Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P41 4.1 MP Digital Camera - Silver

I had this same model camera back 7yrs ago. I did floral, landscape, and art photography back then and have moved on to other photos and other cameras over the years as the average megapixel count surpassed this one. I purchased a Canon EOS Rebel dSLR for 616$ and a Powershot g10 for 489. After having experimented along with a Kodak 1285, i kept going back to my beat up Powershot images from 7yrs ago when it came time to use the floral images. Both of my canon cameras are going on ebay to be resold. For that price, i can buy several powershots!

Now that im back into doing the flowers, i have found that none of my high megapixel/fancy zoom cameras can compete. It sounds strange, but the ol' Powerhsot has met my needs and no other has been able to be so versatile.
It takes wonderful landscape images too. I absolutely love the sepia tone filter. video is to be desired, i use it more to record sound only rather than to record those tiny videos.

It takes amazing closeups. The focal legnth is very important when taking pictures of petals and leaves. It found the Canon cameras were good at the details, but only in "high light" because to achieve a macro photo that close up i had to zoom all the way out and the danged zoom was obscuring the flash! my pics were dark. the powershot has a very bright flash and even a lower light flash in case its just too bright.

The resolution is low at 72. but with it taking large images, it only takes a little Photoshop and that is cleared up right away. Alot of people have seen my images shrunk down to 8x10 and they think it was taken from a film camera. the 72 res is only a problem if you intent to crop small peices and enlarge them.

and its really good for sci-fi conventions too since you never know when you have to have your camera ready in an instant and its really fast on start up. battery life is awesome!

I'm more than happy with the model. i intend to buy a third as a backup, even though i really had abused my original and it took 7yrs to give out. i must have taken thousands of pictures with it and carried it everywhere... glovebox and pocket. dropped it alot too. even left it in the rain a few times. Seriously, my first one held out so well and I have no idea why Sony stopped making it... perhaps the low megapixel count? I dont know, it totally works for me. I intend to find a third on ebay to save as a backup for when this one ceases to work. Here's to another 7 yrs! :)

I've been using this camera since winter 2004-2005 and its performance is stellar. If you want something that takes photos incredibly fast, this is it - you click on the shutter and you've got your pic. It's a joy to use - I've taken 9733 shots with it since I got it and it's still going strong.

Battery life is amazing - turn off the LCD and it'll last a few weeks, keep it on and it's still strong - you can fill up a 512 memory stick with the LCD on (not included - make sure you buy one!) and still have plenty of battery power to spare.

Video mode is surprisingly good too - for something this cheap, it does the job very well.

You will NOT have an optical zoom to play with if you use this camera, but given the price, it's not a big deal. Besides, you can crop down photos to 'artifically' zoom in - and the lack of a zoom means there's less moving parts to worry about breaking. I've abused my P41 greatly, taking it with me on a daily basis in backpacks and it's still going strong.

I had a minor issue with dust creeping into the viewfinder - partly due to the fact I would also just keep the camera in my pocket (it's smaller than many cellphones). Sony cleaned out the dust for free - I dropped it off for repairs before the one year warranty period expired. Recommend a soft case for the camera to avoid the dust issue from affecting you.

Highly recommended.

**Edit (April 7, 2009): The camera has taken an extensive beating over the past five years, and to Sony's credit, still works. But it's starting to flake out a little (image sensor getting a bit erratic, LCD screen having some instances of weirdness). Given the amount of heavy/daily abuse it has suffered I'm still impressed. But if you're planning on buying one now, be advised that any units still out there will be in understandably rough shape.**

I have a fairly large Olympus that I use for eBay pic's but my recent trip to China called for something smaller, more portable, with long battery life.

I borrowed this two-year-old camera from a friend and absolutely loved it. It was easy to use, sturdy, small enough to pop into my pocket, and the batteries lasted the entire time I was there, even though they had, evidentally, been in the camera for several months before I took it. I inadvertantly had it on the Internet-size setting but the pictures came out fine. They helped me make a China PowerPoint presentation that was clear and sharp.

I looked the camera up on eBay and some other sites and found that it had excellent reviews. So I decided what I needed in the way of accessories and memory card size and purchased one on eBay. It is just as good as the camera I borrowed and I'm happy with it. Now all I need is money for another trip.

Simply put; it is the best camera to use when building you own "digital trail camera". Since Sony no longer manufactures this model, Ebay has become the main source for them.

This camera is great. I got nothing bad to say about it except that it should of came with a larger storage card. 32 MB's just doesn't do it. For a 4.1 MP camera this camera takes excellent photos day & night. The camera also has a neat red laser that can be turned on to slightly assist in the dark, and or help you aim your camera in th right direction.
Pictures upload very fast. You won't have to worry about the motorized lens jamming, because there is none unlike the P93. I have read many reviews on the P93 and have noticed that many people had them jamming.

I OWN 2 OF THESE CAMERA'S, ONE FOR MYSELF AND ONE FOR MY GIRLFRIEND.

If you buy this on an auction, the USB cables are easy to find at Wal-Mart, You can use any 2 AA Lithium batteries, and you don't need any software if you have Windows XP. It does great 8x11 photo prints using Windows XP Picture and Fax Viewer included with Windows XP.

Hope this Helps everybody.

Daedalas1981.