Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W170

This is a major upgrade from my antiquated 2 MP Canon Powershot camera. I'm simply enthralled by the sharpness and quality of the pictures this compact camera captures! At the highest resolution, the amount… of detail this camera picks up is phenomenal (as long as you're in a sufficiently illuminated setting). There are three major reasons why I picked the Sony DSC-W170 over other brands/models of cameras. (1) This camera has a 28 to 140mm wide angle lens to capture a wider field of view for establishing the context of the subject or subjects in the shot. (2) The 5x optical zoom lens enable impressive close-ups (3) The image stabilization helps to keep your subject properly framed even if you have shaky hands like mine. The camera also takes macro shots. The clarity, sharpness, and detail of the macro shots is astounding. I'm having a lot of fun with this - You can actually get real creative with this! You can also take videos at 30 fps (480 x 640 resolution) with this camera. I should caution you about an inaccuracy in the product description. As of this writing, the product description reads "the length of your video limited only by the capacity of your media." DO NOT BE MISLED! Like all point-and-shoot cameras that are video-capable, the length of the video on the DSC W-170 is limited to 10 minutes. You would need to restart the video after every 10 minutes if you wish to continue shooting. The Sony Cybershot is, of course, not exempt to the problem that's inherent in all compact cameras -- "noise" in low light conditions. The problem is more pronounced in compact cameras than in dSLR cameras. In case you're deciding between this and the 8.1 MP DSC-W150 -- my friend owns a DSC-W150 and I can see that this camera produces significantly better quality pictures. A quick word on memory cards - You can actually use a regular microSD card with this camera if you use a microSD card to MS Pro Duo Adapter (such as this one). It's worked very well for me. --- As far as compact cameras are concerned, the Sony Cybershot DSC-W170 is about as good as it gets. If you're looking for a compact camera that you can easily slip in your purse or backpack, you can't go wrong with the DSC-W170.

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I fell for all the "good" reviews on the product here and purchased one of my own. I used to be a Sony fan. I would only purchase Sony cameras, my last camera was a DSC-S600 6MP (Sony Cybershot), and I… was excited to purchase a new camera after my old camera broke. After using this camera, I will never buy another Sony again. The Sony's back in the day were made with great quality, but it seems like the only thing Sony has going on for them now is their brand and not their actual products. The pictures are really grainy in any situation. The subjects do not have strong edges and everything is really fuzzy. The only way you can get "okay" quality pictures out of this camera is if you take Macros, but even those are full of noise. If you like crisp and clear pictures of your subjects, then this camera is not for you. My old Sony was Made in Japan, but this one is Made in China, maybe this has some significance as to why the quality is so cheap. It feels really cheap to the touch and it has a poorly made shell. My old Camera 6MP, takes hands down clearer and better pictures than this camera. Even though this camera is advertised under 10.1 MP, really you will be investing in a 2-3MP Camera. Save yourself the trouble and hassle of dealing with a poor camera and go with Canons instead.

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