Sony Cybershot DSCW100 8.1MP Digital Camera Review

To date I have used several digital cameras from several different manufacturers.From old 2 and 3MP cameras, up to a 9MP SLR.

When I decided to purchase this camera my main reason was its' abilities to take low light pictures without the flash.Using a flash in the LA Convention Center for picture taking during the Auto show tends to get too many reflections, without flash you get natural looking pictures, more battery power, but until this camera, i could never even get close to the feeling I wanted with the ease, which means more user friendly for quick on the spot moments, no matter the environment.

I researched many camera's before I decided to get this one. I compared all of the features.For the price the W100 blew away the competition. But that is what is just on paper.

Now I actually have the camera and have taken at least a hundred pictures in different situations testing out all the little options, from full auto to full manual.

Using the ISO at 1250 does result in a picture with noise however, the noise is very little, even compared to my Dad's Fuji 9MP SLR.

Although, this is a compact camera, it is big enough to grab onto, but still small enough to look cool.

Having 8MP allows you to really zoom in on a picture, and once again this is a cheap price for 8.1MP.

My brother's have the newer Kodak 5MP compact camera I think it is the 55 model, and my sister just bought the lower sony DSC-W50, which is about 150 cheaper.But even comparing the DSC-W100 to the W50, you would instantly recognize the higher quality.

After using the camera, its' low light sensitivity and lack of picture noise, enable faster shutter times, which is good for night shots, along with the 42-step, 30 sec max exposure time, which is very fun to use, but the higher sensitivity enables you to take pictures of quick moving opjects as well, and you can program the camera for this, but i do wish it had the pre-programmed optionfor quick moving shots.Although it is not hard to manually set up the shot with a few tweaks.Most of the changes you make manually the LCD will give show you a basic idea of the what you are changing, along with the on screen explanations of every option, which makes the user manual almost pointless, which is a good thing, in this case.

With the camera's inherent ability to take low light shots, this greatly reduces the chance of getting a blurry picture, unless you are really moving.I hate taking a bunch of pictures and getting blurry shots (rememeber I don't like using the flash) but so far out of the hundred pictures, I would say I have had 5, but they were all forseeable, (ie I knew i was moving at the time or the object was moving)And the camera warns you on screen when the capturing time is going to be long enough that you should try and be more stable.

Today I got a picture of a bird in flight up close outside, and it looked like a low motion capture, you could see the feathers in the wing, it was not just a blurred mass.

I have used mostly the manual and semi-manual features which all are very easy to use and take great pictures, if you know what settings to use where.I have not used the fully auto mode very much, as I have not really needed too, the specialized modes pretty much cover everything, I have also not taken many portraits, except of my own face, on full auto and it looks good 95% of the time, and i would say with all the previous cameras I have used including old 35mm slrs and advantix, this is the best camera i have ever had.

So if you are looking for a camera as good or better than some SLR's in all cases except a detachable lens, for the price and size of a sub-compact camera, I highly recommend this camera, it is what it says on paper.But as with any camera if you aren't sure go to the store where they have 50 million on display, just make sure to look at this one, although it might not be in the store yet.

UPDATE: MAY 6, 2006

In response to Techburn's review, yes it is true you cannot use the lens accesories with the W100 as of now, but I would expect more accessories to come out in the future for this camera, the physical structure is only slightly larger than the lower W-models, and since this is the higher end, brand new model, I say the chance of add-ons is very likely.

64Mb of internal memory is more than most other cameras have, but most people expect to buy a memory card for their camera.
I can pull the Duo out of my camera and view the stills in my PSP.And Duo prices are cheap these days, on the net.

I have experiemented with freeway shots from a moving vehicle taking shots from the oncoming side, and with little practice I was getting nearly perfect sharp pictures of the other vehicles, that would be a vehicle speed difference of 70+70=140mph,plus the shaking from the truck.

I can fit this camera with no case perefectly in my pocket, with slack left; dickies pant size 32x32 5'7" 170 lbs. Although i would not walk around with a 350 dollar camera in my pocket, but I can also fit it in my shirt pocket, that is a medium size dickies work shirt.Before I got the camera I was worried about the size, but itsnice, and yes the buttons are small, a problem with all compact cameras, actually all cameras.

The battery has lasted a month on just the initial charge, I have taken almost 300 shots, although not many with the flash, because i didnt need to.

The movie quality is good especially at 30fps, and yes like other sony's it cannot zoom in and out during capture.

Another thing to note, the menu structureusing the camera is very detailed and self explanatory, when choosing options, you don't need to go and look up what each setting will do depending on how you adjust it, it tells you what you need to know.

Things I do have complaints about;
Whites can seem very bright, I attribute this to its high sensitivity
there is no "anti-shake" mechanism, most still cameras do not have this, although Panasonic has come out with some which might be worth checking out.

I just ordered some prints from costco, and I will update again on the results from the different sizes.

Just remember to compare this camera to others in its price range and physical size.




See more reviews about: Sony Cybershot DSCW100 8.1MP Digital Camera with 3 x Optical Zoom

Digital Camera Labels: Sony Cybershot DSCW100 8.1MP Digital Camera with 3 x Optical Zoom,Sony,DSCW100