Why do digital cameras suck so badly? I just had to return a Sony 6 megapixel digital camera because the?

images it produced were FAR inferior to a cheap film camera. WHY are we going BACKWARD in technology when we should be moving FORWARD?

Sorry, guys , but under the SAME CONDITIONS a film camera leaves a digital one in the dust. I tried this over and over again. And, YES, I DID read my owner's manual!

It is because you have failed to realize that marketing has overcome common sense once again! Why in the world would I want to use a camera, I already own, to take better pictures than the one, I can pay $500 for, to see that the pictures that I just took suck immediately. Oh yeah, those were Polaroids. They cost too much. Price per pic digital vs film. Already own camera. Film is pretty cheap. Do the math and get back to me.

Between a 'cheap point & shoot film camera' & a current model Sony Cybershot, you get better photos from the Sony,guaranteed, unless your settings on the Sony are off. 90% of the printing labs in the U.S. are digital labs, meaning your FILM is usually printed DIGITALLY! Report It

Now, if you are comparing the quality of slide film or high definition 35mm film to a small point & shoot digital, then you are NOT making a far comparison. But you'd rather remain tech-ignorant, it seems. Report It

i have a sony cyber-shot 5.1 megapixel and it takes great pics

Sounds like you have either:
A) A camera setting problem in resolution or compression
B) A printing problem.

Can you be more specific as to HOW the images were inferior? With the proper settings and a quality printing process, you would not be able to tell the difference between a digital point & shoot and a film point & shoot... guaranteed. I know professional photographers that are not able to distinguish between a film-based or digital-based print... if the cameras are both properly set up.

And, FYI, the pixel count has nothing to do with the print quality; it only has to do with the maximum print SIZE.

Hmmmmmmmmm....
Did you thoroughly read and understand the camera manual?
Did you play with the settings to see what worked and what didn't?

I do believe it is harder for Joe Consumer to get a good picture out of a digicam than it is to get a good one from a film camera. In film, your one hour lab can make or break the final outcome. In digital, you're pretty much it.

Maybe it ain't the camera, but the photographer?

I have a 6 mp Sony which takes great photos. Next time read your owners manual more thoroughly. Surely it ain't the camera.