Overview
The Sony DSC W1 is a five megapixel digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens. You can pick up the camera, turn it on and start taking pictures if you wish to, but there are also a number of features that let you take more control over the final image. I would describe the Sony DSC W1 as a good all round family digital camera as it combines the ease of automatic use with a number of more in depth controls.
If you are looking for a camera to take all the usual shots for the family album, holiday photos and various get togethers then take a good look at this camera.
Image Quality
Overall the DSC W1 performed very well in the image quality tests. The outdoor shots come out well. Often you will find that digital cameras struggle to reproduce shots where there is a high degree of contrast in the picture. Usually this leads to a loss of definition in the darker areas. The DSC W1 overcomes this problem well and in the example pictures even the dark areas of the trees show in detail.
The colour test is one area where I felt the camera could have done better. The colours just lack a little vividness and look duller then I would have liked.
The macro shot on the other hand is one of the best I have seen. It is bright and clear, exactly how the shoot should look.
Indoors the camera performs well too. The picture of the bottles is taken in very low light, but the camera with its auto focus illuminator is able to focus properly and the flash lights the picture correctly too.
For the indoor portrait the DSC W1 overcomes a perennial problem of loss of detail in the darker areas of the hair, but then lets itself down by succumbing to red eye. This could be because the flash unit is placed close to the lens.
Features
For composing pictures and for accessing the camera's menu system the DSC W1 has a 2.5" LCD screen. That is much larger than average. There is also an optical viewfinder for composing images if you prefer to use it.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of three and a half meters when the zoom lens is not in use. This drops down to around two and a half meters when the zoom is being used. You can either set the flash to automatic - where the camera decides whether or not it is required, always on, always off or slow synchro. Slow synchro is often used at night when you would like both the subject and the background to be lit up. You can also reduce the power of the flash when you need to.
To help you take the best possible shots in different photographic situations there are some pre programmed scene modes. These are for Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach and Candle.
To further enhance your photos you can also use controls for picture sharpness, saturation and contrast.
For close up shots there is a macro facility that lets you get in as close as 6cm. For when you would like to appear in the shot there is also a ten second self timer.
You can capture television quality movie footage at a resolution 640x480. This can be recorded at a rate of thirty frames per second. This should produce high quality video.
More advanced features include multi pattern or spot metering, exposure compensation, white balance settings of Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent and Incandescent, and ISO equivalents between 100 and 400.
There is also a fully manual mode where you can set the shutter speeds between 30 seconds and 1/1000 seconds and the aperture size as well. Unfortunately there is no shutter priority or aperture priority modes.
There is also a burst mode that lets you fire off up to nine shots in quick succession.
Sony provides all the necessary cables and software to connect the DSC W1 to a computer, television set and a PictBridge compatible printer.
Ease of Use
When you consider the number of features Sony have packed into the DSC W1 it remains surprisingly easy to use. The different shooting modes are accessed through a dial on the top of the camera. Flash, macro mode and the self timer can all be selected by pressing dedicated buttons on the back of the camera. The menu system is also very straightforward and it is easy to move from one option to another. The large 2.5" LCD screen also makes everything that bit clearer than the standard 1.8" screens that are commonly found on other models.
Cost
You can pick up the Sony DSC W1 for around £200. That is more or less the same as the Canon Powershot A95. Another 5 megapixel digital camera with a similar feature set.
Style
This is a fairly typical rectangular digital camera. One notable difference with other similar cameras is the build quality. Whilst a lot of other standard digital cameras are made from plastic Sony has given the DSC W1 an aluminium body. It weighs 189g and has dimensions of 91x60x36mm.
Batteries and Memory Cards
Power is supplied by two AA batteries. Sony supplies two rechargeable batteries and a charger with the DSC W1, so full marks to them.
Images are stored on Memory Stick. A 32mb card is supplied with the camera. Again Sony score points for this as most manufacturers normally only supply a 16mb card. Even so you will almost certainly need to buy a high capacity card as shooting five megapixel images and high resolution movies will soon fill up the supplied card. Click here to find cheap Memory Sticks.
Points I like:
Picture quality
Build quality
Ease of use
Movie mode
Large LCD screen
Where it is not so hot:
Indoor portraits can suffer from red eye
Summary
The Sony DSC W1 certainly has a lot going for it and I am a big fan of the camera. The most important aspect of any digital camera is the image quality and I was very impressed by the majority of the shots that I took with it. The aluminium body gives it a touch of class and the balance between features and ease of use is spot on. On top of this there is a high quality movie mode and the large LCD screen that makes composing images and accessing the menu that bit easier. The bottom line is that Sony have come up with an excellent all round model.
Sony DSC W1 Front View
Sony DSC W1 Back View
Sony DSC W1 Top View
Sample Menus
