Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W530 14.1 MP Digital Camera with Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 4x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and 2.7-inch LCD (Black) (OLD MODEL)

I wanted to get a small digital camera to bring on my birthday trip to Vegas next month and it was so hard to make a decision but after looking at the reviews, I thought I’d give it a shot. My order came super fast and all that was in the description came in the box which is surprising because most people say things just to sell the product. I am super excited to use this camera for my trip and any other endeavors I experience along the way. Thank you so much for fulfilling my wishes and setting this birthday trip off to a great start already! If I could go to the store in person, I’d give Tony a hug! Thank you again!

I just love this camera. I bought a really great Sony Cybershot in 2009 but it was stolen in February 2011. I wanted to replace it for a trip to Ireland over the summer, but I did not want to a buy the same top of the line model. I went with this one and I am so glad I did.First of all, the price is really unbeatable. The number of megapixels you can get for just over $100 is incredible.I took this camera with me to Ireland for three months. It was fantastic because the battery life would last for an entire weekend filled with hiking and loads of picture taking. There is no bulky dock either, I like that I only needed a USB cord. This camera does require that battery charging be done on a wall unit. This is not ideal for a trip to Europe, but I experienced no problems when using a voltage converter, it never got too hot or lessened the battery life.If you are looking for something that won't break the bank but is really quality, I think this is a great option. I like the blue because I thought the black one looked dated. It is pretty bright, if you are conservative go with silver or black. It is really really blue.Update:About a year later, this product is still a great value. Of course, I don't think a new generation has been released, but it is gratifying that I can walk into a Target and not see a camera by the same make that is twice as good for the same price. Image quality is good for the price and with a little editing some of my photos from Ireland are print and frame quality. I also like that the item comes with a cord instead of a dock + cord like some of the other Cybershots. This is ideal for traveling, it packs up much lighter and you can import photos without a hard, flat surface (say from your bed in a hostel). The dock on my old Cybershot was unnecessary.

Although I own a Nikon D90, I bought the Sony Cybershot because I wanted a small camera I could throw in my pocket and play with. This Sony Cybershot got excellent reviews and it was the right price.The camera looks great but feels cheap in your hands. The power and shutter buttons are clunky. To turn it on or take a photo, I have to press buttons hard with my fingernail. The 3-second recycling time per shot seems a bit long. Take a photo .... wait. Take a photo ... wait.Forget the 14+ megapixels. That means nothing when the lens and the processor are cheap. Carl Zeiss lens? Who cares! A gazillion photo-taking features? Why bother! The Cybershot's photos lack detail and are quite poor in quality. As a matter of fact, they look like they've been doctored with the smart blur feature in Photoshop. Everything has that slick model clay look. What is the value of being able to make a 13" x 9" print that looks like total crap?I also own a 5-year-old Canon Powershot (5 megapixels) that takes better photos. I've made small art prints with it. In fact, my parents bought a 7 megapixel GE digital camera from Walgreens a few years ago for $85, and it takes better photos. Heck, I'd bet I can get crisper (though smaller) photos from my cheap iPod camera.This is a kid's camera, nothing more. If this were $40, I'd forgive a lot of its flaws. But at $100+, it's way overpriced. I returned mine.

Actually, this camera takes fabulous pictures. If you can point and shoot without shaking excessively, this is the camera for you. The picture quality comes out amazing, and the auto-detecting features of the camera are very helpful as well. Things might show up a little grainy on the LCD screen in less-than-optimal lighting but once you get it onto the computer that's where you see just how great the picture quality of this camera is. I was taking pictures with my cousin the other day and he even compared it to SLR quality pictures!Some may think that 14.1 MP is a little excessive - it is. Correct me if I'm wrong, because I heard this from a friend, but theoretically the human eye can only see the difference up to 12 MP for regular sized photos. Higher MP also takes up more space on your memory card, so if you're the type of person who never deletes pictures make sure to get a bigger SDHC card. I personally prefer the best quality pictures, whether or not my eyes can detect the difference, so I went for the highest MP on the market.It is a lot smaller than I imagined it to be. It's totally pocket-sized and very easy to carry around.Unfortunately, aside from fantastic pictures, cool features, and the cute size, this camera is lacking everywhere else. When I first picked it up I was surprised at the cheap quality of the plastic that covered it. Of course, this makes it very light and also adds to the portability of this little camera. But I'm also very afraid of dropping this thing because I'd expect it to break into pieces in its first fall. If you know you are prone to dropping things, this might not be the camera for you. Of course, this problem can be fixed by using the wrist strap provided in the packaging, and/or spending an additional $5-$10 on a camera case. But I still have to reiterate that this camera's exterior is really not made very well. The door for the AV cord (the cord that connects the camera to the computer via USB) wiggles like a loose tooth and I wouldn't be surprised if it broke off altogether within the next year. I wouldn't recommend this camera for children under 13.I agree with the other reviewers that the shutter speed for this camera is indeed, horrifyingly slow. I don't think this is the type of cameras to take to sports games or other places where there is a lot of movement and fidgeting involved. This may be the first camera I can call my own, but I know for a fact that compared to other cameras, this one very nearly crosses the line for being unreasonably slow. For my own purposes though, as a female college student who's not very interested in sports and doesn't have kids running around, I can look past this slight negative aspect.I haven't had the chance to use this camera all that much for an event or anything. So far I've only used it to test the quality of pictures, so as of now I can't really say anything about the battery life. But I don't think its that bad, really. Battery life is always something that everything can improve on.Overall, for the price of only a little over $100, you have to admit: this camera takes wonderful pictures. And I think the outstanding quality of photos this camera produces makes up for all its flaws. I am very happy about this purchase, but honestly, if something were to happen to this camera and I needed to replace it, I would go for a different model.