Sony DSC-WX300/W 18 MP Digital Camera with 20x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-Inch LCD (White)

This was my first upgrade as far as cameras are concerned. I am not a photographer by any means, but I was interested in getting a camera that is a step above a simple point and shoot. While I originally looked at digital SLR cameras, I was put off by the price and since I do not have the knowledge base in this area I decided to stay away from them. A staff member at my local electronics retailer showed me this camera and I was very impressed. I purchased it here as the price was better than in the store.This camera takes incredible pictures, at least in my opinion as a typical user and not a professional. I took it to the arboretum to photograph wildlife and flowers the first weekend after I received it. The zoom allows for great pictures from a distance. In fact, I caught a great shot of a hummingbird on approach to a flower from about 15 feet away. The image came out like something from a National Geographic magazine.The camera's operation is simple and intuitive. I found the features that allow for color enhancement to be not only a fun addition but also very easily accessed. The camera's start up time is fast so you can quickly start taking pictures after turning it on, which is a huge difference from my last camera. There is one criticism, but this may be more due to my lack of experience using a Mac than anything else. For some reason I cannot figure out how to watch the high-definition videos on my computer. The camera records them in a format with which I (and apparently my MacBook) are not familiar. I imagine this is a simple fix, so I plan to check the forums online to get some direction. As I said, this is probably due more to my limited knowledge rather than a true problem with the camera itself. I am still experimenting with the other features, so I imagine I may be updating this review as I get more acquainted with the camera. That said, I only expect more positive attributes at this point.Lastly, battery life is worth mentioning. I was skeptical at first but the battery actually lasted longer than anticipated. I have only charged the camera twice since I bought it and I got about four days of heavy use out of it before I had to charge each time. While I expect this to go down with age as most batteries lose their ability to hold a charge over time, I was favorably impressed with the life of the battery. This is particularly impressive since the camera does not have a viewfinder and you must use the screen.Overall, this is a great camera to get your feet wet if you are moving in the direction of taking more artistic photos or just want a solid camera that captures fantastic images. Though the price was on the higher end for me, I have found it to be worth all of what I paid.

Got this for my wife who needed an inexpensive compact pocket camera. I'm very impressed with it's abilities although, as expected, the tiny image sensor limits the maximum picture quality. I wasn't expecting much for this price range but this camera far exceeds other cameras I've tried, at least in its major features. The stabilization works amazingly well. I can take handheld pictures at full optical zoom with no blur. In fact it is so steady I found myself using the camera as a "spotting scope" to get a closer look at wildlife on a recent outing. Since this camera is going to be used mainly by someone with little photography experience I did most of my testing in Enhanced Superior Auto mode. In this mode the camera is taking multiple burst exposures and then averaging them to get the best picture. The results are very acceptable. I found it hard to take a bad picture with it. Focusing is very quick and accurate. MUCH faster than either of my much more expensive Canon cameras! The smart phone camera link is easy to set up and seems to work well for basic camera control. It will NOT download Sony apps which was disappointing.Some negatives - One thing I don't like at all is the lack of any exposure or flash adjustments. I find the flash is too harsh most of the time resulting is slight over exposures. It's very irritating to not be able to correct this. I have read several reviews of this camera stating it has 1080p video. It does not. The video is 1080i (as stated in the specs) which makes a difference. The interlacing is definitely noticeable when viewing video on a big screen TV. As far as the actual picture quality goes - don't expect miracles since the sensor is only 1/2.3". Don't plan on making prints over 4 x 6 inches or viewing at 100% on your TV screen. The fine details are just not there.I'd prefer a good image sensor over more bells and whistles but at this price I guess that's too much to ask. Overall it's a good camera and quickly nails the focusing every time and that's the most important thing for catching pictures of the grandkids!

I am a long time Canon user, but I was getting tired of Canon not supporting 1080 HD video in their point-and-shoot cameras. I know that the PowerShot SX280 now supports 1080, but the pre-release reviews I read put the Sony WX300 video ahead of the SX280. And they are right. Video is smooth. Exposure and contract are spot on. Colors are rich but not over-saturated. And the 20X zoom is wonderful. The image-stability does as good a job as you can expect. You can't fault the camera if you have shaky hands at 20X zoom.I bought this to take to Disneyworld instead of my Rebel SLR. The WX300 is incredibly small. The size and weight will be an asset when carrying it around all day. And the 20X zoom will allow me to get the shots and videos I want of the kids on the rides.The user interface is very intuitive, if you have used a camera in the past 10 years. This is nice, because the paper user manual is brief. Sony is saving money by making the full user manual electronic. But, so far, I have not needed it. The menus and on-screen help is wonderful. Sony has done a great job with the user interface on the WX300.The only thing I wish is that the micro-USB charging port was not behind the rubber cover on the right. Since I am not going to buy a separate battery charger, I can see this cover coming off in a couple of years after repeated use. The odd thing is Sony put the lesser used HDMI connection on the bottom, without a cover.The only negative I can find so far is the built-in flash over-exposes indoor shots. This might just be on the built-in LCD, because the photos look a little better on my color calibrated PC monitor. However, the fact the flash is built into the body and not a pop-up is nice. You just need to make sure your right-middle finger is not in the way when pressing the shutterThe shape is VERY rectangular. I am not sure if Sony could have added a little contouring without sacrificing functionality.I have only had the camera for a few day, so I have only had a change to try out the automatic modes. Looking forward to updating this later.I just saw that Sony is coming out with the HX-50V - same sensor but with a 30X zoom lens. Now I am wondering if I should return the WX300 for the HX-50.

I'm convinced that a lot of awesome reviews on cameras out there are paid propaganda. I'm not a photographer but I couldn't manage to have one single good photo out of this camera. The ones that could have been great shots were actually all shaken with no focus at all. I want to register the birthday of my baby but unfortunately I lost most of photos because the quality of the images and the same thing happened during our Christmas vacation. Another thing that really annoys me is that some of my photos were really bright, then I modified the setting, turned off the flash, and reduced the exposure levels. However every time I turn off the camera all my settings were gone, and then I had to modify the settings every single time I would take a photo because once you turn it off is doesn't save your settings. If you have a child you probably know how hard it is to capture a good pose, but with this camera was really impossible because I couldn't capture the perfect light, or the perfect focus, and by the time I would finish modifying the camera settings the baby was gone. I am used to Panasonic, and the Leica lenses but I wanted to try the Sony camera after seeing so many good reviews. I don't like this camera at all and I will try to return it if it's possible.

I had several criteria when upgrading my 2009 model Panasonic camera:a) The new camera must be small and light - my Panasonic was just too large and heavy and I was no longer willing to take it anywhere. The WX300 is PERFECT for carrying in your pocket. It's very small and very lightb) The zoom must be greater than 12x - in this case, a huge 20xc) It must be optically stabilized - The WX300 uses a lens mechanism to stabilize the video, not just image sensor shiftd) The battery life must be reasonable - The WX300 has AMAZING battery life. Even though I bought a spare battery, I have never needed ite) Video must be up to 1920x1080 - my old camera was 1280x720 maxf) The audio must be stereo with auto gain control - I go to a lot of concerts and the audio just gets blown out when using my smartphone - the WX300 has this and also a wind noise cut, although I don't have that enabledThere is only one thing that I was disappointed with and that's 3D photos. They just don't have any depth when viewed on my 3D TV. However, I didn't buy the camera for that, plus I had low expectations with a single lens device anyway.On the other hand, the panoramic pictures are VERY good once you get the hang of taking them.I took the WX300 to Mexico on vacation and shot more than an hour of video of a bay cruise. The video is BREATHTAKING when viewed on a large LCD TV. The quality has FAR exceeded my expectations and for this alone, I highly recommend the camera. I needed a decent point and shoot camera and have found it all in the WX300.

Photos are good, but unless on rapid shoot it takes seconds to process. And I haven't (to date) found a way to control how to choose the focus options.For extended zoom (as expected) you will need a steady rest. Small enough to fit in a pocket and light enough to not be bulky.If I had known of the processing issue, I would not have purchased. I use it for quick nature shots and nature won't always hold the pose.

Excellent camera, exceeded my expectations, after taking videos and hundreds of photos in the Philippines. Photos are clear, auto function adjusts everything automatically to snap the "perfect" picture. The camera is able to share the photos you take with your phone, computer and tablet via WiFi (and it works well). The app is free in Google Play Store for android. Night shots were nice, camera detects the lack of light and auto adjusts the back-light to get a brighter shot. The camera becomes more shaky when zooming, but a steady hand or tripod can help you get crisp, clear shots and video from a far distance. A feature of the camera takes multiple shots at the single press of the shutter button, between 2 and 4 as I've experienced. Only the best of the shots is added to your memory card according to the manual. It's a cool feature to have when the camera detects something like blinked eyes. The battery lasted a long time as well, about 3 days under moderate to heavy use, day and night. I bought extra batteries which came with it's own wall charger, and kept a fully charged spare with me all the time, although I never needed to change it. The specifications of this camera are comparable to other similar, more expensive cameras in its class. Perfect for vacation, day, night, action, video, and especially the ability to transfer the photos on the camera to my smartphone! Great value, great quality, great photos and videos. It does what it says it can and more. Get one.

I received my MX300 recently and immediately set out to take a bunch of photos and see if all the hype about this little camera had real legs. Tentative conclusions follow:PROSSmall size, very light, can be carried without the slightest effortSeemingly robust construction - looks sharp in blackImage quality very good (and often excellent)Crisp video with great color and detail - very professionalUseful pre-set functionsExcellent battery lifeCONSWiFi won't work despite hours of testing and seeking solutions on the InternetCamera won't be recognized by Toshiba PC running Win 8 so that you can move images to PC storagePlayMemories software buggy and often inoperative - I wouldn't recommend using it although without it you cannot transfer Movies to your PCConfusing menu structure - functions referred to in manual do not exist on camera menu (e.g. USB Settings under Main Settings)No obvious way to return to main menu once on sub-menuSony should revise the main manual and make it one for "dummies" (most manuals of course are written with co-pilot list readers in mind. Poor civilians are left to their own devices).Also, if you have large hands the camera's mini size may be an issue; I have medium-sized hands and the problem still exists, although after a while placing your fingers becomes instinctive.PS: I discovered how to make the laptop "see" the camera: unplug the power cord and THEN plug the camera in via USB. WX300 appears magically in My Computer. WiFi still a mystery.PS1: I upgraded my rating to FOUR stars. I am taking the WX300 along on a long trip as the only camera in the bag.

Great camera! We are point and click people who don't know much about photography or camera settings, nor care to. We just wanted something that was easy to use and took a good photo. We were very surprised with it's ease of use and impressed with it's performance. It automatically adjusts it's settings to the conditions in which it is being used. For example, if you go in for a close up, it automatically switches to macro mode for a clear and detailed close up. Picture quality is fantastic, even with not so steady hands or fast paced children's activities. Small footprint is also nice, this thing is small enough to slip into your pocket. Highly recommend for anyone looking for something simple to use that takes a great picture!

Tres satixfait de l article et de la rapidite de l appareil.

great camera!