Hopefully you didn't buy one of these cameras
Written: Mar 27 '05 (Updated Jan 26 '07)
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Pros: Pros: Good size, High resolution at a reasonable price, Nice movie mode
Cons: Cons: Mine needed repair (and still does apparently), severely degrading quality over time
The Bottom Line: I can no longer recommend this camera due to recurring problems with picture quality. Oh well, it's about time to get a new camera anyway.
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| garbagio's Full Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P92 Digital Camera |
*** Read update - I no longer recommend this camera and would strongly discourage buying a Sony digicam ***
Overall I've been very happy with this camera. I'm not a camera buff - I just want a camera that takes good family pictures. The camera is easy to use and the batteries last a decent amount of time. However, the battery life may be more of a concern if I didn't have a second set of batteries and a fast charger. These are essential accessories. The camera comes with 2 AA Rechargeable batteries which are pretty good, but don't last as long as the slim lithium batteries that some of the smaller cameras use. The included charger takes at least 6 hours for a full charge and only does 2 batteries at a time. The camera comes with no carrying case either. Sony sells an accessory pack that includes a case, an extra set of batteries and a quick charger (3 hours). These accessories are all very useful, especially on trips. The included memory stick is, of course, the useless 16 MB stick most cameras come with. You can take 7 high res pictures with this memory stick. Oh boy. Luckily memory has gotten a lot cheaper since I bought this camera. Memory Stick Pro is a little more expensive that other formats, but they're all so cheap now it really doesn't matter.
The movie mode is great. Unlike some cameras, the Sony DSC-P92 will let you take a movie that's limited in length only by your camera memory. I would recommend at least 256 MB of memory to take advantage of this and to store high res still pictures. I recently upgraded to a 512 MB memory stick.
One weird problem I had with the camera is that it started taking blurry pictures one day. Once I was convinced that the camera was malfunctioning (at first I thought some setting got screwed up) I took it back to Best Buy and had them fix it. It turned out to be something called a fringe gear. Anyway, I would definitely recommend an extended warranty with this camera. I've read other reviews where people complained about blurry pictures. Even now the camera will sometimes take blurry pictures under certain conditions (mostly in poorly lit indoor areas), but not very often.
Don't waste your money on a docking station. The included USB cable works great for downloading pictures especially if you have a port on the front of your computer. I can download about 100 pics in 5 minutes without draining the battery noticeably.
*** UPDATE *** 1/26/07
Hopefully not many people bought this camera based on my review or the other positive reviews on this site. The blurry picture/fringe gear problem turned out to be a recurring one. I've had the camera repaired a second time and it worked fine for a while, but now it's gone bad again. The camera now almost refuses to take clear pictures indoors under any lighting conditions. Oddly enough, if you take a picture in total darkness (obviously w/flash) the pictures are still good. Outdoors in sunlight is still OK too. With the degrading quality of this camera, I can no longer recommend it. When I buy a new camera I will steer clear of Sony and go with a company with a solid history in camera optics (like Canon or Nikon). I have a co-worker who has had similar problems with his DSC-P72 which is the same camera as mine, but with lower resolution. He too will no longer buy Sony cameras.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 300
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
garbagio
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Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
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