Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W610 14.1 MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom and 2.7-Inch LCD (Black) (2012 Model)

I' m giving this camera 5 stars, b/c it does well for older technology (CCD sensor compared to BSI-CMOS). My teenage daughter has had this camera for 9 months, and I have used it a few times when I wanted a better picture than my smartphone & before I bought a DSLR. I used only the iSCN mode which is Intelligent Scene Auto Mode. It detects the corrects scene. Flash produces proper colors & does well in low light. Expect digital noise, as you should expect that with any point & shoot with a small sensor & high megapixels. I don't think it will be noticeable if cropping is kept to a minimum & prints are kept small - 4x6 maybe up to 8x10. If you are a pixel peeper (like me) you SHOULD NOT use a point & shoot or smartphone. Go for a DSLR or possibly the newer compacts with large sensors or the mirrorless cameras do well. Autofocus is acceptable speed. My daughter has caught a few action shots of my younger sons shooting a basketball w/minimal blur. I have not tried video. This camera is very small & thin, which is nice to fit in a pocket if you don't want to carry any bulk. Even though this was bought for a teenager, I think this would be a good camera for everyday family shots.

I bought this camera just after graduating high school. I had a Sony Camera before this, and used it until it didn't work anymore. I was very excited when I took it with me to China, and it took amazing photos. Sadly, I lost it soon after arriving, and had to use friends cameras most of the time I was there. Compared to five different cameras, this one was easily the best. Many of the others took extremely blurry photos, didn't have panorama mode, and all of them went through their batteries fairly quickly. This camera took relatively few blurry photos, and for the first few days in a foreign country, taking hundreds of photos, I didn't need to charge it for three or four days. I also love the colors, the blue is gorgeous and it was helpful for telling it apart from my old camera, or my mom's camera at a glance. It is also quite small and light, smaller than any camera I've had before. After losing my camera was heartbroken. The day after I got back from China, I ordered a new one. I can't wait to get it and keep taking photos. Obviously, this is not a professional camera, but for a girl who loves taking photos, it is absolutely perfect.

Let me tell you my story. I took the camera out of the box, charged up the dead batter and proceeded to take 4 photos with the camera. Immediately went to my computer, hooked up the USB cable and tried to transfer said photos. But my computer would not recognize the camera, no big deal right? I downloaded the drivers and some crappy software Sony had specifically for the camera. Still nothing so I go ahead and try a different USB port and cable with no luck. Next step was I tried my other desktop with no luck, laptop with no luck. So I took the camera to work the next day and tried just about every freakin computer in the joint, downloading the drivers and software along this horrible journey. Okay, maybe my colleagues and I are missing something obvious here, so I contacted Sony eSupport and had a live chat with a "Technical Professional" which accumulated in nothing more then the guy sending me random links to the eSupport site for 20 minutes. So I emailed the Sony Support and got some copy and paste reply with no real useful information. By this point I was just about admit defeat and accept the camera and support was horrible, I tried 1 valiant more time and called tech support, after the 43 minute wait (I timed it with my phones stop watch) I got to talk to a real live person! I obliged the support lady and redid troubleshooting I had done a few times before and I was getting no where fast. As a last ditch effort she put me in touch with a website to repair the faulty camera, I filled in my information and described what has been going on. I then received a email from the repair service for Sony that stated I would get instructions via regular mail within a week. So 18 days later this package finally arrives and inside was a USB cable and letter explaining how a new USB cable and a factory reset (which I had done multiple times by this point) should solve my issues. I reset the camera and tried the new USB cable and surprise, surprise it didn't work. So I went back and reread the letter for instructions on how to send the camera back for "further repairs" and of course I was responsible for shipping costs, I expected this but I didn't expect the $85.00 they wanted for "potential repairs and parts". In short, I would avoid this camera and most Sony products like the plague. Camera worked okay, it was nothing special and the display sometimes showed blurry images for no apparent reason. My years old Kodak C433 is much sturdier but of course doesn't take as good of pictures but after this experience I wouldn't trade that Kodak relic for any Sony camera. Ever.

I had a Sony Cyber-shot many years ago that was dropped after a few years and the display stopped working. I decided to switch over to a Nikon Coolpix because I love my Nikon SLR. I NEVER liked the Coolpix nearly as much as my old Cyber-shot. After a couple of years with the Coolpix trying to change settings with less than stellar picture results, I decided to go back to a Cyber-shot. I am sooooo thankful I did. I love the Sony point-and-shoot. The camera is user friendly and the easy mode takes some of the best pictures I have ever seen. I rarely take pictures I end up deleting because most of the settings are very accurate and the picture quality is top notch. They only thing I would say that I do not like about Sony cameras are the memory sticks they come with. They duo memory stick is not standard, so you will have to purchase an adapter in order to place the memory card directly into your pc. I have a Macbook, so I use the usb cord to upload my pictures (which you can do as well with your PC). I will post some pictures when I have a chance to show the quality this camera puts out. Plus, I LOVE the green color as it is very different from all of the usual camera colors.

As a rule, I generally buy and use cameras with a little bit more functionality, like the Nikon P7000 or D3100. However, the DSC-W610, the lowest-end of Sony's current crop of digital cameras, certainly fits the bill for a cheap, pocketable camera that will get the job done, as long as you don't expect too much from it. The camera comes with a battery, a charger, a USB cable, and a wrist strap. The USB cable is not your standard Mini-USB or Micro-USB cable, so if you don't plan on using an SD card reader, make sure not to lose that cable! Speaking of SD cards, this camera doesn't come with one, so make sure you pick one up. (The camera works with SD, SD-HC, and SD-XC cards as well as Memory Stick Pro Duo cards, so pretty much anything you throw at it will do.) Although the camera looks like it has a brushed aluminum front, this affect is applied with a textured sticker, and in fact the whole camera is rather thin plastic. It doesn't feel incredibly fragile, but also doesn't give me much hope that it would survive a moderate fall. The image quality is better than most if not all cell phone cameras, just as you'd expect from a standalone point and shoot. The sensor is moderately sensitive, shooting okay if noisy shots in low-light scenerios. The flash does its job, covering all of the image area (except just the corners when the lens is at its widest). However, don't expect pro-quality photos here, detail resolution when zoomed in all the way is poor, looking muddy and indistinct. The most unique option on this camera, and the reason we ended up choosing this camera, is Sony's sweep panorama mode. Click the shutter release, then slowly pan the camera right. The camera will make sure you held the camera straight enough (using an internal accelerometer, I'm sure) and automatically stitch the pictures together. It produces surprisingly good panoramas with very little work. The biggest differentiator between this camera and its slightly more expensive brother, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W620 , is the movie mode. The 610 shoots at a paltry 640x480, while the 620 (and higher models) shoot at 720p HD. Keep this in mind when opting to save a few bucks. All in all, this camera is great for people who just want a cheap camera to keep in their pocket and not fuss about too many settings. If you demand excellent image quality, high-res video, or toughness in your camera, then you may want to pass on this one.

We bought this camera for Christmas for one of our kids who "needed" a camera. It is a great full feature small camera. It is quite small, which is what we were looking for, and easy enough for our 7 year old to use. It has some great features for more experienced users, but is a great camera for kids as well. We got the green because it is his favorite color, and the color is pretty close to the picture. So, in short, it is small, simple, nice features for experienced users if/when needed, and for a good price. I recommend.

Perfect little camera that does its job! Although I wish it was a little sturdier Iam happy with my purchase! It does its job and is reliable! & the price is GREAT! Def. something that is great for gifts that is actually useful & a camera that will be around for year to come if you take care of it! I recommend buying it with the case because the case doesnt come with it. & its small & made of plastic so you dont want to drop it! & don't forget to put the strap on it ( its included with the camera & found in the box )

I bought this as a gift for my sister in law a few years ago. It still works well. She's had no issues. The camera is of course very easy to use as it is point and shoot. The flash is decent. I have one just like it in blue- and it's still going strong after 5 years. The pictures turn out great. It can take a pretty clear picture when someone is moving- just as long as it's not too fast.