isong's Full Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S30 Digital Camera
Digital cameras are becoming more and more popular. They’ve become smaller, more powerful, easier to use, and have become much more affordable. With so many manufacturers bumping elbows to get their share of the digital camera market, we (the consumers) have a huge selection to choose from. It's not easy, considering the price range of digital cameras running from about $200 to $1,500. After thorough research and testing, I found that Sony's line of digital cameras were quite possibly one of the easiest and fun to use. The picture quality is superb and the quality of the camera is... well... as perfect as only Sony can make. I already own the Sony Cybershot DSC-S50. I recently helped a friend purchase his first digital camera: the Sony Cybershot DSC-S30...
FIRST IMPRESSIONS:
My friend knew I owned the Cybershot DSC-S50, but he really had his mind set on either a Kodak or Nikon. He felt that Sony's line of digital cameras wouldn't produce the images that the Kodaks and Nikons could produce. He's seen my camera and liked everything about it, he just wanted to see what was out there before making his final purchase. He also had a really tight budget that pretty much wiped out the higher-end Kodaks and all of the Nikons. Which left him with nothing much to choose from. His criteria was this: he wanted a small enough camera that would fit in the palm of his hand, a camera with at least 1.3 mega-pixel picture quality, and USB connectivity to a PC.
The Sony Cybershot DSC-S30 came out on top. You are more than welcome to read my review on the Sony DSC-S50 because the DSC-S30 is almost the same camera, minus a few features. Two key features it lacks is the MPEG recording feature and the 2.1 megapixel picture quality. Instead, the DSC-S30 has a 1.3 megapixel resolution.
The DSC-S30 fits in the palm of your hand and it's mainly designed for the right-handed user. It doesn't offer a viewfinder, yet it has a very clear 2" LCD screen that flips up and rotates so you can take pictures of yourself.
CAPABILITIES:
The maximum picture size that the DSC-S30 produces is 1,472 x 1,104. You can have your shots either saved as JPEG or the uncompressed TIFF mode for absolutely stunning clarity. If you require your shots to be printed in actual photo print size, you can select the 3:2 aspect ratio for picture-perfect prints from your color printer. It comes out rather nicely. The 320 x 240 mode allows you to take pictures for easy transmitting via email. There’s also a 4-mode auto white balance for extra control and available high-speed auto focus with 5 manual focus presets along with macro mode.
The DSC-S30 is capable of 3X optical zoom and 6X digital zoom (a very nice feature). Although the buttons for zooming are small, you’ll realize that it’s a great feature to have.
The flash has settings you can control, as well. The 3 settings: low, normal, and high flash settings allow you to control the amount of flash for different exposure levels. You can even set the time/date to print on each photo and after taking each picture, you have the option of editing right on the camera!
SONY MENU FORMAT:
To navigate within the camera's interface, you need to get used to using Sony's thumb-stick. This thumb-stick allows you to go up, down, left, right, and even acts as the 'action' button for selecting options on the menu screen. It works well and doesn't take long to get used to. It's great but I think this camera is designed primarily for right-handed users. This camera comes with an extensive manual, but if you're the type that hates to read, you'll find that you can actually figure things out on your own just by playing with the camera for a few hours. It's that easy.
MEMORY STICK MEDIA:
Many cameras use such media as CompactFlash and SmartMedia cards. Sony decided to use their own type of media: the Memory Stick. This form of media is smaller than a stick of gum and can be used not only for cameras but other products in Sony’s line of electronics such as the Clie (their new Palm OS-based PDA), Desktop and laptop PCs, and even their future line of wireless phones will incorporate the use of memory sticks. The capacity of memory ranges from 4 megabytes up to 128 megabytes (soon to be on the market are 256 mb and 512 mb memory sticks). The DSC-S30 comes standard with the 4 megabyte memory stick which is pretty much useless for high-resolution picture taking. After a few pics, the memory stick becomes full. I would recommend purchasing an additional memory stick. I found that www.onvia.com sells them for a reasonable price. A 32 mb or 64 mb stick will be plenty for frequent use.
OUTPUT:
You have three ways to view your work of art. You can:
1) View them right on the LCD display screen in playback mode.
2) Transfer them via USB connection to your computer and view them.
3) Use the provided connectors for viewing on your TV. You can even record your work using a VCR (two modes you need to select from are PAL and NTSC).
The ability to output the video onto a large TV is wonderful. My friend was totally taken by that option.
POWER SUPPLY:
The DSC-S30 comes with Sony’s InfoLitium rechargeable battery that lasts a long time on one recharge. The Infolithium battery communicates with the camera to display the amount of time is remaining before it drains completely. It’s very accurate (+ or – 2 to 3 minutes). The charge time varies. The longest time it’s taken to recharge the battery was about one and a half hours. Not bad. You can also use the A/C adapter that’s included. Not only does it power the camera, it also recharges the battery, too.
TRANSFERRING FROM CAMERA TO PC:
When you connect the camera up to the USB port on your PC, transferring the images is easy as pie. The DSC-S30 will show up as a removable drive on your PC and all you need to do is double-click on it to see your files. Afterwards, you just need to click, drag and drop to copy them over onto your PC.
ACCESSORIES:
Sony is great about providing accessories for their products. There’s no problem with finding everything from cases to memory sticks and batteries to lenses… it’s all out there.
SUMMARY:
The DSC-S30 is a great buy for under $500. You not only get a digital camera that takes pictures at 1.3 megapixel quality, but you also get other practical functions such as the video-out feature, on-camera image editing feature, and various AE modes just to name a few. As I write this review, there are many more digital cameras that are popping up on the market. As technology advances, you’ll notice the cameras will only get smaller, the image capturing quality will get better, and overall, the price will become much more affordable. Until then, the Sony DSC-S30 will catch the eyes of many first-time buyers.
All in all, my friend was quite happy with his purchase and so was his wife. They found the DSC-S30 to be exactly what they were looking for an much more. His wife uses the camera more than he does and they find that they take a lot more pictures now than they ever did before. “The compact size of the camera along with the heavily packed features is definitely worth the money,” he said. And knowing that it’s a Sony only reassured him that it was a smart buy.
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