Sony Cybershot DSC-S950 10MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Black): Customer Reviews & Product Details

For the money, I'm pretty disappointed. I'm no shutter bug, but it just isn't a sharp focus. My daughter got much better pictures with her Cannon point & shoot.

Regarding to the price, this camera is obviously efficient and easy-useful.
I should advise you to buy it if you are looking for a skillful good camera.
The size and the weight are convenient too.

i think my ratings says it all
but would add , i am really happy with the product.
Specially the price of the product was fantastic.

The Cybershot S series has always been considered the "budget" series and the S950, along with the S930 and S980 is the latest addition to the Sony Cybershot series for those who is out to get a compact Sony Camera but doesn't wish to part with a big wad of cash in the process.

The S950, like its 12 megapixel sibling S980, runs on a (new) proprietary Sony Lithium ion battery. The camera is remarkably light, and small, which is about the size of a cigarette box. The design of the camera chassis is minimalist and respectable, with the front surface of the camera covered with a layer of brushed steel.

The focal length of the camera runs from 33m-132mm (35mm equivalent), which is odd but generally would not bother first time users who are out to get a decent zoom compact. The camera lens is a non-Carl-Zeiss, Sony lens, to keep the price of the camera low.

The sensor's diagonal dimension is 1/2.33", and packs enough photosite to deliver 10.1 megapixel worth of images. One important thing to note is that the S950 does not come with a BIONZ processor, which provides faster camera response and better image processing on most expensive Sony Cybershot models. As such, the S950 suffers from below average (by Sony's Cybershot standard) operation response, and can sometimes be downright sluggish.

However, that is not to say that the S950 is a bad camera. Do bare in mind that this is a very cheap compact camera that offers an amazing resolution of 10.1 megapixel, and the operation software that comes with the camera is on par with those of the more expensive cybershot models. Features such as Super Steadyshot, Face Dectection, Scene Mode, P Mode and Easy mode are included to make shooting pictures with this camera a breeze for first time users.

The quality of the image (at full zoom) is acceptable between ISO 100 and ISO 200, but starts to degrate dramatically from ISO 400 onwards. At ISO 3200, there is just too much noise from the sensor and too much aggresive noise reduction going on inside the camera to give you anything useful for printing beyond A5 size.

The camera has been tested under different kinds of harsh flourescent lighting, and produced wonderful results thanks to its extensive white balance program. Given the fact that the camera is prone to produce noise at almost any sensitivity setting beyond the base ISO (100), this camera works best when shooting outdoor in broad daylight. It also works well for still life photography, and takes decent scenic pictures due to its wide aperture.

Examples of images taken under different conditions have been uploaded under customer's images.

I purchased this Camera with the delusion that if you pay a decent price for a Sony product you could be assured that the quality of the product will be above average. Well, with the Cyber-Shot DSC-S950 you do not get what you paid for. For starters, you need a Sony only memory card, battery, and USB cables. They have adjusted the size of these items to only fit into thier cameras. So... any previous memory cards, batteries or cables are now obsolete and you have to buy the Sony Brand. The picture quality is very dark and at times very out of focus. Unless you have the perfect lighting you will end up with subpar pics. It also does not let you zoom during video mode and the audio is barely there. When you want to look back at pics it takes a second to focus every time for each pic which makes it very annoying when you want to scan through your photos. My previous camera was about $50 less exspensive and was a much better product. Pass on this one at all costs....