Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-F828 Digital Camera

Pros: 8 megapixels, 7X Carl Zeiss zoom, dual memory card slots, super fast AF
Cons: No ISO 50 sensitivity setting, higher than average noise levels and chromatic aberration

Sony’s first “L” body swiveling lens digicam (the 2 megapixel DSC F505) hit store shelves in 1999. The latest incarnation of that venerable design is an 8 megapixel update of the very popular DSC F717. The new Cybershot DSC F828 introduces ...

Pros: Everything you could ask for in a camera, digital or otherwise.
Cons: Not as easy as it looks.

If you want professional looking pictures then the Sony CyberShot DSC-F828 is the digital camera for you. I don't think there are many that compare without going to an SLR camera. Recently my husband upgraded to the Sony F828 camera purely by ...

Pros: Best handling, impressive speed, high pictures quality, accurate color.
Cons: Need Smaller aperture, faster shutter speed. potential CA/PF. Small CCD.

Who should buy: Sophisticated users to amateur enthusiasts. Best-fit buyers are looking for an ONE-PIECE DIGITAL camera with the most natural control designs, great amount of features, top performance of speeds (non-raw), high quality pictures and high ...

Pros: FAST accurate AF even in low light, flash hot shoe, solid build quality
Cons: CHROMATIC ABERRATIONS, Slow to write 8MP "fine" RAW/TIF, no PC socket

01_08_04 This is my fourth digital camera (1. Ricoh point-n-shoot, 2. Olympus point-n-shoot, 3. Sony DSC-D700). I also shoot Contax 35mm and Mamiya TLR medium format gear. I've got professional tastes with a "serious amateur" budget. For the most ...

Pros: solid materials and construction, easily available and comprehensive professional controls, powerful and variable flash
Cons: fatally flawed focussing system, image degradation at ISOs above 100 and shutter speeds above 200

The enigmatic Sony DSC-F828 has great, but unfulfilled potential. It is tank solid and well-designed, with easily accessible controls, and all the features a pro shooter would want, but it shoots poor pictures. Major Features. The new "Black Angel" ...

Pros: Image Quality (wow), myriad settings for pro quality shooting, Sony quality, CF/MicroDrive option
Cons: Price (worth it), thick user manual, alot to learn to fully use all features.

(SECOND UPDATE) I have taken over 2500 digital pictures in the last 3 months and most of them are quite excellent. THE NAYSAYERS ARE MAKING A HUGE DEAL about Chromatic Aberrations...all digital cameras have CA, some better and some worse. Any pic with ...

Pros: It combines the best of D-SLR and Advanced Digital Cameras.
Cons: It takes a little study time to fully understand all the advanced features.

This is a great camera for me. I mainly use a camera for: outdoor landscape photography, some macro photos, some people shots and occasionally some product photos for clients. I have been using the camera for a few weeks and it meets my needs for these ...

Pros: well built,8 megapixels,dual card slots
Cons: aberations ! Purple/cyan fringe! Erratic focus! No raw software for Mac OS X

I really wanted to love this camera. I'm a professional photographer shooting for major magazines and newspapers around the world.I was looking for something with lots of pixels since my stock photo agents now want images that can go to 50 megs which ...

Pros: Preview picture before shooting. Overall Quality.
Cons: Could be faster proccesing. Sometimes gives a blue tint to pictures.

First let me say that I am not a photography expert. When I bought this camera,....I did not know what aperture was. I had always just used the automatic features on my digital Olypmpus cameras. However,....I recently discovered that 4 Megapixals did ...

Pros: GREAT Lens Excellent auto focus Solid construction Excellent video Easy to use Smart ZOOM
Cons: Higher than average noise over ISO 200 No black and white setting

I have seen the reports of purple fringing and noise. Here is what I've found. At high ISO settings (above 200) there is a lot of noise (big surprise). I usually use the program mode and keep the ISO at 64 to 100 and my photos look great. I have not ...

Pros: Quick start, long battery life, excellent images, great lens, CF card, RAW images....
Cons: ?? Not many as yet, fiddly cable cover, getting accustomed to lens buttons

I ventured into Digital 4 years back with a Sony DSC85 - have taken some great images with that camera which print beautifully on my Epson 1290. The F717 didnt really seem worth the step up, but the F828 more than fulfils my expectations. At NZ$1600, ...

Pros: Perfect next step on this design. Great enhancements, including CFII drive.
Cons: Some things (flash) still highly proprietary, but workarounds available.

An upgrade from my DSC-F707 (h ttp://www.epinions.com/content _278293941892). My uses: product images, public events (inside and out), local/regional advertising pix. Meaning, jpeg or tiff. Raw, though available on ...

Pros: Amazing photo quality, good range of settings
Cons: The size.

I have had this camera since March 2004. It was my second camera, and it has been an excellent choice for me. The optics are Carl Zeiss, proving to provide amazing color reproduction. I have had this camera in the cold of the far north of Canada, the ...

Pros: Movie mode works great! Love the rotating body and long focal length. Good weight.
Cons: Does not perform as expected. Slow capture speeds. Weird display when pointed into sunlight.

A semipro 8Meg camera for under $1k. Wow. The 1st out is not always the best. I wanted a 8meg real bad. I did all the research and printed loads of reviews and pictures as soon as they came to the web. Some people were a little skeptical, but still said ...

Pros: Feels like a camera, looks like a camera, Color accurate. reliable. sensible easy
Cons: Slow at highest res. 12 pics.on 512 mb cf. petite buttons.

I bought the F828 about 5 weeks ago , I read the manual 3 times prior to using the camera [ my habit with all products ] I have found the controls easy to get accustomed to, though they are small, even smaller if your hands are big. I own a mini dv. I ...

Pros: It is an overall professional grade camera. Highly recommended you won’t be disappointed!
Cons: Individual MPEG movie size LIMITED 1.45 GB even with larger storage space.

After a lot of research I recently purchased the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-F828 Digital Camera instead of a video camera. I LOVE it! The night mode is great and can be used in movie mode also. You can edit the movie on the camera if need be removing parts ...

Pros: Love the look, feel, and features - great manual zoom, autofocus, and control layout.
Cons: But I also want acceptable photos without the extra work.

I would have bought this camera at local retailer, but it was out of stock. So I went home and started reviewing it more - of course I saw all the same reviews you have concerning the CA and noise. So I grabbed a memory stick and went back to the ...

Pros: Beautiful build quality, great lens, wonderful handling, and ultimately terrific image quality.
Cons: Some high ISO noise, purple fringing in high contrast images, stupid flap over USB port.

The 828 is a superb camera that has gotten significant bad press over purple fringing. It's an overblown issue and should not weigh heavily in a decision to buy one. The build quality is beyond reproach, the handling is superior to anything in its class, ...

Pros: Great features, great lense and zoom, dual memory media
Cons: Pictures needs post-processing, expensive, heavy

This camera is definitely not for the 'average user' as it is much heavier and more expensive than other 5MP or greater cameras. The manual zoom lens is a GREAT feature and the focusing is ultra-fast. I've already taken about 50 photos with this ...

Pros: CF Card Storage, Great lense, Superb picture quality, Fast picture shooting. Long battery life
Cons: Long raw writing time, Seen better lense hoods.

After reading countless reviews and narrowing it down between the Sony F-828 and the new Canon Digital Rebel I decided to go for the Sony. Image quality is fantastic and the ablity to manually zoom really aids in fantastic picture quality. The camera is ...

Pros: Build quality, materials used in construction, weight is great and it is balanced very well.
Cons: Larger LCD would be nice. External charger should be included.

"Very well made, loaded with quality and professional picture taking tools" Geno on 12-Jan-2004 08:38:30 PM Pros: Had a long wait for this camera and it was worth it. Build quality is fantastic and the controls are very easy to use once you use them ...

Pros: 8 megapixels, T* Carl Zeiss lense, accepts CF/MS media, Nightshot!
Cons: Purple Fringe in some pictures. Hope for firmware update.

I have this camera for about 2 weeks and have taken several hundred pictures. Here are some of the conclusions I made. Flash: It is very powerful for such a small flash. The baby tend to run towards the camera which tend causes overexposure. If you ...

Pros: EASY!/Focus! Lens Quality! Fleshtones are accurate!/EASY!Easy!/fast! No Lag at all!and Easy!
Cons: Somewhat Large,and Heavy, But worth it!

Gave my Nikon8meg to my daughter and Bought this...Wonderfull! Thank Sony for the Green Auto mode button and the fact that it WORKS! Take this camera out of the box, set it on auto and take Awesome pictures that print out at 13X19 with no pixelation. Who ...

Pros: Accepts Compfact Flash and Memory stick, very fast and accurate laser-assist focusing
Cons: Terrible Purple Fringing, Stores images at only 72dpi

This was the largest, bulkiest and heaviest camera I've ever used so far. But it also had the highest resolution among the ones I've used - an 8 MegaPixel CCD that allows you to take pictures in JPEG, TIFF and RAW formats.

The camera comes with a laser-assist auto focusing system that ensures perfectly focused images in pitch darkness! This focusing is super-fast and accurate; couple that with an IR bulb for night framing that allows you to take shots in darkness without the flash. The body has a rugged feel to it; you'll feel like you're holding a professional SLR camera. Other than that, the F828 has a manual focus ring and a manual 10X zoom, and it uses a Lithium Ion Battery that charges within 2 hours and goes on for even longer.

Now for the bad nes. First, the images are taken at 72dpi-not good for professional prints. Second, the images suffer terrible purple fringing and get noisy at 400 ISO and above. All in all, this is an excellent camera with a few but important setbacks

Pros: Excellent build quality and design; superb lens; good battery life; fast auto-focus; Sony dependability
Cons: Slow RAW and TIFF capture, but who cares!

This digital camera blows all the others right out of the ballpark. The Zeiss T-Star zoom lens is one of the sharpest lenses I've ever owned. The lens is designed for digital capture, and unlike lenses built for SLRs,it is much less bulky and thus much lighter. The purple fringing issue keeps coming up, but I have not noticed it any more on this lens than my D-series Nikon lenses . . . a non-issue as far as I'm concerned. It gets a little noisy above ISO 200, but I have little or no reason to even go above 64! The RGB+E color sensor increases the color gamut substantially. While the RAW and TIFF capture is slow, with the JPEG-Fine platform I have no reason or desire to use either of them. Granted the 828 is somewhat bulkier than some of its brethren, but at least you have something to hold onto. Compared to the heavy digital SLR equipment I've been lugging around, the 828 is like a feather. The rotating camera body is extremely useful. The overall design and build quality amounts to a professional piece of equipment that suits my travel photography needs to a "T".

Pros: Excellent lens, focusing, great picture quality, great battery, different media at same time.
Cons: The camera is heavy

I have now shot well over 3000 pictures, in all lighting conditions, both in-doors and out, including night shot, and night framing. The camera, as with most things, is far more capable than the person using it. I have read some comments about bad pictures at high shutter speeds, I have gotten great pictures out the window of a bus going 65 miles an hour, shooting at 1/800 and 1/1000 of a second. No blurring, no C/A or P/F. The battery is the best I have seen in the last 4 Sony digitals that I have owned.

The camera is big and does get heavy after carrying it around the neck all day, but it is well worth the effort.

Pros: Speed, construction, dual media, configurability
Cons: Bigger than most cameras (minor)

A largish, FAST, well-constructed, feature-rich, dual media camera that I absolutely fell in love with at first touch. I bought the camera in Japan and am waiting for the English user manual, but have a passing familiarity with Japanese and got the menu switched to English. I've messed with some settings, but am supremely impressed with its SPEED at turn-on and file writing. This is my fourth digital camera (Fuji, Nikon, Nikon, now this). I use Sony MiniDV camcorders and love the commonality of the batteries used for both. Plus battery life seems like it'll be lengthy. The four-color CCD seems to capture colors more accurately. I like the manual zoom ring, although it'll be an adjustment after three cameras with zoom buttons. The on-camera flash is astounding! Tons of power and reach! Recycle times are very short. I bought this based on the new 4-color CCD, dual-media (finally!) and optical zoom capability. My user experience has been nothing short of spectacular! When I get my user manual and really discover what this bad-boy can do, I'm sure I'll do cartwheels!

Pros: Ease of use... takes incredibly clear photos, comparable to with the best SLR film quality.
Cons: Few... Larger screen would help. But won't find it in comparably priced cameras.

Easy to use, easy to experiment with, and still makes poster size prints that look incredibly crisp and clear. Using the "auto" setting, my kids even take great pictures. I get to enjoy "playing" with the many settings. After 4500 shots, it is still fun. The video comes in handy for those time when 15 seconds to 2 minutes would be nice.

Pros: MANUAL FOCUS RING, great battery life, great low-light operation... much more
Cons: slightly heavy, but it "feels" very professional

the sony dsc-f828 is definately a must have. don't listen to all the critics out there complaining about the "purple fringing"... though i personally have not had the first hint of this, if you are going to scrutinize that deep anyway you should be heading the SLR way. sony has really out-done itself on this one though, one of only 2 in the 8MP field with a MANUAL FOCUS RING!!! and this is its best feature, too. it also works really well in low light, be it with or without flash. the flash does not turn the person white as many do, either; very good built-in flash. also, it is very convenient that this camera accepts mem sticks, CF cards, and Microdrives. great feature. i also love the swivel-body, although i wish the lcd could flip out and back in to protect itself. also, GREAT battery life!!!! INCREDIBLE!!! definately a great camera for a amature or semi-pro or even pro photographer... VERY user-friendly; the most features of the 8MP's and the easiest to use as well! kudos sony!

Pros: 4th Color Emerald "e" provides the best raw pix for this level of camera.
Cons: The usual noise issue, but good Photoshop skills overcomes most of the problem.

I purchased my Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-F828 Digital Camera shortly after they hit the stores. It has proved to be one of the best photographic tools that I've ever owned. Besides being a great pro level location camera for my graphics business that captures great available light shots in factories, hospitals, etc. when necessary, it also serves as a terrific scanner for stuff too big or thick for my desktop scanner. When a strobe is needed, the high end Sony HVL-F32X strobe does a wonderful job in a variety of challenging circumstances... especially in low ambient light. The swivel back makes it possible to see the display when raising the camera high above my head on a monopod when shooting crowded events. A flat back SLR just couldn't do that! This camera is dependable and solid... one of the best digital purchases I've ever made. FYI: I'm a former ad agency art/creative director who changed careers when digital made it possible to become a photo designer illustrator.

Pros: World's First 4 Color CCD Makes Big Difference!! 8MP, RAW, Excellent Macro, Beautiful! Fast!
Cons: Flimsy Rubbery cover for the cable doors.

This Sony has a beautiful solid build and it is the only camera I have ever bought that I'm completely satisfied with! The picture quality is amazing, not just because it's 8MP but the colors are beautiful and so real! That's thanks to the world's first 4 color CCD image sensor! The auto focus is so incredibly quick!! I bought the Sony DSC-V3 just before this camera and I thought that was the fastest since it's the newest but this F828 is even faster at autofocusing and the shutter is superfast, start up is superfast! I love this camera! I couldn't ask for anything more!!!

Pros: Great Image Quality, Good Selection of Features, Sony durability.
Cons: Heavy and large.

I bought a Sony DSC F828 in the spring of 2004. I love it, it is great. I am not a superior photographer, so I don't use all the functions of a digital SLR, so I bough a digital instead. After comparing it to the Canon Powershot, with 5MP, I decided that I would like a higher resolution for my photographs. The 8.3MP resolution on the DSC F828 is great. Technically its only 8.0MP, but whatever. The features are great, with compact flash card support, as well as memory stick. Speaking of the memory stick interface; I used a 64MB MS, the original, not the Pro. And the images don't save in good color with a non-pro card, so I bought a 512MB MS Pro, and it works great. Image sizes on the hard drive average 3-4MB. 14x zoom, could be slightly better, but its still great. The camera itself is huge, which isn't a good thing, but the features are superb for a non-SLR. Its great, and its features are amazing, including the shutter speed, and manual mode.

Pros: Very responsive Great zoom Great ergonomics Great dynamic range Wonderful detail
Cons: CA/PF (no big deal with post processing)

I've been using this camera for about a month. It is a great tool. It has intuitive control, feels wonderful in hand, and is extremely responsive. Picture quality is excellent. Details and dynamic range are unbelievable. The manual focus feature is great and AF is very very fast. There is almost no shutter lag. I can take action pictures again! It feels like a high quality SLR. There is CA/PF in high contrast areas, but it can be easily fixed in post processing. The often noted noise at high iso's is there but again can be fixed pretty quickly. Low light -- actually no light -- focusing is amazing. The 28-200, f2.0/2.8 lens is extremely flexible. Oh, and the live histogram is a terrific feature. Another often overlooked plus is the camera's "smart" zoom feature where you can drop the resolution and increase the true zoom without detail loss. Finally, I love the swivel feature which works like my old Coolpix 995. Do I sound like I love this camera? Well, I do.

Pros: Well built, manual zoom, awesome macro,accurate color, 8 meg pix, etc etc...
Cons: noise levels when settings above ISO 64.

The camera has a great feel to it. Well built, lots of features that are a joy to use. It does a fine job at color reproduction, and I really like the manual zoom. I wish the focus was also manual. Sony has always done an outstanding job with their macro settings. This camera is no different. I have been able to take razor sharp photographs with the lens only half and inch from the subject. The smart digital zoom is great, but in my line of work digital zooming of any kind is not allowed.

The majority of photographs I take are for legal work, and retouching a photo in photoshop is out of the question. The camera does a fine job at ISO 64, but above that setting,the noise renders the photographs useless. I have not noticed the purple fringing others have talked about.

The flash is great for the distances listed, but I have found it helpful to purchase an accessory flash.

Pros: Ease of use / sturdy
Cons: Manual Zoom / poor quality even at 8MPX.

The new F828 does not perform as advertised. Mine did produce excellent results for about two weeks and then the quality began to degrade. Returned to Sony (they had it 3 weeks) and said nothing was wrong. Took two sets of photos, one set at 5.0mpx and one set at 8.0mpx. No difference in quality of image. Took same set of pictures with my new Konica Minolta G600 (6mpx) and the results were twice as good as the Sony. The F828 replaced my F707 (5MPX) and now wish I had not sold it. Much better camera.
It is really a shame as the features of the F828, especially movies are great. For $1,000 is should be much better.

Pros: Build quality. Manual Zoom. Longer Battery life
Cons: Memory stick not included

I decided to upgrade from the F-505v and have not been disappointed. Everyone complains about the CA, but so far (over 1,000 shots) I have found little. If the CA is really an issue for you, there are a few programs out there for post processing that actually work. This one is only 10 bucks and easy to use. http://www.shaystephens.com/ca-ps.asp
I'm not going to get technical. There are plenty of reviews with that info. I am not a professional, just a person who enjoys taking pictures. Mostly of wildlife. I have gotten some awesome shots of my dogs flying through the air, macros of bugs, beautiful landscapes, etc. This camera does it all for me.
Even a night shot of an endangered Northern Flying Squirrel.
Also,I don't want to forget that this camera has a super movie recording capability. Much improved over the F505v
It would be very hard to take a bad picture with this camera. The camera is a bit conspicuous if you are shooting in a crowd. People may take you for a pro. And even if you're not, you'll certainly feel like one with this bad boy in your hands.

Pros: design, features, LENS, ergonomic, easy to use, absolutely fantastic pictures.
Cons: a little heavy an expensive but we have to pay for Sony quality.

This is my second digital camera My first one, a Nikon Coolpix 3200. I wasn't completely satisfied with this camera so I decided to go up to professional level. Upon examining several of the new 8 megapixel cameras, I decided to buy this wonderful piece of 2004 engineering. No faults, Just a beautiful camera that fulfills all what Sony promised. Messrs. Morita and Ibuka, founders of Sony and, alas, no longer with us, would have been very proud of this wonderful achievement. Let's hope it is in production for several years.

Pros: Build quality, image detail, color accuracy, very fast in Jpeg mode. cf slot finally!
Cons: noise above Iso200, slow raw/tiff modes, purple fringing

This camera rocks, after the s-75, 717, g-5, and Nikon 5400. I am blown away by the new Sony. It does everything most of us will ever need. The 28-200mm mechanical zoom lens is great. f2.8 at 200mm allows for great low-light and shallow depth of field shots.

Pros: Great optical zoom system, and very little shutter lag.
Cons: Some shots have too much blue in them.

I've used mostly low megapixel Sony cameras before the 828 came along. This one acts and looks like a pro camera.

Pros: Excellent build quality
Cons: None so far

Ever want something bad enough that you read the same reviews over and over because you can't find more to read?
That was my experience with the F828.

Two years ago, I bought the DiMAGE A2 after doing considerable research. With that said, the F828's looks are more appealing to me. I shot my first wedding with the A2, and it was then that I considered the F828 as a backup. I have now decided to make it my primary camera for action shots while I use the A2 for portraits. I'm still learning about it, so I can't give details as to any weaknesses, etc. If you're into numbers and specs, it rates up there with the best.

I read somewhere about the lack of converters for the F828. While this is true of Sony's offerings, I have a Raynox telephoto converter that compliments it well. This attachment gives it a more serious look than it already has, and it has provided some decent shots so far.

Overall, I love the camera's look and feel, and I'm glad I own one. If you're in the market for serious gear in this class, give it some consideration.