Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX7V 16.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Still Camera with 10x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom G Lens, 3D Sweep Panorama, and Full 1080/60i HD Video (Red)

I always liked most Sony digital cameras, but could never really afford them too much unless they were on sale. So I got this older very good condition "used" Sony DSC-HX7V compact digital camera to replace another Sony compact digital camera that had a much smaller zoom and really did not take very good photos. Now, this Sony digital camera really is a nice one. I took some quick indoor and outdoor photos and photo qualities so far in good lighting conditions outdoors is outstanding! Video qualities are good too....and in stereo sound as well. The Menu System is pretty thorough and nice. You can change the background colors of your menu pages with 3 different colors....nice! PROS: >>Nice 10X optical zoom lens >>Nice menu layout >>Excellent outdoor photo qualities with no flash during daylight hours >>Great video qualities >>Uses common SD, SDHC or SDXC cards >>Only minor shutter lag >>Nice sized LCD rear view finder >>You can shoot manual mode photos here >>Strong built-in flash >>Has GPS built in for those that use it [I don't use GPS for photography at all] CONS: >>Fair to middlin outdoor low light photos >>No EVF, just the rear LCD viewfinder >>Burst shooting mode takes up to 10 photos, but there is about a 20 second delay while those photos are "processing" before you can resume taking photos. It's not a burst shooting mode seen like on my Canon or Panasonic Lumix digital cameras, but a Sony thing only. Overall, this compact Sony digital camera will completely fill the bill for any trips I may have coming up soon as it's the perfect digital camera for me to take on trips....good enough to take family photos, relative photos, outdoor photos and for those critters outdoors a bit further away, the zoom will zoom it in a bit for me to get an even better photo of it. I got a few extra batteries, NP-BG1 and one extra charger to make sure I always have at least a couple of fresh batteries ready to use during trips or local events. I overall will rate this Sony compact digital camera 5 of 5 with really as of now and so far......no major issues.....and this was a "very good conditioned used camera" I am using and rating as I got it here on Amazon used.

Just had it a few days, but some initital thoughts: Photos are great. 10x zoon is terrific. Burst photo is good for getting the right moment of a smile. That is, tell someone to smile, and using the burst feature, you raise the chances of capturing the smile at its peak. Many programming options, but one I don't see is setting the time a photo remains on the display. It's always gone by the time you turn it around to show someone the picture. The very high HD resolution is a blessing and a curse. These are the highest resolutions ever available to consumers, however, chances are your laptop/PC won't be capable of playing, let alone editing, these videos. Only the most recent, powerful, processers will be able to play these videos, and accompanying audio. Otherwise, playback is a black screen, or at best, choppy and full of dropouts. So you may have to choose between capturing at a high resolution for the future (when we all have more powerful processors), or capturing at the lower resultion for use now. I bought used at Amazon Warehouse Deals. I saved an appreciable amount of money, and am convinced the camera was never used (see wrist strap comment below). I was concerned when the camera had not shipped after about five days. When I contacted Amazon Warehouse to ask why it hadn't shipped, they said it had to do with using free Super Saver shipping (although I doubt they would have made their estimated delivery window). They offered to upgrade me to overnight shipping, and the camera arrived the next day. Good customer service response. A small but frustrating element of the design is the hole for the wrist band. It is too small!! I was only able to thread it through after many attempts, and using a bent paper clip to push it through, and a saftey pin to pull it the rest of the way.

First of all I'm not a photographer...I just love to document all the fun stuff I do and the places I go and take pictures or videos of my friends being silly. I've owned quite a few different point and shoot digital cameras over the years...the last one was a Canon 780 something and it was decent...but not super intuitive to use and the controls were really hard to see as I got the black model (black on black in a darkish room or outside at night and I may as well be blind.) It was also so small I was always afraid i was going to lose it, and that's exactly what happened. My roommate has a sony cybershot touch-screen model and she always gets really great shots, even in low light. And that's been my problem with all of my previous digital cameras - I can't get a clear shot in low light without using the flash, and with the flash everyone looks ghostly white and washed out. And it's impossible to capture anything with cool outdoor lighting (like pics at night at Burning Man.) So I decided to go with the Sony this time around, and I chose this model after reading a bunch of reviews that said it was a really good camera for someone like me who doesn't need a lot of manual control (although this does have that too) and just wants to be able to take great shots all the time without trying too hard. It really does work! What I see is what I get - I've never had a camera that took the photo exactly as I was seeing the scene with my eyes, even in low light. Video is great quality too! I don't know if it's just because the technology has finally progressed to a point where this is possible or if it really is a superior product, but I don't care...I love the camera! The only thing that is slightly annoying is the way it uploads from my memory card...i formatted it in the camera and the pics and especially videos are buried beneath several layers of folders containing seemingly nonsensical files. Not sure what that's about, but I'm getting used to it and I can live with that. Battery life isn't as long as my previous cameras but I just ordered an extra battery to solve that problem.

We bought two of these for a trip to Europe. I wanted to love them, but when we returned they had to go on eBay. The pictures are great. That is, they are great IF you can get them! The camera is really smart, and the settings available make otherwise impossible pictures possible. The problem is that the menus ARE slow, and there is a confirmation screen that pops up when you turn the settings dial. That would be a great feature IF there was a way to kill it when you were ready. Instead, you have to wait it out, and by that time the shot could be gone. My other gripe was the GPS. It is Slooooooooooooooow to acquire a signal, and to do that you really do have to be out in the open. Say you are in a Piazza in Venice. 3-4-5 minutes after turning on the camera you _finally_ get a signal so that you can tag the pictures you take and remember 10 years from now which duomo you were visiting. Now you go inside the church and *bang*, the GPS signal is no more. Not even the option to select it to continue tagging at the spot you had just a minute ago. Nothing. The lack of any awareness without a constant signal made it worthless. The landscape pictures were really nice, and fun to take. My hope is that a future model fixes these small flaws that make a big difference.

I have bought this camera eight months ago: it works good and I have been excellent shots with it, but I have been experiencing an intermittent problem: the on/off button sometimes does not work. I have been trying everything: change the battery, the memory card, etc ... but the camera sometimes does not turn off AND on. I have called the Sony Cybershot assistance and they said to me send the camera to Texas! AND by my own expenses!!! Are they serious? I live at California, and the do not have any support center at my State! What a shame!!! I have been thinking to save the shipping money and buy another camera (of an another BRAND)!!!

I had the HX5V first and return for this one (HX7V) Not used much yet, but so far I think the HX5V had better battery life, held GPS signal better, and took more accurate pictures (explain later), but poor picture quality....The HX7V has good picture quailty for a pocket camera, bad battery life - need a spare or two, has a harder time and longer time getting a gps signal, and fianlly the fatal flaw seems like it has a bad delay, you miss the picture you are taking and get the picture after that moment..... I hope sony will update the firmwarre to maybe fix this, but not seen many digital cameras get updates like that, or maybe I just need to play with the settings more.....anyway, I really like the camera, but what good is it , if you miss the picture you are trying to take? Also, the video function seems fine, expect, it has a delay prior to starting after you hit record - and what I like about sony is you can zoom why you record... In summary, I would say nice camera, nice features, nice quality (for a pocket), but skip it based on delay....what good is it if you miss the moment.

I was looking for a compact point and shoot in the $200 range that took sharp pictures with good image stabilization. My old Canon Powershot SD750 (which I was very happy with) died recently and I needed a replacement. I tried 5 different cameras, and the picture quality on all of them was alful: 1. Panasonic DMC-FH25A 2. Nikon Coolpix S6200 3. Canon PowerShot SX230HS 4. Canon PowerShot SD980IS 5. Canon PowerShot Elph 100 HS They all got returned. I finally found the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX7V and I am THRILLED with it. I never would have thought that a Sony camera would outperform comperable models from Nikon and Canon (WHAT has happened to Canon in the last few years?), but the difference is absolutely night and day. Pros: The image stabilization is excellent, even when chasing moving children. The response time for the auto-focus is very good (something that always bugged me about my several previous Canon cameras). The zoom is crystal clear. Most importantly, the images look beautifully rich and sharp, even using the intelligent auto mode. The interface is intuitive and easy to use. Cons: There is a delay between pressing the record video button, and the recording actually starting (a couple of seconds). Not a big deal, but worth mentioning. Also the PC interface is a bit clunky. I had to install the Sony software that came with the camera to even be able to pull video recordings off the camera. The standard Windows wizard would not do it. Again, not a huge deal. Conclusion: Try the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX7V. You won't be disappointed.

Pics look good to me; I usually just put most on facebook, so I'm not really anal about the quality. I hardly use any special features, but I like the options and this camera seems to have quite a few. Love the zoom, the panorama works very well compared to other cameras I've had that do the sweep panorama. I've taken some 3D pictures, but until I get a 3D tv (in like 10 years when I can afford one and after I have a new camera and no memory of ever taking the pics I've taken) I can't admire them. I may have to look at the pics on someone else's 3D tv sometime, but at the moment the pics I've taken have just been messing around. One feature I really like is the burst shooting. You can choose between two speeds (10 pics in one second, or 10 pics over about a 4-or-so second period), but viewing the burst shots is what gets me. The burst shots are kept under one picture preview and when you select it you can tilt the camera back and forth and it will go through the pics like a video kinda. I do wish there were options for an even slower burst speed, but not a real big deal. Decent low-light shooting.