Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX50 16.2 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and 2.7-inch LCD (Black) (2012 Model)

I love this camera. When you are purchasing a point and shoot I think you need to be mindful of your expectations. Point and shoots aren't meant to be perfect cameras but a quality one should take nice pictures. This is my second Sony Cybershot with a Carl Zeiss lens. I absolutely recommend any Sony camera with this lens over any other! I have tried Olympus, Fujii, and other brands of cameras and I still go back to the Cybershot with Carl Zeiss. This specific camera is excellent in low light, bright light, action shots, and just about any other condition I have tried out. 95% of the time it autofocuses on the right part of the picture (which is great for the type of camera it is). The images are sharp, clear, and true to color. The intelligent auto setting works great. This camera is perfect for anyone who doesn't want to have to mess with settings. It easily uploads photos to your computer. There is a easy setting on the camera so you can have a very limited menu which I think is perfect for those who aren't tech savvy. And if you are tech savvy, you will be just as happy with this camera because there are many settings you can change if you'd like (though not necessary). Battery life: I have been using my camera just about every day now. I have taken thousands of photos with it. I am surprised by the battery life. I keep the camera on intelligent automatic, auto flash and my battery usually lasts about 2-3 days. If most of my pictures need a flash the battery does run out after about a day and a half Durability: Unfortunately I dropped my camera about 3 feet and it hit a metal chair then hit the floor. I was so mad at myself and it was only the first week of use! I turned on the camera and there were no issues! Everything works just as always. There isn't even a scratch to be found. I honestly haven't found any negatives about this camera. If my opinion changes over time I will update this review.

I bought this because I had a crappy $40 camera I bought from a drug store and wanted a nicer one for my semester abroad. It takes excellent pictures, even at night with the flash off. Sometimes it is a little confusing to use and there is a bit of learning curve. Just play with it a little and you will get the hang of it. There's a nifty feature where it takes a bunch of pictures in a row really quickly and it compiles them to give you the best image. Probably the best non-professional grade camera you will find for the price. It is really tiny and easy to fit in a purse or even a larger pocket. I advise you to put the wrist strap on it because its size makes it easy to drop. Pretty good battery life too.

For one, this camera takes excellent pictures and works well in low-light conditions. Video is very good, just shy of excellent for a point-and-shoot. This was my wife's "new baby" present for when our second son was born this past April. As other reviewers have mentioned the camera seems unstable. Will not power on at times, lens will not retract at times. I contacted Sony Support. Due to the conversation I had with Sony I will not be keeping this camera, which is unfortunate because it's feature-set is great. This chat occured with Sony Support on 7/19/2012 You are chatting with Jess - ( C467 ).Sony Electronics 7:47 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Hi. Welcome to Sony Online Support. I'm Jess. 7:47 AM Jess - ( C467 ): I understand that the camera is not turning ON. Is that correct ? ------------------------------------- 7:48 AM Customer: For the past week our camera would not power on, and the lens has been stuck out and open. ------------------------------------- 7:48 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Okay. 7:48 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Are you using completely charged batteries with the camera ? ------------------------------------- 7:48 AM Customer: I'd tried with different USB cords to charge it... on computer and via wall-jack adapter. 7:49 AM Customer: Just this morning, after more than 5 days of not being able to use it, the camera started responding while plugged into to USB-to-computer power. ------------------------------------- 7:49 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Okay. 7:50 AM Jess - ( C467 ): What was the message appearig on the camera ? ------------------------------------- 7:50 AM Customer: Now that it's powered on the message is "Writing to Memory card was incomplete" ------------------------------------- 7:51 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Okay. 7:51 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Try power resetting the camera by removing the camera battery for a minute. ------------------------------------- 7:51 AM Customer: While plugged into power or not plugged in? ------------------------------------- 7:52 AM Jess - ( C467 ): While the camera is unplugged from the power source. ------------------------------------- 7:53 AM Customer: Ok, I've pulled the battery and unplugged. ------------------------------------- 7:53 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Alright, kindly wait for a minute. ------------------------------------- 7:54 AM Customer: No problem... while we're waiting, do you know if a firmware upgrade is available on this model. From Amazon reviews it appears a number of customers experience instability in this model. ------------------------------------- 7:55 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Unfortunately, there are no updates mentioned for this model. 7:55 AM Jess - ( C467 ): There are no product issue alerts mentioned for this model of the camera. 7:56 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Insert the battery into the camera now 7:57 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Try turning ON the camera. ------------------------------------- 7:57 AM Customer: I'm not sure of your escalation channels, but I would strongly recommend having Sony look at the Amazon reviews to encourage a firmware upgrade or something. While the camera is working now, this has happened a couple times to us already in the months of owning it. 7:57 AM Customer: It's powered on showing the same "Writing to memory card was not completed correctly. Recover data?" ------------------------------------- 7:58 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Unfortunately, we are not authorized to comment on the third party websites. However I thank you for the suggestion. 7:58 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Okay. 7:59 AM Jess - ( C467 ): Can you access the menu items of the camera ? ------------------------------------- 8:01 AM Customer: Yes, now that the camera is powered on it appears to work okay. To clarify my suggestion, is not to comment on third party sites... but to review the sites to see what customers are experiencing (few customers actually take the time to seek support). I'll be returning this camera to Amazon for a Canon due to this exchange we've had... b/c Sony should be aware of these issues. This is the first Sony product I've been unhappy with the quality of. ------------------------------------- 8:02 AM Jess - ( C467 ): I can understand you concern. 8:02 AM Jess - ( C467 ): However, if any issues are persisting kindly bring it to our notice, we will be glad to provide the information to resolve the issue ------------------------------------- 8:04 AM Customer: Thank you Jess, for the record I think you've done your job well here. As stated however, Sony dropped-the-ball in seeking out customer's experience with this model. ------------------------------------- 8:04 AM Jess - ( C467 ): I can understand your frustration.

After lugging around a DSLR for years, was finally persuaded that I needed a compact camera to capture unplanned moments with our toddler. This camera is so small that I sometimes forget that its in my pocket. Images are ok for use on Facebook or Picasa but are really washed out under florescent or indoor lighting. Pros: Really easy to use, just put it in one of the intelligent modes and off you go Really light and small Surprisingly, the battery lasts more than 200 shots Pretty fast and pretty blur-free action shots The panorama mode was really cool, especially when shooting landscapes Cons: Low-light images (even with flash) are really washed out There is no way to control the flash Images may appear overexposed on the LCD screen, but actually looked accurate when viewed on the monitor Image processing is a bit slower than what I'm used to, but to compensate I just put it in burst-mode most of the time Edit: Had to knock off one more star...there is a lot of details lost in the images, and there seems to be no way of turning off compression or noise reduction.