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Under 2 Megapixels
Sony DSC-U40/LJ Cyber-shot 2MP Digital Camera (Blue)

Sony DSC-U40/LJ Cyber-shot 2MP Digital Camera (Blue)

List Price: $299.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Just Awful
Review: I bought this camera for my birthday in an attempt to replace my bulky Kodak DX3700. I downloaded the photos onto my computer and they looked like photos I had taken with a cheap no flash digital camera I bought for $40.00 four years ago. I even tried to change the settings, but the photos still looked pretty bad.

It's a good size camera, but it takes the worlds most grainiest photos. But I think I'll stick to Mr. Bulky.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Wonderful Little Camera
Review: I got this camera a few weeks ago, and I love it. I read a ton of reviews of "micro" cameras before deciding on this one and it drives my nuts when someone says "The quality sucks compared to my Mofo 6000 Digital Camera from Canon that cost me $2000". It is not a super high quality camera, how could it be, it costs $200?!?!

It is tiny, it fits in your pocket and it takes nice little pictures. It has some neat features such as burst and movie mode w/o sound.

The biggest thing though is the size. I thought that the absence of an optical viewfinder would drive me nuts, but I haven't really noticed. If you order this camera, go ahead and order a new memory card with it. The 8MB one it ships with doesn't hold many 2MP pictures though it will hold about 70 shot on VGA (perfect for Websites and E-mail).

A great purchase.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Wonderful Little Camera
Review: I got this camera a few weeks ago, and I love it. I read a ton of reviews of "micro" cameras before deciding on this one and it drives my nuts when someone says "The quality sucks compared to my Mofo 6000 Digital Camera from Canon that cost me $2000". It is not a super high quality camera, how could it be, it costs $200?!?!

It is tiny, it fits in your pocket and it takes nice little pictures. It has some neat features such as burst and movie mode w/o sound.

The biggest thing though is the size. I thought that the absence of an optical viewfinder would drive me nuts, but I haven't really noticed. If you order this camera, go ahead and order a new memory card with it. The 8MB one it ships with doesn't hold many 2MP pictures though it will hold about 70 shot on VGA (perfect for Websites and E-mail).

A great purchase.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Excellent Little Camera
Review: I have spent about a month and taken about two hundred pictures with this camera. I was wary about it after reading the reviews below, especially related to the graininess comments. I spent a year or so as a photography major in college, so I know a thing or two about photography. If I found these problems, I had planned on selling it on eBay soon while the prices were still close to retail.

I purchased this camera because I often don't take my other digital camera (Canon G4)with me due to it's size and the fact I'm worried about damaging it while traveling. I do end up taking the Sony as it is small enough to put in my pocket or in a hip case.

I am happy to say that I have not experienced any problems with graininess, outside of the normal circumstances when graininess is a problem (not enough light). I shot in a number of settings, indoor and out, etc. and did not have any problems with graininess. In fact, the tiny flash on the camera puts out a surprising amount of light when needed. I shot a picture of my cat in an almost completely dark room, and it lit up the whole room (granted, it was a fairly small bedroom).

I just received my first set of prints back. I chose to have some prints done in 5x7 to test the graininess, and there was not sign of any. The prints looked great. I purchased a 128MB card for it, and it holds well over 200 pictures at the 2M (larger) size. I'd say based upon some of the comments made, a little knowledge of how to edit (size, dpi, etc.) digital pictures would go a long way.

Not to say that this camera doesn't have some downsides, it does. However, if you want a small camera that you will take with you because of it's size that takes fairly good pictures, this is the camera for you.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: small but weak
Review: Kudos to Sony for making a small, dazzle your friends type camera. But how many wasted shots have I taken? Endless. At least 1/3 of the pics from this camera come out blurry, incredibly dark, or with red eye from hell (even w/ red eye flash setting). To be fair, it handles still close-ups just fine but any action shot forget it. Folks, this is a novelty camera that's not worth its pricetag IMHO.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The ultimate spy-cam!
Review: The latest in the U series Cybershot is great! I've owned the original U10 and the Exilim and this is the most pocketable camera ever--it is roughly the size of my index and middle fingers put together and my hands aren't very big. It is sturdily constructed and never feels cheap, so I never have any worries about it being damaged while in my pocket. With its tiny size, you won't need to get a cameraphone that takes low-res VGA photos!

The photos are crisp and very good for a 2 megapixel camera this size. It doesn't produce quality 4x6 photos, but can make very nice 3x5's. Combined with its miniature size, its fast startup time and almost nonexistant shutter lag (depending on auto-focus time) make this the perfect camera for those candid shots you wouldn't normally be able to get otherwise.

The U40 also takes MPEG movies with a beefed-up web-perfect 320x240 resolution (twice that of previous models) and unlike previous models, there is no time limit for the movie clip--it can be as long as you like, depending on free memory. Please note, though, that the movie clips do not record sound.

Pros: Small size, excellent photo quality, good startup and shutter lag time, improved MPEG Movie mode

Cons: Uses the expensive Memory Stick Duo (rather than the standard Memory Stick), no optical zoom

This is a slick camera that is sure to cause a buzz when you take it out in a crowded room and the perfect camera to take around with you everyday for catching those memories you would have normally missed.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: The ultimate spy-cam!
Review: The latest in the U series Cybershot is great! I've owned the original U10 and the Exilim and this is the most pocketable camera ever--it is roughly the size of my index and middle fingers put together and my hands aren't very big. It is sturdily constructed and never feels cheap, so I never have any worries about it being damaged while in my pocket. With its tiny size, you won't need to get a cameraphone that takes low-res VGA photos!

The photos are crisp and very good for a 2 megapixel camera this size. It doesn't produce quality 4x6 photos, but can make very nice 3x5's. Combined with its miniature size, its fast startup time and almost nonexistant shutter lag (depending on auto-focus time) make this the perfect camera for those candid shots you wouldn't normally be able to get otherwise.

The U40 also takes MPEG movies with a beefed-up web-perfect 320x240 resolution (twice that of previous models) and unlike previous models, there is no time limit for the movie clip--it can be as long as you like, depending on free memory. Please note, though, that the movie clips do not record sound.

Pros: Small size, excellent photo quality, good startup and shutter lag time, improved MPEG Movie mode

Cons: Uses the expensive Memory Stick Duo (rather than the standard Memory Stick), no optical zoom

This is a slick camera that is sure to cause a buzz when you take it out in a crowded room and the perfect camera to take around with you everyday for catching those memories you would have normally missed.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Nice, Small Camera-- Great for Candid Shots.
Review: This is my second digital camera. I wanted one that is for candid shots and for moments where my bulky Canon Digital Rebel is just impractical to carry.
The camera is built very solidly with anodized metal construction. The buttons, albeit small(given the small size of the camera), are well constructed. The quality of the pictures is very good, given that it is 2MP max. size. I took vga(smaller sized 640x480 resolution or 100 kb files)shots and they were decent even at 8x10 size. A small amount of blurriness was visible-- but this was a large blow-up for such a small file.
I have yet to print a 2 MP file picture, but the quality of the print should only get better.
The neat thing about this camera, outside of its very small size, is that it almost instantly comes to life and is ready to begin snapping pictures as soon as you see something to take. GREAT FOR THOSE ULTIMATE CANDID MOMENTS!! Because of its shockingly small size, people do not even think you have a camera on you. In its case, it looks like a small cell phone.
I purchased a 64mb duo memory card for this one. I am now sorry, since the 256mb pro grade duo memory cards are about the same price now. If you purchase a memory card, look into the pro grade cards. They write shots to memory faster, making the camera ready for the next one. If you get the 256mb card, you can take up to 445 2MP pictures or up to 2,380 vga pictures! You will seldom need to erase your card.
I bought the case for the Sony DSC-U50 camera(next size up). It allows room for the lanyard and has storage for the card adapter.

This is the perfect complement to a larger digital camera--for that ultimate candid shot!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great little camera!
Review: This takes very nice pictures, and outpost.com/Fry's has it for 99 bucks! Picked up a 256 Duo (DIFFERENT from the normal Sony memory stick...had to return the one we bought the same day as the camera!) from outpost.com as well for 50 bucks after shipping and rebate, and started snapping pictures...475 2MP pictures on the 256 stick. The only thing we regret is that it does not have a zoom. Never really used the zoom on our other camera (Olympus C211...huge but cool) so didn't worry this time. Went to a concert and the pictures from there were worthless. Oops, but knew there was no zoom going into the purchase. Also purhased the little black case that is available from Sony, and it goes nicely on my hip. Very cool camera...fun and we love it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Excellent Ultra-Portable Camera
Review: When looking at the picture, I didn't truly get a sense of how small this camera is. Barely 2/3 the size of my credit cards, and only 1" thick, I am able to just toss this beauty into my pocket and be prepared to snap pictures wherever I am.

There are two picture size settings. VGA (640 x 480) and 2M (1632 x 1224). The pictures at both modes are quite excellent for a cam of this class; however, this cam by no means should be your primary camera, since it does not have optical zoom (nor digital zoom, but that shouldn't be used even if it were available). I bought it so that I could always have a cam to carry around, and I have found that at such a compact size, I can with ease. The pictures come out to be just a bit grainy and slightly blurry, but that depends on the lighting and how steady your hand is, considering the size of this tiny wonder.

Although without sound and quite small, the movie mode is nifty to have, just to have it.

Start up time is superb. To turn on the camera, all you have to do it slide open the cover, and the camera is instantaneously on (< 1 second). Shutter lag is also quite negligible since there are no zoom lenses to adjust for. I've found that if the camera is set to Fast Action mode, there is virtually no shutter lag at all, and the pictures still come out nearly as good as when in normal shooting mode. To turn the camera off, just slide the cover back over the lens.

Although there is no optical viewfinder (which I never use anyways) the LCD is quite sharp and viewable, even only if 1". Also, as a power saving option, the LCD back lighting can be turned off, and the screen can still be seen, if there is ample sunlight or lighting in the background.

Overall, the body has a solid feel with its all-metal construction and is quite lightweight. It has a small array of features such as shooting modes (portrait, landscape, etc...), focus options, and flash mode, but I find this very nice since I don't have to worry about fiddling with controls when all I want is to point and shoot. I'll save those intricacies to situations where I bring my primary digital camera.

I also appreciate that Sony included a pair of 800mAH rechargeable NiMH batteries and a battery charger with this camera.

PROS:
Incredibly small, compact and lightweight.
Superb start-up time, perfect for those unexpected photo opportunities.
Ease of use, simple operation, truly point and shoot.
For its class, very good picture quality.

CONS (Minor):
The Memory Stick Duos are a bit pricey; I wish this camera used the slightly more affordable SD card, but the Duos, I suppose, are very, very small, and are well suited to the camera. This is just a minor thing, and does not detract from the quality of the camera itself.


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