Sony Cybershot DSC-S980 12MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Black)

This is our third digatil camera, and the best. It is easy to use and takes excellent pictures. The battery life is excellent,used it in cold weather and it holds up well. It is small enough to carry in your pocket with a large viewing screen. It is 6 months old now and it's being used on a regular basis unlike some previous cameras we owned that were to hard to use.

The camera is fantastic ... as far as still photos go. As far as video ... don't waste your money. Terribly pixilated video, and the sound quality is way off. I'm so disappointed in the lack of video quality in this camera that I can't even put it into words. Being able to take video was a huge part of the reason I bought it in the first place, and it ruined memories of at least one vacation for us so far, because we had taken mostly video with it instead of still shots. (We didn't know about the quality problem then.)I LOVED my last Sony Cybershot (which is why I bought the newer model), and it took AMAZING video, even though it was only a 3.1 megapixel camera. This 12.1 megapixel camera may take great photos, but it also takes the worst video I've ever seen.

I wanted a camera I could take with me on trips where I wouldn't want to take my Canon DSLR for obvious reasons. Trips like snowboarding, fishing, hiking etc.. I was looking at getting a point and shoot camera because of their small size. I first looked at the Sony Tx7. I couldn't justify buying one for the price. It cost almost as much as an entry level DSLR and is far inferior in features and picture quality. I am not sure how they can get away with charging that much. With a little bit of research you will see they are ripping you off.Anyway in my search for a point and shoot I ended up with this camera. Why? Because it was free. My aunt bought it to use on a trip and lost the charger before she ever used it. She meant to buy a replacement and never did so 8 months later she hands it over to me. So I quickly go to radioshack and buy a charger for it. I then buy an 8gb SD card which just about every product uses right? WRONG! I have to take it back because it doesn't fit. I found out Sony uses a proprietary format on their memory cards. What a shock (but is it really? Remember BetaMax and MiniDisc? Sony is known for forcing trying to force their formats on the consumer to make more money). So I look for a Pro Duo memory stick only to find out it cost almost twice as much as regular SD cards (which everyone else uses) and offers no benefit. So I look around some more and I found a compatible Pro Duo memory stick made by San Disk. It was still a little more than standard SD cards but a lot cheaper than the one made by Sony (overpricing their products is also what they are known for).Now I am ready to take pictures. I get home and insert the card. I then power up the camera and go outside to test it out. No viewfinder and the LCD screen is horrible when trying to take pictures outside in bright sunlight. I take a few pictures of my cat, some flowers, and try some of the landscape. I come inside and try out a few more in the house. Some on the ISO setting and some with the flash on. I then download the pictures to my computer only to realize how terrible they are. The outside pictures were descent at best. Inside the house is unacceptable. The ISO setting is useless and creates a lot of noise in your pictures even on low ISO. The flash is terrible! I can't see anyone finding this camera acceptable. Not even for a drunken frat party. When using the flash it's as if you have a spotlight shinning on your subjects. The pictures taken outside are also unacceptable, especially after I am used to my Canon DSLR. I know this isn't supposed to compete with my Canon but I have a friend who uses an older Nikon point and shoot and it still outshines this Sony.In conclusion the only way I can see anyone wanting to use this product is if you get it free as a gift, and only care about uploading pictures to your Myspace or Facebook page. Other than that steer away from this Camera and any other camera made by Sony.

I was looking for a replacement for my well-loved 2004 Nikon Coolpix point-and-shoot, which I've used for artistic photography, travel as well as everyday snapshots and had been very happy with but which was becoming outdated. At the store I was impressed with the sleek features and interface of this Sony DSC--it seemed pretty sophisticated and I trusted Sony to be a good brand. Wrong! If I'd been able to return it I would have in retrospect, but it was a gift and the opportunity passed.After even the first couple photos at home I was so disappointed--the interface is not actually that easy to navigate or understand (for someone pretty accustomed to digital cameras), so though it has fewer options (a con for anyone who knows what they're doing) and is made to be more user-friendly to anyone, it's actually HARD to adjust color and light settings. I could deal with that, though, if the image quality was good, and even that is sub-par! The pictures all appear dark, and worse--the color is way off. I've been using this camera for over a year now and my photos are consistently off-contrast, and with a sickly greenish or yellowish washed-out tint to them, even when I adjust the light setting to the environment(to fluorescent, incandescent, cloudy, etc). I actually wondered for awhile if there was something wrong with my camera in particular, but I think it's just crumby quality. Lastly, this "SteadyShot" has an irritatingly long shutter speed, and then takes even longer to save the image (though I've set it on a low size setting).Overall, this is a really disappointing camera and I've gone back to using my old dinosaur of a Nikon Coolpix because while it's 5 years older than this Sony, it is more reliable, faster, easier to use and takes MUCH better photos.

This is a good little camera for everyday use. I am an old film shooter so this digital camera is new to me. Took 300 shots of my house in and out for insurance record. Worked great and downloaded onto my computer with no problem. Wish it had a view finder. Hard to get use to looking at a little screen. For a good camera with a view finder you need to spend $500 and up so for the price the Sony is great.

smooth product in perfect condition

It came on time and it looked brand new.It was in its original package like they had said.NO SCRATCHES! Im definitely satisfied with this purchase.

It is a good product. I was glad it worked well and was a reasonable cost. Well worth my money.