Editorial Review:Product Description:The DSC-U30 is one of the most compact digital still cameras available in its class and the successor to the popular DSC-U20, a model which introduced the concept of the digital still camera as a pocket accessory. The DSC-U30 is ultra-compact and ultra-stylish. A reflective disc on the sliding lens cover is cleverly designed to act as a mirror, helping you to easily frame self-portraits. New features make it easy to take great shots in challenging conditions. For example in Playback Mode, Enlarged Playback allows you to check the focus of a shot immediately after it has been taken by enlarging the center of the image to either 2.5 or 5 times its actual size, a feature which is particularly useful in low light conditions.New scene settings, Twilight and Active Outdoor, add to the existing Soft Snap, Illumination Snap and Vivid Nature. Sony has applied ingenious technology to create a new Hybrid LCD screen that performs as well in bright, outdoor conditions as in indoor or lower light environments. The one-inch, 64, 000 pixel screen has a smart way of using both transmitted and reflected light to maintain clarity, thus eliminating the need to switch between viewing modes. The camera provides impressive storage capabilities and image transfer is easy, making them an ideal accessory for the connected lifestyle. It is Memory Stick PRO compatible, giving up to 1GB storage and cable-free transfer to other Memory Stick PRO compatible devices. It is also USB-equipped and is supplied with software that provides direct image transfer to a PC; this can be done even when the camera batteries are empty as the USB cable provides power for the transfer. Image transfer software, which is supplied and easily installed in a PC, automatically downloads the images and sorts them by date to user specified folders.
Amazon.com Product Description:The Sony Cybershot DSC-U30 digital camera is small and light enough to slip in your pocket to snap photos wherever you roam. It features a 2-megapixel resolution, fast start-up to capture shots almost instantaneously, and a movie mode. It comes in two other colors: silver and blue.
Optics and Resolution The Cybershot U30 features a 2-megapixel Super HAD (hole accumulation diod) CCD that captures excellent image quality by allowing more light to pass through to each pixel, increasing sensitivity and reducing image noise. It has two resolution modes: high (1632 x 1224) for prints up to 8 x 10 inches, and low (640 x 480) for e-mailing to friends and family. A fixed focus camera, the Cybershot U30 has no optical or digital zoom.
Movie Mode In addition to taking still photos, the Cybershot U30 can also record up to 15 seconds of 160 x 112 MPEG video (without audio). The QuickTime Motion JPEG format offers a limited resolution, which is great for capturing a short movie that can be e-mailed to friends and family, but is no replacement for a true camcorder.
More Features The Cybershot U30 has a fast start-up time of 0.9 seconds, enabling you to capture those important shots that other cameras might miss. The camera includes 5 scene modes (soft snap, illumination snap, twilight, active outdoor, and vivid nature) and pre-flash metering, which illuminates the subject and calculates exposure through the lens directly from the CCD for accurate calculation for a flash-lit shot.
Other features include:
- 1.0-inch LCD for reviewing shots
- VGA burst mode captures five 640 x 480 frames
- Built-in flash with auto, forced on, forced off, and red-eye reduction modes
- Shutter speed: 1/8 - 1/2000 seconds
- Picture effects: solarize, black and white, sepia, and negative art
- Automatic ISO and white balance settings
Storage and Transfer Images can be stored on the included 8 MB Memory Stick, which can store approximately 15 images at 1632 x 1224 pixels. The Cyber-shot DSC-P92 is also compatible with optional Memory Stick PRO media, which can extend data capacity up to 1 GB.
Images can be downloaded to either a Mac or PC via ultrafast USB 2.0, which means it can be connected to any USB-compatible Windows Me/2000/XP and Mac OS 8.6 or later computer without installing any software. When used with USB 1.1 connection, transfer will slow to USB 1.1 rate.
Power and Size The camera is powered by 2 AAA batteries (rechargeable NiMH batteries included). It measures 3.3 by 1.6 by 1.1 inches and weighs 4.3 ounces (including batteries).
What's In The Box This package includes the Cybershot DSC-U30 digital camera, 8 MB Memory Stick, neck strap, 2 AAA rechargeable NiMH batteries, battery charger (BC-CS2), and USB cable. The included CD-ROM features Pixela Image Mixer for Sony v1.5 and USB drivers for Windows and Mac.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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No more "Left the camera at home" excuses !
DSC-U30 camera fits into your pocket or purse, ready to snap when photo opportunities present themselves.
PROS: Convenient size, faithful color, sharp image, decent macro (we use it handheld to capture a pageful of text anywhere -- secret agent style), accepts high-capacity MemoryStick Pro cards, intuitive and easy to use controls, circular mirror to align self&friend portraits, 5x zoom playback for quick focus check.
CONS: Eats AAA batteries quite quickly, so get a second pair of NiMH rechargables and keep a pack of regular AAAs in your other pocket as just-in-case backups.
PS: You can indeed turn off the U30's flash, and you can also turn off the LCD screen in bright light to conserve batteries. Camera available in silver, blue, or charcoal. ///
Rating: -
Great camera for your money
Compact, light, easy to use. Great for trips and it's small enough to fit in my shirt pocket
Rating: 
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Disappointed
U30 has stylish design, feels small, lots of good accessories like cool cases, bundled NiMH batteries/charger, afforable price and good build quality.
Sony didn't make much changes to DSCU20 from last year. It still have no viewfinder for use in sunlight & outdoors, tiny LCD, no video out (really really imp for slideshows on TV), no optical zoom, featureless and thicker than Elph's.
In short if you want stylish pocket camera without spending a lot and don't mind paying the memory stick tax, DSCU30 is great. If you are serious about image quality and want a good primary camera, then there are many better models.
Rating: 
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excellent little point-and-shoot camera
I purchased this camera so I would always have a camera with me. This is smaller than my cell phone (a Kyocera 2255), and fits beautifully in a pocket or around the neck with the provided strap. The camera also uses standard AAA batteries (2 rechargable batteries and a charger come with the camera), which is great in a pinch. The use of standard batteries is why I chose this over the Casio Exlim S2 model, which is similar in actual size and features (though the sony feels smaller because it isn't as tall).
I've used numerous other digicams (some I've owned, some I've borrowed from friends for short trips): Canon A10, Fuji 2800Z, Minolta S404, Kyocera S2, Canon S110, Canon S230, Canon S200, Sony DSC-U53, Canon S30, Sony DSC-U20, Nikon 885, Nikon 4500, Nikon 775... and this Sony U30 ranks somewhere in the middle as far as image quality. It (like most Sony digicams) leans towards oversaturating images, particularly outdoor shots, and the jpeg compression is more extreme than it should be (image sizes are around 500k for 2.0mp images in best quality) which robs the camera of detail, but it is fine for 4x6 prints, which is all you are likely to be using a camera like this for. I do have hope that Sony will offer a higher-quality jpeg option someday with a firmware upgrade (are you reading this, Sony?).
The camera focuses fairly quickly by digicam standards (about 1/2 - 2/3 seconds), and the shot to shot time seems excellent. Movie mode is poor at 160x120 resolution, but its better than nothing. You're not getting a camera like this for movies, so it's something I look at as more of an unexpected perk than a drawback.
The biggest drawbacks, of course, are the lack of zoom and a somewhat weak flash (though the flash isn't useless, it's not as robust as a full digicam)... these are acceptable tradeoffs, considering the image quality is quite good and the ease-of-use is exemplary.
The differences between this and the previous generation Cybershot (the U20) are minor, but are nice to have. The U30 seems to have slightly faster electronics (focusing, shot-to-shot, saving, etc...), the U30 supports Memory Stick Pro (memory sticks above 128mb), and the U30 has a small mirror on the front that makes it easy to frame up self-portraits. Like I said, none of these are features worth upgrading for if you already have a U20, but if you don't have either camera, they are nice perks, since the two cameras are both selling at the same price right now.
I plan to get a second, prosumer grade digicam (probably a Fuji S5000 or S7000) when the next generation arrives on the market this fall, but this camera will probably still get the lion's share of my time because it will ALWAYS be with me. No camera--no matter how expensive or how many bells and whistles it has--does you any good if it's on the shelf at home when you are out in the world and come across a good photo op. With this sony, I never have to worry about missing a shot I want.
Rating: -
Very sweet!
This is the smallest camera I have ever seen. Now, it has no zoom. If you need a small little camera to take nice pics, this it the one for you. I am a physician and this camera is perfect to take with me to the hospital. I can keep it in my pocket and not be burdened by the size. It takes nice pictures for lectures and presentations. Now if you are wanting to print large prints, etc, buy a real camera with at least 4 mega pixels. I love this camera. It's about 1/3 the size of the canon elf. I love this thing!!!! Highly recommend it and at this price, you can't go wrong. Plus it takes AAA batteries.