Sony DSC-F717 Cyber-Shot Digital Camera. Reviews, Price Comparison and Ratings.

In addition to its super-size, 5.0-megapixel CCD (5.2-million effective pixels), the F717 offers the same innovative (and completely unique in the digicam industry) NightShot, NightFraming, and Hologram AF technologies that made their debut on the F707. Happily, the F717 also uses the same (excellent) 5x zoom Carl Zeiss lens, which is not only tack sharp but quite fast as well, with a maximum aperture that ranges from f/2.0 to f/2.4 depending on the zoom position. Sony listened to users and critics alike, and made a number of significant improvements in the F717. Shutter lag has been dramatically improved, color rendering seems to be much more even, and white balance performance and flexibility are exceptional. Sharpness and image noise seem to have been maintained at the previous (high and low, respectively) levels.

The Lowest Price is not always best !

When you buy a digital camera, the basic package almost always includes extras such as a battery charger, lens cap, batteries, flash memory card, and software. One of the more disreputable practices a dealer can engage in is called unbundling. These dealers remove items from the package that are normally included in the price and price them separately.

When purchasing a camera you have three components of the price to consider - the camera price, postage and handling, and taxes. Many dealers lower the price to make the camera more attractive, then increase the postage and handling to boost their profits.

Hesitate before accepting extended warranties. Every knowledgeable consumer expert says it's better to gamble. Most of a company's profit is in the sale of these warranties so they press, and press hard. Your job is to resist, and resist hard. The only thing to keep in mind is that digital cameras can be horribly expensive to repair. If you want peace of mind, you may want the warranty, even though it's probably overpriced. The cost of a repair can approach, or even exceed, the original purchase price.

When you buy a camera from a reputable dealer, you expect to be able to return it if you aren't satisfied. Some dealers try to discourage this by requiring a restocking fee for returned merchandise. This is always explained as a way to recover their costs of checking the merchandise and restoring the packaging you may have opened.

Many dealers is truly a false, deceptive and a total crook. Bait and switch tactics used. Does not sell new merchandise and will ship used or refurbished goods without notifying customer. They then try to charge a restock fee on top of their exobitant shipping fees to make a profit where they could not on their goods. A try case of buyer beware.