Product Description

Sony, the market leader in consumer digital cameras, has blended the fun of a rotating lens with the speed and clarity of a five-megapixel Cyber-shot digital still camera in the new DSC-F88 model.The F88 camera's compact, all-metal body is fitted with an internal Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar 3X optical zoom lens that allows it to rotate 300 degrees, so you can see your pose in the camera's 1.8-inch LCD screen before snapping the picture, providing you with a flexible shooting style.There are several interesting flexible angles you can capture with the F88 camera's rotating lens including waist level and above-the-head shots. Its ability to rotate makes the camera perfect for hard-to-obtain low angle candid shots and for taking above-the-head close-up shots during crowded events.Creative shots can also be captured with the camera's self-timer feature. Set the camera on table, angle the lens as needed and trigger the self-timer for steady, professional self-portraits.Another feature of the F88 is the camera's optical eye level viewfinder that, when the lens is rotated, allows you to focus in on your subjects while they view the LCD and adjust their pose assuring they will be happy with their picture.The camera's 5.1 megapixel CCD image sensor ensures great picture quality while the camera's Sony Real Imaging Processor makes it blazingly fast with a near immediate start-up and very fast shot-to-shot time so you can capture memories as they happen.The F88 employs a rechargeable InfoLithium battery system for quick recharging time, which means that you will spend less time charging and more time taking pictures. The new camera also accepts both the Memory Stick and Memory Stick PRO memory cards.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #73179 in Camera & Photo
• Brand: Sony
• Model: DSCF88
• Dimensions: 5.00 pounds
• Display size: 1.8

Features

• 5.1-megapixel sensor captures enough detail to create photo-quality 13-by-17-inch enlargements
• Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens combines with a 2x digital zoom for 6x total zoom
• 300-degree rotating lens design; 1.8-inch LCD monitor; 1.6 frame-per-second Shot Burst mode
• Store images on Memory Stick (32 MB Memory Stick included) or Memory Stick Pro media
• Powered by rechargeable InfoLithium battery (included with charger); connects to computers via USB 2.0

Customer Reviews

Good Pictures but Big Flaws
I really like the lens quality and picture quality overall. My experience with it over the past 4+ months (which includes a 2 week vacation) are the following:

PRO's
- Fast start-up for more spontaneous shots.
- Good Image quality.
- Swivel lens gives nice, low eye level shots. Might be fun for pets and kids

CON's
- Colors can be a bit bluish sometimes
- Swivel Lens doesn't allow that many great shots of people with backgrounds. Since the distance from the lens to people (in self portraits) depends on your height and arm length, your mileage will vary. I'm about 6', and found the camera's ability to swivel back at you to be limited for capturing people and backgrounds. I bought the optional wide angle lens (x0.7) which helps... but that attachment prevents you from rotating the lens back into the camera body. This means it won't fold compactly for travel anymore.
- My biggest gripe, and this is a very big one, is that mode selection can be buggy due to the software. I've had almost 2 dozen instances in which the mode selection dial has failed me. In those instances, there is no way for me to access the set-up mode, the playback/review mode, or the movie mode. I find that extremely irritating and I don't know of any solution. I've tried taking the battery out, turning the power off, taking the battery out while the power is still on (Can you see how desparate this flaw can make you?). This flaw kills the camera for me.

UPDATE: Seems like the mode selection problem above was due to a faulty motherboard that Sony replaced. Their customer service handles the problem quickly and professionally. Be sure to save your receipt if this problem happens to you! I'd change my rating to 3 stars but the Amazon system won't let me.

ANOTHER UPDATE: After almost 2.5 years of use, one of the directional buttons (that lets you review a photo you've just taken) is very loose. I have 2 genuine batteries. One of these holds only a 30-45 minute charge. Once the battery goes out, all my settings (such as date, review and beep preferences) get deleted.

They brought back the swivel lens!
I owned one of Sony's first digital cameras. It had the beloved swivel lens. No flimsy lcd screen that flips out, if you want to take a nice picture of yourself and a friend.

When I saw this camera at my local CompUSA, I pounced on it. I am getting married in December, and want to make sure I have decent pictures. That is what the swivel lens is good for. I am planning on using it to make sure my hair/make-up is camera friendly. Those pictures stay with you for life!

Beyond vainity, this is a great point and click camera. It also is great at taking movies with audio. The camera will play the movie, including audio. This is a feature that is a lot of fun.

I'm not taking pictures to be an artist. I just want a camera to capture moments with my friends. This is the perfect camera for that.

Perfect for self portraits !
The swivel lens is by far the best feature of this camera. It allows you to take very creative shots from many different angles. The swivel also serves two other purposes - (1) By swiveling the lens, it turns the camera on and off and (2) In the closed position, it acts as a lens cap protecting the lens from damage. Also new to the F-series is the inclusion of a viewfinder. This is helpful when the lcd screen is obscured by sun glare.

One aspect where this camera really shines is in taking unassisted portrait photos of my wife and me. All I do is stand the camera on a level surface, rotate and zoom the lens for proper framing, click on the timer and quickly get into position with my wife. And since the lcd is facing us, we can easily adjust our positioning. Also, since the camera acts as its own tripod, the pictures are always crisp (No more hunting down strangers for assistance and no more badly taken shots).

Picture quality is very good for a 5mp compact. I have found that the key to taking good photographs with this camera is by utilizing the manual and preset settings. Most people use the auto mode in their picture taking, and most of the time this is sufficient, however, I have found that by leveraging the built in Scene modes, I get a much clearer and crisper picture.

Battery life is excellent with over 300+ shots on a single charge. However, I would still recommend getting an extra one for backup power.

One accessory that I would recommend getting is the docking station. This item serves a dual purpose. It downloads your photos to your pc and charges the camera at the same time.

Because of its form this camera also has a strong WOW! factor. Every place I go, people always ask what kind of camera it is. They are quite surprised to hear that it is a Sony product. I guess most of them associate Sony digi cams with the candy bar shape of the P series.

For some reason this camera is not available at the usual retail outlets (at least not yet). It's a shame because in my opinion, this is one of the most versatile cameras I have ever purchased.

PROS:
Swivel Lens
Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar 3x optical zoom lens
Battery Life (300+ photos / charge)
Good 5mp picture quality
Very good Macro mode
Fast startup
Compact size
VGA video
USB2 support
Live Histogram display

CONS:
Small Memory Stick included (32 meg)
Weak Flash
No retail availability yet (only online)