The Sony DSC W70 is a relatively straightforward digital camera. In is small enough to slip into a pocket and can be carried anywhere with you. It has seven megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens. The DSC W70 is ideal for holiday snaps and all the usual photo opportunities you find at family get togethers and various social functions.
This camera is likely to appeal to anyone who is looking for a reasonably priced, no fuss digital camera. It is available in black and silver.
Image Quality
The quality of the photos taken with the DSC W70 was very impressive. My general findings were that the photos were sharp and the colours strong. The camera coped well with both lowlight situations and also sunny settings.
Running through the test photos the outdoor scenic shots certainly support the views mentioned above. Starting with the first outdoor shot there are a number of comments worth noting. First the picture is sharply focused. The brickwork of the building shows a far greater level of clarity than the majority of digital cameras I have tested. Very light reflective areas such as the boats and also the white slats under the roof of the building are all handled well. Glare is more or less non existent.
The sharpness of the photos remains up to the edges. Detail is brought out in the darker areas of the photos too. All in all the outdoor scenic shots are very good.
Colours are just about spot on throughout all the photos. This is supported by the dedicated test for colours. Blues are strong without being overbearing. This leaves the colours in general well balanced.
The outdoor portrait works well although a touch more warmth in the skin tones wouldn't go amiss. This photo was taken on an overcast day and I used the white balance setting to add warmth to the shot. This has had an positive impact, but a little extra would have improved the shot further.
As is typical of Sony digital cameras the DSC W70 copes well with the reduced lighting levels of the indoor portrait. The camera produces another sharp photo and gets the brightness levels right too. The drawback of the photo is the level of red eye that you can see. This is despite the fact that red eye reduction was switched on for the shot.
Next is the other indoor shot. This is of beer bottles taken in more or less complete darkness. This does not seem to matter to the camera and it takes another well focused shot. Considering the conditions the levels of brightness the camera achieves are also noteworthy.
The macro shot is about average. I would like to have seen a greater degree of clarity in the shot, but it still reaches an acceptable level. If you are planning to take a lot of close up shots then perhaps this is not the camera for you, but if all you are planning is the occasional macro shot then this shot not be a problem.
The high ISO tests produce roughly average or better results. There is a deterioration in picture quality, but not to a degree that would stop you using these settings if nothing else was available.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
I was able to take a single photo is 0.29 seconds. This is an average time. I took five photos in 6.19 seconds. This is a fast time.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The three times optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 38 - 114mm in 35mm format. There is also a 6x digital zoom and a smart zoom offering up to 14x zoom.
For composing pictures you can choose between a viewfinder and a large 2.5" LCD screen. This gives you the best of both worlds. The screen is made up of around 115,000 pixels. As well as lining up shots the screen is used to access the menu system. It also displays useful information such as memory stick space remaining, battery levels, an exposure warning, a hand shake alert and a histogram.
To help you take the best possible photos the camera has a number of preset scene modes. When you select a scene mode you indicate to the camera the type of shot you are about to take. It will then use what it considers to be the optimum settings for the photo. The scene modes available to use are Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach, Snow and High Sensitivity.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 3.7m. This reduces to nearer 2.1m when the zoom lens is fully extended. When using an ISO setting of 100 the range of the flash unit increases to 6.5m. The flash modes available to use are Auto, Forced Flash, Slow Synchro and No Flash. Red eye reduction is also available. This is set on and off through the camera's setup menu.
If you plan to produce 6x4" prints you will be pleased to know there is a special 3:2 ratio setting. By using this setting none of the photo needs to be trimmed to fit the paper during the printing process. When you would like to appear in a picture there is a self timer. The delay time can be set to either two or ten seconds. After a picture has been taken you can create smaller copies or trim the original photo. The smaller copies are suitable for use on the Internet or to send by email.
Focusing options include being able to set the method to either single of monitoring. The focusing area can be either multi point or centre weighted. For close up photography the camera can focus from 2cm away from the subject.
There are a number of advanced features you can use to control how a photo will look. These include ISO sensitivity settings (Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000), three types of light metering (Multi Pattern, Centre weighted, Spot), white balance (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, flash) and exposure compensation (+/-2.0 EV, 1/3 EV steps).
You can also adjust levels of sharpness and contrast.
Shutter speeds and aperture size are set automatically by the camera. Shutter speeds operate within a range between 1 - 1/2000 seconds. The maximum aperture available is f2.8 (wide) - f5.2 (telephoto).
There are two types of burst mode available. The first is a fairly standard type. It allows you to shoot up to four photos at a top speed of one photo every 0.8 seconds. The second type takes sixteen mini images and places them in a grid formation within a single image.
TV quality movies can be recorded. These have a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. The top recording speed is thirty frames per second. Movies can be recorded up to the capacity of the memory card. Sound can be recorded, but there is no zoom available.
Sony supplies all the necessary cables and software to connect the DSC W70 to a PictBridge compatible printer, computer and television set.
To increase the flexibility of the camera you can add filters and also conversion lenses. In order to do this you also need to fit a lens adapter.
Ease of Use
As with Sony digital cameras in general you should soon be able to find your way around the DSC W70. The menu system is one of my favourites and you can soon find the options you are looking for. Most of the key controls are at your fingertips on the back or on the top of the camera. These include a control dial that allows you to select the shooting mode, buttons to access the menu system, set the flash, turn on macro mode and a ring to control zoom.
Cost
You can pick up a Sony DSC W70 for around £195. This compares to around £195 for a Canon IXUS 60, £155 for a Casio Exilim EX-Z600 and £200 for a Nikon Coolpix S6.
The DSC W70 is competitively priced. It offers an extra megapixel to the cameras listed above and is of similar quality in terms of the photos it takes.
Style
The general feeling I get from the DSC W70 is one of straightforward simplicity. This is also a fair way to sum up the design. There are not really any frills, but you get a design that features clean lines and everything appears to me in the right place.
The camera has dimensions of 88.9 x 57.1 x 22.9mm. It weighs in at 127g.
Batteries and Memory Card
Power is supplied by a rechargeable lithium ion battery (NP-BG1). Sony estimates 360 shots can be taken before the battery needs to be recharged. Both a battery and charger are supplied with the camera as standard.
Sony have built 58mb of memory into the DSC W70. Therefore a memory card is not supplied with the camera. Although 58mb is far more than most cameras offer I was still only able to take 19 photos before the memory was full. The camera is compatible with Memory Stick Duo cards and it looks like it would be a good idea to buy one with a high capacity to go with the camera.
Click here to save money on Memory Stick Duo.
Points I like:
Viewfinder
Ease of use
Picture quality
Where it is not so hot:
Red eye
Summary
The Sony DSC W70 is well worth considering if you are looking for a pocket sized digital camera. It is hard to find fault with the camera and it should handle all the typical photo opportunities you are likely to come across.
Sony DSC W70 Front View
Sony DSC W70 Back View
Sony DSC W70 Top View
Sample Menus
| Sony DSC W70 Summary |
| Description: | Seven megapixels and a three times optical zoom lens |
| Ease of Use: | 8 |
| Features: | 7 |
| Colour: | 9 |
| Macro: | 8 |
| Indoors: | 8 |
| Value for Money: | 8 |
| Style: | 8 |
| Movie Mode: | 8 |
| Image Quality: | 8 |
| Build Quality: | 8 |
| Total: | 80 |
| Verdict: | "The Sony DSC W70 is a sensibly priced pocket sized digital camera. There are a lot of plus points about the camera. These include picture quality and ease of use. The camera also has a pleasant, simple design. Definitely worth a close look." |
| Review Date: | June 2006 |
| Click for: | Specification Sample Images |
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