Great value

We bought this for our daughter's birthday. At first use we had some problems with it freezing up and not shutting down properly unless the batteries were removed (as noted by some others in these reviews), however we were using an SD card taken out of a Canon camera, and once we'd formatted the card to the Samsung everything worked fine. It takes very good pictures and is pretty easy to use. You can't beat it for the money in my view.

Great camera but will it be reliable?

I've bought Sony cameras because I believed they had a reputation for reliability, however both this and my previous Sony have both gone faulty within the guarantee period. This camera let me down on a once in a lifetime holiday. Sony are repairing but the memories are lost for ever. My personal experience therefore is that Sony do not make reliable cameras and I would not buy another Sony camera based on this.

Love it

Got mine as an xmas gift as we were expecting our son at the time. rarely took photo's before but thought we would take loads once the baby was born, which we have.
Love it. easy to use. lots of nice easy functions to takes more creative photo's if you fancy.

Great pictures for the money

Brought this a gift and the owner has had several comments on how good the pictures look. Easy to use, and with optical zoom and video capability it is great value.

Buy a decent size memory card to go with it, so you can use it on maximum resolution.

Only negative is the shutter lag (time between pressing the shutter release and it taking the picture) which can mean you've missed what you were trying to shoot, but that seems standard on digital cameras at this price. If that's a problem then you need go buy a digital SLR!

Use Scene Modes

I wasn't too impressed with the pictures from this camera when I first started using it in auto mode, too washed out with poor colours (OK it's a cheap camera, what do you expect). However, I then started using the scene mode settings and what a transformation ! This makes a huge difference, colouration is now pretty much what you would like to see. Excellent little camera for the price.

Doesn't deliver usable results

The 24mm wide angle, 1080i video, and high contrast/low power OLED make this camera a very appealing proposition on paper. Unfortunately, both the stills and video that the camera produces are so noisy (even in good light with ISO 100) that I regard them unusable. The sound on the video keeps cutting out, and as well as being noisy the video quality really suffers with even the slightest of contrast. Samsung would have done better if they had resisted the urge to compete in the crazy mega-pixel race which on small sensor cameras increases the image size at the expense of image quality. Samsung would have done better to produce a 6mp camera with larger pixels that can pull in enough light to create images of usable quality.

crack house horatio

why hello......... basically i brought this camera about a week ago and at first i must say that i thought it was pretty terrible i kept geeting blurry shots with noise.... i am doing a animation for art school works and for that it was truly gret as you can speed through shots really fast and by pressing unzoom in view mode see all your pictures idsplayed NICEly. As you begin to master the camera in all its glory your pictures will become far more clear ive been mainly using auto mode recently and they look sowwweeet. Also there are sooo many different modes to choose from which each make a noticable difference. battery life is pretty bad buy a few, while animating lasted about 3 hours but i guess i was taking continual shots and deleting etc. the macro mode is pretty awesome for taking very close up shots, took some of flowers, grass, jeans, dead insects etc. and its very impressive. It's looks are great not to mention its size and still preforms well enough to blow up to A3 (they actually look good)you just have to give this camera some time and then you will realise its true greatness and this is coming from someone who was going to send it back when i first tried it. Sooooooooooooooo just stick with it and you'll end up with some really good photos. I do art i know what i'm talking about. ohh yer watch out for people trying to jack it cos i assure you, you'll be very angry.

Good picture

I bought this camera 3 months ago. Though I am very impressed with picture quality, the video quality is very poor. In fact, I am disappointed with video quality. Kodak camera with similar specification would produce much better video quality.

File error from the start

This camera has not worked properly since I bought it. When taking pictures either with internal memory or memory stick I get a file error message and a blank blue screen when I try to play the images back. Also the images will not transfer to the PC as it says file error. Wish I had never bought it

Compact and excellent value

Very sturdy and light camera which takes lovely sharp photographs whilst on the move. Fits into my pockets easily with no sharp edges and has a very good quality viewing screen. All the buttons are flush with the casing and it is a joy to use. (Complimented with a Crumpler case in scarlet red)

Delighted

This camera is everything I expected, very easy to use, takes great pictures and acceptable video. It is not a professional camcorder but is ideal for simple video clips of holidays and family

Is it a d860 or is it an s860?

I recently purchased this camera in its 'D860'guise, (although I fail to see any difference apart from a slight cosmetic change to the silver bar to the front of the unit the 'specs' being exactly the same), to replace a Samsung 5 mega pixel camera that I have been using trouble free for two years. I wanted a higher spec camera and after looking around I had convinced myself that I wanted a Canon 8mp camera, but upon seeing this on special offer at less than half price, £60.00, I couldn't justify the £120.00 price difference for the Canon, so plumped for another Samsung. I am glad that I did as it has everything required to take fantastic snap shots. It is a good looking unit, the screen is really clear although there seems to be a marked improvement in the quality of the pics once downloaded onto the pc, the colour and sharpness seem much better so dont be tempted to erase the pics until you have reviewed them first. The face detection has become a must use and the anti shake facility comes in useful for those late night in the taverna or bar holiday shots that would otherwise be ruined due to the demon drink! If you need all of the whistles and bells that are great but you never quite get around to using there are better choices to be had but not at this price. I doubt very much that you could do better and in summary, it's a fantastic camera at a budget price. Enjoy.

Excelent value for money camera

I have had one of these for about a year now and have taken about 3000+ shots in all types of conditions and climates. Overall I am happy with it and think Sony offer good value for money here. Overall my ratings are this:

Picture Quality 7/10 good colours and tones but noticeable blurring at the edges of photos

Build Quality 7/10 good but not as good as my previous Sony DSC-P93

Battery Life 8/10 very good for the size of battery, Sony are leaders on battery life

Functionality 8/10 easy modes to take shots quickly without fuss, night shots without flash are a breeze but require ether a tripod or the use of the 2 or 10 second timer delay

Value for money 8/10 overall this is a great camera for £117 which is what I paid. If you want something a bit better I'd recommend a high end Sony or go for a Nikon, Cannon or Panasonic Lumix.

Is it a d860 or is it an s860?

I recently purchased this camera in its 'D860'guise, (although I fail to see any difference apart from a slight cosmetic change to the silver bar to the front of the unit the 'specs' being exactly the same), to replace a Samsung 5 mega pixel camera that I have been using trouble free for two years. I wanted a higher spec camera and after looking around I had convinced myself that I wanted a Canon 8mp camera, but upon seeing this on special offer at less than half price, £60.00, I couldn't justify the £120.00 price difference for the Canon, so plumped for another Samsung. I am glad that I did as it has everything required to take fantastic snap shots. It is a good looking unit, the screen is really clear although there seems to be a marked improvement in the quality of the pics once downloaded onto the pc, the colour and sharpness seem much better so dont be tempted to erase the pics until you have reviewed them first. The face detection has become a must use and the anti shake facility comes in useful for those late night in the taverna or bar holiday shots that would otherwise be ruined due to the demon drink! If you need all of the whistles and bells that are great but you never quite get around to using there are better choices to be had but not at this price. I doubt very much that you could do better and in summary, it's a fantastic camera at a budget price. Enjoy.

Superb Camera!!

What can i say! A superb little camera. I wasn't too sure on the camera that i wanted, so i went to a local electricals store and straight away this camera stood out to me. It has a very modern design which is complimented by the glossy finish. This camera gives quality shots each and every time due to its 8 mega pixel camera. Also the lens has a 3x optical zoom, there are no moving parts! I also noticed that this camera has a brighter screen compared to a lot of the other manufactures including Kodak, Olympus and Nikon. There are shooting modes for all occasions weather it be light or dark, this camera does it all. Definately a recommended buy!!