*** UPDATE March 15, 2010Yes, that's 2010! Here it is, going on TWO YEARS. That has got to be a record. I still love this camera, so if you're looking at a cheap one second-hand, or a new one on deep discount, it's probably a good bet. I liked it so much I bought my daughter one last year (early 2009) for her birthday. She's very rough on cameras, and hers has a few problems now, but still takes good pictures. It is definitely NOT the best camera, but an excellent bet for an all-around family workhorse photo machine.
*****
This is our latest in a loong series of digital cameras. The last two have been Nikons that I thought were pretty decent, but it turns out I've been missing a LOT. This Sony is a good size (I have small hands, though), with a bit of weight to it that convinces me it's more solidly made than some others out there. Our Nikons died because the LCD screens cracked under very little pressure this one feels a bit more substantial, though I still won't be tossing it around.
But the best part about this camera is that it takes great pictures, right out of the box. The included AA batteries don't last long, but once we switched to rechargeables, there has been no issue. And choosing a camera that uses standard size-and-shape batteries was VERY important, since we do sometimes need to buy & use AA's when we're on the go.
It only includes 22mb of memory, which will only hold 8-10 pictures on the medium-quality mode, but I found a 4Gb card for not too much money that will hold over 1000 more. Just plan on adding the cost of memory to the camera purchase, because the built-in memory simply is not enough.
In general, I'm thrilled. With significantly less shutter delay, I can finally take the pictures I've been WANTING to take all along spontaneous, cute, funny pictures of my kids in less-than-ideal conditions: low lighting, moving targets, etc (when are ANY kids ever in an ideal pose for more than a millisecond???).
*** UPDATE November 19, 2008
Wanted to update this in response to a question. It has been a bit of a peeve over the last few months that the DSC730 doesn't seem to be able to zoom when you're shooting a video. You can zoom before, but once you click the shutter button to start shooting, you're stuck with the level of zoom you established beforehand. Mighty annoying. My husband's slightly higher-end Sony has this feature, as did my daughter's much cheaper camera... so I have no clue why they'd leave it out of this one. Drat. Just a little fly in the otherwise great ointment. :-)
NOTE: this camera has taken several lickings and still ticking... so I guess my bad "luck" was only with Nikons.
It can take a beautiful picture, though it says 3x optical...more like .5 optical.
Don't expect anything spectacular out of the zoom feature of this camera. Though if most of your pictures are close up, or within 12 feet, you should have no problem with it.
Kodak has a better zoom feature, even on the 3x optical. I own the Kodak Z710, 10x optical zoom for my personal pictures, this camera was for my fiancee.
Overall: Great camera, great features...not too happy with any ability it has to zoom.
Buy Sony Cybershot DSCS730 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Now
As the title says, this camera should be a Five-Star, but the price keeps it down. This should be a less than $ Point&Shoot camera.Other than that, a pretty remarkable camera. Below is a link to a picture that was "purely accidental."
I was using this camera and set it down next to my Trackball. I saw the image in the view screen and I had to select the Macro setting to get this image. The camera was less than two inches from the Trackball. I just hit the shutter button and let it focus and this is the resulting image.
I did "work" the image a bit in Paint Shop Pro, but not much. Mostly resizing and added a bit of contrast.
There does seem to be some JPG artifacts in the lower right of the image. I guess I could have worked those out, but then there wouldn't be any need to write this review. If I worked this image for all its worth then this wouldn't be a true representation of the camera's abilities.
This camera replaces a very old Sony point and shoot. The camera was well over seven years old. And of course, at the time, it was a very expensive point and shoot. Well above $. So I got my money's worth out of that one. I expect this one to perform as well.
I did do a bit of research and decided that this was a good choice. I do wish that I had looked a bit further. I have seen a couple Sony P&S that are now able to "write" on the screen. Just a fun function, yeah, but that would come in handy if, say, you were selling something on eBay and you wanted to point out a particular "something." You could use the stylus to circle that feature you wanted to point out. But, I didn't see those cameras or maybe I overlooked them because they were just more than I wanted to spend.
I did notice that the camera was a 7.2 mega pixel camera, but that didn't really register. I have a 512 MP Memory Stick Pro and just decided that I could use that. Big mistake...
if you set the camera on the highest/finest settings, then the 512 MB memory stick gets filled up in a hurry.
So I had to buy the two gig MS outlined below. Much better. If you do not have a "large" MS, then be sure to include that in your purchase with this camera, or any camera that has a large mega pixel capability.
If the link to the picture I took of the Trackball does not work just copy and paste into a new browser window.
I am satisfied with this camera. It works well and takes sharp, clear pictures.
Yes, a "Buy!"Sony Cybershot DSCS730 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom
Sony 2 GB Memory Stick PRO Duo (MSX-M2GS) (Retail Package)
Read Best Reviews of Sony Cybershot DSCS730 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Here
This Camera is what everybody need, simple, great image, perfect photo colors, and not too heavy, you doesn't have to charge it (that is unconfortable for me) because it use 2 AA alkalines.I recommend this camera to everyone that just want a simple but functional camera!
Want Sony Cybershot DSCS730 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Discount?
Immediately had flash problems. Had to send it back to get it fixed when the flashed wouldn't work. It took a few weeks to fix, and I had to pay for shipping it there even though it was a problem covered by the warranty. Slow to take pictures at times. You can push the button and it won't take the picture. You may have to push the button up to 3 times to get the pic if the lighting (I guess) for the auto setting isn't perfect. Look around. This is the second Sony I've gotten that has had issues with. I will not be purchasing another Sony in the future. This camera is adequate for now. Turns out the memory cards I have (3 different ones) are not suited for this camera either. This takes a very small Memory Stick PRO duo. No bigger than a stamp. If you do get this memory stick, make sure it comes with an adapter. Then you can use it in other cameras that use a full-sized memory stick in the future. Also rechargeable batteries aren't strong enough. Uses lots of AAs.
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