Sony Cybershot DSC-H5

Review Date
August 31, 2008

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.40 of 5, 5 votes

Reviewed by
Adam , Intermediate

Price Paid
$300.00 at amazon.com

Photography Experience
11-20 years , People

Summary
Worked great, takes great pictures, especially liked the speed . . . . . then the shutter button stopped working. Press halfway down, and nothing. Now impossible to time my photos.

Review Date
August 19, 2008

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.00 of 5, 3 votes

Reviewed by
JBird380 , Intermediate

Price Paid
$350.00 at Butterfly Photo

Photography Experience
2-5 years , Outdoor

Summary
This camera was given to me by my husband for Christmas 2 years ago. I absolutely LOVE this camera. It is a great digital camera and produces amazing results for just starting out with photography. We did some pricing around for this camera and found it for the best price online and I am very pleased with it. I never have had any complaints about my camera or it's quality when taking pictures for friends or professionally. I have received tons of compliments and am extremely happy with it. I just bought a used Nikon N65 that I have heard is an amazing film camera. Since I am so used to my DSC-H5, it will take some getting used to, but have the want to mess around with film again so we will see how it compares to my digital. But this camera is a great asset to photographers just starting out or even been doing photography for a year or two.

Strengths
Great clear pictures (7.1pixels), easy to focus (has steadyshot feature), nice zoom (12x) and not very heavy or awkward to hang onto.

Weaknesses
Takes some time to figure out all the features and ratios this camera has (not a bad quality for the camera, just takes time for begining photographers to get used to)

Similar Products Used
None, just now starting to use a film camera Nikon N65, along side this digital camera.

Customer Service
Haven't had to use it in the two years I have had it.

Review Date
August 3, 2008

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.00 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by
Bob , Intermediate

Price Paid
$450.00 at circuit city

Photography Experience
6-10 years , People

Summary
Shutter button fell off one year after purchase (right after warranty expired)
I notice that this is a common problem with this camera.

I always had difficulty with the half focus or to take some shots where the button would be depressed, the camera would beep, but it would not take the shot. I thought it was some kind of autofocus flaw but in all reality was likely a problem with the shutter button.

Everything else about the camera is good.

Sony probably will not fix this design flaw until hit by another class action lawsuit (like they have been with some of their other products.)

Strengths
Optical Zoom,
Lens,
Nice robust body (less shake)
Lots of preset setting exposure choices

Weaknesses
RELIABILITY....Design flaw of camera button falling off.

Review Date
May 29, 2008

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 2 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.00 of 5, 2 votes

Reviewed by
WW , Casual

Price Paid
$450.00 at Circuit City

Photography Experience
2-5 years

Summary
DO NOT PURCHASE THIS CAMERA!! The shutter button problem hit us one month and 5 days after the warranty expired. The button just fell off after taking a picture. Sony advised us that they "do not acknowledge non-Sony websites" when I told them about the failure rate of the button, and how many other people have had the same issue, and that "they were unaware of any problem with the DSC-H5 shutter button"....and to top it off, they stated that it would be $181.00 to fix it!!

However, it does take great pictures with endless settings (when the button does not fall off). Love the 3 inch LCD, nice and bright!

Strengths
Huge LCD
Tons of settings for all conditions
Crystal clear pictures with great color
Battery life from the standard Sony batteries is good

Weaknesses
SHUTTER BUTTON FALLS OFF, AND SONY DOESN'T CARE!
Instruction booklet is like a small book...
Not a small/slim camera

Customer Service
Horrible...

Review Date
April 27, 2008

Overall Rating
 1 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 3 votes

Reviewed by
sbarter , Intermediate

Price Paid
$0.00

Photography Experience
11-20 years , Outdoor

Summary
Terrible flaw in design makes this camera unusable. The shutter button stops working when pressed halfway down, or completely falls off. There are hundreds of reported cases of this happening, so please research before considering this camera. People that get it repaired under warranty end up having the same problem return, usually very shortly. On my camera the button stopped working correctly within the first few months of use.

Strengths
Nice lens. If not for the button problem it would take nice sharp pictures.

Weaknesses
The shutter button appears to have a very high failure rate, and Sony does not seem to address the problem other than repairing with the same part that will fail again.

Similar Products Used
Olympus DSLR
Canon Powershot
Konica Minolta A2

Customer Service
Have not tried it myself but from what I hear it's not so great.