Customer Reviews

Sony Cybershot DSC-W100 8.1MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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 option for 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 its nice, 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 structure using 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.

Photography afficionados have long had two choices when it comes to buying a digital camera: a tiny everything-automatic portable camera that takes decent pictures or a brick-sized everything-manual professional camera that takes fantastic pictures. Almost a decade after the introduction of the consumer digital camera, Sony has finally taken a swing at combining the best qualities of both worlds into one package, and the DSC-W100 is a solid first effort.

Sony has had the tiny part down for some time - dimensionally, the W100 is on par with other recent Cybershot models and competitor brands' offerings, and features the now-common 2.5" bright LCD display with a minimum of buttons on the back. Aside from the attractive mini-diamondplate face and chrome trim, visually there's little to set this camera apart among the others at your local electronics counter.

Initial toying with the camera doesn't dispel any first impressions. All the prerequisite automatic features are there, the buttons are smartly arranged so all the most common functions are right at hand, it's obviously a point-and-shoot camera. But it's when you begin to delve into the features that you realize that the W100 is something entirely different.

The usual mode knob is there on the back with the Auto mode and Scenes modes, but now there's Program and Manual modes - something standard issue on professional cameras but radically new for a point-and-shoot. This means you can use any combination of auto or manual settings on all functions to get a shot. For example, shooting in a dimly lit room, you can use a slow shutter flash to even out lightning, or turn off the flash with a slower shutter for richer colors, or raise the ISO so you can get a steady shot with a higher shutter speed, or just put it in auto and shoot, etc. All the different possibilities previously reserved just for professional cameras are now at your disposal. The camera is as simple or as involved as you want, and it still fits in your pocket.

I've owned several other digital cameras, both portable and pro, and they've all had somewhat manual features, but the W100 takes it to a new level. Mounting the W100 on a tripod, I attempted to get a long exposure shot of the night sky, something all the other digital cameras have done adequately. Manually setting the shutter speed, the camera displayed the overall exposure value as I adjusted - the camera was telling me before even touching the shutter button if the resulting picture would be dark, bright, or even. I set the shutter as slow as it could go and using the two-second timer, fired away. The picture was amazing; though only a few stars were visible to the eye, the W100 caught the light of well over a hundred. I noticed a bit of radial blur on the stars around the border of the image, only to realize later that the camera was pointed North - the shutter speed was so slow that I was actually *capturing the rotation of the Earth*. Now THAT'S manual.

Also of special note is the W100's digital "Smart Zoom". As a general rule with digital cameras, you should disable the digital zoom feature, as zooming in beyond the optical range produces a cropped and therefore lower-quality image. But here again Sony has a trick up it's sleeve, by cropping from an 8.1 megapixel capture regardless of where you have the image size set. If you shoot a 5 megapixel-size picture that utilizes the digital zoom, the image is actually captured at a full 8.1 Mps and then your 5Mp picture is cropped from that. The result is an optically-zoomed clear picture. This also means that at the lowest image size, you can get a full 15x zoom (the equivalent of a 500+ mm telephoto - in a pocket camera!). It's an absolutely brilliant technique that you'll probably see on all future digital cameras.

Sony still has a bit more work to do on the pocket SLR idea. Included with your purchase is an accessories catalog featuring an array of lenses and filters, none of which are compatible with the W100. It's typical of Sony to have a bizarre distribution of features in any given product lineup, but it would seem obvious that the most SLR-like camera should have SLR-like accessories. And W100 owners should disable the Auto Focus Illumination light when shooting people; the blazing red light is great for focusing on inanimate subjects, but could probably be used as a tactical light to blind assailants in a pinch.

Overall, the W100 is a remarkable newcomer that truly raises the bar for what you can expect from a point and shoot pocket camera. Novices are accommodated with full automation, and can learn gradually by trying out individual manual functions while other settings remain automatic. And experienced photogs will be right at home with the Manual mode and wide range of settings. Five stars for what is hopefully Sony's work in progress.

Well, unlike "TECHBURN" I took the time to actually study the functioning of this camera and its capabilities before picking it up. After reading his opinion of the camera, I am left thinking that he did not give this camera much of a chance to become a 'keeper'.

After researching many models at [...].

One of the first things I learned, from a very helpfull member at dpreview was to get off the AUTO MODE. Don't let the camera decide what to focus on, you decide. I use the auto-program mode and center autofocus or spot autofocus. These 2 focus modes focus on the center of the picture. No more blurry shots do to the camera 'thinking' of what to focus on. Which is 8 times out of 10. Exactly what you wish it didn't focus on.

Example, taking a picture of a bird on a tree with auto-focus. It will focus on a branch ahead of the bird. Leaving the bird out fo focus. The auto focus has a bad way of picking the wrongs objects to focus on. The other 2 foucs modes greatly reduce this risk.

The second thing to learn is how to hold this camera, and really. ANY small camera. They are small, lightweight and easy to throw out of focus by the slightest movement.

You need to hold it with a firm grip. Not so tight its about to break and you have veins sticking out of your forehead. Just firm. Have each hand push the opposite direction and if you are 'twisting' the camera. This helps the camera focus and stay focused exponentially. Use your finger to push the button, don't use your hole arm. Your pictures will thank you.

In order to get the best picture quality you will want to practice using three things. Aperture, ISO and the FOCUS!! The aperture will help you get the field of vision, the ISO(which I wouldn't use any over 400 for large picture prints)if some pictures are getting blurry and take it off auto. This is what will kill 90% of your pictures. It may mean you need to learn a bit more of the technicals of photography. But you will be happy you did, Ansel Adams!

So far I am very pleased with this camera. It doesn't come with a 16mb card but really, what good is one with a 8mp camera? 2 pictures at its highest resolution? I'd rather have a 64mb built in memory that I don't have to pop in or out of the camera. Its much better in my opinion.

Movie mode, eh. What did you really expect? Its a small hand held camera. I wouldn't expect anyone to think of filming their family christmas with a camera. Thats what cam-corders are for. Its like wondering why my camcorder doesn't take razor sharp 8x10 pictures. Its just not hwat they are meant to do. Atleasr not as well as what the other can do.

Zoom is as good as any other ultra compact in its price range. You may be lucky to get 4x optical. But again, pickins are slim and will not happen in this price range.

Over all it is highly recommended. There is no clear winner out there for the ultra compacts or compacts. So, its not the end all, be all of camera's. But untill then it will make any phtographer or novice happy.

I bought this little camera recently from Amazon. Thanks for tremendous service and speedy delivery, Amazon.

The Sony DSC-W100 is terrific. It is very simple to operate. The menu system is well-organized and easy to understand. Inserting the battery and memory card is a snap. The Zeiss lens system yields incredibly sharp photos even at the automatic setting. The flash is pretty powerful,too! I took some shots in a rather dark restaurant, and the pictures came out really nice and clear. The macro function is superb with crisp, well-defined details at very close range.

The powerup time on this camera is fast as well as time between shots. There is very little shutter lag, and you usually get the picture you intended to get. Autofocus can be a little slower until it "finds" the target perfectly in certain situations. But this is no big deal compared to older digicams.

I like being able to switch quickly from viewing the pictures in replay mode back to camera mode by simply tapping the shutter release button lightly. You are quickly ready for another picture.

The camera is not miniature and weighs nearly six ounces, which is not extremely light--but is comfortable to carry or place in purse or pocket.

I also have a Canon Digital Rebel XT, and this little camera does take sharper pictures. Of course, you do not have the versatility of the SLR, but it is a great everyday camera to take along with you for all the shots you would otherwise miss. I highly recommend this camera and recommend purchase from Amazon.

Update: I have now used this camera in the video mode. WOW. It produces incredibly sharp videos with a fast frame rate that looks terrific on our television. A multi-purpose cable is supplied with the camera that allows USB 2.0 and audio/video hookup. You must decide what zoom level before you start shooting your video because once you start, you cannot zoom in and out. If you have a 1 Gb memory stick Pro Duo you can take about 12 minutes of video. I want to get the 2 Gb Pro Duo stick which allows almost 25 minutes of video. This would be ideal to take along when you want to switch between still and video shots and keep your video shots consistent and consecutive in order. You must use the PRO Duo stick for the high quality (fine) video mode.

I am a tech gadget freak, and very particular with the cameras I own. After a long search for looking for the perfect digicam, it is safe to say that for me the Sony w100 is the overall winner!!! I'm a Canon 350D owner and have tried the Sony N1 since my parents have it, and I must say that I would choose the W100 over it in a heartbeat.

Before purchasing this camera, I tried out all the cybershot cameras, and a few Canons in the mall. It took me a few hours to finally decide that the W100 is "THE" one for me. These were the reasons why I chose the W100...

First of all I needed a camera that still has a viewfinder, since I am so used to taking shots with my Digital SLR, I am already quite used to it. Also when under bright sunlight, it is quite difficult to rely on the 2.5 inch screen when taking photos. I like the manual options that are available compared to the other Sony Cybershot point and shoot digicams that I tried.

Canon might have the edge here. I rarely use the AUTO features of the W100, and sofar I am impressed with the results I've gotten with the manual features of this camera. The Macro Mode is cool, but I think the T9 and T30 have better magnifying capabilities.

Battery life is pretty decent. Flash power is better than the rest, although red eye is still a problem even when the red eye reduction mode is turned on. Lens is great at F2.8 Aperture, not to mention its a Carl Zeiss. Has ISO 1250 but I must say picture quality deteriorates at this range, noise is too visible here. Realistically, it is only at ISO 800 wherein the noise is not too noticeable.

Pound for pound it's a good Low light Camera. This is where the W100 shines, it is priced lower compared to the T30 (7.1 megapixel) and the N1 (8.1 megapixel) SONY cybershot counterparts. That is why I say the w100 is an overall winner... Try one and I guarantee you won't be disappointed with this pocket rocket camera.

Let me end my review with the PROS and CONS of this camera:

PROS

8.1 MEGAPIXELS
Carl Zeiss Lens
Nice Strong Flash
64mb Internal Memory
Viewfinder
1250 ISO
2.8 Aperture
Image Stabilizer capability as long as there is flash
Fast, excellent shutter response, very good shot to shot speed
Fast startup/shutdown time
Good color accuracy
Very high resolution
Great low-light capabilities
Very capable movie mode
Very fast multi-burst mode, great for sports shots
Large 2.5" LCD display
LCD is usable in very bright light
Bright AF-assist light
Design is compact but usable, fits the hand well
Good battery life
Impressive printed output, at ISO 800

CONS

Look didn't change much compared to the other W series models
Would've wanted a much thinner body
Flimsy Battery and Card Cover
Lack of manual auto white balance options when flash is on
Lack of other AUTO features like fireworks, etc.
Red Eye still visible despite Red Eye reduction mode is on
Noisy at 1250 ISO
Some trouble with household incandescent lighting
Rather contrasty default tone curve
Anti-noise processing trades some subtle subject detail to hold the noise in check
Significant chromatic aberration at wide angle
Soft corners at telephoto
Warm incandescent color balance

Lots of good reviews, so I won't be too repetitive, here is the best of the highlights and the small shortcomings...

Pros

Tremendous capability in such a tiny package. (easy shirt pocket)
Size and picture quality are the two biggest benefits of this camera.
Excellent control capability
Amazing flash 18ft no problem in wide mode
movie mode is good quality and lots of capacity
Memory duo is tremendous storage for its size
optical finder a huge plus for fash shooting with fixed focus
Fixed focus setting a big plus for fast candids
Long batter life!


Cons (or things I would like to see)

No RAW file option (not unique to w100)
No 2000 th ss in manual mode
f2.0 would be worth a small increase in size - not unique w100
zoom in movie mode
IS will be a huge bonus when it arrives in these high MP Ultra compacts.
Slow focus - common amongst tiny digicams.


If an optical finder is important to, which is very nice for bright daylight shots, fast composure with zoom, saving battery..., then this camera is one of the few at 8 MP ultra compact with the optical view finder. If you prefer using the LCD for composure, then the N1 with its huge LCD screen would be much easier to use, as the type font sizes on the N1 are huge vs. the W100...so if you need glasses to see small text, the N1 might be less cumbersome as you will probably not need reading glasses for fonts this big. The added cost would be well worth it IMO, as this camera you will not trade up for quite some time....

I marvel something this small can have such amazing photographic capabilities.... in my case, i wanted a camera (in addition to the 15 others I own) to fit in my shirt pocket that I can bring anywhere and have it not be a bother....and the W100 fits the bill perfectly. If you want an ultra compact, but desire some of the other features such as IS, then you often pay a bit of thickness penalty, often .5", which makes the camera much less pocket friendly.... hence why the no IS, but with massive flash capability is a nice mix for preventing blur.

Update after testing Jul 24/06

I have tested the w100 to see how well it performs at both ends of it's fstop range and the full range of ISO. I have uploaded a jpeg, as you can see in the customer images at the top of this page. The jpeg shows an "apples to apples" comparison for a

f2.8 ISO 80
f5.6 ISO 80
f5.6 ISO 1200

Having much experience at this, I would have suspected at f 5.6 diffraction would have really eaten into image quality. F 5.6 on this camera is equal to f22 on full frame 35mm. However, the image quality was quite remarkable. Remember, when you zoom, the fstop is no longer 2.8, it becomes f5.6, as the widest. I can go down to approx f10. Needless to say, the results were excellent.

Next at f5.6 and ISO 1200, I expected garbage... yet the results are surprisingly acceptable... quite impressive results. Remember these small crops would represent bigger than 8x10, which is really beyond what an 8 MP digicam should be pushed to...so on 4x6 prints, these differences would be barely noticeable. There was no secondary processing, images were straight out of the camera!

Bottom line, as PacoBell pointed out, I would agree this camera is an excellent low light performer as the higher ISO's do not degrade to the extent one would anticipate. Of course, I would not normally push the ISO past 800, except for extreme circumstances, such as tele mode and very low light where flash is not allowed. So whether in wide mode (f2.8) or tele mode (5.6) this camera can really perform. Of course, if you can avoid it, never shoot at higher than f5.6 fstop as diffraction will become noticeably worse... The camera was designed to fit right into the sweet spot of the aperture diffraction dilemna.
Make no mistake though, a good IS system would still gain you about 2 stops of hand holding shutter speed (ss) which is huge, so if you hand hold most of yoru shots, and can get the IS feature in a size camera that suits your needs, by all means, grab those 2 stops of free shutter speed! In the case of the Sony w100, it's mostly when in very low light and no flash is allowed will ss be an issue and your images may be compromised by hand shake. In most all other situations, ss should not be a problem. Each additional feature seems to add size to the camera....

I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE this camera. If you have teens in the house watchout!, they'll definitely want this camera. It is easy to use and well worth the money. When my camera arrived, I was amazed at how small and compact it was. I let my son check it out first and within no time we were both using it. I really love the movie feature. You can record anywhere and everywhere and the sound is excellent. My last camera only recorded, but didn't have any sound. It was nothing compared to this Sony. The 8.1 mega pixels makes the pictures come out great. My sons and I love it. They record all the time and take numerous pictures. I also like that it has internal memory, so if you don't have a memory stick yet, you can still take pictures. The 2.5 inch screen is perfect. It makes it so easy to get a good shot all the time. I have had no problems with this purchase at all. The only thing I would recommend to Sony is to make something that would protect the 2.5 inch screen from getting scratches, just like they do with the optical lens. It is always closed and covered when its not in use. But besides that small detail there, the Sony is a GREAT investment. I will definitely buy Sony again, especially when I decide to update or if I'm looking for a gift to give.

I bought this camera several weeks ago and have test-driven it in the forest preserves of Chicago and in Upper Michigan. It does a terrific job. I am an artist who studied film in school and yet never used a digital camera. I wanted something that was kind of between a point and shoot and an SLR. I wanted some manual functions to fool around with, and yet I also wanted the easy shot for family photos and such. I didn't want to start my digital experience on an expensive SLR, so this proved to be a great buy for me. It's very small and compact and yet very powerful.

This is a point and shoot camera with many options for adjusting for light and scene conditions. I have taken about a 1000 shots since I got it a month ago. I especially like the speed and ease of use. One welcome feature is that when connected to the computer, the camera memory becomes a searchable "drive." The download time to the computer is very fast. It is not a DSLR nor is it a large lense high resolution camera. To get very sharp and clear photos requires a steady hand and careful attention to lighting conditions. In other than ideal conditions, I will make adjustments (which are easy enough to do) to compensate for backlit subjects or high contrast sun and shadow. But I'm always pushing the limits with cameras. I think most users will be very pleased with this sturdy, easy to use lightweight and solid camera.

PROS:
- better than awarded Cyber-Shot W7
- 8.1 MP resolution (if it's too much you can always use it as a zoom feature)
- compact (pocket-size for every day carry but not to small to drop or loose)
- semi-manual (want to learn about exposure?)
- nice battery life
- 64 Mb internal memory
- 6 m. flash range
- hight sensivity (ISO) for low light pictures (cityscapes, no-flash pics)
- price

CONS:
- flimsy battery/stick door
- no accessories (yet)