Sony Cybershot S650 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)[ Revised July 14th. I would now rate this camera at 2 stars given other cameras have had price drops, making them relatively much better. ]

This is the 5th digital camera I've owned and the one I've found to be the most "lacking." If you are simply looking for a point/shoot with no additional features and okay pictures (why a 7 MP then?), this will work. However, I was looking for something that was a little more than point/shoot (ie, some basic control features which seem to be the baseline of Canon cameras). I would rather take pictures with my previous Canon A85 (4 MP but better quality images).

Pros:
- 7.2 MP (although I think this is kind of silly... the number of pixels may be high but a 4 MP camera with higher quality would produce better pictures/prints)
- mostly easy to navigate around the menus (just not much to navigate)
- small/compact
- cheap (price), although now the same price as cameras with significantly more features

Cons:
- no viewfinder, which is a pain when it is sunny
- pictures are mediocre
- colors aren't as vibrant as I hoped they'd be
- many of the pictures are grainy, even in full sunlight
- battery/memory card door opens very easily (too easily... opens up accidentally a lot)
- lens distortion is pretty bad and makes panoramas a bust
- only advantage over other introductory digital cameras is the size

I hesitate to recommend this camera to anyone, however, if you are simply looking for a digital camera with ONLY point and shoot options AND that is compact, this will probably work out. Sony is looking for that niche with this camera. If you want a few more options besides point/shoot, look elsewhere.

The quality isn't that of Canon -- the only advantage of this camera over a Canon A550 is that it is smaller. This camera and the Canon are, as of the review revision, the same price plus/minus a couple bucks. Advantages of the Canon include
-creative flexibility (ie, opportunities to become a better photographer and take better pictures via mild manipulation of camera settings)
- 4x optical zoom relative to the 3x of the Sony
- includes a view finder (no longer standard on point and shoot cameras)
- superior software, including "Photostitch" (phenomenal for making panoramas)
- allows for easy point/shoot on top of the features listed above (ie, ease of use for a point/shoot is comparable with the Sony)

Having owned 3 Canon A-series cameras, I would not hesitate to recommend them. They range from the price of this camera up to a few hundred for additional features/resolution... if I was buying one now I would probably just go with the A550 since 7MP and 4x optical zoom is more than enough for a point/shoot. If you have money to blow on additional features beyond what the A550 offers than I don't know why you are even considering this camera :) Other camera brands may also be good, although I am not very familiar with their offerings... I looked around briefly for some comparable cameras and I only found one non-Canon that I would consider if I was again in the market for a point/shoot: Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS70S.

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Product Description:
Cl) Mu) Sony Dsc-S650 Digital Camera

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