Customer Reviews

Sony Cyber-shot DCS-P30 1.3MP Digital Camera

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I already had a Sony DSC S50 for myself and was looking for another less expensive camera for my daughter. I purchased the P30 for her and assumed that it was accessorized like my own camera. After purchase, I realized that the camera kit DID NOT INCLUDE a rechargeable power supply or recharger. The supplied AA batteries will only last about 2 hours under the best conditions. The batteries were shot by the time I familiarized myself with the operating manual. You can purchase an accessory kit from Sony for about $99 that includes a rechargable lithium battery, charger, and a camera case. I would have preferred to purchase the camera with this equipment included.

Most of the customer reviews so far have expounded on two key facts: 1) This camera has very good functionality for the price, and 2) Sony did a poor job with power supply. It comes with alkaline batteries, which the manual says you can't use to transfer files to a computer. It's hard to call the power adapter and a battery upgrade (e.g. nickel metal hydride) anything but a necessity.

Left out of the reviews is a third factor which people haven't seemed to mention yet. The cameras, or perhaps just some of them, don't function properly with FRESH AA alkaline batteries. After mine quickly used up the two that came with it, I put in good fresh ones that tested well, and the camera wouldn't turn on in either record mode or moving picture mode (and would turn off if I moved into those modes from others). In playback mode, the battery indicator verified that the batteries were good. This led to emails to Sony which led to inane computer-generated responses reminding me to change the batteries. Eventually I got through to a representative on the phone who said the problem I was having was common. Got that - MANY people had the same problem. Best Buy doesn't accept the returns because Sony, wary of the problem, includes a label in the packaging saying something like "if malfunctioning do not return to the store." They don't offer you your money back as part of your warranty. Now I'm stuck having to ship it to PA and hoping they return it working properly. Meanwhile I've bought Nickel MH batteries and a charger which has seemed to be a quick fix. I've sent pictures to the computer without the AC adapter that Sony indicates is mandatory.

I've edited this review to add that I now believe I've purchased enough equipment to get around the power supply problem. NiMH batteries, a charger, a 32 MB memory stick, and a USB memory stick reader all appear to make the camera fully functional. It takes good pictures. Still, [those dollars are] a lot to throw at a $... camera, and Sony's skeletal warranty and lack of forthrightness are troublesome.

Ive had a few digital cameras in the past 2 years, but none of the came to the quality and features that I wanted. Being the techno freak I am, I wanted a camera that could do anything I wanted it to. I was almost set on an Olympus when this Sony came in at my work. It was love at first site. For a bit more money I was getting a much better zoom, movie recorder and Sony quality. Needless to say, I got it on my Birthday and I could not be happier. Setting it up is incredibly easy *as most of Sony products are* and using it makes even a novice an expert with a few hours of practice. The layout of the camera is comfortable and lightweight, Easily held in one hand to take pictures. The LCD is bright and crisp and show almost no slowdown when viewing it. A very nice turn nob selects the mode on the camera, No more fiddling with menus on the LCD. The 3xoptical zoom is great when you want to get a little closer. An optional 6xdigital is there to, but the pictures turn out to fuzzy. This camera could do anything you want it to, macro shots, low light, fast action, low light, low background light, movies,clip art, clip motion, red eye reduction and more! The menus system is very straightforward, hard to screw up. Picture quality is awesome. Though sometimes a bit soft, easily rectified with the Photosuite 8.1 the camera comes with. It would be hard pressed to get a better program without spending alot of money. Installation of the USB software takes just minutes, and a full 32 meg Stick takes just 30 seconds to upload. *no more serial!*

One bad side, this thing eats batteries like Joan Collins goes through makeup. I went through 6AA alkaline in 3 hours the first day. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEND getting rechargebles, Nickel Metal Hydride perferred, this camera loves its batteries.

Also, recommend getting a bigger Sony Stick, the included 4 meg only does 6 pics at highest setting, a 32meg will get you 50. *what I use*

In all, I am very much enjoying this camera and taking great photos. If you interested in seeing what some look like email me at icewind@montana.com and I'll give you a link. For people who want to get into the Digital realm but want a low price for great quality, the SONY DSC-P30 is absolutely hard to beat!

I took the plunge and bought this camera. I liked the style and the features, I read the reviews and disbelieved the battery problems. Everyting everybody writes here is is true...this thing eats up batteries like you won't believe! 15 - 20 minutes per pair of batteries max. Wow. It's incredibly frustrating. Then, if you want to upgrade to the Lithium battery, . . . the charger, the DC adaptor, or upgrade the memory (the 4MB is a joke) to 32MB, etc. etc All are sold seperately. You can't just grab some no name accesories either. It must be ($$$$) Sony!

I returned this camera in less than 12 hours after purchasing. I won't be tethered to Sony for the rest of my life. If you want a similar camera, at the same price, that has more memory(16MB), uses RECHARGEABLE long-life Nickel-Metal Hydride batteries and includes the charger, try the FujiFilm FinePix 2600 Zoom.

Buyer beware! The Sony has great features. But what good are they when the batteries keep dying?

After much online reasearch I decides on this digital camera for the price and list of features. In a day of online shopping I found this camera for $267 including shipping charges. I'm a longtime 35mm user (an Olympus IS-30 DLX)and wanted something that was compact, had good image quality and could record short video clips. This camera does all this just fine. The bad part is that only a 4 mb memory stick is included and when taking photos at the highest res this camera ofers you'll get abt 5 pics on the memory stick. Also get the rechargable battery the 2 AA's that came with the camera lasted me 4hrs or abt 20 pics. For the prcie and list of features you get, I don't think this camera can be beat. An additional gripe is that the memory sticks are quite pricey but once you pic up one 64 mb stick you shoud be fine. Sev people I know have this camera and there computer is running windows ME and they had problems. My pc is running Windows ME, the upgrade from windows 98 (1st edition) and it works fine.

This is my first attempt at a digital camera, and I feel very fortunate to have purchased this one. I did a lot of research online, looking for models that were not over $300, that would work on both my PC and my MAC. I also wanted to be able to use a USB connection. After alot of searching, I was pretty sure I was going to get the Kodak with MP3 player and Video, but when I got to the store and found this Sony, I was quick to change my mind. After comparing the 2 and realizing that for only about $40 more I could have so many more features, I went for it. It has a great LCD to catch the action and has an optical as well as digital zoom. I also like the fact that it has a lens cover. It is very small and easy to hold when taking pictures. I am very disapointed, however, in the short battery life, but guess that goes along with just about any digicam. The 4mb memory stick is also pretty disapointing, but both of these things can be taken care of by buying accessories. I had no problem taking photos and I had no problem installing the drivers onto either of my computers. Pictures showed up where they were supposed to and I have already used them on a few auctions. Sony has always been good to me and I expect to get a lot of years out of this camera. Also the instruction booklet is very precise and easy to understand. One more gripe, if you will, is I would have liked to have seen them include audio in the videos I can take, but overall this is a fine camera in my opinion!

I spent a great deal of time researching and trying out several digital cameras before buying. I had a limited budget of $300-400, so I wanted to get as much quality as I could for as few $$$ as possible. Doesn't everyone?

I tried out the Canon Powershot A20, Olympus, and Fuji FinePix. All came highly-recommended and rated by consumer reports. But I saw that the Sony Cybershot also ranked in the top 5 in one report so I check it out.

I was extremely impressed with the features and quality of photos taken with the Cybershot. The price was one of the lowest too. I highly recommend trying out the cameras before you buy! Don't just take an editor's word for it. Picking out the right digital camera with the right look and feel is a very personal thing.

The only bad thing that I can say about the Cybershot is that despite being around $100 cheaper than comparable products, you'd be well advised to take that $100 and buy Sony's lithium-ion battery and charger kit. Alkalines last only minutes in this camera but the Stamina (Sony's Lithium-Ion battery) lasts an outstanding 90 minutes!!

The camera comes with features like an MPEG movie mode for capturing short video clips (no sound), photo effects like Sephia, and photo editting (zooming, cropping, resizing) right on the camera.

Another feature that I liked with the Cybershot was the freedom to take control over the shutter speed and aperature if I wanted to try some advanced photo effects.

Try before you buy! You'll be glad that you did.

Upgrades you NEED!!!

...Battery and Charger...16 MB Memory Stick----MSA-16A

You NEED the Battery and Charger because normal batteries only last about 15 min.

You NEED the 16 MB Memory Stick because the camera only comes with a 4 MB Stick and that is DEFINATELY not enough.

The Sony DSC-P30 is a terrific first camera to use for great 4"x6" snapshots or good 5x7s, or for email or web use. (You would need more pixels to do bigger enlargements). It takes great pictures; is very well-featured for a camera in this range; and is well-designed and easy to use.
- The 3x optical zoom is a huge plus, and will give you much better composed and better quality photos than non-zoom or digital zoom cameras.
- If you like close-ups, the "Macro" feature will amaze you.
- It's all automatic when you want to point and shoot, but allows you some control when you want it.
The features and components are based on more expensive Sonys, a big plus.
...P>A few things to know up front:
- All digital cameras eat batteries. Get NiMH rechargeables rated 1700-1800 mah (cheaper and better than the Sony lithium pack for this camera). The DSC-P30 is actually better than most in that it uses only 2AAs, and lasts a fairly long time on that. So you can easily carry a spare set, shoot all day, and your battery worries are over.
- The Sony Memory Stick format IS more expensive, but since this is a lower-resolution 1.3MP camera you need only 64 to 128mb (gives you 100-200 photos at high quality). Unfortunate, but not enough difference to avoid this camera, as some suggest.
- All digital cameras have "shutter lag" and longish shot to shot times. This is one of the major adjustments new digicam owners face when they get their first camera. The Sony DSC-P30 starts up very fast, and has a typical shot-to-shot time.
- All digital cameras have trouble in low light. The "autofocus illuminator" on this camera helps with that, and is rare on lower-priced cameras.
- The viewfinder (used in bright light or to save battery by not using LCD) doesn't show the full picture. It's a common problem, you can somewhat get used to it, but it's one of the few negatives for this camera.

An alternative would be the Canon A10. Less features, a little heavier (uses 4AAs), but the Compact Flash cards Canon uses are cheaper. Both cameras require you to buy rechargeable batteries and a bigger memory card to be really usable - that's industry practice, unfortunately.

this was our first digital camera and we are not disappointed. it is an excellent camera, easy to use and produces great quality photos. we did quite a bit of research and we made our decision based on the following:

- we were novices so we didn't want to go high end at first - we have a sony camcorder so we had memory sticks available - we read some of the other reviews about battery life so we bought the power adapter and rechargable batteries

even though the camera is a 1.3 megapixel, we are very happy with the results it produces. the picture is definitely clear and we can confidently use these photos on our business web site. with the research we did, we are very happy with this product.