Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony DSC-U30 Digital Camera [2MP] - Silver

This minute camera comes in 4 colours - black, silver, blue and gold. It fits in the palm of your hand and because of its metal body feels solid. The lack of an optical viewfinder and the small size of the veiwing screen does not pose a problem but I would have liked to see the screen a little bigger. Ease of use is intuative - select the mode, slide the lens cover open and shoot. The start up time is impressive - about 1 sec so no missed shots. There are two resolutions both JPEG. The 2 Mbit produces files that will print A5 with no problems. Download is via the USB port. Again a little niggle is the standard is the old type 1. I would have expected USB2 on a new bit of kit. The software provided loads with no problems and can be set up to download all the images when the camera is plugged into the USB lead. My main camera is an Olympus E20P. Whilst the Olympus is very versatile a 'blind man' would be pleased to tell the difference of a print at A5 size.

More than a 'snap shot' camera and will get a lot of use this Christmas.

This camera is exceptionally small and very handy for putting in your pocket and taking out with you. It means that you can capture many moments that you might otherwise miss, this is especially true considering its very quick start up time - ready to shoot in a matter of seconds. I have been extremely pleased with the picture quality, I was a little concerned because of the size of the unit and the fact that it's only 2 million mega pixels but my doubts have proven to be unfounded. My only problem with the camera is a small but niggling one. I don't know whether any other users have experienced this but I seem to get very poor results with the red eye reduction feature. In fact the flash is so bright that I find it difficult to take pictures of people in the evening without red eye.

The u-30 is essentially a very high standard compact sized point and click camera. It is not reccommended for the serious photographer who will no doubt want an optical zoom etc. but its perfect for the casual snapper. Memory sticks do tend to be a little more expensive than other memory cards and the camera only comes with an 8mb one which only takes about 12 shots. The battery life is good, the unit comes with a battery charger and two Nimh AAA batteries.

I ordered this camera to suplement my video camera which does not have a flash. I wasn't sure about only having 2mp but didn't want to pay much more than this, or have anything much bigger. Now it's here I'm delighted and have spent all afternoon playing with it. It is simplicity itslf to use and the photos are superb quality. Hard to believe such a little camera produces such great results.