Sony Cybershot DSC-H7 8.1MP Digital Camera with 15x Optical Image Stabilization Zoom (OLD MODEL)

Out of the box impressions: Ultimate point and shoot. There may be downsides for those into serious digital photography but for semi-advanced idiot shooters like me, this is tops. Biggest advance for me: No shoot-the-head-get-the-tail lag in sports mode. 15X zoom is great. Movie mode works seamlessly and seems of high quality. I've seen critiques of the H9 on Amazon that were long and scathing and so I was somewhat skeptical. Those with concerns about advanced color and a real need for 8 mp should check them out. They're well done. But the serious critiques seem to come from those looking for a pro SLR, not a point and shoot. Which to me is like saying a great family car isn't like a sports car. Two different animals. But for my needs, which include some shots for publication and web publishing, this is an enormously big camera at a reasonable price. Battery pack works great. Strobe is big. One annoyance: not sure if sound-effects can be shut off. Serious problem for wildlife fotogs. Updates...See comments on how sound can be turned off. Also, after a few months of use, still feel great about the camera. Con: On close photo shots, if you have the lens attachment on, the lens attachment will throw a shadow as it blocks the strobe.

I bought this camera for a New York trip. I took almost 500 pictures and less than 10% are OK, the rest are blurry or with noise. I read the manual and tried with all the settings without success. Thanks to the outstanding return policy of Amazon I was able to return it and get my money back.I do not recommend this camera. I may have done something wrong but most of the pictures were taken using the auto function and in daylight, so there are no excuses.

If you are looking for a good camera to take great pictures at a lower cost than a DSLR this is one of your best options. I just bought the H7 a month ago and I would recommend it to anyone.The picture quality is great, the 15X optical zoom works fine and the manual controls are excellent for this kind of camera. Overall, I think that the Sony H7 is a bargain for the price (I paid $303 on Amazon). I bought it with the purpose of learning a little bit of photography and I think it was a great choice.- Battery life is pretty good.- LCD screen is good enough.- 15X zoom is just great.- Auto focus works fast.- Steady shot is very good.- Face detection works all the time.

This camera has served me well but not well enough. I can say that it takes incredible pictures, but only when it decides to. I have had a lot of difficulty shooting in low light and shooting moving objects. Many times I miss great shots because this camera wastes so much time focusing and refocusing that it ends up with a blurry image after I feverishly press the button. To my dismay, the button broke off recently. I have had cameras before and I have never had a shutter button break off. I think the shutter button should be one of the most sturdily designed aspects of the camera - especially for Sony which gives so little for such great costs most of the time. I really feel cheated because I bought this camera in early 2007. Therefore, I will say that the camera body is cheap. The viewfinder window is also askew/misplaced. I don't think this is one of those tough cameras that people boast of having forever. It is my hope that the newer version addressed those issues. I have gone from believing in Sony and recommending it to NOT doing so right now. Like I said, this camera gives incredible pictures when it fancies but that is not good enough for me. It also gives orange and other strange casts in indoor photography, even though different settings are tried. If anyone has the secret of how to make this camera work the way it should - fill me in. That's my piece for now. I have just purchased a Panasonic Lumix, which boasts Leica lens, as a solution to my Sony DSC-H7 issue. I am looking forward to a new era of stress free photography.Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28K 10MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

I chose the cybershot for the 15X zoom, and for the sports mode. So far the camera has been terrific. Easy to use, and the zoom is great. The pictures have been excellent, and almost always in focus. I especially like that there is no delay between pushing the button and the actual shooting of the photo.

The camera is not bad. What is dissapointing are that cables, batteries, charger (hardware) and software are Sony-specific so be ready to proliferation and spend a couple of hundred dollars more in accesories if you want back ups.