Sony Cyber-Shot: Some great features but pictures aren't great

I got a Sony Cyber-shot to replace a camera that was stolen. I needed an immediate replacement and didn't have to research cameras. I found this one on sale at Staples.

FEATURES (from the manufacturer)

6.0 megapixels
3x optical/2x digital zoom
VGA movie mode for camcorder-quality footage
Accepts Memory Stick PRO Duo™ memory cards (32MB internal memory included)
2" color LCD screen
On-camera help guide with text/icon display

MY EXPERIENCE

I found this camera very easy to use. It is very small and lightweight so it slips easily into a pocket. The 2 inch view screen on the back makes it easy to frame up pictures. My kids even find it easy to use. The camera has a self-focus feature so I just have to point and shoot.

This camera has a zoom feature. The zoom is just about average and seems to work with a slight delay. If you really like the zoom feature and take lots of photos from a distance, I would consider getting a more sophisticated camera.

There is a wheel on the back of the camera that gives various shooting options such as snow, twilight, beach and soft snap. These various options are represented as pictures on the wheel. What I have found difficult in the past with other cameras is that I could never figure out what each picture stands for. On this camera, when you select an option, the words appear on the video screen so you clearly know what you have chosen.

I have tried most of the various features. Certain ones such as snow or beach seem to work well. Other options that are supposed to work in darker conditions aren't that great. I found that the twilight feature just opens the lens longer. Therefore, if your subject moves or you move, you get a blurry picture. Since I am usually photographing children, my subjects never stay still and I have little use for that feature. Overall, I don't really use the special features much. I find this camera works best on the automatic setting.

One thing I really like about this camera is the video clips. The video features is extremely easy to use. You just turn the wheel to the video feature. You push the button once to start and once to stop. The clips come out with pretty good video quality and surprisingly good audio quality. I have taken good clips of several minutes each and really like them.

MEMORY

This camera comes with very limited memory so you will have to buy a memory chip. One option is a duo, which is a two part gizmo. One part is the chip that fits in the camera and the other piece is a holder that can be used to take the chip to get prints made. The duos run around $50 so that can really run up the cost of the camera.

GETTING YOUR PICTURES AND VIDEOS FROM THE CAMERA

I really like the sony brand for digital cameras because it is compatible with my computer without special software. If I use a USB cable to link the camera to my laptop (which is a compaq), my laptop automatically recognizes the camera, downloads the pictures and, if I choose to, deletes all the pictures off my camera. Once I get the pictures on my laptop, I can upload them to a site like snapfish.com or shutterfly.com and order prints. I can also email them to friends. The USB cable doesn't come with the camera, you will have to buy that separately.

Video clips will upload to my laptop the same way the pictures do. Once on my laptop, I copy the video clips to disks to give to friends. You can upload them to websites to make copies but I don't see the point since I can copy them from my laptop for free. You can't email video clips because the files are usually too big.

Another option to get pictures is to use the duo that I described above. When you remove the memory chip from the camera, you put it in the attachment and you can take it to any place that has a photo machine to make prints. I am not sure how this works with the video clips because I find it easier to put those on my laptop.

PICTURE QUALITY

I like the picture quality that this camera produces in good light conditions on the auto-focus feature. This camera does a poor job of taking pictures in darker conditions, even with the flash. The pictures are either poorly lit or blurry or both. Taking pictures inside with average light has mixed results. Although this camera has a feature to reduce red eye, I find that I get more red eye with this camera than other cameras I have had in the past. Also, this camera has a 1-3 second lag. I am not sure what makes the camera have a longer lag sometimes although it seems it occurs more in darker conditions. I like cameras that snap as soon as possible since I am usually shooting my children and the cutest photos are usually captured in the second they occur.

BATTERY

This camera's battery is great. It is a square battery unique to the camera. It comes with a small plastic charger. I charge the battery less than half an hour and it will last for months. I definitely find this to be a vast improvement over lots of other cameras I have had. The only problem would be if I lost the charger. In that case, it would be hard to find a replacement.

FINAL RECOMMENDATION

I like this camera for outdoor conditions. I think the pictures in outdoor conditions come out great. Pictures inside are more of a mixed bag. Also, this camera isn't great in dark conditions. The camera is very easy to use, even for those not used to digital cameras. It is also small and lightweight which is nice for slipping in a pocket. I would recommend this camera for someone looking for an easy to use digital camera that doesn't have high expectations for quality photos under lots of varied conditions.