Sony DSC-WX300/B 18.2 MP Digital Camera with 20x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 3-Inch LCD (Black)

There is no perfect camera. I wish I could combine the best features of the WX300 with the best features of my 2012 model Sony HX10V, which is larger in size. I much prefer the WX300 over the recently-released WX80 though, which was way too tiny for my fingers (so I returned that camera).Pros:>> A control knob on top vs. strictly menu-driven features. But it feels like the control knob is in the wrong position. I keep pressing the control knob when trying to press the shutter (they should be reversed).>> 3" screen>> Dedicated movie button>> Great quality video. One thing you need to be aware of if you burn DVDs; you cannot select the AVCHD on the FX setting (in the menu settings) unless you plan on burning to a Blu-Ray disc - they are that good!>> 20X optical zoom, which goes out to 40X in ClearImage and 80X in digital zoom. (Although I don't recommend going out to 80X digital, but 40X ClearImage isn't half bad.)>> Sony G Lens. I know some like the Carl Zeiss lens better, but my HX10V also has the G lens and I think it's superior.>> EASY setting. Anyone can use this camera on this setting, it gives you very limited choices, easy enough for a Great-Grandma.>> Special effects: Love the watercolor and illustration effects, which you apply in the playback menu, and it also saves your original photo.>> Background defocus. This is my favorite setting, it has it's own position on the control knob. You have a choice of low, medium, or high blurred background, and with a little experimenting, you can get the same bokeh effect of a DSLR. I uploaded a photo of a flower showing this feature.Cons:>> The battery charging door is flimsy and I don't see it lasting long. Better off buying a separate battery charger. I don't like charging the battery inside the camera anyway.>> Does not have P/A/S/M full manual control. It should have for this price.>> The tripod socket appears to be plastic; it's black so I'm not 100% sure, but when they are metal, they are almost always silver.One thing to note as it's the same on the WX80: Don't get the HDMI cable connector on the bottom of the camera confused with the battery charging connector. I did get confused for a few minutes with the WX80 and I thought Sony had included the incorrect USB cable.Wi-Fi: I had no problems with setting this up with my desktop PC which still uses Vista. Sony includes a separate pamphlet for Wi-Fi set-up. (I already had Play Memories installed from my other Sony cameras, so that may have made it easier for me).If your router has a WPS Push Button it's easy-peasy to set up (my Cisco Valet has the WPS button, but I'm not sure if other routers have this button as my only router experience is with Valets). After you have the PlayMemories software installed, you have to "one-time" connect the camera to your PC with the USB cable and set up the SSID/password. If you have the WPS Push Button, you press your router button first, then get into the Toolbox/menu on the camera and press Wi-Fi Push. It takes a few minutes to completely connect, but once you've done that, you're good to go. Once I tried the wi-fi, I haven't bothered again. It's slow. It drains the battery quicker. It's not worth the hassle.Like I said above, no camera is perfect. My HX10V has GPS, which I keep turned off as it drains the battery. The WX300 has Wi-Fi, but it's slow to use. I think my HX10V takes a little sharper photo, but it's larger/clunkier. My HX10V was made in Japan (and a little cheaper than this camera), while the WX300 is fairly expensive for not having full manual control P/A/S/M and it's made in China. I've owned well over 50 cameras and haven't found the perfect one yet. If I ever do, that would be a 10 star camera!Sony HX10V: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX10V 18.2 MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Camera with 16x Optical Zoom and 3.0-inch LCD (Black) (2012 Model)Sony WX80: Sony DSC-WX80/R 16 MP Digital Camera with 2.7-Inch LCD (Red)See comment section below for a link to a more thorough User Manual.

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!