Sony PCKLM16 Voucher

Jeff Kraus (Orlando, FL USA) : Unfortunately, they did it anyway. And probably because of the increased sensor noise, they decided to really crank up that in-camera noise reduction. It looks awful, and it's evident at all ISO settings. This NR cannot be reduced or defeated. It's there for good, and it's even noticeable when viewing an image on my computer at 50% of its original size. Of course, the higher the ISO, the more destructive they get with the noise reduction, which just makes matters worse. The issues are somewhat less noticeable when shooting low ISO outdoors with the lens at its widest setting. In fact, in that specific scenario I'd say the image quality is pretty good. Once you change any of those parameters though, you start to see more problems.

Lala : In the majority of cases, indoor flash photos are exposed pretty accurately. Outdoors without flash, I noticed in many cases the camera underexposed by 1/2 to 1 stop, and sometimes even more underexposed that that when trying to shoot indoors without flash (especially when zoomed in at all). Combined with the existing noise from the ISO setting and the very heavy handed application of NR, trying to bring up the exposure of those ambient light indoor shots to normal levels is going to increase the shadow noise quite a bit. It's not pretty.

Edward : My suggestion? Honestly, if you're determined to find a camera in this price range and you can't save your pennies for something better, I'd recommend looking at the used/refurb market. For example, top-of-the-line Canon Powershot SD cameras from late 2009 were about the same size and weight as this DSC-W730, around 12 megapixels (still more than enough for any camera this size), built like small tanks, with better optics and overall better image quality. These days even those high-end models can be bought for less than this camera. A quick search shows that an excellent condition Canon Powershot SD980 IS can be had for around $60-$80 (or refurbished by Canon for $129 which I think includes a warranty) and that was the best, most expensive Powershot SD model of its time. It even has a big touchscreen display.