Customer Reviews

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20/B 10.1 MP Digital Camera with 10x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization

5 star:		(147)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I am no expert when it comes to photography but enjoy taking good pictures of my family and friends. I have kids in sports and I like to take my own pictures for picture giving. I read many reviews (for hours) on various cameras and endet up with this one here. I first was going to get the DSC-H50 (one step up from the DSC-H20). When I went to the store to buy it, however, it was to large for my taste. It was to big to fit in a pants pocket and even for my small purse it was quite large. Here are the main reasons why this camera is awesome!

This camera here is not as compact as your typical slim camera (due to the 10x zoom), but it is small enough to fit in a purse or even a jacket/pants pocket if need be.

This camera has a burst mode so you can hold down the shutter and the camera will take numerous pictures, thus making it ideal for action shots. I took it to a Volleyball tournament and got unbelievable shots of my daughter serving and hitting! I cought her in mid air more then a few times...just what I had hoped for. I also took pictures at a track meet and got kids jumping hurdles...the pictures look almost like magazine shots!

This camera is extremely easy to use in the easy and auto adjust mode! It tells you everything on the screen. You can start shooting pretty much right away...it's that easy! The manual is good to have for reference and questions and if you really want to get to know your camera.

The zoom is great and plenty! I took pictures from the mezzanine onto the Volleyball courts and could get nice close up shots! 10x is plenty for me!

The battery life is also impressive, as long as you keep your screen on a regular bright setting. First I had it set to "bright" and the battery didn't do well. Then I set it to normal and it lasts a long time. I took about 150 shots and not a single bar was missing from the battery!

It has a rechargebale battery so you don't have to keep buying regular batteries. Also, it does say that you can get a international charger so the battery charger can be plugged in anywhere in the world. (Still have to get that myself). What a nice option.

The quality of the pictures is also great! I took a team photo and my daughter took it to a practice to show the others. They choose the picture to use in a frame as a gift to the coaches. It turned out so good and all I did was push a button!

When shooting pictures, it has a option for the file size you select. If you know you want to email pictures, or for example if you sell on eBay and want to download pictures onto the ebay site, you select the small file size and shoot pictures that way for working with them online. For pictures that you use for portraits for example, you choose a larger file (pixels I guess), and that way it does not distort the picture when you enlarge it. That is also extremely easy to figure out!

Last but not least...I plugged it into my pc with the supplied USB cord and retrieved the photos the same way I always did in the past. I have not yet added the picture cd that came with it, but my guess is that it will work very good. I also took the 2GB SD card to Wal mart and made nice prints (you have to purchase the pro duo stick seperate...look for the "Sony pro-Duo Stick" cost about $13-$15). The 2 GB is plenty for me, I think it holds about 400 pictures).

Great camera...I have not found a flaw yet!

After much research and trying out a few cameras (Panasonic Zs1 being its main competitor) I am settling for this sony H20. The picture quality in the H20 was just much more clear. The Panasonic Lumix Zs1 had inconsistent performance and I found some pictures to be very grainy and unpleasing. I was lured in by the Panasonic's wide angle lens and several scene selection modes, but in the end none of those matter if your picture is grainy and not of printable quality. The biggest positive about this camera is its consistently good picture quality and performance. I took this camera with me to Southeast Asia and was able to get good pictures out of a moving car and at all zooms both indoors and outdoors. I was able to get some stunning pics with the lumix but only at times and for each good pic I had about 20 bad ones, and when your traveling or trying to capture a moment you just don't have time to shoot 20-30 frames to get a good one. For this Sony camera to be truly perfect I really wish it had a wide angle lens, a panoramic assist function (like the Sony HX1 which is much bigger and not much better pic quality but the panoramic function is incredible), a more compact design with a built in lens cap and flash so the cap doesn't pop off every time you take a picture. I looked and looked for the perfect camera and with those added features this would be it, but for now I will settle for this camera and hopefully sony will add those functions and improve this camera in its next upgrade. If you are looking for a compact travel camera that is several steps up from the normal 3x zoom and takes consistently good crisp pictures in various settings I would recommend this camera. It is not nearly as bulky as DSLRs making it a very easy travel companion, and it takes better pics than the other competing cameras in its range as well as some mega zoom cameras.

UPDATE: November 2009-
Before I left on my trip to Turkey and Europe I ended up purchasing another camera, the Canon Sx10is. This camera was more expensive and bigger both things I was initially trying to fight against, but I am so glad I went for this extra investment because the pictures I have been able to take on my trip (panoramic and regular) have come out absolutely stunning, all on auto setting, and using the panoramic assist function. It is a little bulkier then the sony but it still fits in my purse and the results in the pic quality are incredible.I figure I will probably not come back to these places and get the opportunity to take stunning pics again, so the slightly more money and bulk ended up being no bother when I will have very memorable pictures to look back on my trips. Look for my review and uploaded pics on the canon powershot page. If you can afford it and can take slightly more bulk, this camera ended up being the ultimate winner for me, and was everything I was trying to force the sony to be. I wanted to offer this option to those who are looking for something a little more then the sony has to offer. check out this canon before deciding.

I bought this camera for a two week trip I was about to take. I also purchased an extra extended battery and an 8GB memory card for the camera. The main reason I purchased the camera was for its ability to take pictures quickly. I looked through consumer reports and this one was one of the top rated cameras. The cost is very good for this quality camera. I could take a picture withing a couple of seconds after turning the camera on and I could take a picture again less than a second later. This camera also has great battery life. Even if you just use the included battery, you can still get around 3-400 pictures (assuming you are not using flash). The zoom on the camera is great. It is a 10x optical zoom and additional 7x digital zoom. This gives you the power of a 17x zoom. If you take your picture at 17x zoom, you can then zoom in on your picture another 8x under the "review your pictures" menu. This camera is also small enough to fit into a small over the shoulder camera bag. It fit into my old camera bag that I used to have a small Olympus camera in. I recommend this camera for ages 16 and up. It is a great camera that it comparable to any SLR camera. I think it is better than a SLR because it is so much smaller than any SLR you could purchase.

After going through 2 generations of the lumix TZ series (TZ3 and TZ4) which served well as multi purpose cameras, I wanted a multi-purpose camera that also had better video quality and superior low light capabilities. Here is my why not others comparison (it may not match with your needs, but it might help some of you)

Panasonic Lumix ZS1 / TZ6 vs Sony H20
Lower quality video (same as WVGA resolution as the TZ4), and could not adapt to the different lighting conditions like its higher model TZ7 (something that Panasonic does not mention clearly so be vary).

Panasonic ZS3 / TZ7 vs Sony H20
Unfortunately seems to have fallen prey to its high reviews with the price at $399 (even with weekend discounts it was around $340).
Panasonic has decided to clam on cheap batteries, so you can't use OEM batteries with the latest firmware (needed as it supposedly fixes the autofocussing issue in videos). This mean you need to bust out 50-60$ for a spare battery, and since the new battery is smaller than the one's used in the previous models, you need the spare.

[Update] Price has dropped considerably, but the battery prices still remain ridiculously high. After market batteries that work around the chipping proof logic seem to be available but no guarantee if they will work, so not worth the hassle. One more issue i came across after i tried the unit was that Class 6 SDHC is not good enough to record video in high quality and you need to spend loads of $$ and get high speed SDHC if you want to record in high quality :(

Canon SX200 vs Sony H20
The canon SX200 though having good picture quality and full manual controls was out simply because it does not have optical zoom in videos.

Samsung WB550 vs Sony H20
Optics that match the Lumix TZ7 in spec, and yet offering all what the Sony has to offer, so in theory its the camera that's the all rounder
But the reviews highlighted the picture quality was not very good and had the purple fringing problem
Uncertain quality of samsung camera (Since the samsung mobile phones are a bit low on reliability from experience)

Therefore i came to the conclusion the best alternative to the Lumix that also matched my needs was the Sony DSC-H20 though knowing that the lack of a true wide screen (38mm vs 28mm in the panasonic) may limit my landscape shots and group photos.

The initial impression once i received the unit was that it was definitely not as slim as the Lumix cameras, and the build quality while good for a plastic unit seemingly a bit fragile compared to the all metal lumix. I guess its going to take some time for me to shift from the lumix mindset :) The positive being that this sony model was made in Japan.

However the pictures confirmed what the reviewers said that it was camera with good potential. The daylight pictures are superb, and the focus is much faster than the TZ4 i had last. The macro mode is able to go much closer than the TZ4 (and even the TZ7), and i realized this meant even better close up pictures. The video quality in good light is superb, and the zoom speed is decent, and smooth. The jump to 720p HD is definitely noticed compared to VGA/WVGA and you will not want to revert back :) The Sony focussed quite well while zooming in video mode compared to the TZ4 (and i heard the new TZ7 panasonics also still have this problem).

Then i tried the indoor pictures, and the quality again was very good (My wife said the pictures were definitely a lot more clear and vivid compared to the TZ4). The dual shot capability is also useful, though in most cases the second option is useless as the modes used don't seem very intelligent. The flash definitely is very powerful, and works well even to provide background clarity. The video indoors is much better than my TZ4 as it adapts well to the low light, and in high sensitivity mode while the video can be a bit noisy it still able to provide fair footage.

If you are the forgetful type remember to set the flash to auto, if not you are are going to be disappointed when the shots turns out grainy when taken without the flash.

The menus are fairly easy to use the feedback from the navigation buttons are bit less than the TZ4, and i miss the context menu capability of the lumix. Sony hiding the settings menu and requiring the user to press "." at the last menu option is unnecessary initially then i realized its to keep the menu's slimmer with the options required for normal use available, and only the lesser used options are in this hidden menu.

One feature that i thought the camera had was that it could increase its optical zoom to higher values just like the Panasonic range (e.g. in the lumix when i set it to 3MP, the zoom increased to 15.9X from 10X optical). However seems the Sony cannot do that, and only has the digital zoom increasing and this is of no use.

Another useful feature is that you can press the play button when the camera is switched off to view the photos on the camera without having the lens come out. The play button also works when you connect the USB connector to connect to the PC again without the lens mechanism getting activated.

PROS
Good picture quality both outdoors and indoors
Video is very good, and does well in low light as well
Very good macro photos
10X optical zoom an asset for an all purpose camera
Nice features and smile shutter works well (yet to try blink detection)
Fast focusing specially in low light conditions
Lightweight and well balanced
Nice 3" LCD which shows pictures well
Manual mode useful for indoor and night photos

CONS
Lens cover is a pain, and would have preferred an automatic option like in the lumix, this also makes the camera a bit more bulky
Not a true wide screen optics, so you have a limited view in wide mode
Only 3 modes for video VGA (4:3), and high/low HD (16:9).
Use of memory stick as the storage medium :(
A slimmer profile would have been nice
Pop-up flash while effective also mean you need to pop-it in back
Flash recycle time is slow
Manual mode has limited flexibility

[Update]
Sold the camera the shutter lag and long flash recycling did not suite my type of photography sadly.

We went into Best Buy to buy the DSC T77 - it was horrible! We loved our little W50 and decided to stick with the CyberShot line. Thank goodness we found THIS camera.

I was more than happy to pay the additional cost when I saw all of the features.

Super steady shot - and excellent fast motion shots. Tons of neat settings to catch the perfect shot. The macro and close up capability is in amazing detail - as well as the zoom.

We took pictures at the zoo of Elephants super far away and zoomed in and got some amazing shots!

This camera is positively one of the best I've ever seen Sony put out for it's type. The smile detection function is AWESOME and it REALLY works and it works fast!

Also - you can edit peoples faces ON the camera to make it look like they were smiling! How cool is that?

Another thing - you can set priority face recognition so that it will focus on the person you want it to when you're shooting pictures - like the bride in a wedding party for example. You can set her face as a priority face and it will automatically focus on her.

We are in love with this camera and have absolutely NOTHING but good things to say about it!

Buy with confidence knowing you will love this camera.

Hello all, this camera is the real deal for its price. It is very easy to use and since I'm new with all this camera stuff, I love the fact you get detail info on the little icons indicating what they do. This helps my learning process for this camera. Also when the time is right, and you understand the camera, you can shut this option off. The picture quality is next to amazing. Especially at night, all my other cameras could never take pictures like this does. The detail is so crisp and clear. I'm truly impressed with this HD camera. If you are on the fence jump off and get this camera.

What I like the most about this camera is the 10X zoom and the HD video. This is one of the few cameras that allow you to do OPTICAL zoom on the video (canon only do digital zoom while in video mode). The zoom is 38mm to 380mm (10X). Not that good for wide angle (38mm vs 24mm or 28mm in most P&S), but I prefer to have more zoom (380mm) than wide angle for short distance pics. Also the video format is MPEG4 which I believe is easy to manage and good in compression. Price is also perfect, got it for $230. Overall great camera!!!

I bought mine last week and it arrived 2 days ago. By the time i got the camera, I tested it immediately and had a couple of shots. This is my first personal camera and I am really enjoying it a lot. We had a lot of cameras before but my dad/mom owns it and most of them were Sony and I'm just borrowing. This is one of the best Sony's P&S camera in my opinion.

At first, I was planning to get a DSLR or just the DSC-H50 but I am not feeling the bulky cameras as of the moment. I travel a lot and I don't think I want to bring those bulky and heavy gadgets with me. So, I did some research for a good camera specifications (that are small enough) and I ended up choosing between the Canon SD960 and this one (DSC-H20). Both of them almost have the same specs but the Canon camera is a little bit more expensive than H20. Also, I'm looking for a camera with better optical zoom and Sony-H20 offers twice the zoom strength as the Canon model that I am aiming for.

What I like about it:
- The HD quality video that it can take PLUS you can zoom while recording.
- It's like a mini-dslr because you can switch it to Manual mode and you can adjust the aperture and shutter speed so you can do panning as well. A small camera that really works.. what can I say?
- I love doing Bokeh and Macro shots!!! A+++
- The features such as SCN, editing in camera etc.
- The built and grip! Eventhough the body is made out of plastic, you can feel that it's tough and you can hold it really tight.
- The smile shutter - works well for the Kids..
- Ofcourse, the optical zoom.
- The strong flash

What I don't like:
- No viewfinder
- Popping out of flash, if you're not aware/forgot that you're going take a shot with a flash on/auto.
- Lens cap - you tend to forget that it's there and may block the lens from popping out when you open your camera. It's a little bit annoying and it gives me the feeling that it might break my camera. Though it says that you should remove the cap and turn off your unit and turn it on again, before it works.

Well, overall it's a great small camera and very worthit for its price. The cons I listed are not pretty much of a big deal especially when you see the crisp brilliant photos that you can take with DSC-H20. I bet you're going to love it too and it's worthit worthit and worthit!

I bought the camera with the following stuffs: Sony 8gb mark 2 pro duo memory card, the sony pouch and a tripod.
[...]

With this camera you get something pretty close to what the SLR can produce without taking up all that much room or breaking the bank. The 10x zoom is nice and steady with shutter speeds of about 1/25th giving me nice results at 5x7. VR was invented for people like me who quiver. 8x10's are decent as long as the viewer is 3' back or so but that's pretty much a normal veiwing point anyway. The Zeiss lens is phenominal!

Bad news first: Noise becomes a factor at about 400 on large prints but anyone who wants to create a scrap book or photo album should not be dissapointed.
Some of the layout like formating your memory card could be a drag for some. I have another Sony using #100 file on my computer and when I eventually found the "re-format" feature in the menu, it restarted back at 100 instead of #103 I use for this one. ( A Sony issue in general it seems). I would have preferred an optical veiwfinder but no cameras of this caliber have one these days. Also it would be nice to hold the "view" button when pushing the "on" button and not have the lens come out to extend battery life a bit. It has a "manual" feature but no "apperature" or "shutter" feature and the "program" feature says its adjustable but isn't unless you count the computer doing it for you as such. Point and shoot cameras all come with certain automatic features. Those who require total control must pick their poison and I chose this one for the price versus the overall features.

Good news: Start up time is pretty fast. Not SLR like mind you but still pretty good. And if you tap the shutter button (like an SLR) after snapping a photo you can get another photo off pretty quick too. My favorite part about this little gem besides the wonderful pictures it takes are the re-touch features I've not seen on other cameras (yet) like partial color, fisheye and my favorite... retro. I just got the camera and figure on putting it through the paces over time. After 5 days I've shot over 500 pictures. I had to charge the factory battery after about 250 pictures. It came fully charged from the factory so I was taking pictures right out of the box. That was frequently turning it on and off, zooming frequently, retouching numerous photos and using the flash from time to time.

Overall I'm pretty satisfied with Sony's little DSC-H20 and would reccomend it to others. At less than $300 it's a keeper. I haven't left home without it yet (even when I have my SLR).

edit: the fact that the camera can go from feathers on a bird from 25 yards(10x) to a bug on your sleeve (1/2" away) without pushing any buttons is amazing. One more thing, I figured out you can push the "view " button and the camera turns on to display photos without the lens popping out in a touch of a single button instead of a combo like the others.. nice touch Sony

I just got this camera with my Sony reward points. I was considering this camera or DSCH50. I'm a complete novice when it comes to cameras and would generally only buying a camera in $100-200 range.

It's a pretty good size for me; compact but not small enough to put in your pocket comfortably. The instructions are fairly substantial at about 60 pages but straightforward and easy to understand. I've tried out the face detection, smile detection, and various scene detection options. I haven't tried the HD movie feature yet.

The quality of the shots looks great with various options of file size and resolution, from email to 13X19". The construction appears fairly sturdy. The placement of the buttons is intuitive and not hard to reach. I've been quite happy with the shots I've taken and options that are available. I've taken action shots at sporting events, close-in low light shots of agarose gels under UV light (I'm a scientist), and snapshots of my wife, cats etc. I've been quite happy with the camera.

The biggest drawback is that the camera, being Sony, requires Sony's proprietary memory sticks. I can't really say how it compares to models from Nikon etc in the same price range.