Sony CyberShot DSC-H5

The Sony CyberShot DSC-H5 is truly a great camera. I have used many digital cameras before but this one truly takes the cake. It has a lot of cool tools in it. I personally love the feature were you can crop the photos you take within the the camera itself. Its pretty light weight but the only thing i'm not sure about is the value for money. This camera is a bit on the pricey side.

Good camera but, although it looks to be a tough design a small knock can cause expensive problems. Overall quality of the photography is good though but the more modern (and basic) cameras have features this camera could be benefit from. Overall a good camera for 2006

I am hooked on the Sony CyberShot DSC-H5 it's a truly wonderful camera. Better than many I have owned before. It takes brilliant photos on automatic and you can crop the images in the camera.

Lightweight and small enough to fit in your pocket (If you take it out of the hard case which I purchased with the camera). Takes small movies too, but if you are looking for a video camera, unfortunately the Sony CyberShot DSC-H5 is not it.

The Sony CyberShot DSC-H5 is a digital camera for amateur photographers, who want the features and performance of an SLR, but not the price or bulk of one. Has fully automatic modes for when you 'just want to take a photo', plus many manual options for budding Lord Litchfield's.

This is now my third camera, and given my budget and need for a good zoom (as a safari holiday is approaching), this was the only real choice. I opted for the all-black version, as the silver plastic looked a bit cheap. I also wanted the flexibility of using normal off-the-shelf AA batteries, which are available from nearly everywhere. This is especially handy for holidays in remote areas, or when you don't fancy leaving your camera charging in a hostel dormitory.

The 12x optical zoom is pretty awesome, although it can be a little slow to focus. The on-board anti-shake software helps, but ideally you should invest in a mono/tri pod for clarity.

The large, bright and clear LCD to the rear of the camera makes the eye-piece somewhat redundant, and provides very informative feedback on current functions. The H5 is a doddle to set-up and operate, and it comes with the typical brand assurance (but slight premium) of being a Sony product. The camera comes with a useful 30Mb on-board memory to get you started, rather than the usual courtesy, but effectively useless 16Mb cards most manufacturers provide.

As usual, I shopped around before buying this product, with most high street retailers offering £50 off the RRP of £398. Internet companies are offering the H5 for £260 excluding P&P. I got Jessops to price-match a UK website at £260, so I had the added benefit of somewhere local to return it to if it failed. Jessops are also one of the only suppliers who can offer the smarter all-black version.

Verdict: Superb, and worth every penny.