing pictures
- Lens attachment
- Easy to download pictures

The minuses:
- Heavier than comparable cameras
- Flash is too overbearing

I don't have any input on software, since I use Adobe products for my photo editing/cropping and Flcker as my viewer.

I would definitely recommend this camera to any amateur that needs to fake being more professional.

The things I want:
1. Use this camera as is (point & shoot) and just put it in your pocket. The hard print instructions were generally prepared to conforme to a "layman's" ability to read and follow directions.
- OR -
2. You can enhance it's capabilities by purchase of detachable lenses (upgradable to a hybrid digital). So far I acquired the 30mm (wide angle) for shots in "tight" spots or limited room to move back, where you don't tell someone to squeeze in or stay in front or he won't be in the picture. I believe there are a total of "3" lenses + an adaptor available for this upgrade (about $250).

3. The LCD is large and the icons are vivid. In addition, when you select a "shooting" scene, such is shown on the LCD.
4. Use of a "NiMh" rechargeable battery that has a long life. We were at Universal Studios the whole day. On & off, I have taken about 100 pictures, several movie shots, and was able to view the captures. We went home late afternoon, the battery was still almost full. Just in case, I had ready alkaline batteries. Also, to mention, I just bought another pair of SONY NiMH rechargeable batteries for around $10.00.
5. The camera has a "sturdy" and a classy built and it is Made In Japan. In addition, the size is just right to the hand, not too big and not to small.
6. Lastly, vivid and sharp pictures even at the lowest resolution (VGA email image size).

What I am missing:
1. Sony should have considered adding a "hot shoe" pad for a detachable flash.
2. On the CD ROM supplied, I wish that the "movie maker" application software was enabled to make longer movies. I wanted a movie for about 248 pictures, however, the program limits the number of the images to be displayed based on the "lenght" of the background music. I find this very cool, have your images/movie saved in a CD (MPEG1, VCD format) and playable in most DVD players with background music and special panning effects.

If your in the market for a digital camera I highly suggest this one(UNLESS YOU TAKE A LOT OF ACTION PICTURES). The camera allows you to transfer pictures to your PC and save them or insert the memory stick into your printer and go. Of all the cameras on the market today this is the most user friendly. At first I was intimidated by all of the buttons, but don't let them fool you, it is simple as mud to operate. A caveman could do it.
It is simple to delete pictures and even easier to take them. I like the timer feature which allows the camera man to jump into a photo every now and then. You can't go wrong with Sony.

MY ONLY COMPLAINTS= ACTION PHOTOS ARE SOMETIMES BLURRY...
AND THE ZOOM DOESNT ZOOM FAR ENOUGH.

The camera takes remarkable still photos. It is not designed for moving pictures. If you buy a memory stick go big. I bought the Sony Memory-stick Pro 256 MB, Which holds around 100 pictures. Seems like a bunch until you go on a nice vacation and your PC is no where to be found. Top of the line technology for a cool 330$ price.

The camera does a great picture taking job. There are probably some features that I may never use, but the ones I do use are great.

I took this camera on a recent seven country second honeymoon. The flexibility is absolutely amazing. We used every single feature (except video)and we were able to take quick shots with great results. The candlelight and night time mode were probably the most helpful. A lithium batter lasted the duration of the trip, and then some. I wish we had bought this camera earlier. It was well worth the price we paid for it. My only recommendation is to get a 1GB memory card. I also think a mini-tripod would be a wise investment, especially for night shots.

I researched lots of cameras before buying this one. It has a great battery life, takes wonderful pics, and I love the little video clips it makes. A very good buy.

Although the Sony DSC-W7 offers a lot of features in a small package, and takes nice photos, it tends to fall apart after moderate use. This is due to the use of lightweight plastic components where metal should have been employed, and poor mechanical design.

My experience is that Sony does not honor the warranty. So the camera is essentially disposable. Expect a life of 6-12 months. If you want something that will last, go for a traditional camera brand, not something from an consumer electronics manufacturer.

This is a remarkably capable little camera, really impressive. I used it in Greece and Turkey this summer, and can remember only a very few pictures that were failures because of exposure or focus error or some other camera-related problem. Once in a rare occasion, in a busy scene (such a crowded street), the camera will not focus on a person in the foreground. Also, the sharpening is a bit too aggressive, and in high contrast situations, you have the problem of power lines disappearing into the sky background. However, you can minimize this by setting the sharpening to minimum. Color fringing is minimal, no problem at all. I use the manual setting a lot with the histogram on, but I wish there were more than two apertures to choose. Long exposures on a tripod are excellent. I like the square, chunky shape because I can hold it securely. Finally, the auxiliary wide angle lens is also remarkably good. Obviously, it introduces some distortion, but for normal prints (up to 8x10") almost no one would see any optical faults. I also bought the Sony polarizer, which was a great help in some settings. The main item that Sony does not make for this model is a is sun hood, a strange omission for a camera that is capable of professional quality results. Hint, you can make a hood out of a cardboard toilet paper roll center.

This probably wouldn't be the ideal for camera for somebody who is in to technology, but for somebody who is looking for their first digital camera and doesn't mind spending a little extra cash, it would be worth the money to go ahead and upgrade to this camera. There are two things that are almost necessary to have if you have this camera: a small tripod, and a memory stick, because there just isn't enough memory on the camera itself. If you're thinking about buying the camera, I would recommend it.

This fragile little camera is not built to last.

After 9 months of light use, the plastic latches on the interior of the battery compartment door broke. Sony refused to honor warranty and wanted $175 to fix it.

The camera is not robust enough even for moderate use. Sony customer service is a joke.

I just got off the phone with customer service for an older model of this same camera. My lense also broke with little warning. In fact, I had not even dropped it (recently) but was using the zoom when it refused to retract and stopped working. Customer service handled me the exact same way that the previous reviewer described (letting me know that service would be $171). I was shopping for an upgrade instead when I came across the last review describing the exact same experience with this newer model. I probably will not go with a Sony camera if this is a persistent issue, even though I loved it when it worked (and would have given it 5 stars)! I have had my camera for less than 2 years.

I was very happy with the camera until I dropped it from a height of less than 6 inches and the lens would not retract any more.

The surprising thing was that when I called Sony customer service, I did not even have to explain them what happened (so it appears to be a common problem). Sony would not fix the camera for free and wanted about $160.00 to fix it.

I wouldn't recommend the camera to anyone, unless they are absolutely sure not to dent it in any way.

great camera, fast startup, fast snaps, sharp pictures.
Highly recommended.

This is my 2nd Sony Camera, upgraded from a P10. I prefer the point and shoot mainly because of size convenience. If I can't "tuck" this into a pocket, I probably would not carry a camera. I have used the higher end SLR digitals but with the extra bulk I prefer the convenience so I sacrifice some performance. I prefer the W7 vs the P200 because of the size of the housing. I prefer the larger housing on the W7. Recycle time, flash time, start time are very quick for a point and shoot. I do recommended a larger memory stick, PRO is best. I use 1Gig so quantity is never a problem. But remember, if the 1Gig stick is corrupted, you're back to the paltry internal memory. So have a backup stick (I have a 256). This is important when you are on vacation. You do have to be somewhat gentle with the camera, as with any camera especially when the lens is extended. It's just common sense. Good camera, good price, Sony quality for a point and shoot.

Got this camera for Christmas and find it is very easy to use for a novice like me. Pictures have come out great and the batteries seem to last a long time. Would buy it again.

This camera is the worst purchase I have ever made! Like previous reviews almost all of my pictures come out blurry. You might not even notice it until you download to your computer. It is horrible. I have done extensive research online to try and come up with a solution. I have taken the advice of making sure you have an extra steady hand, waiting for the camera to focous and nothing seems to work. I wish someone would have told me this before I bought this piece of junk. My Thanksgiving and Christmas pictures are ruined. I should have used a disposable camera...it would have worked better!!!

The service for Sony products is useless and the company lacks integrity. Be careful.

First to the people who have blurry pics you should learn how to use the settings, although I have never had that problem even on Auto Mode.

The pictures are very clear and like someone else said you can even see the pores in your face. I am not an experienced photographer and I find this camera very easy to use and the battery life is great.

Overall I am very happy with this camera.

I first used someone else's DSC-W7 to take engagement photos for my daughter last summer. The pictures were so good that I printed them using my laser printer (plain old black & white on cheap copy paper) and used them for table decorations at her wedding. I'm strictly point & shoot, but everyone thought a professional had taken the pictures. Our guests took all those pictures with them for souvenirs. (Yes, they did ask first!)

So, I wanted one of my own and Santa brought it to me. I have the black one and it looks great. The instructions are clear and I'll probably never read the whole manual, but it's there if you need it. It was easy to hook up to the PC and download pictures, too (even for me). I will most likely never use most of the features on this camera, but I have used the zoom and the "red eye" reduction option.

I haven't had the problem with blurry pictures except for a few rushed shots and I'm sure I was moving. Most of the pictures are extremely clear and detailed. I anticipate that as my skills improve, my pictures will, too.

I've read all the previous reviews on this site and it seems that people are upset at this product because it can't widthstand being dropped??? or that customer neglect isn't covered by their warranty... either way the blurry pictures are purely user error, if one bothers to read the manual it can be clearly found in either the how to section or trouble shooting section if one is trying to take what would amount to be a high speed or possibly in my own experience a tightly zoomed in shot it would benifit that person to set the camera to manual and adjust the shutter speed. I've played with this setting and can take a picture of a ceiling fan at high speed while moving my hand back and forth and it comes out clean and clear. This is an excellent camera for a novice like myself or anyone who wishes to have a high quality piece of equipment to learn with. But with most digital cameras nowadays taking the picture with the camera is 75% of the process i'd recommend becoming comfortable with a digital photo software program (I prefer Adope Photoshop) yet paintpro and others are just fine. So my final thoughts on this camera are that I've owned it for almost a year, taken shots from the mountains of alaska to the reefs of maui and the keys (with the underwater case) to just random college parties and never had a major problem or a minor problem that was due to anything with the camera... mostly my own ignorance of the equipment. Either way i'm no professional yet i've been complemented by folks who have $1,500 plus set ups by just learning how to use the settings and playing with the software. This is a great piece of equipment for learners if you are willing to learn yet also a good simple point and shoot camera

I just bought this camera recently and I think it works great. It takes high quality pictures and I was very pleased with them. It has an auto mode, for those who aren't camera experts and there are also a few different scene selections. There is also a Manual mode, which my old cyber-shot dsc-p72 didn't have.

To the person who said they had blurry pictures, perhaps you had it on the wrong setting for the particular situation. I haven't had any problems with blurry pics yet.

I recommend this camera for anyone, as it is easy to use and still has a lot of options.

Bought this as a replacement for the dreaded Nikon L1, for my fiance, with a 1Gig MS Pro and couldn't be more happy. The pictures are VERY clear, colors perfectly saturated and the processor is pretty darn speedy! The only reason I rated this a 4 star instead of a 5 is the 3x zoom is still a little short for a camera in this price range. The camera is also not too bad on batteries, although not as power-savy as the Canon, you can expect about 125-175 photos on a set of 2000mah NiMh batteries and about half that on Alkalines(NOT reccomended). This camera also has a GREAT video mode and the AF assist lamp makes pictures taken in "less than optimal" lighting conditions darn near blur-free! 7.2MP photos(I leave mine on 5MP as not too many people actually NEED 7.2MP) and the Mpeg Movie VX take a LOT of space so make sure you get a Memory Stick Pro with at LEAST 512mb of storage. If you can afford to do so, the Gig card should be the minimum. Although a little pricey a GREAT camera for the novice-advanced user!

In researching 7 megapixels cameras it came down to the Canon SD550 and this camera, the Sony DSC W7. The Canon got better reviews but was considerably more expensive. Having already had a Sony camera previously I preferred sticking with the same brand (I was very happy with my Sony 2 megapixel camera) but this camera (W7) has several negative reviews here on Amazon (lense retract breaks easy, poor support from sony, etc...). So, what to do? I decided to take a chance and get the Sony DSC-W7 anyway... and spend an extra $30 for a 2 year warranty. After doing so and using the camera for a couple of weeks now I must say that I am very pleased with it. It takes very nice looking photos, sharp and with good color. I've had no problems with the camera but even if I do I can get it fixed for FREE... and I still saved $120 over the cost of the Canon SD550 even with the extended warranty. I guess I'm writing this review to tell others who may be apprehensive like I was that it's a good camera at a great price. If you're worried about it breaking, do like I did and spend $30 more to get an extended service contract on it.

Great camera - you won't be dissappointed!

I got the Sony 7.2 for Christmas and I am so glad. The pictures are clear and it is very easy to use. I played around with the buttons to see what the effect on the picture was because all those setting seemed a little intimidating at first. But I got the hang of it. It also took good pictures in low light situations. I highly recommend this camera. If you are looking to upgrade to a higher megapixel, this is a great deal.

Great shots in most situations when left on Auto. Fully featured for the average user. Redeye effect is almost always there when using flash, even in redeye reduction mode. Cute, small, feels very solid but heavy and bulky. Cannot use the 32MB built-in memory while a memory stick is inserted or even select it. Shame on Sony for not including a carrying case.

This is the third digital camera I've bought in the last four years, and while this camera doesn't stand out way above the others in one general area (eg zoom), I wouldn't trade it for any other camera under 500.00. The photo's are sharper and crisper than from any other camera I've seen. One of the features I like best is the automatic lens guard. Although probably not a camera for a pro, definately a great choice for either a beginner or intermediate.

I've been using the camera for several days now, including during our recent monster snow storm. It is easy to get up and running. All of my pictures have been sharp and clear. The start-up manual is good and so is the user's manual. I really should give the camera, itself, 5 stars but the graphics software that accompanies the camera is a pain. It does what it wants with my pictures and doesn't allow me to do what I want. If you have XP, don't bother using the software.

I have had all previos MP models of this camera.
I broke two of them. I have bought the third because I like Sony. It is simple, it is fast (one of the fastest cameras in the market, not to shot but to turn it on) and it is the prefect shape.The cons are the blurry pictures sometimes and that it is very easy to break.
At a good price is a good choice

Sony Cybershot DSC-W7 is another of the fine products this company provides to the public. Price is right, quality is impeccable and some of the latest technology is incorporated, especially the large screen in back. The camera works flauwlessly, the flash is powerful enough for most shots. For home use, parties, and any event in closed spaces it will be more than sufficient. I highly recomentd this camera as an all around precision instrument for hobbyists and even advanced photographers.

I purchased the W7/B (Black model) to finally move up from my antique DSC-P30 with 1.3 Megapixels. I couldn't be happier. Photos are focused unless I make a mistake, progam and manual modes add the possibility of improving my shots, and I am very happy that my rechargeable AA batteries can be used with this camera. In essence, I bought a very good digital camera for less than $300. The enclosed software is worthless, though.

Why settle for less, when you can get a brand new original top-of-the-line Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP camera for Free! I got mine from this web site: http://xrl.us/rebelxt

After much research and putting my hands on virtually all Digital Cameras in the $200-$400 range I settled on this one at around $250. Best web site for research is imaging-resource.com. There you can see real tests and photos from every camera currently on the market, not a bunch of dumb opinions from idiots who won't read manuals and can't figure out how to use the camera. I found this camera easy to use, with a super, large and clear LCD screen. I tried photos in all modes and noticed no blurry pictures.(check web site noted above for sample test pictures) the menus were fairly easy to navigate and easy to see on the monitor. Here is what I like and don't like:
Pro: 2.5" LCD, easy to use, nice size and form, Good shots in all modes. takes 2 AA batteries not 4 or a expensive LiIon that needs a charger....and battery life is great
Con: Small optical viewfinder... I had to have a optical viewfinder because no matter how bright the screen is you will find a time that you cannot see the picture on it.
Memory Stick. Guess Sony still hasn't learned the BetaMax lesson . would have a SD card instead.
chose this over the Canon A620 and Casio EXZ750 right now I am pretty happy with the selection

I love this camera! The large screen on the back makes it so easy to review my photos. Excellent resolution, easy to use, easy to learn. A great camera for a reasonable price.

Does just what the reviews said it would do (http://www.steves-digicams.com/). The ease of getting your pics from camera to PC are great...same for movies. Wouldn't even think about this camera without a minimum of 1GB memory stick...especially since most newer TVs will accept them for viewing pics/movies right out of the camera.
The picture quality/clarity and the menu ease of use fell right into place upgrading from a Sony Mavica 3 mega pixel.
Bottom line: Can't go wrong on the camera and the cost. I paid $408 for camera and 2GB memory stick. Oh yes..be sure and get a camera case to protect the LCD screen.

This is a Horrible camera!!! That's probably why there has been a major price reduction. Don't waste your money. Every picture is blurry. I've read the manual and been on the Sony website for tech support. I don't understand how so many other people gave this camera 5 stars.

I bought this camera to replace my trusty little DSC-W1 which inexplicably died on me New Years Eve. I had a few little design changes to get used to, but mostly I like it just the same. I'm looking forward most to being able to finally make very LARGE prints, which didn't turn out with my 5MP camera like I thought they would.

My biggest complaint is that they moved the memory stick and batteries to the same little compartment, so in order to change the stick out you need to turn the camera off and then on again, which I didn't need to worry about before.

Overall, I still love the camera, love the size of it (it's so portable!) and the screen size. Most people will probably not need so many megapixels, though.

sony camera's are the worst to repair. they charge you $200.00 for a flash. That is almost the same price as a new one. Buy the other brands. they have local shops that will fix warrenty problems SONY does NOT have this. you have to send it to Texas. I don't even live in a state that touchs Texas. Please Buy a different brand of camrea you will be much happier. the parts and acc. are more as well.

I said to myself wut kind of camera would i buy to replace my 3.2 mp Canon A300. That camera has made me loose alot of valuable memory. Anyway lets get into this Sony Dsc W7, GOOD picure quality, the guys that says this camera is blurry may be dunno how to use this camera. Print quality when you take your picture with this camera will amaze people that see the picture. Very easy to use, i dont need a to open the manual shrinkwrap. well i have to give you a downside of this camera and that is not size! in order to make camera this good they must put a lot of "stuff" inside this camera so it will work better than those credit card size cameras. anyway the only downside of this camera maybe the AA size rechargeable battery which doesnt really concerned me since i have tons of those batteries from my old canon. A lithium ion battery would be nice! but expensive! well i hope this review get posted by amazon, so you people can see how much i love this camera!

I have what is supposed to be a far superior camera to the one you are showing and I can tell you, it is a TOTAL PIECE OF SH*T. I HATE IT. I have never hated a camera so much. I almost bit it in half tonight, I REALLY REALLY HATE IT. Resolution sucks, screen image sucks, everything about it sucks and when I bought it, I paid somewhere around $500 for it. SONY GO TO BLAZES!!!

I've owned mine for about two months now, after 'learning the important settings' (took me about 10 minutes of reading) the Sony camera offers me quality that out-does my Olympus 4040 (which is a very good camera in it's own right.) Those settings i spoke about are fairly easy to navigate when you need more control (as i do) above and beyond the High Quality automatic setting on the Sony for taking snapshots and such. The Olympus has a very bright much larger lens than the Sony W7, but the Sony is superior in many ways. The first, and most important, is that when i click the shutter, i get a photo. Not two seconds later, but right now. My wife, a dancer, also loves the quailty of photos taken in low light and movement both with and without a flash. Sure, there is a little bit of low light loss of quailty with the Sony AND the flash disabled, but... i am asking a pocket style camera to do the work of a high quality 35 mm slr or the large frame Olympus 4040 used to do (till it failed, which is the reason for the Sony purchase). I also owned a Nikon for about 24 hours (similar to the Sony in size and what it says it will do) but i found out after frustration, the Nikon does not do what it says it will. I had focus problems like other people who bought the Nikon camera. So, i was getting 'very-high-quality-out-of-focus-photos' with the Nikon... enough said.

Parents (and sportsmen/women) will LOVE this camera (the Sony DSC-W7) because they can actually get those impromptu photos children (animals and sports) are so famous for! (I've got some close up shots of chipmunks and birds at the window feeder!) The camera turns on and is ready to shoot in just over one second (on my watch) and when you hit the shutter (with flash disabled) it's like the 35mm's instantainous shutter... THIS CAMERA DOES MORE! The quality of those photos is almost cruel to the passing of time, it is now frozen on film... as it were.

The Sony has made me 'the photographer' of my wife's bellydance troupe. So, in conclusion... today i'm a very happy man with my new job and the camera that brought it to me!

-loudboy

ps. I also bought a 1 gig chip and an AC power supply. And, if you should purchase a Sony W7 (or W5 too i'm told!) you should stock up on 8.5 X 11 inch frames cuz the photos are that good! True, it takes a larger size photo (7.2mp), but i only have a letter size printer. I have bought computer games that made me want to upgrade my video card, but now i own a camera that makes me want to up grade my printer!

I am truly happy with my Sony DSC-W7.

That's my story, and i'm sticking to it!

First of all let me say that this is one of the best cameras I have owned till date. I am really happy with the picture quality, the features that the camera has and the ease of use. My first digital camera was a nikon. A great camera indeed, but it had problems in low light. The pictures invariably would be hazy in low light and had a shutter lag of close to two seconds. It did take very good pictures though.
With a baby on the way, I wanted to be prepared with a camera that did not have any shutterlag and that really took great pictures. My wife suggested looking at sony. However, the high prices of the memory stick kept me away from sony.
I tried casio... very poorly built cameras, average picture quality, weak flash
I tried Panasonic..Good picture quality ..sometimes, antishake technology that does not work..very very high noise, patches of brilliance but not consistent with picture quality..i really got a high end panasonic lumiz DMC FZ7...and expected above average picture especially with the Leica lens..I wanted soo badly to like this camera..Only if the camera performed what the company advertises..sadly the camera falls short on performance all around
After all that hassle, I finally decided to try sony and have to say since the time that I picked up the camera, I have been in love. The camera is made like a tank..literally..it feels soo solid. Press the power button and the camera is ready to shoot pictures in less than a second. It also has a very good size 2.5 inch screen. The focus is instantenous and pictures are crisp and sharp. The colors are soo bright.
The marco mode is also amazing!!!
Another advantage of this camera is that it uses AA batteries.
the video quality is also very good
I love the camera!!!!

Hello there,

Just came back from my trip from Greek cycladics islands . I took around 1600 pics during my 2 weeks stay there with this sony camera and apart from 25 pics which came out blurry(mostly pics taken at night) ALL OF THEM CAME OUT NICE!!!!!

I am completely satisfied with this camera!!!!! Dont regret a bit purchasing it, a great deal indeed :) 2 thumbs up!

I got a Sony DSCW1 camera about two years ago. It's been a really great camera.

So I thought that it might be time to get another, with my kids hogging this camera so much.

That was when I discovered that Sony seems to have stopped making this, the latest version of their line of point and shoot digicams that still use AA batteries.

All of the new DSC-W line of cameras, the ones with double digit numbers, now use only proprietary lithium batteries.

AAAAAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!

Will somebody please explain to the idiots at Sony that the main advantage of a camera that uses AA batteries instead of a proprietary rechargeable lithium battery is that AA batteries are ubiquitous, i.e., you can find them anywhere and everywhere at almost anytime.

Once, with the DSCW1, the batteries ran out while I was at a big family gathering. I literally ran out to a drugstore and bought some AA batteries, and everything went just fine. Try, oh try doing that with a proprietary lithium battery.

That's right, lithium batteries are NEVER charged when you want them to be. Leave the camera or battery on the charger, and the battery gets killed off much faster. Buy an extra, spare battery, leave it on a spare charger, and you end up killing off this spare battery before it ever sees any use. Or, you forget to bring a spare with you. Or you bring it with you, don't use it, and you forget to recharge it, and the next time you need the camera, none of the proprietary batteries in your collection work. Every one of these scenarios has happened to me with my camcorders, which have always required rechargeable lithium batteries.

I just absolutely HATE proprietary lithium batteries! Especially for an otherwise extremely handy, easy to use, point and shoot camera that is ideal for spontaneous family photos. Rechargeable proprietary lithium batteries and "spontaneous" are complete oxymorons.

So get the few remaining ones left of this camera now, before the dwindling supplies completely run out.

P.S. - one of the Spotlight Reviews that Amazon unfortunately chose for this camera makes several very uninformed and misleading statements. The reviewer simply has not read the manual and made adjustments to the default settings for this camera. It is very easy to turn off all the annoying sounds that this camera makes. The camera focuses much better if set on "Center Focus" rather than the default multifocus mode (especially in complicated scenes). If you use the manual mode and set it to ISO 400, the camera speed will be much faster and there is less motion (default is ISO 100). When using the flash mode, make sure that the "SL" flash mode is not turned on, this invariably produces blurry pictures - best to leave the camera on Auto flash mode. All three of these tips will sharply reduce the number of blurry pictures taken with this camera.

The camera is very small and it is fairly easy to accidentally hit and activate one of these buttons, and change the settings, so you have to always check your settings regularly. When the camera is set properly, the shutter always goes off very quickly after pressing the button - delays happen mainly if the camera senses a need for a flash and the flash is still charging. There is also a "Timer" mode which is VERY EASY to hit accidentally with your thumb, and this will, of course, start the timer, and produce a delay in when the shutter goes off. So, repeat, ALWAYS check your settings and make sure you're not in one of these oddball modes. Finally, if you really need to capture a series of shots that fast, this camera comes with two multishot modes - one that takes a very rapid series of shots, and one that takes a slower sequence.

I am a bad 35mm photographer.
I am lousy with technology (computer, cel phones, tv remotes, garage door openers)
Bought this camera 3 months ago.
I take great pictures with this camera.

If I can take good pictures with this camera, ANYONE can.

I've had this camera for about 4 months now and I am still impressed by the photo quality and user friendly features. I upgraded from the original T1 series and miss the compact size but will trade it any day for the quality.

The only down side is the size, its small but not small enough to fit in your pocket. I would definately recommend buying leather case that Sony has for this camera.

I'm the novice, my husband's the camera person -- I just point and click. But I wanted a digital just for me, and this is my camera, bought by myself, a major accomplishment. I have a hand tremor, but with this camera, you'd never know it. Photos always nice and sharp. Prior to this, oh yeah! Ghosts galore. Love the large LCD screen. Took a picture of some daisies and everything shows up crystal clear, even the bug on one of the petals. I'm more than pleased.

I too have to agree with some of the reviews about this camera. After reading all the reviews I'm wondering if some of the cameras are lemons. When I use the auto mode the pictures come out dark and about 30% come out blurry. I have read the manual and tried different settings but nothing works. I would like to know if Sony is aware of this problem. I am disappointed with this camera. I would like to know if the others that wrote good reviews have taken a lot of shots in the auto mode?

I love this camera so much! I have a baby, and I take SO many pictures. This camera has been such a wondeful thing to have. The only blurry pictures I ever had were ones that I took while things were in motion, and I learned that using the multi-burst option would prevent that from happening. This is a GREAT camera and I recommend buying the perfectly-fitting case (also available on amazon.com for only $14.99). I cannot believe how many wonderful pictures I have from this camera. Another bonus is that it takes AA batteries, unlike so many of the newer cameras. I bought the charger that will charge 4 batteries in 15 minutes, so I ALWAYS have an extra set. Plus, we all know how cheap and accessible AA batteries are. I LOVE this camera.

I had this camera for a little bit over a year and it suddenly breaks down on me. It wouldn't turn on. I tried calling the Sony customer service but they were horrible. I'm going to get a Canon next time.

The camera takes good pictures as long as you have a steady hand. Some pictures come out dark and some shadows on pictures. This camera's randomly broke after about 1 year and I did not drop the camera. I bought a Sony PDA and the same thing happened to that lcd - randomly broke - has a crack across the front. Of course, Sony said it was my fault and that I must have done something to it and refused to honor the warranty on that PDA. Since the camera was out of warranty, I knew there was nothing they were going to do. So if you want a decent camera with lousy customer service to support it - go for it! But if you want a great company to support their products, look somewhere else. I am not buying anymore Sony products - I have lost the love for Sony! Beware!

I had this camera for less than a year when it just started showing only a black image in the view finder. It also too black images. This only happened sometimes but I've empirically equated it to being below some optimal temperature. In the summer it's fine. In the winter it sucks but if I keep it close to my body and only take it out when I want to take a shot then it seems to work fine. I've heard of this happening with other Sony cameras.
Other than that (VERY annoying bug) I find the picture quality to be very good. It does a pretty good job with movies also.

I received this camera as a Christmas gift last year from my husband. We had a baby, so I've spent the past year taking many pictures. I have only about 40% that turned out decently. The others are blurry, dark, and lots of red eye. I've tried every possible setting combination and I can't get consistently good pictures. My husband thought it was the way I was taking the pictures, so when he tried, he realized he got the same crappy results. Its a shame because he paid a lot of money for it and we trusted the Sony name, but this Christmas, on the advice of a world traveling friend, I'm asking for a Canon...

I received this camera last year for Christmas. Instead of going online and exhaustively reading reviews, I went to a popular electronics store with some knowledge and was talked into this camera. I had orginally went in for a 5mp camera and was talked into this one. What I found is that over 70% of the pictures are blurry. When they are not blurry they are really good pictures. I have re-read the manual many times and I have tried countless settings and I'm still having problems taking simple pictures. I should have stuck with my 3.1mp Kodak EasyShare. I actually had given it away when I got this camera. I have now gone back and bought another one (the Kodak).

The camera (Sony) has a nice interface and great view window, but in the end if I can't get a good picture consistently then what is the point? I hate speaking bad about a product that I wanted to like, but Sony has dropped the ball. I also hate that it requires their proprietary memory stick which is more costly than other memory cards in the market. Too much money on a product that delivers very little.

Please don't waste your money. I have had this camera for about a year now and it is horrible. Agree with so many of the other reviews - lots of blurry pics, the shutter spend is simply horrendous. I have a baby and to actually catch her smile is impossible because it's so slow. I took this to my sister's house and she started taking pics with it and was appauld at how slow it is. Yes, when you can actually get the right shot, the picture quality is great. But it's rare. Oh, and don't even try to use it indoor without flash, impossible.

My cousin and I both bought cameras before a family trip to Peru last summer. Her Canon is already completely broken, and my Sony DSC-W7 is going strong. My pictures are AMAZING, and while some do come out blurry, that is going to happen with most point-and-shoot cameras or SLR cameras set on automatic settings. Action shots are more difficult, but again, they usually are on SLR cameras. The multi-burst function has always worked for me when I wanted to get a shot of something in action, as does the video setting ;). So you take five times as many pictures. That's the beautfy of digital cameras... you can erase 90% of them. Indoor lighting causes problems for most cameras, but I've found that if I swtich the top dial to the "people" mode that most of that problem is eliminated. To speak a litle more about the different settings on that top dial. I've taken some really great night shots using the "night" setting, and some great landscapes with the "mountain" setting.

The Carl Zeiss lenses are fantastic, and I think that's one of the reasons the pictures come out well. I also LOVE the fact that I can use AA batteries. I love to travel, and the ability to buy batteries anywhere is indispensible. My parents just bought a new 8.1MP Sony camera, and while we were looking at different models, I noticed that all the new cameras require special, expensive, and inconvenient-for-traveling batteries. I am jealous that they have more megapixels, and that their camera is half the size of mine, but... win some, lose some.

I think the controls and features on the camera are pretty standard, I don't think there's much to say about them. The larger screen is becoming pretty standard too. I looked around and saw that there may be attachments for the Carl Zeiss lenses, which would be great, because the mediocre zoom is a little annoying.

I'm kind of surprised that so many people had problems with this camera. As someone who knows their way around cameras, I thought that this was a great camera for a simple point and shoot. I've heard nothing but complaints from everyone I know who has a Canon, althought I've never owned one, it's one of the reasons that I went for the Sony in the first place. I would highly, highly, highly recommend this camera. I hope to hang onto mine for years (or at least until I can afford a digital SLR and all the lenses to go with it).

I have owned this camera for over a year now with only minor proplems with it. The pictures are great but somrtimes the shuter speed is slow after you push the button.Also the night pictures are sometimes fuzzy,other then that its a great camera. I paid like $225 for it new and have no idea why they are so much now! You would do better by shopping around for a cheaper price. Jim Thomas Etiwanda Calif.

I purchase this camera after months of researching camera brands, prices, etc. I couldn't be happier with this camera. The shutter speed is fast, the picture quality is excellent. I have never had a blurry picture. True, nighttime action shots are a bit grainy, but I consider that to be a minor trade-off for such high quality pictures otherwise. The camera housing is sturdy and has a good heft to it.

I bought this camera almost 2 years ago. At first it worked well and I was happy. Then about 6 months ago the quality of the pictures took a nosedive. Like several other reviewers, I'm having the same problem with the pictures being very dark and blurry. I went through the manual several times and did the trouble shooting steps online at Sony's website, but couldn't figure out the problem.

I called Sony just last week and they had no idea what was wrong with it either. It's not under warranty so they said they would charge me $181.00 for parts/labor/shipping even though they have NO idea what the problem is! I don't see how they can give me a flat price when they have no idea if the camera can be repaired or not. On top of that cost, I would have to pay to ship the camera to them, insured of course. I told them no thanks.

My camera isn't even usable. Next time, I'm going with a Nikon.

I got this camera used and it is in great condition. Great, clear picture quality. Mine didn't come with a manual (since I got it used...) and it is still pretty easy to figure it out. This is a great product.

La camara es muy buena,pero tuve problemas con ella cuando la compre, creo que como todo,el problema fue solucionado y la tuve hasta que se la robaron a mi hermano, pero bueno hasta que la tenai era un gran producto...

I had a great time with this camera for about 6 months. It has been in to be repaired once already - when zooming, the lens got stuck and would not close.

10 months later, it is doing the same thing. It won't take pics anymore. I just checked the sony site to see how much it would cost to fix - one hundred and eighty-one dollars. ridiculous. I am all done with sony. we have a lot of sony products and none are of the quality we would expect.

I'm very disappointed user since I bought it ~10 months ago. Before that I was happy with my old 3MP Sony DSC-S70 which I had for over 5 years before I did the upgrade.

- My biggest complain is from the non-working Auto-Focus. Even in a day light you may get 50% of the pictures completely out-of-focus and useless. I get used to set Focus manually if I want to get pictures on Focus but is not very practical at least
- On movie the camera is USELESS too, due to the constantly fluctuating Auto-Focus. A way around is to set the distance manually which is not what a movie is all about. What a shame for 5* Review I've read before I bought it 10 months ago
- Zoom range is not practical. Don't have wide angle for close up and only 3x zoom is not enough.
- In Standard (compressed) mode pictures are OK on a day light (saves space) but on a night shots are so compressed that you loose so many pixels and you can't zoom into. So who cares if it saves space and the picture is useless.
- Flash recharge time is terribly slow besides that is so weak that you can't use it more than 2-3 feet away. I had to buy Sony HVLFSL1B External Slave Flash for ~ $73.76 which helped but you have to carry it too.
- The CCD broke after 6 months while the camera was still under warranty and Sony fixed it. They replaced the lens too because they found it bad too. It took them almost a month to repair it.
- even on a bright day, most of the pictures are little underexposed

+ the only positive thing is the excellent battery life
+ picture has good contrast and color

Overall I'm extremely disappointed and I'm looking for a replacement.
I only don't how I can trust Camera review(s) since by the time I bought it, the camera had excellent (5*) reviews both from experts and users.

I rate it with single (1*) and now (10 months later) I'm reading that other users have similar experience.
I don't see a reason why anybody should buy this model :-(