Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W530 14.1 MP Digital Still Camera with Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 4x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and 2.7-inch LCD (Blue)

I just love this camera. I bought a really great Sony Cybershot in 2009 but it was stolen in February 2011. I wanted to replace it for a trip to Ireland over the summer, but I did not want to a buy the same top of the line model. I went with this one and I am so glad I did.First of all, the price is really unbeatable. The number of megapixels you can get for just over $100 is incredible.I took this camera with me to Ireland for three months. It was fantastic because the battery life would last for an entire weekend filled with hiking and loads of picture taking. There is no bulky dock either, I like that I only needed a USB cord. This camera does require that battery charging be done on a wall unit. This is not ideal for a trip to Europe, but I experienced no problems when using a voltage converter, it never got too hot or lessened the battery life.If you are looking for something that won't break the bank but is really quality, I think this is a great option. I like the blue because I thought the black one looked dated. It is pretty bright, if you are conservative go with silver or black. It is really really blue.Update:About a year later, this product is still a great value. Of course, I don't think a new generation has been released, but it is gratifying that I can walk into a Target and not see a camera by the same make that is twice as good for the same price. Image quality is good for the price and with a little editing some of my photos from Ireland are print and frame quality. I also like that the item comes with a cord instead of a dock + cord like some of the other Cybershots. This is ideal for traveling, it packs up much lighter and you can import photos without a hard, flat surface (say from your bed in a hostel). The dock on my old Cybershot was unnecessary.

I haven't bought a new camera for myself in years, so I did a lot of research before buying this one. Actually, I did too much research and wound up confused. I finally just broke down and ordered this one because it seemed like a good deal.I'm really glad I bought it. It takes great pictures and it's easy to use. I don't like to spend a lot of time figuring out technology, and the menu on this camera makes things really easy to figure out. I haven't even looked at the owner's manual since I got the camera. The panoramic feature is awesome: just set it on panoramic, hold the button down, and scan the scene from left to right.The only thing I wish this camera had was a lower MP setting. It takes pictures in four settings: VGA, 5 MP, 10 MP, and 14 MP. The 10 and 14 are very detailed and ideal for blowing up into large prints. Even the 5 MP looks good in a large size. The VGA setting is pretty poor quality, not even worthy of viewing on your computer or sending to someone via email. The solution to this is the 5 MP setting, which produces a great quality picture but is also a very large-sized file, so you can't send many pics at once. It would be great if this camera had a 2 or 3 MP setting. Not a huge deal, though.UPDATE 3/31/13: This camera still works great. The battery still holds a charge just fine (knock on wood.) I have no regrets about this purchase.

Although I own a Nikon D90, I bought the Sony Cybershot because I wanted a small camera I could throw in my pocket and play with. This Sony Cybershot got excellent reviews and it was the right price.The camera looks great but feels cheap in your hands. The power and shutter buttons are clunky. To turn it on or take a photo, I have to press buttons hard with my fingernail. The 3-second recycling time per shot seems a bit long. Take a photo .... wait. Take a photo ... wait.Forget the 14+ megapixels. That means nothing when the lens and the processor are cheap. Carl Zeiss lens? Who cares! A gazillion photo-taking features? Why bother! The Cybershot's photos lack detail and are quite poor in quality. As a matter of fact, they look like they've been doctored with the smart blur feature in Photoshop. Everything has that slick model clay look. What is the value of being able to make a 13" x 9" print that looks like total crap?I also own a 5-year-old Canon Powershot (5 megapixels) that takes better photos. I've made small art prints with it. In fact, my parents bought a 7 megapixel GE digital camera from Walgreens a few years ago for $85, and it takes better photos. Heck, I'd bet I can get crisper (though smaller) photos from my cheap iPod camera.This is a kid's camera, nothing more. If this were $40, I'd forgive a lot of its flaws. But at $100+, it's way overpriced. I returned mine.