Spontaneous "always-with-you" photography style just got better with the introduction the DSC U20 Cyber-shot U digital camera. Packed with an impressive 2-megapixel resolution and... more
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A review by DG55 on Sony Cyber-shot U DSC-U20 February 17th, 2004
Author's product rating:
Picture Quality
Excellent
Range & Quality of Features
Limited
Ease of Use
Very Easy
Durability
Excellent
Overall Look & Design
Excellent
Value for Money
Good
Advantages:
Small, Decent Quality
Disadvantages:
No Zoom, Memory
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
The Sony u20 was the first digital camera I bought, and was sceptical about whether I was was going to get a medium from it, where it would take decent high quality pictures but also would be small enough for me to take anywhere in my pocket. Its a hard medium to acheive.
The u20 is succesful in every way, and I was extremely suprised to be able to take even the most demanding of shots on this tiny yet robust package.
Although this camera is, obviously, not the best quality digital camera you can buy by a long way, It still has an extremely powerful resolution which is fantastic for anything from pictures of friends and family, to pictures of landscape. You can also quickly and easily download the pictures to your computer.
The battery life is also quite good for two AA type batteries, recharging is rather long, but you can take the camera out for a whole day and take at least a hundred shots without the battery running out.
The USB connection and software are reletively easy to use. Your computer will recognise the camera as a removable drive when you connect it to the computer, so downloading files can be as easy as copying and pasting from the camera. If you'd rather let the software download everything to your computer for you, then you can download 'Image Transfer', which, when you plug the camera into the USB port, will transfer everything to your hard disk. However, their free image editing software, Pixela, is not so good. The features are lacklustre and you are probably better off purchasing your own software. I cant help but imagine that Sony probably added this 'freebee' for the sake of minimal usability with the camera. Its this minimalist approach to Sonys products that is slightly dissapointing. Even with Sony's £500 cameras, you wont even get a free case to put your camera in.
The only real problems I had with the cameras features are the fact that that there is no zoom, and the memory supplied only allows for 20 high quality shots. The camera not having zoom is slightly annoying, as zoom is a very powerful feature, but with the camera being so small, I can reason with this. Also, you will need to buy a new memory stick, of at least 32mb, which now, is rather cheap anyway. The camera only comes with 8mb of memory, which is dissapointing.
Sony have now brought out new ranges of their U product range of small digital cameras, and although now the Sony u20 is indefinately quite dated by these new models, it still paves the way for the new generation of U models. If you want one of Sony's small digital cameras, and find the new models slightly pricy, then you can find the u20 for quite cheap now. When the u20 first came out it was priced at around £250, I shopped around and got it for £200. At the moment, though, you can probably pick up this model for a little under £100, which is definately a bargain.
I would say that the u20 is a perfectly acceptable camera for its purpose, and that if your not willing to shell out on the newer models, this is the model for you.
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It is nice and compact very easy to use and the picture quality is excellent. You can carry it were ever you go. On the down side the buttons at the back are a little fiddly, but over all it is a good value for money camera
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...to look in the massive Sony centre. That was where I first saw the DSCU20 digital camera and it was beutiful. It was then I promised myself that camera. Im sure youll agree that James Bond himself would be proud of this miniature work of art. Its dimensions are only 84.5mm x 39.8mm x 28.6mm (W x H x D) and it looks as good as the quality of photos it produces. Many other pocket sized cameras can offer the potability and convenience of the Sony U-20 ... ...a USB cable, an 8MB Sony memory stick, a neck strap and a CD-ROM. The batteries supply enough power for 70 minutes and 1800 shots in continuous shooting and 60 minutes You may be thinking that I work for Sony and Im trying to promote it but Im just a 14 year old kid with a hobby.
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...find yourself quickly purchasing a sony memory stick as the supplied 8mb one holds next to nothing theses though are readily available.
I have taken it on various holidays with me and find its size is good for slipping in your pocket and as ive said already the picture quality is good enough for quick holiday snaps.
The resultant pictures are easily downloaded to your pc simply plug in the supplied usb and windows (if you use it) finds a removable ... ...after download you can then edit them with whatever photo suite you use.
The video function isn't really up to much looks ok when displayed on the camera screen which is only 22cmx15cm but if you download it to your pc it plays on media player but is fuzzy to say the least.
All in all a handy pocket sized camera for quick snaps just don't expect the earth and you won't be dissapointed. ...
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Picture Quality
Range & Quality of Feat...
Ease of Use
Durability
Overall Look & Design
Value for Money
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mini cam Review ofSony Cyber-shot U DSC-U20by
randymutley
Advantages: It's very, very small, cheap, good resolution for the price Disadvantages: no viewfinder, no zoom
I bought this camera as a bit of an impulse buy in Tokyo when it first came out. I already had a similar quality digital camera but it was just soooo small!! I dare you to find a smaller, quality camera go I dare you.
The size is the most important feature, it's hard to see from the photos but it's about the size and weight of a mobile phone so basically you can carry it on you at any time without noticing. Soon you'll start to pick it up everytime ... ...do your mobile.
It's also brilliant for suprising people, unsuspecting people who think they're in a safe camera free zone until you whip this little machine out of your pocket. Put simply you will take more pictures with this camera than any other simply because you can take it anywhere.
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Advantages: Great picture quality, small size Disadvantages: no zoom
The Cyber Shot U first caught my eye because the unusual blue colour really stood out form all the silver or black cameras available. The main reason I ended up buying it was because I was about to go on a cycling holiday in the Alps. its small size meant it was easy to carry in my jersey pocket and the high quality photos meant that I still got some great pictures of all the beautiful scenery. The camera is brilliantly easy to use. It lacks a very ... ...a 'holiday snap' type camera (and more) it can't be beaten. For such a reasonable price it is also very well made and resilient, unlike a lot of my friend's cameras which seem rather 'plasticy' and fragile. I have also found that it produces better quality photos than some other, higher pixel count, cameras.
I tend to have my digital photos printed at the Boots photo counter, after I have done any alterations I want on my PC. The results from the ...
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Spontaneous "always-with-you" photography style just got better with the introduction the DSC U20 Cyber-shot U digital camera. Packed with an impressive 2-megapixel resolution and features like autofocus and auto macro functions to capture crisp shots, the Cyber-shot U20 is designed to fit in your hand and allow for the simplicity and speed you need to make it easy to grab shots anytime, anywhere.
