Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Camera (Black)

• 16.2 megapixels "Exmor R" CMOS sensor for superior low-light performance
• 4X optical zoom
• 3.0-inch LCD
• Certified waterproof, dustproof, and shockproof
• Full HD 1080/60i with dual record of stills and movies

I purchased this camera after trying (and being disappointed with) the Nikon Coolpix. The picture quality from the Sony camera was light-years better than the Nikon.

The "good":

Very small.

The moveable metal cover did a good job protecting the lens, and was easy to open with one hand.

Superb picture quality and superb videos

16Megapix quality

A good zoom feature

The "bad"

Pricey (most expensive in its class?)

The record, on/off, display, picture buttons are all WAY TOO CLOSE TO EACH OTHER...It is sometimes hard to press just the button you want

The documentation is not great (the documentation is stored electronically in the camera and is not very comprehensive

The lens is located very close to the top-left of the camera and your finger will make its way into too many of your photos

The electronic viewfinder is difficult to see in bright sunlight (all cameras that have a similar viewfinder will have this problem)

Having said this, I'm glad I bought it and pleased with the quality and the product.

Buy Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Camera (Black) Now

I just received my DSC-TX20 (Black) yesterday and I've tested it and compared it to the previous DSC-TX10 that I had for one year and I gave it to my brother in law. I've been very happy with the DSC-TX10 and I like the new DSC-TX20 a lot. There is no significant changes, the main ones are that the shooter speed is increased to 4 sec (from 2 sec) for night shooting and the new one has video recording in 60i in 1080 AVCHD. Also the panorama option has been boosted since the DSC-TX10's entry, offering solid panoramas of up to 360 degrees. Sony also increased focusing speed. I think these are basically all the differences. Waterproofing and the design hasn't change at all. I red a lot of comments about the waterproofing on the TX10 both good and bed. I am scuba diver and I've been doing underwater photography for several years now. This camera is not designed for that, it's rated only for 5 meters (16 foot) which I tested in our community pool and it works just fine. Of course you will need to read the instructions and make sure that the seals are properly closed. The camera is great for any pool and for a lot of fun with the kids. Bottom line it's awesome camera. For it's class I think it's the best on the market for now. If you are looking for very good pictures from a small camera that's the one.

I recommend you also read the professional review for this model at []

Read Best Reviews of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Camera (Black) Here

After a 20 mile, 3 day whitewater kayaking trip in the back country of the Big South Fork Nat'l River & Recreation Area, I can say that I have pretty thoroughly testing this little camera and I love it. Sand, mud, dirt, etc. can get in behind the sliding cover, which will cause scratches if you don't clean it properly. Instructions are provided, and submerging in clean water for 5 minutes effectively cleared the grit. It is VERY small, which I love for portability, but I can see how it would be cumbersome for folks that are "all thumbs". Photo & video quality are great for such a compact, waterproof camera, and in full auto mode it does a good job with metering and exposure. Obviously, there are loads of point and shoot cameras that will take better photos, but for me this is a beach/river/back country camera for those times when it isn't practical to bring a better camera. It has an awesome macro function that lets you get extremely close to your subject, and the auto-pano function works great and is really fun. I'm still getting used to the idea of carrying a camera with me in my kayak and not obsessing about keeping it in a pelican case the whole time! I highly recommend a floating camera strap to go with it in case you drop it in the water... it's water proof, not sink proof! I snagged the chums camera strap and it works great. I don't expect it to last forever, but I'm hard on gear and will happily put this little unit through hell until it gives up! :-)

Want Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Camera (Black) Discount?

I love the size and features of this camera. I just took it on a trip to Belize where we snorkeled. The little Sony was terrific. It good picture and videos that we certainly acceptable or better for its size. It was really nice to be able to always have it in my pocket for a quick shot.

Unfortunately, when I got home I notice what appeared to be some green corrosion on the mini HDMI connector. Sure enough when I tried to view my pictures and video on my TV it was a no go. Everything else is working fine but it is a real bummer that the HD video, 3D images, etc... only work through the HDMI, so back to Sony it must go since I was 3 days beyond the Amazon returns policy :-(

So far the Sony returns process seems OK so hopefully I will get a new or at least working unit to have fun with on my next excursion.

Save 40% off

We've had this little guy through a Maui vacation, and it's been excellent!!

First off, some good points:

It's certainly waterproof, and has a "underwater" scene mode to help you shoot underwater. I'm not exactly sure what it does, but it seems to work better underwater with the underwater mode enabled, the auto mode tends to kick the camera into Macro mode underwater.

We've taken it snorkeling with us, as well as played in the waves and surf with it and it worked excellently. You can see the screen while snorkeling without too many issues, the camera does have a touchscreen, and it automatically disables the touchscreen while under water. This does mean that you're limited to changing settings while you're above water, but you can start and stop video recording as well as take pictures, zoom, and turn the camera on and off without the touchscreen.

The built in panorama mode is pretty great, it reminds me of the panorama mode in iOS 6, works basically the same way, turn your camera vertically and move it smoothly and quickly from one side to the other.

The image quality is excellent for what it is, the image sensor is a actual CMOS sensor (albeit still a small one) both "dry land" photos and underwater photos turn out great. I normally shoot with a DSLR and good lenses so impressing me with a point-n-shoot has always been difficult.

The video quality is excellent as well, I haven't viewed any of it on the HDTV yet but viewing them on the built in LCD they've been great.

It also takes standard SD cards as well, which since it's a Sony device is for sure a plus.

The waterproof doors that cover the battery/sd card and the HDMI / USB port both have indicators to indicate that they're closed completely, hopefully to help avoid improperly latched doors.

The charger is just a USB port on a wall socket, this means that you can charge the camera in the car with a 12V to USB adapter, like the ones used to charge cell phones.

Some Drawbacks:

As I mentioned earlier, the touchscreen is useless when you're swimming or snorkeling with it, which means adjusting the settings isn't possible during your underwater excursions.

The sliding lens cover can get dirt/sand trapped under it, but if you keep aware of it and rinse it out it doesn't seem to cause any issues. Also the instructions recommend rinsing the camera out with fresh water if you use it in salt water.

The USB cable isn't a standard micro USB plug, in fact I have no idea what plug it is, I've only seen it once on this camera. That means that if you lose your USB cable, charging the camera isn't going to be possible.

Battery life isn't super long, using it for most of the day brought the battery down to the half range. But since you can charge it off of any USB port, we charge it in the car.

The camera body its self is made of aluminum and isn't rubberized like most waterproof cameras, this means that the aluminum could get scratched or dented. However this hasn't happened to mine yet.

Bottom Line:

The bottom line is, that this is an excellent durable camera that is also waterproof! It's a solid investment if you're traveling or in need of something waterproof!

Read More >>

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690 16.1 MP Digital Camera (Silver)Model)

• 16.1 megapixels "Exmor R" CMOS sensor for superior low-light performance
• 10X optical zoom
• 3.0-inch LCD
• 720p MP4 HD Movie Mode
• Sweep Panorama mode-up to 360°

I just spent the day trying out this camera as the backup to my Canon SX40 and as a potential toss in the pocket and go/social outing camera. I've owned several Sony Cybershots before and in general, they tend to be a great outdoor picture camera and very poor indoors and in low lighting. After reviewing the day's photos, I've come to the following conclusions:

1. First, let's state the obvious. There's no comparing this quality-wise to the Canon SX40 and nor should there be. This is a budget compact point and shoot, whereas the SX40 is a bridge camera, frankly the best camera I've ever owned. That said, the quality is pretty good for its price range from first impressions (I took 43 photos in a variety of conditions, angles and zoom levels. 30 of the 43 I felt good enough quality to upload to my Japan photoblog on Facebook a pretty good ratio, considering several of the pictures were duplicate efforts at the same shot).

2. In particular, this camera's indoor and low-light shooting ability is vastly improved over, oh, pretty much every Cybershot I've ever owned in the past. Canon will still, in general, outperform Sony in those two categories, but in my mind, this one's a major leap forward for the Sony Cybershot line.

3. It's perfect for just throwing in my pocket and traipsing around. No need to carry the camera bag like with the SX40. So for that reason and the increased indoor/low-light ability, I'm thinking it will work just fine for going out with friends and all that sort of thing.

4. The 10x zoom isn't going to be easy to find in the sub-$200 range, and that's quite honestly probably the biggest reason I got this as my backup camera. I just wanted a cheap camera that took decent pictures and had at least an 8x zoom. It fits the bill terrifically there.

5. The image stabilization on this camera is *very* good for the price range, in my opinion. I tend to have shaky hands and only two or three pictures came out with significant blur.

Since I've listed the pros, let's go to the cons:

1. The single biggest con THIS IS A VERY SLOW PROCESSING TIME CAMERA. So if you're the sort who likes to get lots of shots off at once, avoid this camera. I found it a touch annoying, but since I tend to like to take time to set up my shots anyway, it didn't irritate me quite as much as it might some people.

2. For people with large hands like mine, the buttons/etc. can feel somewhat crowded and it may take pressing a second or third time when pushing the on/off button to get it to turn off.

3. If you're used to something like the SX40's 35x zoom, the 10x zoom will be something of an adjustment period and a culture shock. So to be quite honest, if zoom power is a big deal to you, as it is for me, rather than get this camera, I would save up and get the Canon SX40.

Overall Verdict:

If you're on a budget and either can't afford or don't want to spend $200+ on a camera, or if you're looking for a low-end point and shoot compact you can just stick in your pocket and not have to haul around your primary camera, this is a good camera to get. It offers a nice all-around game of image quality, stabilization feature, and a decent for the money zoom in a compact, portable package. Be sure that you can live with the slow processing time, though. As part of that, do keep in mind that in this range no camera is going to be perfect. Every one you find for this price ballpark is going to have some drawback to deal with.

Buy Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690 16.1 MP Digital Camera (Silver)Model) Now

I just came back from a six week trip to Eastern Europe. I had with me a Sony SteadyShot DSC-T100. Four weeks ago, in Krakow, Poland, the SteadyShot suddenly died after three years of fairly rugged use. I went to an electronics store in Krakow and, not having ready access to the Internet, decided to take a chance on the W690, which looked similar to the now-deceased SteadyShot in design and functionality (if you've ever bought an electronic gadget in Europe you know that you simply have to swallow hard and do it since the 23% VAT adds, well, 23% to the price, which even when you have it refunded at the airport, is eaten up by the processing fee).

But I digress. I fell in love with this camera. I am a basic point-and-shoot picture taker. I am sitting with both cameras in front of me as I write this review. The 690 is half the weight of the T100, which wasn't all that heavy to begin with, and half as slim as the T100, which wasn't exactly a "pocket pig." The zoom was extraordinary and the functionality, including basic video, panorama-picture and just plain easy handling was great for a traveler who wants to take a nice shot now and then. The shot-framing was straightforward. The low-light quality of the pics was quite fine. I tried the panorama-shot feature for the first time standing on Castle Hill in Vilnius, Lithuania and was very pleasantly surprised at the ease of the feature and the spectacular shot of the Baroque old town that I now have. The camera indulged my occasional attempts to get "artsy" with different focus, lighting and framing.

I uploaded 500 or so shots to the PC last night and the quality of the pictures is exactly what I had hoped for. If you are a point-and-shooter like me who just wants to take good pictures this camera will be an excellent choice.

Now I only have to pick out the 25 shots that my friends and family will be willing to look at.

Read Best Reviews of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690 16.1 MP Digital Camera (Silver)Model) Here

I dropped my old Sony camera and it wouldn't power up. After owning two Sony digital cameras and two Sony camcorders over the years I hoped the DSC W690 would be just as likeable as a replacement. It was not. To play back a photo to view it immediately would show "Accessing" on the screen first for several seconds. This is annoying and my prior cameras did not do this. Using in autofocus mode for anything moving was also a problem. By the time the shutter snapped, the subject was gone or out of focus. We are talking a person processing by at a wedding, not a race car flying by. I returned the camera for a refund and got a Panasonic Lumix SZ7 that we are very happy with. Sorry, Sony. I tried to be faithful.

Want Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W690 16.1 MP Digital Camera (Silver)Model) Discount?

I bought this camera for my Parents to replace an aging camera. Bought it at a great price and was really happy with the output of both the pictures and video on this camera. Not as good as my higher priced Sony, but very nice all the same. I am use to the Sony menus on my camera and this one was not much different, except that it has less options, therefor a simpler menu. I set it in Intelligent mode and showed them how to zoom, how to switch back and forth from video mode, press the shutter button, and how to view the files and they were good to go...

This is a good little camera, very small and cute. Runs out of battery fairly easy. I bought a second battery fairly cheap and have been fine ever since. Personally I don't like the software and it it pretty confusing to use. I have my own photo gallery so I just deleted it.

Read More >>

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V 18.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Camera (Black)

• 18.2 megapixels "Exmor R" CMOS sensor for superior low-light performance
• 30X optical zoom
• 3.0-inch LCD
• GPS and Compass record shot location & direction
• Optical SteadyShot image stabilization with 3-way Active Mode

For some reason this was available in New Zealand, via Asia, before the US/UK release. I've had it for about a week now. So, it is as spec'ed in the preview comments about it so far from the various websites.

It starts fast, focuses quickly, does not have shutter lag and is easy to handle and has tons of functions. It handles well for its size and does not feel heavy. Having the zoom on the side of the lens is great makes it more stable to hold the camera. I've taken some pretty amazing shots with it the zoom allows good creativity and the low light capability produces detailed and pleasing shots. How much different this camera is to the previous model I'm not really sure in terms of the additional megapixels via the new sensor. My previous camera was a Olympus E620 DSLR in comparison there is less detail with the Sony, although not hugely noticeable on a 23" LCD computer monitor. The camera is a lot of fun to use and it just begs you to be more creative when shooting. The partial colour shots are great. The LCD screen is very good, nice and bright. Nice touch to use the optical viewfinder and have the screen turn off. The built in user manual is great to look up what a function does without having to refer to the manual. Also when you find what you want it provides the option to go to that function right away so for example I wanted to look at the ND filter function, once I've read what it does I can then select to open the function from the help screen rather than exiting help and then trying to find it through the menu system.

It provides good flash coverage and the slow-sync function is great to prevent those deer in the headlights shots as this flash can put out a lot of light.

The superior auto mode is good for the stability/less blur in long range shots as it takes multiple photos and apparently works out which is the best photo to save. This is great as at maximum zoom the camera shake from your hands can be a problem if you've ever experienced using a megazoom before. Personally without that image stabilisation and multi-shot taking having a megazoom is a bit pointless as you'd never take good photos at long range without frustration.

Shooting movies and the ability to shoot a good sized still at the same time is very impressive probably one of the best features as I've always wanted to be able to take a high MP shot during a video shoot because that's when you typically need it and on other cameras it was always one or the other but not both at the same time. The video quality is very good. No issues there and the zoom works well when videoing. The microphone does pick up background noise around the camera (ie from people talking nearby) and without a zoom mic option is somewhat limiting. That said the audio capture is good.

Other good things HDR similar function to my iPhone 4S produces good highlighting without overcooking the photo. When it is taking multiple photos with HDR and other functions it takes a few seconds time to process and save these but I guess thats normal. The menu system is good particularly given how many functions this camera has.

I use it with a Sandisk 32GB Extreme 32GB SDHC Flash Memory Card (Class 10). Seems fine to use saves quickly. It is probably better to get higher spec cards like this one if shooting HD video.

On the downside... the lens cap can get stuck if you don't remove it before turning the power on. Flash there's no button to pop it up as per usual cameras you need to use the jog dial and select flash to get it to pop-up. Once set it then pops up the flash when needed. The LCD screen doesn't fully articulate but that is not a major for me.

In summary it will never please the pro's out there the image quality is very good but not perfect. Good enough for most people wanting the "best for me" rather than "best in the world" class of camera its affordable, has huge capabilities, more than acceptable image quality and fun. A family orientated camera for sure that everyone can pick up and use and get pleasing results (and compliments).

There is a link to a few photos in the comments section (all handheld shots, no photo editing). Have added some more photos very pleased with the colour accuracy.

A bit more on zooming in photo or video mode and focusing speed which is typically an issue with superzooms. To me the Sony seems quick to focus at maximum zoom in photo or video mode. We're certainly not talking more than a half a second to a second say from one subject to another at the far end of the zoom. It's quick and smooth with no hunting zoom noises. Would be nice if someone else reviewed this camera to concur!

Buy Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V 18.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Camera (Black) Now

Wanted a superzoom with Panorama mode so the choices are fairly limited. This week both the Sony HX200V and Nikon P510 came out so bought them both to compare. The first review by "techguy" gives some nice details about the camera so I won't repeat his comments. I've played with them now for a couple of days and do not claim to be an expert by any means so take these comments with a grain of salt. These are just initial impressions.

I found overall the Sony took nicer pictures than the Nikon which tended to give a slight yellow hue on grass. And when enlarging the pictures the detail was better. The Sony produced slightly clearer pics both indoors and out and skins tones were a little warmer and more natural. The Sony also allows you to adjust the color and vividness to personal taste, don't believe the Nikon allowed for this.

I did like the size and feel of the Nikon better, the menu was a little more user friendly I thought and so was the layout of buttons. Start up time was about equal, although be aware with the Nikon if you choose to have it display the "Coolpix" icon it delays this by a couple of seconds.

One feature I found very useful is the Sony tells you how much time remains in minutes, not just a bar graph, I hate running out of power unexpectedly. Biggest gripe so far with the Sony is the power cord/charger. It's nearly as big as my laptop charger. Wish they would do it like Nikon or Panasonic. I travel on a motorcycle and space is very limited so this is a pain.

Sony puts the Panorama mode on the top dial while Nikon buries it with the Scene mode and the view finder turns on automatically if you put your eye to it, both thoughtful touches. I really wanted to like the Nikon more, mainly due to the better charger layout but in the end, good pictures is what it all about so the Nikon will be going back.

Read Best Reviews of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V 18.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Camera (Black) Here

I found myself wanting to up grade my super-zoom point and shoot camera. I had a Samsung HZ50W and was

very happy with it, but I felt it was time for change.

I read reviews from everywhere I could, from camera experts to everyday people, I decided on looking at five

cameras, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V, Fujifilm FinePix HS30EXR, Nikon COOLPIX P510,

Panasonic DMC-FZ150K, and Canon SX40 HS.

I decided if I was spending $400 to $500 on a camera I was going to try them out in stores first. I like to buy things

online, but I don't like returning items, so off to the local shops.

First I'll have to say that I drove about 90 miles to look at cameras. Unfortunately I couldn't find 2 cameras, the

Fujifilm FinePix HS30EXR or the Panasonic DMC-FZ150K no one carried either one.

I played around with the other 3 cameras quite a bit, all were very nice and I don't think I would have gone

wrong with any of them. It was little things that made me pick the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V. The Canon

had I smaller screen and auto focus seem to struggle at times, plus 2 different sales people told me if you buy

a Canon get the extended warranty, although I don't see any issues like that in any reviews. The Nikon was nice but

it seemed to miss a good shot more often, whether taking to long to focus or a little blurry.

The Sony seemed to focus fast and get the shot way more often and the 3 inch screen was nice.. I have now

owned this camera for a week and can't stop taking pictures and video. I have tried to put this camera in every

situation possible and it has worked every time. So far I've taken pictures at my son's tennis meet, other son's

band concert, portraits, the dogs, flowers, landscape, low light, no light, bright light, very close, full zoom, burst modes

and couldn't be happier. The video is great , I still can't believe how smooth and detailed the video, I took of my sons

band concert, holding the camera by hand no tripod and at half to full zoom.

I am an amateur photographer that takes about 100 to 1000 pictures a week and have for 15 to 20 years,

we have had more cameras than I can count, including SLR DSLR, point and shoot, and video cameras.

As with every camera there are a few cons, The viewfinder is not very good, but I love that the camera switches

to it automatically when you go to look through it. Also no Raw image, my last camera had it and I was just starting

to learn how it use it in editing. 29 minute video length limit? I don't know if that will ever be an issue, but why the limit.

And I've never seen this on a point and shoot camera, but why can't we turn off the picture preview and have a live

view all the time, it would be much easier to follow the action whether in burst or single shot mode.

I am very happy with this camera, and I can live with the few cons I found, Thanks for reading, hope this helps.

Want Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX200V 18.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Camera (Black) Discount?

Most likely you have already read professional reviews of this item, so I will not repeat the list of features. Here are bits of info that I didn't find in reviews when I was shopping, and had hoped someone would post, along with a few surprises I found:

1Once you turn off the annoying start up tone, it takes less than a second to be ready, a big plus

2There is a zoom/focus ring. It is electronic, I would have preferred a mechanical one but it works well. Zoom or focus selectable by a switch

3The sweep panorama mode works well with the exception of the fact that it has a fixed width. If you don't sweep far enough within the allotted time, e.g. because you don't want too wide a panorama, the rest of the image will be filled with a grey filler. I hope a firmware update will fix this as it looks hideous.

4Macro photos are not the greatest.

5Ability to select the mode automatically works well.

6When powered on, the extending lens struggles if lens cover is still on. Would have been nice if it were removed automatically (too spoiled, I know)

7The included charger is an in-camera charger. It can power the camera for use and also while connected to a PC. To charge an extra battery, you'll need to buy a separate standalone charger. While connected to a PC, the camera charges the battery through the USB port.

8Great camera. Amazon and Beach Camera are outstanding.

9The bundle from Beach Camera is great (Make sure to get the one with the 16GB card)

I like the camera and will definitely keep it for years to come.

There are three cameras that one should consider the Canon Powershot SX40 the Panasonic DMC FX150 and then this one the Sony HX200V.

Researching these three is interesting because you will find sites listing each of the three as the very best over the other two. I think the bottom line is that any of the three will give good photos and satisfy the user.

I purchased this camera because of two features that are largely ignored by the professional reviewers but to me they give this camera the edge over the others. First is Sony's proprietary optical steady shot stabilization. A good stabilization system is extremely important because no matter what the camera if you don't have good stabilization or a tripod then you have fuzzy pictures. Here is what Techradar had to say in their review of the HX200V; "We got sharp results at maximum zoom from shot to subsequent shot when it was used handheld. That's almost unheard of on rival models. On most superzoom rivals we've needed to take two or three shots of the same subject to arrive at one that wasn't soft." The reader should go to the Techradar site review and then go to SAMPLE IMAGES. The first photo is taken at wide angle and shows a long tree lined path ending at a distant white building. The next photo was taken handheld at the same spot but now at full telephoto and WOW. You now clearly see a fence that you did not see before and the paint is rusted in spots and there is an emblem on the fence that you can read. Also go to SENSITIVITY AND NOISE. Here you can see how the level of noise at different ISO settings effects the photos. Which brings me to another subject. Some professional reviewers point out that higher megapixels do not necessarily mean better photos because noise can increase depending on the CMOS sensor which is true but then they are completely baffled at why the Sony engineers increased the megapixels on this new camera. Well I'm not sure either however I am sure they didn't make the camera worse than the competition but rather better.

My second reason for selecting this camera is the Superior Auto Mode. This mode shoots multiple shots of the same scene in rapid sequence and then creates the best single picture as a composite Here is what Squidoo says in their review; "Get cleaner, more dynamic pictures and fewer missed shots. The DSC-HX200V automatically recognizes the correct scene mode, then quickly shoots and combines up to six shots to produce images with greater clarity, optimum dynamic range using backlight correction HDR technology and lower image noise using 6 shots layering technology. Superior Auto intelligently detects 33 scenes for still images and movies, making it easy to get the best shot." If you Google tumblr HX200v you will see sample photos of the Superior Auto Mode which are impressive.

So did the camera meet my expectations, yes it did. The stabilization worked as advertised however the lens does have limitations. It works best in bright light. The alternative would be stepping up to a more expensive and larger Digital SLR camera along with lens. For example Canon has a 800mm lens to fit the more the expensive cameras but it is 18 inches long weights 10 pounds and costs $13,499.00.

The Superior Auto Mode also met my expectations. It does not improve all photos but it does make astonishing improvements in photos that would benefit from this mode such as back light etc.

Read More >>