Is this camera worth a shit?
 

I'm looking at getting a new digital camera.

The one I have now is just way, way, way outdated. A 4 year old (or so) sony cyber-shot that only has 1.3 megapixels. Now, I'm far from a photographer, and really don't have much interest in getting a camera that's too much for me, just a nice looking camera that's moderately easy to use. I don't plan on taking any photos that could be considered art, just something to document my life.

I've been checking out the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5 at about $330. I don't want to spend much more than that since I know I'll have to get at least some accessories with it.

The reason I'd like to stick with Sony is because I'm familiar with how to use them, though I'd hope this one has more features than the old one I have now. I also really like the look of this one, though that isn't nearly as important to me.

Anyway,my question is: Should I go ahead and get this one, or should I keep looking? Like I said, I'd like to stick with Sony, but if there's a good enough reason(s), I'd certainly switch to one that is better for the money.

Anyone with some first hand experience, or that was looking at something similar, but got something different for whatever reason, would you please chime in and give me some advice?

The good enough reason for me would be that Canon has better lenses. First off the vast likelihood is that this sony will still work differently from your current one. The canon will not be hard to use either - cameras are pretty straight forward in the point and shoot category. Point it at your subject, push the shutter button. The Canon powershot S60 is in the same price range, same chip resolution, and has a nicer lens.

it also zooms in slightly farther (I don't count digital zoom since that's fake zoom that makes your pix look crappy)

I'm not a fan of Sony in the digital still camera market. They tend to be overpriced for the resultant picture. Having worked sales in an electronics store, and being somewhat of an amatuer photogrpaher myself, I would recommend highly looking at some Kodak digicams. They also have a very nice lens, many now allow you to use ring adapters for adding lenses, they are easy to use (the printer dock by Kodak is AMAZING, btw) and lastly, they take fantastic pictures. Features are great, but how many do most people use. The point of taking pictures... is the pictures. Don't you want those to be the best they can be? :-) I'd gladly trade off most of the bells and whistles for better clarity and nicer pictures.

Well, shakran, I looked all over (on the internet) for that camera last night, and it seems like the nearest retailer is about 100 miles away from my house, so that's out. I don't want to order anything, I want to go to the store and pick it up, and hopefully talk to someone who knows a bit about the camera and can answer some questions for me and point me to other things I may need to pick up at the time of puchase.

My point exactly. I just want a camera that I can take good looking pictures with, and upload them to my computer easily. Printing would be nice too in certain instances, but I've never felt the need to print any before.

I tried looking for a straight-forward, unbiased, clear review site last night, but the only thing I could seem to find was cnet. I know nothing of them. Are they reliable? Finding one of those would be incredibly helpful as well.

C|Net is generally fairly unbiased... but I don't think any site is 100% even across the board. It's hard to be. Up front and honestly, I worked for Kodak for a while doing retail sales. But, it stemmed from working at CompUSA and loving THAT product more than the others... so I became a fan before I worked for them. I've owned 4 Kodak cameras since (all upgrades, none broke or anything). They're exceptionally easy to use (my wife loves ours... she also had a Kodak before that she used). I have a DX7630 that is probably fairly inexpensive these days as well.

For a good review site, I recommend http://www.steves-digicams.com/

He's quite unbiased and reviews a LOT of cameras at a lot of levels. Well worth checking out.

I'd look at Nikon. Besides the Sony's with the Carl Zeiss lenses, the Nikon's are supposed to have the best digital lenses out there. I have an older CoolPix 2100, but I like it a lot. Takes a good picture, AND has nice features, too. Just wish the optical zoom went further. But, that's a common complaint in any of these non SLR style units.

I prefer Canon digital cameras, but it's just a personal preference. I tend to like the images I get with a Canon better than the photos I have seen from Sony cameras. However, my relatives have been happy with their Sony cameras, so it's just up to the individual.

One reason my relatives have stuck with Sony is that it allowed them to reuse old memory sticks. The camera you mentioned only accepts the smaller Memory Stick Duo, not the standard size Memory Stick. If you were hoping to reuse your old Memory Stick(s) and they are not the smaller ones, you may want to look into a different model.

Get one with an SD memory card.
Those are so cheap now, buying memory will be a pain with more expensive sony.

My friend is using the Casio exilim at the moment and they are jam packed full of features.
If I wasn't in digital SLRs I'd be going with one of those as well.
They keep putting out new models too, so the older models are cheaper too.

http://www.adorama.com/ICSEXZ120.html
$269

you tread on dangerous grounds when you look at cameras.

if you want something that takes pretty good pictures that's almost crazy cheap. Canons a410 works really well.

If the price throws you off...the Nikon 5000 series are good but I don't like how small they are.

First off, thanks for the replies.

I guess I'm looking for a Canon now, but I'm not sure which model yet. Kodak isn't out of the running yet either, though.

I've also talked to a couple friends about this and most people respond with "Canon, dude". It looks like I may be able to get one for less than what I wanted to pay anyway, so that's good news. I'll let you guys know.

A 4 year old (or so) sony cyber-shot that only has 1.3 megapixels.

Does this take poor quality pictures? Unless you want high resolution (2048 x 1024, etc).. I find 1-2 megapixels is just fine for your average photographer just trying to capture some memories. I got a 5.1 MP camera, and I never use 5.1. I use 2, and the only difference I notice is that I don't have to shrink the 2 MP pictures down -- I end up halving the 5MP pictures.