Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I just purchased this AWESOME ultracompact digital camera from my local camera store. I am by no means a novice to the world of digital photography. I bought my 1st digital camera (Nikon Coolpix 990) over 4 years ago for just under a thousand dollars. While it took great pictures, it was too bulky and a bit too easy to change the settings on the camera. My 2nd digital camera was a SONY Mavica-that one had TERRIBLE photo quality. My 3rd camera was the Canon S50 which is very highly rated butI had 3 problems with it- 1. It was too bulky to toss into my pocket. 2. The toggle switches are a pain to operate (they eliminated them for the S60/70) 3. I was not blown away by the photo quality. To be honest, I think my Nikon Coolpix took better indoor pictures and it only had 3 (vs 5) mega-pixels! I have heard that Nikon utilizes some of the best photo lenses in the industry which result in great-looking pictures. I was thinking about getting the Nikon Coolpix 3200 BUT the shutter speed is way too slow! And it has a cheap, plastic body. Then I read Mossberg's review of the Dimage X50 in the Wall Street Journal and was very intrigued. So, I headed to my local camera store and purchased it (they have a 7 day return/exchange policy). I took a bunch of pictures of my baby both indoors and out, and I was VERY IMPRESSED with the photo quality (for a camera this tiny)*.
UPDATE:
*Some reviewers complained about "noisy" pictures. You have to factor that in when considering a digital camera purchase. If you want pictures with no noise, then you have to use a much bigger camera like the Canon A95 or Sony W1. Also, I don;t recommend buying an ultracompact camera as your primary or sole camera. They are best for taking to parties or tossing them in your bag to capture spontaneous life moments. You shouldn't expect an ultacompact to produce museum quality pictures- it's simply not possible. I truly believe that the XS50 offers one of the best photo quality in the arena of ultracompacts.
Besides the high photo quality, there is A LOT I love about my 4th digital camera. 1st, the price is GREAT esp. when you consider the picture quality, TINY size, and zoom capability. I think it's a STEAL! 2nd, the only thing I disagree with Mossberg is that he didn't think it looked very "sleek". I love the all metal design - aside from the viewfinder, you will not find any cheap plastic parts. Even the A/V out has a tiny metal door that slides up and down. Not to be anti-American made but it's obvious that this was made in Japan. It is also extremely EASY to use-the buttons are very intuitive. I have yet to crack open the manual. It also makes a soothing "ding" sound when the picture is in focus (not at all loud or annoying) so that you are assured a great picture! Even though it is very small, the lay-out is great and NO TOGGLE SWITCHES. And of course, having a 2" LCD monitor is very helpful (and fun). You don't have to squint into a tiny viewfinder! The combined 12x zoom is VERY COOL-it's similsr to a submarine telescope and doesn't protude !
The only thing I'm not crazy about is that it uses a proprietary battery but it's supposed to last for over a 150 pictures and using "AA" batteries would have added too much bulk. Overall,
I am THRILLED with this camera! I finally got (almost) EVERYTHING I was looking for in an ultracompact digital camera- Very Good photo quality, ease of use, tiny size, and a very FAST SHUTTER SPEED at a great price. What more can you want? Well, maybe a bigger memory card :-)
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MD) CL) AA) MIN DIMAGE X50 DIG CAM
