If you want a great camera and aren't into switching out lens, then this is the perfect choice. great quality pictures inside and out and even takes very decent video and for long periods. I have videod more than an hour at a time and gotten great results. The only glitch is something that you can keep from happening. after every 3rd or 4th user, reformat your data cards. If you don't, they will get full of data that does not get deleted when you think you have deleted everything on there. When this happens, it just stops doing anything and the error message doesn't tell the correct problem.

As a photo journalist, this camera (with its movable lens) has allowed me to get shots that others were denied because of an inabilbity to see what they were shooting, (great in a crowd). I LOVE this camera. I have done everything from portraits to headline photos with it. I did experience some purple fringing, but was able to erase with basic photo editing. I wouldnt trade it for anything.

I have a dcs-f717 that takes awesome pictures inside and outside. The dsc-f828 takes excellent outside pictures but don't take it to a play, b-day party or inside it just does not compare to the 717. people lose arms heads and fingers. I sold my 717 and purchased the 828, boy was I sorry. I went to a closeout strore and bought a 717 for 350.00 new. thank goodness I found one.

I am a student in architecture and even though this is my second camera owned I don������t think any other semi-professional camera comes close. I've used this camera in extreme conditions (above 45 degrees Celsius or 113 Fahrenheit) for a consecutive period of 6 months and it������s never stopped taking impeccable pictures. The camera has fallen a few times and is still without a scratch. If you travel and need a camera that can take the punch this is definitely it.

I have had it for over 2 years now and I can say this thing is amazing. People ask me how they can get one even now after being on the market for 2 years.

I had this camera for a year, it is a good one, good picture quality (in ISO 100), great colors, but when you take a picture with ISO 200 or higher the quality is not good, has a lot of NOISE........ I recomend this camera if you are a amateur photographer, but if you really want good quality inclusive in dark conditiosns (more than 800 ISO) then buy a CANON EOS 5D (Noise is almost nothing), you����re gonna spend much more money buy it depends what you want in quality pictures. Better pictures........better camera.

I have used it for about a year now. An excellent first "serious" camera. I more or less used this camera to learn the basics about photography. Exposure, shutter speed and focusing, etc.. were all very easy to learn and get up to speed with. I have a nother camera now but will probably keep the F828 as well. Nice build and image quality too.

I am a professional news photographer based in Los Angeles and despite all the negatives I've read about the Sony Cybershot F-828, I bought a second F-828 three months ago after my first one was stolen in November of 2005.
I love the video/movie mode feature of this camera at 640x480 (30 frames per second). The Sony Cybershot F-828 has become a part of my photo gear besides my Canon EOS 10D (with a 17-40L) and 1D (with a 35-350L).
I also love the swivel feature of the camera body. This camera would make a "perfect" travel camera. There are several used F-828 in the market today and they are priced somewhere between $450 and $550.

I have used a manual Nikon since 1978 when I first joined Kodak's work force. I have taken thousands of photographs in many formats and used many films and papers. The Sony F828 I thought was the digital camera for which I had been waiting to hit the consumer market. Now 18 months later I am sure it was the camera I was waiting on to make the jump to digital. Never have shot an automatic camera until now. I like that aspect of the F828 but I really love the manual exposure control. That along with the hot shoe Sony flash gives me the light and depth of field control that is essential for some pictures to really be worth a thousand words. I love the swivel feature when shooting pets. The shape of the camera is comfortable in my hands. It has that feel of my old camera body. All in all it's now part of my world and my world is brighter for it.

I have been dabbling in amateur photography with Nikon and Minolta 35mm cameras and decided to go digital. One of the main things that I was looking for was high pixel resolution, digital zoom capability, and of course, quality. SONY. Need I say more? The pictures are great and the video clips are exceptional. The only thing that I have noticed is that the flash is too bright and has a tendancy to make the subjects washed out. If that's the worst thing that happens, which can be adjusted with some creative photo editting, I can live with that!

About 15 months ago I purchased this camera. After about 6500 hundred pictutes I noticed a black dot on the LCD and the pictures. I called costumer service and after a lot of BS I was told that the actually repair cost would about $400 or so! I relay think that this absolutely ridicules. (I am not even talking about the the purple fringes that very few people here are even talking about!)
To make a long story short, I went and got the Canon 20D. Right out of the box I like this camera much better. Don't get me wrong, the F828 takes great colour pictures but not for very long in my case.
If you like photography like I do, then for a little bit more money you can get your self a camera with exchangeable lenses!
For this and other reasons ( customer service is a joke, al they wanted was credit card number!!)I strongly like to discourage you from pursing this camera!! But if you must have this camera then at least get the extend warranty!

About 15 months ago I purchased this camera. At first everything went fine EXCEPT FOR THE PURPLE FRINGING.Still up to this point I always was a loyal Sony fan but then it al went terribly wrong.
After about 6500 hunderd pictures I noticed a black dot at the upper right hand corner the LCD and the pictures.

I've been a professional, and semi-professional photog for 40 years. I've used a few cameras in my time. Counting this one, this makes 2 reviews I've taken the time to write. Short and sweet: I'm writing to warn potential buyers, if you think you're buying a high quality substitute for a REAL camera at amateur prices, don't be fooled. You're about to get ripped off. If you are considering this camera because of the name, forget it. Sony is as bad as any manufacturer anywhere when it comes to disregarding a customer's complaint or needs. You're headed for a bad experience. I finally went to a Canon 20D...a REAL camera...and if I couldn't have afforded it, I'd have been better off to wait until I could. Almost any 5.0mp camera will give you what you want, and when ready to try pro stuff, step up to Canon or Nikon. This ain't opinion, it's the FACT, Jack. Just trying to help you avoid an expensive mistake.

Ok, I bought a new Sony DSC F828 while back and it has been the most FUN camera I have ever owned..! The quality of Zeiss lenses is so impressive..! I own a Nikon system and have had Pentax SLR's as well as Minolta cams which all have been Film cameras. But inspite of reluctance to get involved in Digital photography for a multitude of reasons....all I can say is Sony makes a product that allows you to get back into the stream of enjoying photography. No more film to buy...no more processing and this time around you can decide after taking hundreds of pictures which one's you want to print and keep. The rest you can store on CD. It's quite a change..!

Reviews I have read in the past have put a product on the list fit for kings. Then after purchasing this wonderful product I would find out in person that it was junk. I swear some manufactures pay off some of these reviewers and company reviews.. The products I bought were nowhere close to what the reviews said. This being said I have to say my Sony DSC -F828 has never let me down. I use it daily and after many thousands of shots I have never been disappointed. The color and resolution beat out anything I have used in the past. I shoot everything from sunsets to aircraft and the Sony beats out the other brands even the more expensive ones I have used. Sure a higher zoom would be nice but for my money it can't be beat. No tech jargon
needed this is one great camera.

At first I took the manual with me and it did not take long to learn how to use it.I let a friend which he is a photographer use the camera (while I was with him)he loves this one.He says learn the histogram and You got an awesome camera. Thanks to the makers

I have been using this camera for 26 months now. Finally, 35mmm film quality from a digital camera! After shooting over 10,000 photos of everything from snow storms to the volcanoes of Hawaii, I have to tell you that this is the best digital camera on the market for its price range. The 8 Megapixel setting has rendered me poster size blow up orints with remarkable image quality. The new color system is awesome. The one annoying drawback is the shadow effect from the built in flash. Its too close to the lense. Battery life is excellent and the overall feel of the camera body is simply great. Use a 1 or 2 GB Microdrive for awesome photos and videos without worry of memory card space.

With a fantastic physical design I have to give someone at Sony full marks for that aspect (the same person or group that designed the 717, I presume).
Positives- Reasonably good built-in GUI, with great physical advantages for framing and manual focussing and zooming without breaking step- if you get familiar with this camera, it starts to feel like a glove, if a weighty scale armour one. Good battery life. Seems pretty robust.
Negatives - A few stupid design flaws in operation, flash shadowed by lens-should flip up higher, the purple fringing on some brightly backlit shots, this seems to vary with focal lenght.
Viewfinder is too low-res. Some barrel distortion.
Conclusion - Love this camera for it's fantastic physical design, and it can take fab shots although there are the odd things that show it up as a jack-of-all-trades. But it is a good all-round rock'n'roller, and also has features to keep you exploring photography. If, like me, you are getting into photography but not a pro, then find one of these being sold by a dissatisfied pro and you will not be disappointed. But at the new price, you may want something else. But I do recommend the handling as a physical design as ingenious above all other designs I've seen or tried.

If you are living in Turkey or planning to visit Turkey, keep in your mind that Sony accesories is not kept in stock in Turkey and to buy a small lens can take 10 days. Even some small items are ordered from Europe.

I was thinking about upgrading to the Canon 20D because I have heard so many great things about it. But, it is a little out of my price range at the moment. In the mean time, I will use my Sony f-828 and get some really great shots with a only a few little compromises.

Things I really like about this camera...

The pivotal lens. This allows you to perfectly frame over the head and down to the ground shots. Other camera have you guessing because they require you to look through the viewfinder. I can't believe more cameras don't have this option. I use it all the time.

The battery life. I have never used my spare battery.

Ability to use compact flash cards. (Much cheaper than the ridiculously over priced Sony memory sticks)

Ability to take MPEG-VX Fine 640x480 video at 30fps w/audio. (note: you have to use a Memory stick pro to use the highest video settings)

The lens. I've taken some stunning pictures and I am not a pro.

Most important buttons are on the outside of the camera. You don't have to go menu hunting.

Mechanical zoom lens is very fast.

You can focus in complete darkness due to the hologram laser the camera emits.

Night framing is useful at times. In very dark situations, it shows you what you can't see with the naked eye so you can frame your shots accurately.

Things I don't like...

Occasional purple fringing

Shutter gets locked out at times causing you to miss a god shot.

Raw is unusable if you due to it being so slow. The software that reads the RAW files that comes with the camera is very bad.

Too heavy. I get neck pains on a long day of shooting.

Price of memory sticks! It doesn't come whit any media! Make sure you add the price of a memory card to the price of this camera when comparative shopping.

The view finder screen should be a little brighter and have more resolution. It is rather grainy.

The shutter can be a little too jumpy for some shots. I have accidentally pushed it many times because it is to sensitive. Maybe they did this on purpose so there wouldn't be as much camera shake.

There is no option for a remote so it is very difficult to get low light shots with absolutely no camera shake. You have to push the shutter everytime. (Unless, you use the self timer.)
ISO's above 200 are not usable. Too noisy.

Time between shots is to long. Canon's are almost instant. I am sure Sony is addressing this issue with the new model that should be coming out soon. It been almost two years since the f828 came out.

I just picked this camera up few days ago, upgrade from my OLD 3+ year old F707 (which I loved, had a freak accident...still functions, but not the same)

Anyway, I am still learning some of the new features..the grip and heavy more bulky feel to this, not used to that part..not a big deal

The photos i have shot in 3, 5MP are good..use those for web-viewing and unimportant shots. I like the fact the Nightvision is now on the flash and NOT the lens like the old F707/717. So I am able to use my wide angle, Fisheye, variety of other filters without the IR reflection.

But I DO SEE THE PURPLE that is mentioned here...that is bugging me as I zoom in too 100% in 8MP..it's obvious and I never saw this on the older camera

Seems my 'purple outline' is coming off as a slight shadow like effect outlining the top-left of almost all edges. Much more noticeable when I shoot greenery like trees, used the macro of some flowers/leafs as I tested this this past weekend. I have to try and print on my photo-printer..see if that shows up.

Ugh..something as small as that and dropping the money you do on this you want the best!

I haven't even tried TIFF/RAW mode yet, maybe that could make a difference??

I really like the look and feel. The controls are good. But, I was very disappointed with the focus. I compared about 50 pictures with my F717. Both cameras on the basic auto setting, and the F717 was consistently better. True colors, and out performed the F828 when you looked at the minute details.

This is great camera for the price not least due to the superb 58mm Carl Zeiss 28 to 200mm (35mm equiv) F2.0-2.8 7.1 zoom lens. With its smooth action manual zoom which is one of the factors that enables the extremely long battery life between charges. Picture quality in all but low light conditions is excellent and comparable with other 8 megapixel prosumer cameras. The purple fringing is only visible on 10 x 8 inch prints at extreme lens settings and under adverse lighting conditions like tree branches against a bright sky. This is virtually non existent at 70mm but quite noticeable at 28mm and 200mm. Like most cameras, if you want great pictures in low lighting conditions use a tripod and make sure the white balance is set correctly. Camera shake is a major contributing factor at low shutter speeds. My Canon 20D is just as bad in low light if I don't use a tripod. What I love about this camera is its superb build quality, long battery life, multipurpose lens, great picture quality and the very good movie quality at the 640(fine) setting.

Despite the chromatic aberration (purple fringing - which is evident with most cameras to some degree and can be removed in Photoshop) the photos I've taken have been everything I've expected of a camera at this price range. There is noise at higher ISO settings, but acceptable and editable as well.
Incidentally there ARE zoom (converter) lenses available as well as short range lenses. I use a Canon 1.2x converter, which is far better than the Sony 1.5x lens available. The Canon lens really works well with the F828.

Most of the camera attributes are selectable filters and settings than are available in Photoshop. Max F stop is 1.7 so low light subjects without a flash are poor. NO additional lenses are available for zoom or wide angle. USB connection is for file download only so cannot use as WEB cam without AD conversion. MPG recording is good. 640x480 high quality and with a 2G drive will record lots of video.

I gave this camera a low rating simply because there are NO additional lenses available. The ability to extend to lower light (not night) environments and maintain color does not exist without using a tripod, which rules out moving subjects.

Whilst accepting that some people must see this phenomenon, I think it must be a "per camera" issue, affecting individual units rather than the model as a whole, as I have never seen it with mine and I have shot just about every mode there is on the camera, (and there are quite a few). The camera has consistently produced stunning images, the definition, even at lower MP numbers, is excellent and the colour rendition is great. It is a joy to use and, once you get with the system, the menus are easy to use and become intuitive. It is the only camera that has ever got me away from my beloved Pentax.
I too would have liked a little more optical zoom, but as I only used a maximum of 210mm on my MZ5N it is ok.
The supplied software is not that good, I have not really got the hang of processing RAW images into prints yet, perhaps someone has some ideas.
I also had difficulty using a standard flash unit, I don't have a Sony flash so tried my Soligor TIF 340. Works OK in manual mode but with settings I might use on my Pentax MZ5N (200 ASA,f8, 100th sec at 15 ft), it consistently and badly over exposes. Auto operation is not possible. I guess I need to buy the Sony flash. If it is as good as the camera, I don't have a problem with that. I have yet to find anything that this camera does not do well, I thoroughly recommend it, but perhaps you should try a few individual cameras to ensure your purchase does not have the Purple Fringing problem

I've owned the DSC-F828 for just over a year and have taken some pretty amazing shots with it. Whether in point and shoot mode, or fully advanced mode, you can have this camera do whatever you want done. I am extremely pleased with the results, but you need to be more than a beginner to fully utilize the features.

I use this camera mainly for wedding photos and have not been disappointed. I would prefer a stronger zoom lens for my landscape shots. I also bought the optional flash attachment which works great on more distant shots in low light.

I don't write many reviews. If I really like something I say so. If I'm really disappointed I say so. I moved up through the Sony line of compacts through the F717 and was really excited to get the F828. The purple fringing is an attribute that is forcing me to sell the majority of my Memory Sticks along with the F828. I just bought a Canon D20 and can't wait to get some 'fringe-free' high quality images. The F828 should never have made it to market with this problem. I'll still use my Sony DSC-P7 as my quick portable because it takes a lickin' and comes back with decent results all the time. But for my high end exploration I'll not go back to Sony after this extreme disappointment. The thing is simply awesome to use and has all I was hoping for in features and functionality. It's just that the images are killing me.