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DIGITAL CAMERAS

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W1
PORTABILITY AND PERFORMANCE FOR DIGITAL SNAPSHOOTERS.
A smart metal body and large LCD screen combine with a high-resolution sensor to make Sonys DSCW1 Cyber-shot an attractive camera, and its competitive price and ease of use will further contribute to its success. So, too, will the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, although its wide-angle coverage may not be ideal for some photographers. Its hard to fault the W1s overall design as all controls and fittings are well placed and easy to use. However, like many recently-released 5megapixel digicams, the W1 mixes point-andshoot functions with controls to appeal to serious photographers. Among the former are a competent full-auto shooting mode supported by six scene settings and PictBridge direct printing capability, while the latter include the ability to adjust the output of the built-in flash, the live histogram display and excellent low light performance. Manual exposure control is also provided, with a wide range of shutter speeds from 30 seconds to 1/1000 sec, although only two aperture settings are provided (their values change as the zoom is adjusted). The test cameras focusing was fast and, in most cases, accurate, although the centre AF setting performed slightly better than the default Multipoint AF mode for subjects within two metres of the camera, and the Monitoring AF setting was marginally faster than the default Single AF mode. Poweringup and shutting down took less than 1.5 seconds and the camera was, in the main, very responsive. We measured an average shutter lag of just over 0.1 seconds, extending to 0.5 seconds when focusing was required. Large files took less than one second to process, except for long time exposures, which took almost a minute, due to noise reduction processing. The burst mode captured nine high-resolution shots at 0.9 second intervals but more shots are possible at lower resolution and quality settings. On test, the W1 delivered its best results with portraits in low contrast lighting, where the overall colour balance was quite accurate and skin tones were very attractively recorded
with finely nuanced tonal reproduction. It also did well with night shots, where even the ISO 400 setting produced shots with no visible noise. Overall imaging performance was well above average and, although colour reproduction was good in outdoor shots, blues tended to be a tad warmer than expected and the default contrast was slightly high. Setting the contrast to low produced better results in shots taken in bright sunlight. The white balance control was an above-average performer, particularly under fluorescent lighting, although theres only one fluorescent setting. Sadly, no custom setting is provided for difficult lighting conditions. The flash is also a cut above the average, delivering enough light to illuminate an average-sized room at its default setting and allowing users to reduce flash output for portrait shots (recommended). Unfortunately, its position directly above the lens increases the risk of red eyes. The flash actually fires twice, first to establish the output required and immediately after, when the image is captured. Our tests showed this to have no apparent red-eye reduction effect. Interestingly, a red-eye reduction setting is provided in the set-up menu but the default setting is off and its performance is unexceptional. You can also take photos using the light from the AF illuminator, which is accessed via the set-up menu. However, the light output is not particularly high and its position makes it unsuitable for close shots with the macro setting. The W1s video capabilities are impressive, with two VGA settings (Fine and Standard) and 160 x 112 pixels. However, although you can record video clips with sound, and MPEG Movie VX format provides a full-screen display on a standard TV set, VGA/Fine movies can only be recorded on Memory Stick Pro cards and a 256MB card holds less than three minutes of video. The flash and zoom controls are disabled in movie mode. Unlike some high-resolution Sony digicams, the W1 is powered by two AA

Photo Review AUSTRALIA

batteries. Its supplied with Sony-branded Cyber-shot NiMH cells and a charger but can also accept alkalines when necessity demands. Our tests showed power consumption to be quite conservative; a fully charged set of batteries was less than half depleted after our review procedures. One minor gripe was a slight softness in some outdoors shots. On the whole, however, the DSCW1 is a fine little camera that will suit anyone who wants a high-resolution, highperformance digicam for everyday picturetaking.

SPECIFICATIONS

IMAGE SENSOR:
9.04mm primary colour CCD with 5,255,000 photosites (5.09-megapixels effective)
Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 7.9-23.7mm f2.8-5.2 zoom (equivalent to 38-114mm in 35mm format)

ZOOM RATIO:

3x optical, up to 6x digital

LENS MULTIPLIER FACTOR:

DIMENSIONS (WXHXD):

91 x 60 x 36.3 mm

WEIGHT:
250g (without batteries and card)
QUALITY RATING (OUT OF 10)
Build: Ease of use: Image quality: Storage capacity with supplied card: Value for money:

DISTRIBUTOR:

9.0 8.5 8.5 8.0 9.0
Sony Australia; 071; www.sony.com.au

www.photoreview.com.au