There is no doubt that this camera is for budget conscious people who would like to venture out into world of digital photography. This will surely make you feel that you are carrying a DSLR around your neck and look cool. This camera however is not going to win any award nor can rival any Sony's Alpha lines of DSLRs or Canon DSLRs like the Canon 60D. The lens is of fixed type. It has wide angle and extreme zoom (26x) features. It cannot be removed or interchanged like what I have seen in the past with the Sony NEX-F3 models but boasts super high zoom with Optical SteadyShot image stabilization reduces blurs to some extent.
Having said, there are some "good points" in the camera that most other brands in this price range cannot offer those are but limited to Sony's Intelligent Auto mode which does a fairly good job with the scene types and automatically configures the camera to take a photo. Most consumers who are new to digital camera photography will find this feature very useful and it does take good photos with minimal knowledge of photography. The menu system on the LCD guides you and prompts you to pick the scenes if you do not like Auto which works very well and takes decent quality photos.
Another good thing which amateur photographers would definitely love is the ability to use standard AA batteries, no need to worry about a charger. Just purchase AA batteries when they die (which are available almost in any store) when you are out on vacation. Sony also included the capability to use standard SD/SDHC memory cards and these are inexpensive and easy to get in any electronics store.
Here are some of the still resolutions that this camera can capture:
1. 5184 x 3888 (20.2 MP, 4:3)
2. 5184 x 2920 (15.1 MP, 16:9)
Most of us do not print the photos unless they are nice and needed to be shared with family members without a PC or Tablet. I personally prefer the 16:9 ratio images as these tend to fill my TV in the living room accurately even though it is not the highest resolution. The 16:9 wide also fits nicely on 10.1 tablets. The camera also is capable of capturing Hi-def 720P video 1280x720, which is not the 'greatest' quality but still very good. It does add some amount of lens motor noise when you zoom in and out onto the microphone which I found annoying.
PROS
Having said, there are some "good points" in the camera that most other brands in this price range cannot offer those are but limited to Sony's Intelligent Auto mode which does a fairly good job with the scene types and automatically configures the camera to take a photo. Most consumers who are new to digital camera photography will find this feature very useful and it does take good photos with minimal knowledge of photography. The menu system on the LCD guides you and prompts you to pick the scenes if you do not like Auto which works very well and takes decent quality photos.
Another good thing which amateur photographers would definitely love is the ability to use standard AA batteries, no need to worry about a charger. Just purchase AA batteries when they die (which are available almost in any store) when you are out on vacation. Sony also included the capability to use standard SD/SDHC memory cards and these are inexpensive and easy to get in any electronics store.
Here are some of the still resolutions that this camera can capture:
1. 5184 x 3888 (20.2 MP, 4:3)
2. 5184 x 2920 (15.1 MP, 16:9)
Most of us do not print the photos unless they are nice and needed to be shared with family members without a PC or Tablet. I personally prefer the 16:9 ratio images as these tend to fill my TV in the living room accurately even though it is not the highest resolution. The 16:9 wide also fits nicely on 10.1 tablets. The camera also is capable of capturing Hi-def 720P video 1280x720, which is not the 'greatest' quality but still very good. It does add some amount of lens motor noise when you zoom in and out onto the microphone which I found annoying.
PROS
- Decent quality photos with 20.1 MP resolution for the price
- AA batteries are easy to find and replace
- Large easy to use LCD display with intitutive menu system
- Feels like DSLR and while it is heavy it's got a good grip and shoulder strap included
- Optical image stabilization works relatively well for short close-ups
- Flash works great! and takes good photo indoors when used appropriately
- Uses Standard SD/SDHC memory cards
CONS
- No optical viewfinder (Too much to ask for this price range)
- Macro photography is not that great
- No HDMI port and the USB cable is properitery
- You need to have a very steady hand for taking extreme zooms Tripod needed
- Flash has a manual button it does not auto pop out when taking photos
- Lens cover must be manually removed otherwise it will damage the lens
- AA batteries while convenient it adds a lot of weight to the already bulky body
- LCD preview is grainy at extreme zooms
My personal feedback on this camera is that while the camera *does* have all the basic needs for amateur photography and will suffice for casual users but this definitely is not for serious photography enthusiasts. I would rather buy a DSLR by spending little more and get super high quality photos sacrificing the extreme zoom that this camera boasts. IMHO, if you compare the photos taken with this camera and some high end DSLRs like Canon 60D you will find that extreme zooms which are well past 10x tends to be blurry anyways as it needs super steady hands or on tripod. Some of the high quality images from DSLRs can be digitally zoomed (Post processed in a PC) and cropped later on giving the same zoom effect offered by extreme zoom lens cameras.
I would rather go for a smaller camera that has about 5x to 10x manageable true 'optical zoom' which takes steady photos which is easy to carry rather than lugging this quite large DSLR type body which happens to be not a DSLR! not to mention sub-par subcompact pocket camera performance in most areas!
My suggestion is to keep shopping as there are better ones that SONY makes for this price range which are less bulky
You can buy one of these from Amazon using the link below:
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