Sony Cybershot DSC-H7 8.1MP Digital Camera with 15x Optical Image Stabilization Zoom (OLD MODEL)

Out of the box impressions: Ultimate point and shoot. There may be downsides for those into serious digital photography but for semi-advanced idiot shooters like me, this is tops. Biggest advance for me: No shoot-the-head-get-the-tail lag in sports mode. 15X zoom is great. Movie mode works seamlessly and seems of high quality. I've seen critiques of the H9 on Amazon that were long and scathing and so I was somewhat skeptical. Those with concerns about advanced color and a real need for 8 mp should check them out. They're well done. But the serious critiques seem to come from those looking for a pro SLR, not a point and shoot. Which to me is like saying a great family car isn't like a sports car. Two different animals. But for my needs, which include some shots for publication and web publishing, this is an enormously big camera at a reasonable price. Battery pack works great. Strobe is big. One annoyance: not sure if sound-effects can be shut off. Serious problem for wildlife fotogs. Updates...See comments on how sound can be turned off. Also, after a few months of use, still feel great about the camera. Con: On close photo shots, if you have the lens attachment on, the lens attachment will throw a shadow as it blocks the strobe.

I received the camera almost a week before it said I would. I was so happy that I got it so early because I was going to a music festival and wanted to use it really bad. I got it only a day after I bought it and everything was great. I got the camera and loved it! It had great zoom. It focused fast and took great pictures. The only thing I noticed was that when you take a picture, the camera focuses on what is closer, and I couldn't figure out how to focus on what I wanted. It works really easy and is great for begining photographers and children, as long as they are careful. I was so grateful to amazon.com because I bought it at less than the manufacturer and didn't have to sacrafice quality or service. Thank you Amazon.com!

I bought this camera for a New York trip. I took almost 500 pictures and less than 10% are OK, the rest are blurry or with noise. I read the manual and tried with all the settings without success. Thanks to the outstanding return policy of Amazon I was able to return it and get my money back. I do not recommend this camera. I may have done something wrong but most of the pictures were taken using the auto function and in daylight, so there are no excuses.

If you are looking for a good camera to take great pictures at a lower cost than a DSLR this is one of your best options. I just bought the H7 a month ago and I would recommend it to anyone. The picture quality is great, the 15X optical zoom works fine and the manual controls are excellent for this kind of camera. Overall, I think that the Sony H7 is a bargain for the price (I paid $303 on Amazon). I bought it with the purpose of learning a little bit of photography and I think it was a great choice. - Battery life is pretty good. - LCD screen is good enough. - 15X zoom is just great. - Auto focus works fast. - Steady shot is very good. - Face detection works all the time.

This camera has served me well but not well enough. I can say that it takes incredible pictures, but only when it decides to. I have had a lot of difficulty shooting in low light and shooting moving objects. Many times I miss great shots because this camera wastes so much time focusing and refocusing that it ends up with a blurry image after I feverishly press the button. To my dismay, the button broke off recently. I have had cameras before and I have never had a shutter button break off. I think the shutter button should be one of the most sturdily designed aspects of the camera - especially for Sony which gives so little for such great costs most of the time. I really feel cheated because I bought this camera in early 2007. Therefore, I will say that the camera body is cheap. The viewfinder window is also askew/misplaced. I don't think this is one of those tough cameras that people boast of having forever. It is my hope that the newer version addressed those issues. I have gone from believing in Sony and recommending it to NOT doing so right now. Like I said, this camera gives incredible pictures when it fancies but that is not good enough for me. It also gives orange and other strange casts in indoor photography, even though different settings are tried. If anyone has the secret of how to make this camera work the way it should - fill me in. That's my piece for now. I have just purchased a Panasonic Lumix, which boasts Leica lens, as a solution to my Sony DSC-H7 issue. I am looking forward to a new era of stress free photography. Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28K 10MP Digital Camera with 18x Wide Angle MEGA Optical Image Stabilized Zoom (Black)

I did a lot of research on "bridge" cameras (digital cameras that fall between "point and shoot" and DSLRs) and finally decided on the H7 for two reasons. First, I owned a 3.2 mp Sony camera prior to this one. I was pleased with the way it worked and found the in-camera menus easy to use. I wanted to upgrade to more megapixels and larger optical zoom, but still have an "easy to use" camera. Second, Sony cameras had ALL the features I wanted (steady shot, face recognition, high ISO, etc) whereas other brands tended to only have one or two of these options. The camera was easy to set up and I started taking pictures within 5 minutes (the battery was 2/3 charged out of the box). The camera came with a remote, carrying strap, lens cover, and lens shade. You have to buy a memory stick, but I just used my extra one from my PSP. Pros: -8.1 megapixels with 15x Optical zoom: These two features are hard to find together in a camera. I found with other cameras I had to compromise on one or the other. The mix of these two features creates some great pictures. -Steady Shot: Like other reviewers said, I found this helps a lot when you are at maximum zoom -Face recognition: It takes some fiddling to make it work right, but it does help center your pictures on the people rather than the background. -Menus: Having owned a Sony camera before, learning the in camera menus wasn't that hard. However, it may take some time for folks not used to Sony products. Cons: -LCD screen: The screen smudges very easily and quickly. The resolution on the screen isn't very good for what I expected from Sony and is the main reason I can't give this product 5 stars. -Body style: While the construction of the camera gives a very professional look, it can be hard to hold. You will probably need two hands if you're doing a lot of shots. -Accessories must be Sony made: As with all Sony products, you must buy only their accessories. I know this is a big factor for folks who already own a large collection of lenses. -Action shots: I probably need to work the settings on the camera, but all my action shots seem to come out blurry. I had seen some reviews of this camera that said this was an issue. All in all, this is a great camera. As a previous reviewer said this camera is not for folks looking for a DSLR. It is a step above the first generation of "point and shoots." However, for all the features you get, it is a great value.

Great point and shoot camera, the best one I ever had, excellent 15X zoom, for the average user like me this camera is a no brainer. I had it for a year now and never had a problem with it. Face detection works great and it is one of the best features, very well implemented on this camera. The screen is big enough, no need for a bigger one to drain the battery like in the H9. I enjoy the fact that on this camera you can attach other lenses, most point and shoot don't let you do that. Overall a must have for me!

I've owned the camera for 3 months, have taken very good quality pictures. Am impressed by the good quality of low light pictures with no flash. But, it now has a vertical line in each picture and is seen in the view finder. I'm returning it to Sony for repair/replacement, lets see how it goes. -- Sony replaced the ccd, returned it one day after recieving it. rh 4stars