High quality indoor pictures Sony Cybershot DSC-H2: Has anyone had similar experiences?
1061547
I also have this camera and have had it for nearly two years now - I have overall been nothing but disappointed with it! I am a novice photographer but it is something I do enjoy... and I get tired of the frustration with this camera!! I am currently looking at just ditching it all together and investing in something that will make photography rewarding and fulfilling again. I RARELY have good indoor/low light pictures with camera & it has always been that way, I could be side by side & my friend with a Panasonic FX series point & shoot gets phenomenal pictures & I get completely unusable images. I also have had from the day I took my H2 out of the box an issue with the batteries! I can maybe, and I do mean MAY BE stretch a set of fully charged batteries (not using the LCD either) for taking about 30 or so pictures if I'm lucky. The camera takes an abundantly long period of time to recharge the flash after discharge which means you miss some really good shots. The AF is beyond frustrating when focusing in on a monochromatic item causes it "lose" the image and then due to the zooming if it has any depth of field to it the image is out of focus. Bottom, line this camera does take very nice quality outdoor pictures, but really does anyone want to spend $500 on a camera that only takes a few pictures outside and even at that they can't take hi-speed or rapid sequence images? Good luck finding out how to get high quality images in lower or indoor lighting.
1576340
Yes the picture quality is quite acceptable. It works the other way too - a Sony still picture camera with a high resolution image capture takes surprisingly great HD video!
648775
I love my camera! I've never really used it for that type of pics, but for me it does great. I took some pics of my brothers wedding, Kind of an indoor outdoor setting & I'd did great both ways. I think you'll really like it.
1811581
I have purchased a Sony Cyber-shot camera twice over the past 7 years or so, once for myself and I loved it and actually regretted selling it on ebay after deciding to purchase a large format digital camera. The Cyber-shot was so convenient to just drop in your pocket or handbag etc. The second time I purchased it was a bundled package for my son that included a memory card and a case as well. The megapixel was more by then and he loves his camera! Read the item descriptions close to determine if other items are included, and to determine if the camera is new not a refurbished camera, or other issues. Hope this helps some! I have purchased a Sony Cyber-shot camera twice over the past 7 years or so, once for myself and I loved it and actually regretted selling it on ebay after deciding to purchase a large format digital camera. The Cyber-shot was so convenient to just drop in your pocket or handbag etc. The second time I purchased it was a bundled package for my son that included a memory card and a case as well. The megapixel was more by then and he loves his camera! Read the item descriptions close to determine if other items are included, and to determine if the camera is new not a refurbished camera, or... » Read More I have purchased a Sony Cyber-shot camera twice over the past 7 years or so, once for myself and I loved it and actually regretted selling it on ebay after deciding to purchase a large format digital camera. The Cyber-shot was so convenient to just drop in your pocket or handbag etc. The second time I purchased it was a bundled package for my son that included a memory card and a case as well. The megapixel was more by then and he loves his camera! Read the item descriptions close to determine if other items are included, and to determine if the camera is new not a refurbished camera, or other issues. Hope this helps some! « Show Less
972729
From a preview I read on another site (camcorderinfo.com) the highest quality output is true 1920x1080 progressive. Anything captured in a lower quality setting is the 1440x1080 resolution which was troublesome for some editing suites. I am waiting for some more professional reviews to be published comparing this one (and it's 120GB sibling) against the Canon HF10 which is getting good reviews. The Canon features a maximum 17Mb/s bitrate vs. the HDR-SR11/12's 16Mb/s maximum bitrate. The Canon is also flash memory vs. HDD but I don't have a strong preference either way.
1177336
The best pictures BY FAR come from the camera by using the handheld anti-motion blur mode. I can't explain why (I've read the explanations) but I have tested and compared and color, exposure, sharpness are noticeably better that way. If shooting in Program mode, leave the sharpness on lowest setting. White balance sometimes needs to be set to daylight manually. Set DRO to default or High. Those are just some things I've learned to get the best pictures out of this model. The Sony software that comes bundled has an outstanding "Fix" button, which adjusts the photo once you've downloaded it from the camera. It saved several poor, difficult shots and made them much better. Overall, I love my HX1!
1275902
I think the quality is just as good if not better. I just spent the weekend doing an indoor shoot at Sci-fi/Fantasy conference, got great shots and did not use my flash once.
1400815
Beware the Sony "cineframe" options -- they look terrible. I have a Sony HC3 and while it's a fine little camera in 1080i 60i mode, the pseudo-24p stuff looks awful. The HV20 promises TRUE 24fps recording, plus a cinematic gamma curve, plus OIS, plus manual audio level controls, plus better lowlight performance. I wasn't even planning on buying a new camera, but I'm buying an HV20. At $1099, it's a great deal!
490822
I also purchased the FZ8 and returned it because of the noise (grainy photos). I went ahead and got the Sony DSC-H7 and like it much better. My only wish is that it would shoot in the RAW format (the FZ8 did!). Overall, we like the flash better, the speed better, the grip and position of the buttons and the H7 camera overall.
1657749
I have the original DSC-H20, and we gave the DSC-H20/B to my father-in-law for Christmas. His looks and is almost exactly the same as mine, but it has a few more options in the manual and program modes. Specifically I recall that he had more shutter speeds and focus distances to choose from. Edit: Sorry, I was mislead! My camera was missing some ISO speeds, etc. in the menus for some reason (stopped at 800 instead of 3200). But they just appeared. Must have been a firmware glitch!? :(
1564445
Beware the Sony "cineframe" options -- they look terrible. I have a Sony HC3 and while it's a fine little camera in 1080i 60i mode, the pseudo-24p stuff looks awful.The HV20 promises TRUE 24fps recording, plus a cinematic gamma curve, plus OIS, plus manual audio level controls, plus better lowlight performance. I wasn't even planning on buying a new camera, but I'm buying an HV20. At $1099, it's a great deal!
1589458
I frankly don't remember, it was for a fellow employee. But I did recently purchase a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W620 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD in Silver + 8GB SDHC + Sony Case + Card Reader + Replacement Battery + Accessory Kit for $128 for everything here on Amazon. We were very impressed with everything plus it saved ordering everything separately. Compare the two cameras and see if it measures up. I'm sorry I couldn't help with your question. Have a great day :)
788650
Yes. This is very much a low light camera, with both a 'fast' lens (f1.8 wide angle to f2.8 at full zoom) and fast film speeds (up to around ISO 2000 without serious pixelation). If your specific need is a low light camera for indoor use where the (only) 5x zoom is not a limitation then this is probably as good as you'll find.
1857609
This seems extreme. If you can't get decent shots inside with this then I would have it checked under warranty. It's a reasonably fast lens and a reasonably long throw for the flash for a camera like this. On pbase.com I see shot after shot of indoor stuff all looking quite nice really.Also... judging from shots like flikr and pbase etc, as well as pro reviews, the a630 seems to generally have hands down better image quality than the lz7.Again... I would have yours looked at from what you are saying.
832912
1. Although I haven't experienced it, the "excessively red" phenomena has been discussed a lot in "Sony Talk" forum at DPREVIEW website: Search for the term "oversaturation," at either dpreview or Google it (both lead to the same discussion thread: currently 50 entries). 2. The "Manual" that you referenced is merely a starter version, with little useful info (only 20 pages in English); instead, the "User Guide" is really extensive, and comes on CD with all HX100's inside the BOX. You can also access the online version of the CD (and save it to your computer), via Google search: "Sony HX100v user guide" (select the .pdf version, as most easily readable). It's 274 pages, but convenient to save to desktop and access as you need it: Read it in small chunks, practicing with the camera, and reading some more...I've read the .pdf version twice, and still refer to it. My best advice is to read the vast number of discussions at dpreview, in the "Sony Talk" forum, to LEARN from the largest collection of online owners of the HX100v: I read it daily for info on use of features, and to see photo examples of what others can do with this camera. The really avid new owner will go to the trouble of searching waaay back in Sony Talk, to discussion pages in June or early July, when the camera was still new...and vast numbers of discussions focussed on specific camera features. Think of it this way: Most everything that an HX100v newby faces has already been discussed at length at dpreview!
1755185
Kitchen at night should be OK. Probably won't have that sharp HD look though. In your second example just make sure your subject is not silhouetted against the window and you should be all right. The camera is quite good at coping with most shooting conditions automatically. However, in my first week of using the HF100, in a darkened restaurant, I made the mistake of not turning the on-board video light on. I had read it is not very good and eats up the battery, but I should have used it. The video came out very grainy. Across a table for two is probably the best time to use it. I didn't shoot much anyway, so it wouldn't have used much battery. Oh well, I'll try it next time.
1953823
I'm happy with the indoor pics, it does a good job for a camera with fixed internal lens. This has now become my to go around camera.