Sony Cybershot DSCW70 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

Had camera for a brief time, lcd broke while in the carrying case without any kinda of dropping or stress, then even though we had bought the "Full Coverage" insurance, they would not fix or have anything to do with it.

I bought this camera a year ago for Christmas. I thought the picture quality was really good, however, it started having problems with the shutter not long after i bought it. I took really good care of it, until i dropped it once. The lens would no longer come completely out, so it would no longer focus for pictures. I took it apart, but it's not even worth getting fixed. I plan on getting a new cybershot so i can keep the battery and memory card, but i'm hoping another model will be better, especially considering the w80 and w90 cost less.

I received this camera as a gift. It looks nice and took fine enough pictures, but after about 1 year, the navigational buttons went haywire. If I press up, the menu scrolls left, right and it goes up. Its barely usable anymore and every setting is stuck on the "multi-shot" feature. Sometimes I can rig it to work, bit I don't think a $300+ camera should have to be "rigged" to do what it was made to do. I, too, called customer service and received the same "flat-rate" repair fee of $180.00. I laughed and told the customer service rep that was ridiculous. I am sure I can find this, or another usable cameram elsewhere for that price. And I won't have to wait months for its return. If you do buy this camera, maybe spring for the extended warranty and ask what it specifically covers, just in case.

Since, I myself rely on customer reviews before I make a purchase, I figured I should also leave one as well... Well, first off if I had looked at these reviews before this purchase (my husband surprised me with this camera) I might not have bought this one. So here goes:
My first sony cypershot was a dsc-p92 5 mega pixels and in all fairness I guess it was a "good" camera at the time.. I've had that one for a very long time, problems arose so much with that camera, such as dead batteries (used AA's) within an 1/2 hour of placing new ones,, but I am getting off subject.
The sony cypershot dsc-w70 camera is GREAT. well mostly anyway.. I have had this camera for about a year, so I have had lots of uses for it.
PROS:
---LCD screen is a good 2 inches. great size!
---small enough to fit in a pocket.
---lithium battery is way better than those AA's
---quick to turn on
---quick time between first picture taken and next
---great pictures in any light. I have taken pictures in a very dim lit room late at nite and pictues came out great. Don't understand how others are having such a big difference in their pictures.
---does take great action pictures.. My daughter and her friends, do a jump and flip with their skateboards mid-air and this camera has stopped the action in its tracks without it being the least bit blurry, and that's with a bunch of 13 yr olds taken them
-----I have taken many pictures while driving and they too come out without a problem. What I have found that works great is to push the shutter button halfway down then take the picture. Not one bad picture while in a moving car since then.
----video playback works very well, microphone works decent enough that you don't have to be right on top of who you are recording. Though if you talk it will pick that up. Records concerts, plays, anything your kids or whoever might be performing.
----Battery lasts a long time before a charge, videotaped approx 1 1/2 hrs of a concert(non-stop) and didnt even go to a half charge (while using the lcd)
---Has been dropped by my daughter and has not been damaged or scratched at all.
---Easy to set up to download pictures and such into your computer, but with just one cord hooks up to your tv to view pictures there..(my other sony this was not an option just the computer you could view)
---Has a viewfinder! So many digital cameras out there now no longer offer a viewfinder, which most of us probally don't use, but if your batteries are getting low turn off the lcd and that battery will last longer

CONS:
---If you want to videotape, you must remember to zoom if you choose BEFORE you start to record, because you cannot do it once you start.
---The spot where they put the dial for the different types of settings tends to get moved around when you remove camera from either your purse, camera bag or pocket, so be sure to check setting before taking that picture.
---Twilight setting is not good at all unless you have a tripod. camera takes way to long to take picture and if you move even the slightest the picture will be very very blurry. you would be better off using the auto setting and hoping for the best. which pictures do come out just fine IF subject is close to you, far away it would be black, though it only has a small flash built in and is not a 1,000 dollar camera.

All in all, I am very glad my husband just happened to pick out this camera. Extremly happy with the camera and am not even thinking about getting a new one yet. (Knock wood) LOL
Are there better cameras out there?? Most likely, but there are worse ones also. The price was right and the performance for me has been great!

Hope this has helped.

I do not recommend this camera at all.

1. Charging the battery takes forever (at least a few hours) -- forget about his last-minute charging for a special event!
2. This camera is also not good at compensating the normal miniscule jitter from a human stationary hand when the person who is taking the picture is in motion (even in steady motion -- such as in a vehicle moving on a smooth surface).
3. Exactly a year after I bought it (barely a month after the 1 year warranty was up), it broke. When I turn the camera on, it displays a message "Access" on the screen, the screen does not display the image in view of the camera and I cannot take pictures. The turn on and turn off also do not work properly -- the lens goes in and out randomly, inconsistent with what I am trying to achieve (turn the camera on or turn the camera off).

This time I am buying some cheap Chinese camera that will, probably, last longer!

I am usually not a conspiracy theorist but stuff like this really makes one wonder if these cameras are not programmed to break right after the warranty is up...