We opted for the Sony DSC-H55B digital camera and were equally disappointed by the image quality at the beginning.
Granted, we are not professionals; we put on automatic and the camera takes the photos.
Have so often heard the older cameras make better photos than the new ones. That's true in this case!
Shortly after the warranty has expired, it is no longer working properly. The images were all overexposed. Have described the problem to the service from Sony. They said that this can not be. :-(
That was the last Sony digicam that we bought. She is still on hand in the cage and I'm not happy to have wasted so much money on this camera.