Sony DSCP52 Cyber-shot 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom

This P-52 Cybershot camera is an incredible value, and I couldn't be happier with it. I've compared this camera with 2003 Canon, Fuji, HP photosmart and Kodak models, and the Sony wins hands down. Except in the case of the Canon, the Sony P-52 is far superior. There are almost too many pros to even list.

=====PROS=====

-The most advanced "Super H.A.D. CCD" exclusive to Sony.

-CCD is 2x as sensitive as any other company's CCD, & 6 dB less digital noise!

-beautiful, accurate colour

-extremely versatile lens takes perfect pics from 3 inches away

-very fast autofocus (1/2 a second)

-autofocus illuminator light for taking pics in the dark

-extremely fast start-up. Around 1.5 seconds!

-very fast LCD: almost no lapse time from real life to LCD.

-LCD has 6 settings for good viewing indoors or out.

-Aperture stays open up to 2 full seconds in dark. Anything longer can damage the CCD, or let in too many unwanted artifacts

-full array of manual functions (aperture [ev], focus & ISO)

-snow mode keeps the detail of the white snow

-beach mode captures the perfect blue of the water

-up to 1 GIG of memory supports memory stick Pro!

-5 pic size settings VGA, 1.2 mp, 2.0 mp 2.8 mp & 3.1 mp

-2.8 mp is "3:2 ratio" for perfect 4 x 6 photos

-cool multi-burst mode. Takes 2 pictures in a row, under 1 second. 16-shot option as well.

-smart flash. Even when taking picture in daylight, will sense if it is needed, and come on appropriately.

-Smart Zoom. Not a digital zoom. Picture quality does not degrade like standard digital zooms.

-very long battery life. 2 Ni-mh "Stamina" AA batteries last 67% longer than 2002 batteries.

-metal threads for tripod. Most other companies use plastic. Bad idea!

-menus are beautiful: incredibly easy to understand and navigate.

-prints at "photo quality" up to 8x10. After that, starts to lose some quality, but 11x14 still looks excellent.

-USB 2.0

-fun modes like Sepia, B&W, Solarize and Negative Art.

-voice function: records audio for 5 seconds after taking a picture. (40 sec. option available too)

-instant "review" button of last pic taken, when the LCD screen is off.

=====Mpeg Movie=====

-film mpegs with sound, limited only by the size of the memory. Example 128 mb memory stick = 6 minutes of 640x480 or 1.5 hours of "email" quality (160x112)

-filmed at 16 frames per second, although after filming, camera info states that it was filmed at 25 fps.

=====CONS=====

-flash is off too far to the side of the lens. It makes big shadows on the left side of your subject.

-Snow mode seems to overexpose the shot a little.

-Optical viewfinder only shows roughly 80% of actual picture area. Use the LCD.

-only 2x optical zoom. The standard seems to be 3x. Sony needs to catch up here.

-zoom only works before you start filming. Can't change the zoom during filming.

-flash will charge slowly if batteries are running low.

=====CONCLUSION=====

An absolutely perfect and versatile camera. Only a professional photographer would, or could, find fault with it. But a professional would likely be using an SLR style camera worth at least double what this camera is worth.That being said, the price is great and Sony has really found a winner here.

This is a very fast camera in all respects, and that is important. Takes fast (and accurate) pictures, and saves info almost instantly. There are no load times for pictures or movie files, like the Hewlett Packard camera line.

5 stars all the way.

This camera is a great gem for the price and offers great versatility. The camera is very good quality (sturdy) and can take a few bumps and scratches, unlike many other flimsy cameras in this price range. I have owned digital cameras before and many of the typical problems are solved with the P52. I take a lot of pictures at family events, and vacations. Its a great take along camera.

PROS -

The camera turns on super fast, like in 2-3 seconds it is ready to take a shot. (this is an annoying problem with many digital cameras) And it also saves the pictures to the memory card is very fast, less than 1 second and its ready again to shoot.

The battery useage is excellent. Even with regular alkaline batteries I've been able to take pictures for several hours, at 2Mpix Normal setting. With the included rechargeable Sony batteries it is superb on battery life.

Camera menu is very extensive IF you want to use it. If not you can leave it on "Auto" and the pictures turn out great, most of the time.

Can take pictures in COMPLETE DARKNESS. This I have done many times using the flash on red-eye reduction setting, it works in a regular size room (10 x 14). Great for sneaking up on sleeping family members and taking funny pictures. The flash is very powerful up to about 9-10 feet.

CONS

The pictures tend to have redish atifacts in them, particularly when taking very close up shots of people.

Pictures taken out doors can sometimes look too bright, almost washed out. You can make some adjustments to the ISO to fix this problem.

Movie mode eats up the memory stick quickly, so I had to upgrade to a 256MB Memory Stick Pro ($65 at ) and now its great.

Marco mode ...forget it, not good on this camera. So if you plan on taking close up shots of flowers or something, choose another camera.

Overall this a gem of a camera for any regular picture taking, and can even be used by kids without having to fiddle with a lot of controls. Just press the power button and you are ready to take pictures. It really takes the hassle out of digital photography.

Buy Sony DSCP52 Cyber-shot 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom Now

As you would expect from a Sony camera, it has good picture quality in daylight. The night shots are not so good since it has only a 2 sec twilight mode. And the lens isn't very bright either. (P72/P32 have brighter F2.8 lens)

Battery life is excellent and LCD screen is good. World charger and NiMH batteries are included.

Check out the specs of this model carefully, its different from P72/P32. This one is 2in thick, has old & slow 2x zoom lens and is bulky.

Its a shame Sony tries to sell 3MP/2x instead of popular combination of 2MP/3x. Not to mention the extra cost of propreitary memory sticks compared to CF/SD cards. There are so many better camera's in market than this for a lower cost, I don't see any reason for this to sell.

Read Best Reviews of Sony DSCP52 Cyber-shot 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom Here

This was a nice camera while it worked. It was broken after 9 months and the cost was $171 to repair. I could not find repair centers on the internet and tried to call Sony customer support. I never talked to a person because the wait was 34 minutes. I finally found a repair site but the cost was outragous. I could buy a new camera just like the broken one for $190. Never again for Sony. Too bad because I did like their products. Repair is too expensive and too much hassle.

Want Sony DSCP52 Cyber-shot 3.2MP Digital Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom Discount?

If only this camera had a larger zoom range! This is what I keep asking myself time after time. I love the picture quality of the camera, and the fact that you can switch the mega-pixel range from under 1 mega-pixel to 3.2 mega-pixels comes in very handy indeed. I purchased this camera because of the size, just small enough to carry around wherever I go and yet, large enough so that my fat fingers have space to get to all the buttons.

I highly recommend this little gem! So, why only four stars, well, I would have liked a larger zoom and IMO EVERYONE has room for improvement.

Ciao!