Ditto...Excellent camera
353923
My girlfriend has been trying to get me to start taking pictures again and gave me this camera for Christmas. The manual was a tad daunting at first...but a few hours later I was happily shooting away. I learned photography on a SLR (do we say analog camera now?). The TZ5 was very easy to migrate to from an SLR. Do get the memory cards...the on board memory will hold less than 12 high-quality photos. The other positive reviews will give you the technical perks and potholes. Excellent choice.....
4242855
I researched this camera and its competitors pretty well before pulling the trigger. I already own a Canon A640 which i have to say shoots great pics.

So what is it that i truly like about this camera!?. (played around with it a bit )

1) Well built and reasonably stylish. It has the heft of a metallic finish and with the black color its very sweet.

2) Interface and UI design. Kudos to Sony here, easy to use !!! pretty much went through a bunch of shooting options without even looking at Manual. Sp. Mention : the UI wheel with the description tags :))

3) Great audio alerts to enhance the user feedback.

4) Best of all GREAT PICS.

Overall its pretty versatile, though not as versatile as the A640 . But that is precisely why i choose this camera. I do not want a gazillion functions that i don't need. Its a snap shooter that i need to pull out and take a pic with real quick. Fast access to its capabilites along with great battery life and awesome pics.

Aditionally, its very well built and has a solid/high quality feel to it. I really appreciate that !!!

Reminds me of the first digital camera i got like 6 yrs ago ..(it was a Sony that lasted FOREVER(gave it to my dad as a gift))
2962443
Okay you Digital Camera buffs!!!  This is one hell of a camera.  I have taken appx. 1000 shots,  and I am impressed each and every time.  The resolution is superb, and the overall quality of shots is amazing. Although the manual controls such as white balance and shutter speed is not quite up to SLR standards this is a compact digital camera.  About the size of a pack of cigarettes... this baby performs for it's size.  I have compared pics taken with a Nikon 880 and Canon PowerShot Series, and the winner is the 6800. The 6 megapixel interpolation with a 3 megapixel CCD is not a true 6 megapixel camera by no way or form.  However it does produce prints that are of better quality than the top or the line 3.34 megapixel units within its price range.  It's features of Night, Scenery, and Macro add to it's versatility ... and by the way it takes some great night shots.  The movie mode records both sound and video, and even allows playback with both video and sound ... a rare feature in digital cameras.  Some allow this feature for short intervals the FinePix is no exception... but at a 160 seconds... it is by all means acceptable ... especially for a digital camera.  After owning this digital Gem for appx 4 months, and using it's features to it's fullest, I have to say that if you are looking for a system that offers much of the bells & whistles, but require a compact size ... this is the camera for you! The pics I print using an Epson Photo printer is totally AWESOME!  The one complaint I have is that this unit sucks the life out of the Lithium Ion batteries required for it's operation (not bad battery life if LCD is turned-off).  Puchase a Rapid battery charger (BC80) is recommended.  I hope this writing was useful in your quest for Digital excellence. Also, the unit is a very well made solid piece of engineering, using metal alloys instead of plastic!
2184588
I haven't had this much fun with a camera since my "ancient" Canon A1. I really like the ability to switch between aperture (Av) and shutter speed (Tv) priority. And I find it's much easier to use the viewfinder than the LCD screen (so it was important to me for my digital camera to have a viewfinder). And until I looked at the differences (in the manual's appendix) between Auto and Programmed modes, I wondered why have both ... now I'm glad I looked.

One of the first things I did was to turn off most of the camera's "helpful" settings. I am a big fan of fixing things like contrast or red eye AFTER downloading the photos to my computer ... not having the camera pretending to know what I want better than I do. And I usually only want to target a portion of the image ... not the entire image that these helpful settings attempt to fix.

Others have complained that the lens cap is easy to lose ... but I got so used to putting my Canon A1's lens cap in my pocket as soon as I took it off (it didn't have a lens strap either) that I just kept following that practice with my new SX10IS.

One of the things I like the most is the fact that it uses standard AA batteries. My previous digital camera (a Nikon - because the lens is what matters when taking a photo) used a proprietary battery that was difficult to find at times (even the store where I usually bought the battery was occasionally out of stock).

The popup flash allows me to place a loose fabric over the flash to reduce the flash brightness (something next to impossible on the Nikon with its flash built into the housing). I haven't yet upgraded to the Canon Speedlight flash ... but it's nice to know that I have that option.

For me, the biggest drawback is that the shutter release button is placed a bit too far forward for my tastes ... but that's a small problem. Not everyone has the same requirements for a digital camera as I do ... but I'd say this is one of the best (unless you opt for the hugely expensive DSLRs). Read all of the reviews and see if what people say matches your requirements ... but I can say that I'd recommend this camera for anyone who is even a little serious about their photography.

You can do a lot with this camera before you run into an option you wish the camera had.
3167592
I have had this camera for two years now.  I have taken many, many great photos with this camera, it's unbelievable.  It seems to do well in almost all conditions.

I uploaded a photo I took of my daughter just last week. The original picture was in color and was fantastic all by itself.  I used virtual photographer to improve on it just a little bit by changing it to black and white and putting a soft focus on it.

The very first picture I took with this camera had me hooked.  It's a closeup of my son.  I was trying to decide if I should keep the camera or return it for another. Well, that shot alone made me decide to keep it and I am so glad I did.
3903919
All I can say is that this camera, rocks. I happen to own Nikon DSLRs for my shooting gig. And I was in search for a small digicam for all-purpose and easy to use for my wife. I was so fortunate to get this camera.
The picture quality was great, Although sometimes you may need to change to manual settings in order to get good pictures and not to rely moslty all the time on Smart mode. The HD video does a decent job in recording clips. my only concern is that its Image Stabilization is not that good. Lastly I only give this a 4 stars since there is no battery life indicator. It would have been handy if the LCD would dislay the actual battery reading However, It does give you a low-battery warning just enough to give you a couple of shots before powering off. If that happens then you're lens doesnt retract back to its housing. I would recommend this to anybody who is looking for a low-budget camera w/c doesnt sacrifice picture quality and good HD clips.
2882919
I love it.  It does everything that I need it to do.  I love the camera.  Takes the best pictures......
2135836
I own this camera, and have since this summertime. I adore this camera. It takes excellent photos, is compact enough to slip into any sort of case, or sleeve, and it works flawlessly. I have had Sony digital cameras for a decade now. Three Thumbs Up for this specific camera.
4029951
I have had this camera for about a year, having "moved up" from a canon FTb film camera I have had since the 1970's.  (Still works perfectly, by the way.)  The Sony A300 is my first digital SLR, but I have had a few digital point and shoot cameras in the past (the Olympus C765 is my favorite "old" camera.)

The Sony is plenty feature rich for a slightly advanced amateur like me.  I have taken some great shots with this camera.  It has no shutter lag to speak of, the  "live-view" feature is extremely helpful.  I have asked it to do some difficult shots, like time exposures (automatic setting) inside St Peter's in Rome.  Great, beautiful results.  Image quality is very good, excellent sharpness.  Color is maybe a little over saturated, but that can be fixed easily in post production.

The stock 18-70 f3.5-5.6 kit lens is nice, but I'm starting to lust after faster glass.  I also purchased a Tamron 70-300mm zoom lens for the Sony which has been great for taking sports pictures from the sidelines.&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Tamron-AF-70-300mm-f-4-0-5-6-Di-LD-Macro-Zoom-Lens-for-Konica-Minolta-and-Sony-Digital-SLR-Cameras/dp/B000EXT5AY/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Tamron AF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 Di LD Macro Zoom Lens for Konica Minolta and Sony Digital SLR Cameras</a>&nbsp;These new digital cameras have such great ASA ranges, that even pokey lenses like the Tamron's can shoot good photos in limited light.

For the price, I am very happy with this Sony A300.  My only other comment is I wish it had (high quality) video recording capability.
4337284
I bought this camera for my wife and she liked it very much. Technically speaking, a very good camera, great pictures, easy to use it, and good features. But what most pleased my wife was, the size, the weight and ease. Recomended!
2831260
After much research, and debate on price.... I purchased this camera.  I am an amateur photographer.... meaning I have children, and pets -and enjoy putting together large amounts of photo books. This is the very first digital camera I have owned - finally decided developing my 35 film was getting too expensive.  I must say, I was worried about "running" a digital camera, as there is menu options - cords- memory cards and it is just a little overwhelming.  This camera, however, is AWESOME.  It was so easy to use right out of the box... I am wondering why I was worried.  I will concur with a few other reviews I read - Get a 64 GB card or higher... I bought the 32GB card and it does have A LOT of delay before the picture takes.  (I will be up grading that soon.)  Also, a few reviews posted pictures - VERY blurry ones.  Another review the fellow said to hold the button down partially...wait for it...and then press for the photo.  This works wonderfully...the camera even shows a flashing icon that stops when it has focused completely.  I have yet to have a blurry photo.  Even with the kids jumping around the photos are fine.  My other concern purchasing this camera, was that I wanted one of the highest Mega Pixels I could get...on my budget.  I hope to have photos I can blow up to 5X7 or 8X10 without loosing the crispness.  This I do not know yet... as clear as the photos are, I assume they will look fine.  When I have an occasion for it -we'll find out.  If it doesn't work out, I will have to modify this review.  A few years back, my spouse purchased a digital camera for "fun" -but not too cheap, good for it's era.  We were disappointed that all of the photos were VERY dark.  So when I got this Sony one I tried out some very low to no light at all shots.  WOW!  The flash on this camera is SO good!  I don't think I will ever have to worry about dark pictures again.  This does however, run the battery down extremely fast... I plan to purchase some extra batteries to have in my case with me.  I would recommend that to anyone.  I did try out it's video recording capabilities... they are not too shabby.  I had to run it back in VLC media player as other programs did not give me sound.  I did not really plan on using this as a video recorder, however, so what it can do is just a plus for me.  I would definitely recommend this camera...happy shooting.
1776900
I can't say enough good things about this camera. I am an enthusiast user who has owned a number of digital cameras. The menu may be a little confusing at first , but you just have to get used to it. I would recommend this camera to anyone. Takes awesome pictures.
3166664
I'm not a tech type and I appreciate the excellent quality and ease of use with this camera.  It has excellent stats across the board and my highest recommendations.
944410
I did a little research before buying this camera.  I read both the technical specifications and user reviews for many cameras.  I have been very pleased with the quality of the pictures and its overall ease of use.  I find myself carrying this camera with me everywhere I go now because its versatility.  Also, I found the battery life for my camera to be fairly extensive.  Overall, I have had no complaints and I would recommend this camera to many others.
2694189
I still have a Canon Digital Powershot SD 1000 I like this camera very much because of it's sturdiness and picture quality. With that experience in my mind, I bought this little beauty for my wife who likes to "point and shoot", while still getting good results. By what I have seen myself, and by what my wife told me about the camera, I would highly recommend it. The camera feels good in your hand, not plastic like, but more as solid, just well made.
The price / performance ratio is very good.
2165349
I really love this camera , i've had the d3200,d7000 and the d7100 is everything i need in a camera at this moment. I am in love.
3940164
This camera is fantastic. It takes professional grade pictures and has so many features and settings that I am still learning how to use them. Def. buy this camera.