DSC-V3 Cyber-shot Digital Still Camera
Manufacturer: Sony Part number: DSC-V3
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- This Sony offers good features and performance in a compact camera for enthusiasts, but its low-ISO image quality doesn't quite match the best in its class.
Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 11/08/2009 |
CNET editors' review
DSC-V3 Cyber-shot Digital Still Camera price range: $999.22
- Reviewed by: Eamon Hickey
- Edited by: Lori Grunin
- Reviewed on: 11/23/2004
- Released on: 10/15/2004
The good: Unusually solid high-ISO performance for a non-dSLR; big 2.5-inch LCD; quick overall performance; relatively light and compact.
The bad: Low-ISO photos show some JPEG and edge artifacts; poor raw-format shot-to-shot time; subpar optical viewfinder.
The bottom line: This Sony offers good features and performance in a compact camera for enthusiasts, but its low-ISO image quality doesn't quite match the best in its class.
Editor's note: We have changed the rating in this review to reflect recent changes in our rating scale. Click here to find out more.
User reviews
-
-
Zeiss lens, 30fps movie mode, dual media, solid construction
by schlockmaster on May 25, 2005
Pros: Superb images, excellent movies, sd and memory stick, long battery life.
Cons: Longer warranty would be great on a higher priced camera like this one.
Summary: Sony has always been an innovator in the high technology world. However their imaging products are right up there with the Ferrari's and Maserati's of the camera world....
Summary: Sony has always been an innovator in the high technology world. However their imaging products are right up there with the Ferrari's and Maserati's of the camera world.
This unit sports Sony's solid durable construction, flawless design and innovation, and careful attention to detail.
The camera uses the highly acclaimed Carl Zeiss lens technology, providing sharp vivid well rendered images. The responsive zoom, fast autofocus, and excellent movie mode, make this camera a well thought out device.
People that find it hard to put down their Sony camcorders will find the 30 frame per second, unlimited (only by memory card capacity) movie mode a great asset. Imagine not having to carry both a camcorder and digital camera around at the same time. This well balanced unit sits firmly in your hand
and all controls can be accessed with your available fingers.
It is easy to handle the camera and take crisp photographs. The optical and digital zoom work well and can capture those distant images you just can't miss. Autofocus is ultra fast and sharp as well as the ability to override it with a manual setting.
Many reviewers have found that the system defaults to an F8 setting but this is easily overcome with some simple tinkering with the manual settings.
The intuitive menu makes configuration simpler than most cameras. A nice added touch is the onscreen display as one turns the selection dial.
It would have been nice to have a compact external charger for the long life Info lithium battery. Sony has really done well with their Info Lithium technology, which tells you precisely how much time you have left. There is no guessing with the simple onscreen bars that other companies use.
The flip up flash works well when you have to turn the camera on and grab a quick shot without having to worry about the flash going off.
I really don't have much to complain about with this camera. It is not a point and shoot compact, but then that is not what you are buying. For a camera in this class, the weight/size balance is very good, and the feature set gives amateurs as well as semi professionals a lot to play with.
I can't really give this unit a 10 as that is a subjective assessment, and after all perfect 10's are reserved for the perfect lady or man in your life.9 out of 9 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Good mid-level camera geared to give more flexibility than just point-and-shoot
by linmoo on March 11, 2005
Pros: 2.5 inch LCD, fast focus response, great video capture, night-framing / night-shot capability, hot shoe enabled
Cons: Weak flash and optical viewfinder, slow RAW capture, not sized well for point-and-shoot, a bit pricey
Summary: I bought this camera for Christmas and I have been running up the photography learning curve since then. Luckily, this camera helps me along the way. Along with the standard ...
Summary: I bought this camera for Christmas and I have been running up the photography learning curve since then. Luckily, this camera helps me along the way. Along with the standard automatic settings, the camera has aperture and speed priority modes as well as a full-bore manual mode that allow me to experiment with shot composition. Contrary to other opinions, I don't find the camera ill-designed, although it is larger than your average point-and-shoot and certainly wasn't meant to be kept in your pants. I've also enjoyed the fast 640-480 video capture mode for those quick video clips. The camera has a large, bright LCD for easy viewing...although it is fixed to the camera (unlike the G6). The 7 megapixels also allows my wife, a graphical designer, plenty of resolution room to play and enlarge.
On the downside, the flash truly is the weak link on the camera. It has difficulty covering an enclosed area with an even amount of light and it is somewhat flimsily designed. Although I rarely use it, the RAW capture mode is horribly slow compared to other Canon models (S70, G6). The camera is limited to a 4x zoom, but this is pretty standard fare these days. The price is not cheap but it has been steadily coming down. I bought it for $550 at Christmas and it is well on it's way down from there by now.
As far as I know, this camera is very comparable to the Canon G6 and each has its pros and cons. If you want a camera that is equipped to grow with you as a budding amateur photographer, I'd highly recommend the V3.5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Quick shots,high quality photos,huge lcd screen!
Pros: I can't say enough about this camera! I searched for reviews and looked in stores for weeks before I made my choice. The first look at the Sony V3 and I knew it was the right one. I held it and saw the huge lcd screen and I wanted it, but I still wante
Cons: I could'nt think of much, but it would have been nice if Sony would have added at least a memory card or had built in memory to start with, but not much of a complaint.
4 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
What An Awesome Camera! Superfast!!!
Pros: Wow! Excellent picture quality!!! True to life vivid colors!!!! Just love it!! I can't believe my eyes!!! TIFF and RAW format also! But the JPEGs are so good you won't care too much about using the TIFFs And RAW. There is no need to pay twice as
Cons: I wish the macro was closer. You need to be at least 10cm away from the object. My Sony W1 could do macro as close as 2"! But the V3 has a close up lens available as an accessory and then I will have the perfect camera!
2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
An excellent all-round camera
by peterb666 on September 25, 2005
Pros: Good handling and just about everything you need in a general purpose camera.
Cons: A bit skimpy on some options compared to others. Cost of accessories excessive.
Summary: I picked up the DSC-V3 for a little over 1/2 the recommended selling price. At that sort of money, it represents outstanding value for someone that likes to be ...
Summary: I picked up the DSC-V3 for a little over 1/2 the recommended selling price. At that sort of money, it represents outstanding value for someone that likes to be involved in the picture taking process or for someone that wants to learn more about photography.
Neat features are the program shift and easy to use aperture and shutter priority modes.
Substantial size and weight means less blurry shots when hand held. Controls are fairly good with a wheel for quick changes to aperture and shutter settings, etc. Sensitivity of this wheel takes a little getting use to - subtlety counts.
Large LCD is nice but does suffer from bright light streaking and is not always effective for previewing the quality of images.
It does have a few quirks for the unwary and those that don't want to take time to use learn how to use it. Main issues would be no shutter lock-out when camera cannot focus due to being too close.
Internal flash throttles down well for macro work and frame is fully exposed.
Red eye can be a problem but external flash solves that. I use an old Pentax auto flash and aperture priorty. Works brilliantly. A proper PC sync socket would have been nice rather than the acc socket.
The tendency of the auto and program shift modes to want to shoot at f/8 above 1/250th second is annoying but esay to override in program shift. Quite frankly, the f/8 and soft image issues are not as bad in practice that some claim.
While manual, aperture and shutter priority settings remember last settings when turned on and off, program shift does not.
Overall, an excellent and versatile camera.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Watch for fine print - CF restrictions and lens attachments
by Camie on July 31, 2005
Pros: Speed between shots
Cons: No high-res movies with CF / Shadow using lens attachments in flash conditions
Summary: After much research, I decided to go AGAIN with Sony. My main gripe before was speed between pics on my V1, which is certainly solved with the V3. I also ...
Summary: After much research, I decided to go AGAIN with Sony. My main gripe before was speed between pics on my V1, which is certainly solved with the V3. I also bought Sony's wide angle to take with me to China. Two things I found when I got home and started playing:
1. The lower-mid 30% of a shot is in shadown when using the wide angle lens in flash conditions. You must use a flash attachment. Sony alludes to this in the manual, along with notes that an infrared attachment is also recommended (does not work well with attached lens)
2. I was so excited to get a cheap 2GB CF card for taking advantage of the 30fps high-res this camera offers.... STOP - you can only use memory stick for high res. For CF, you must settle for standard mode (which I have not sufficiently compared to comment on). With my 1GB MS Pro, I also must settle for a lowsy 12 min movie max (though this beats most of the competition by 11 some-odd minutes). Still not the replacement I was hoping for a handycam (I have yet to take my handycam to my work assignment in China - too much gear)
I used this space to focus on things I thought you should know. So far, extremely happy with speed and picture quality.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Excellent Camera - learning curve required
Pros: Point and Shoot setting - My wife requires this, it may also be good if you'll have a user that is scared away by lots of options. Camera body looks like a 35mm. - Fits in your pocket if necessary, but won't be comfortable there. Night framing, Film speed
Cons: Low light with no flash is difficult to accomplish. This is the only real drawback I've seen to the camera. The learning curve is pretty steep for those who are pro-sumers. To really use this camera you'll need to be changing settings quite often. Howev
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Another step in making the perfect prosumer camera
Pros: Now with RAW File capability. Also Though the number of pixels 7.1 Mp are good, it's the lense that makes for good shots, and this camera has one.
Cons: A bigger lense 7x would of been great, then you would of had a 7x7 camera awwww shucks!!!!
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Good...not Great
by icfireball on June 6, 2005
Pros: Nice grip and feel, great pictures, nice features, excelent price, huge screen.
Cons: Not SLR, view finder placement poor, Slightly Heavy
Summary: Its a great camera, takes great pictures, has a very good price, lots of features, but it is not an SLR, and the veiwfinder placement is not good: your finger ...
Summary: Its a great camera, takes great pictures, has a very good price, lots of features, but it is not an SLR, and the veiwfinder placement is not good: your finger is usualy in the corner of the veiwfinder (but not lense/picture) when taking a photo. The camera also has a huge screen, which is a blessing but also a curse: that its not protected at all.
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
-
Excellent camera
by t-man on March 6, 2005
Pros: Large LCD screen, fast shot-to-shot time, very little shutter lag, long battery life, very fast and accurate auto-focus, black finish, dual memory card support.
Cons: Slightly larger then I would like, pop-up flash doesn't automatically go back down, zoom button take a little getting used to.
Summary: The large LCD screen, small shutter lag, dual memory cards, fast auto-focus and the fast shot-to-shot time were what sold me on this carmera. Now that I have it, I ...
Summary: The large LCD screen, small shutter lag, dual memory cards, fast auto-focus and the fast shot-to-shot time were what sold me on this carmera. Now that I have it, I definately love it. I was torn between this and the G6, the Sony's LCD sets it appart from the smaller one on the G6. The auto-focus is excellent, it's very quick and accurate. After comparing the Sony to the G6 in the stores, the Sony was just a better overall camera in almost every way.
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Sony
- Part number: DSC-V3
- Description: The traditional 'rangefinder' styled Sony Cyber-shot V3 is a compact Cyber-shot camera with an immense resolution of 7.2 effective Megapixels and which features a powerful 4X Vario-Sonnar zoom lens from the world-famous Carl Zeiss company. That's not all - a large range of exposure modes on the camera offer full manual control or a choice of program and scene selection modes. The sizeable 2.5-inch LCD screen is also designed to give a full and clear picture, whether you're shooting, reviewing or setting the menu options. Another big feature is the file format - you can choose to save your high-resolution images in the professional RAW or TIFF data formats, keeping them uncompressed for use in graphics applications that require fine detail.
General
- Product Type Digital camera
- Point-and-shoot highlights Having video capture capability adds convenience for the user.
- Width 4.7 in
- Depth 2.5 in
- Height 2.8 in
- Weight 12.7 oz
- Body Material Aluminum
Main Features
- Resolution 7.2 megapixels
- Color Support Color
- Optical Sensor Type Super HAD CCD
- Total Pixels 7,400,000
- Effective Sensor Resolution 7,200,000 pixels
- Optical Sensor Size 1/1.8 in
- Light Sensitivity ISO 100, ISO 200, ISO 400, ISO 800, ISO auto
- Analog Video Format NTSC, PAL
- Digital Zoom 2 x
- Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
- Shooting Programs Candle, Fireworks, Landscape, Soft snap, Beach/snow, Twilight mode, Hi-speed shutter, Twilight portrait
- Special Effects Sepia, Saturation, Black & White, Contrast compensation
- Max Shutter Speed 1/2000 sec
- Min Shutter Speed 30 sec
- Exposure Metering Multi-segment
- Exposure Modes Bulb, Manual, Program, Automatic, Shutter-priority, Aperture-priority
- Exposure Compensation ±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
- Exposure Metering Zones 49
- White Balance Custom, Presets, Automatic
- White Balance Presets Flash, Cloudy, Daylight, Fluorescent, Incandescent
- Digital Video Format MPEG-1, MPEG VX
- Still Image Format RAW, JPEG, TIFF
- Continuous Shooting Speed 2 frames per second
- TV Tuner None
- Video Capture MPEG - 640 x 480 - 177 sec - With 256MB card, MPEG - 640 x 480 - 87 sec - With 32MB card, MPEG - 160 x 112 - 1365 sec - With 32MB card
Memory / Storage
- Flash Memory 32 MB - Memory Stick
- Supported Flash Memory CompactFlash, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro
- Floppy Drive None
- Image Storage RAW 3072 x 2304 : 1 - With 32MB card, Fine JPEG 3072 x 2304 : 9 - With 32MB card, Standard JPEG 3072 x 2304 : 18 - With 32MB card, RAW 3072 x 2048 : 1 - With 32MB card, Fine JPEG 3072 x 2048 : 9 - With 32MB card, Standard JPEG 3072 x 2048 : 18 - With 32MB card, RAW 2592 x 1944 : 1 - With 32MB card, Fine JPEG 2592 x 1944 : 12 - With 32MB card, Standard JPEG 2592 x 1944 : 23 dBi - With 32MB card, RAW 2048 x 1536 : 1 - With 32MB card, Fine JPEG 2048 x 1536 : 20 - With 32MB card, Standard JPEG 2048 x 1536 : 37 - With 32MB card, RAW 1280 x 960 : 1 - With 32MB card, Fine JPEG 1280 x 960 : 50 - With 32MB card, Standard JPEG 1280 x 960 : 93 - With 32MB card, RAW 640 x 480 : 2 - With 32MB card, Fine JPEG 640 x 480 : 196 - With 32MB card, Standard JPEG 640 x 480 : 491 - With 32MB card
Camera Flash
- Camera Flash Pop-up flash
- Flash Modes Auto mode, Fill-in mode, Slow synchro, Flash OFF mode, Red-eye reduction
- Red Eye Reduction Yes
- Effective Flash Range 1.3 ft - 8 ft
- Features AF illuminator, Flash +/- compensation
Lens System
- Type Zoom lens - 7 mm - 28 mm - F/2.8-4.0
- Focal Length 7 mm - 28 mm
- Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 34 - 136 mm
- Focus Adjustment Manual, Automatic
- Auto Focus TTL contrast detection
- Auto Focus Points (Zones) 5
- Min Focus Range 19.7 in
- Macro Focus Range 10-50cm
- Lens Aperture F/2.8-4.0
- Optical Zoom 4 x
- Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive
- Lens Construction 7 group(s) / 8 element(s)
- Filter Size 58 mm
- Lens Manufacturer Carl Zeiss
- Features Aspherical lens, Built-in lens shield
Additional Features
- Self Timer Yes
- Self Timer Delay 10 sec
- Flash Terminal Hot shoe
- Additional Features AE lock, AF lock, DPOF support, Direct print, Audio recording, Auto power save, Date/time stamp, Built-in speaker, Histogram display, PictBridge support, PRINT Image Matching, USB 2.0 compatibility, Digital noise reduction
Viewfinder
- Viewfinder Type Optical - Real-image zoom
- Viewfinder Color Support Color
Display
- Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.5 in - Color
- Display Form Factor Built-in
- Display Format 123,000 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
- Type None
Microphone
- Type Microphone - Built-in
- Microphone Technology Electret condenser
- Microphone Operation Mode Mono
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x Composite video/audio output, 1 x USB, 1 x DC power input
- Expansion Slot(s) 1 x Memory Stick Pro, 1 x CompactFlash Card - Type I
Software
- Software ImageMixer VCD2, Drivers & Utilities, Sony Image Converter, Sony Picture Package
System Requirements for PC Connection
- Operating System Support MS Windows 98, MS Windows ME, MS Windows XP, MS Windows 2000, MS Windows 98 SE, Apple Mac OS 9.1 or later
Miscellaneous
- Carrying Case None
- Included Accessories Shoulder strap
- Cables Included 1, 1 x A/V cable, USB cable
Power
- Power Device Power adapter - External
Battery
- Supported Battery 1 x Li-ion rechargeable battery ( Included )
Product series
-
DSC-F828 Cyber-shot Digital Camera
Manufacturer: Sony
Specs: 8 megapixels, 7 x, 1.8 in LCD display, 1 x 8 - CompactFlash Card
-
DSC-V3 Cyber-shot Digital Still Camera
Manufacturer: Sony
Specs: 7.2 megapixels, 4 x, 2.5 in LCD display, 32 MB - Memory Stick
Accessories
- Sony BC TR1 - battery charger
- Sony LCS CSD - soft case for digital photo camera
- NP-FR1 InfoLithium R-Series Rechargeable Battery for Select Sony Cyber-shot Digital Cameras
- Sony Memory Stick Pro 256MB
- Sony Memory Stick Pro 512MB
- Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo 256MB
- HP Photosmart 8750 Professional
- Sony BC TR1 - battery charger
- Sony LCS CSD - soft case for digital photo camera
- NP-FR1 InfoLithium R-Series Rechargeable Battery for Select Sony Cyber-shot Digital Cameras
- Sony Memory Stick Pro 256MB
- Sony Memory Stick Pro 512MB
- Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo 256MB
- HP Photosmart 8750 Professional
Manufacturer info
- Sony
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Sony products on Shopper.com
-
- Website: http://www.sonystyle.com
- Address:
16765 W. Bernardo Dr., San Diego, CA 92127 - Phone: 1-877-865-SONY
- Email: contact@sel.sony.com
- Fax: 941-768-7790
