Sony DSC W5 Review

The Sony DSC W5 is a five megapixel digital camera. It can be used in fully automatic mode where all you need to do is line up the shot and take the picture or in manual mode. Manual mode gives you access to shutter speeds and aperture settings. Therefore giving you more control over the final image.

I would hesitate in recommending the DSC W5 to the really serious amateur, but if you are looking for a camera that is a clear step up from a basic point and shoot model then this type of camera is well worth considering.

The most important facet of any camera is the quality of the photos it produces. The set of photos that I produced in testing the DSC W5 are among the very best I have seen so far. The camera seemed to cope well in all areas, outdoors, indoors and when taking close up shots.

Outdoors I found the colours particularly impressive. The pictures are sharp and clear too. The only negative point is that in the darkest areas of the scenes some level of detail is lost. This is a common problem with digital cameras and with this one I don't think it is anywhere near bad enough to cause any real level of concern.

Of the two tests indoors the shot taken in poor light is about as good as it gets. The level of detail captured here is as good as any shot I have taken in these conditions. This tells me that the camera should have no problem focusing no matter how poor the lighting conditions are. The indoor portrait is also one of the sharpest images I have produced in this category. The shot is let down by red eye though.

The colour test comes out very well. The colours have plenty of depth and this helps you to understand how the camera manages to capture the outdoor scenes so vividly.

The macro test produced another strong result. Again a clear and sharp image was produced that is among the best so far.

Shutter lag is the time it takes to take each picture. A constant criticism of digital cameras is the delay in between clicking the shutter button, the picture being taken and also the camera being ready to take the next picture. From a pure shutter lag view the DSC W5 took a picture and recorded it in 0.29 seconds. This is a relatively new test, so I feel a degree of caution is called for, but I have to say early indications are that this is a fast time.

In terms of recycling times I was able to take five pictures in the space of 6.61 seconds. That works out at a rate of 1.32 seconds per picture. I am not claiming that this is the most scientific tests, but it should give you an indication of the recycling speed of the camera. This is a very fast time indeed. My test is carried out indoors under standard conditions and it is possible that you would see better results outside.

The three times optical zoom lens is the equivalent of a 38-114mm lens on a traditional 35mm camera. This is backed up by a six times digital zoom feature and also a twelve times smart zoom. For close up shots you can get within six centimeters in macro mode.

For lining up shots there is an optical viewfinder or a large 2.5" LCD screen. The LCD screen is also used for reviewing images and accessing the menu system. Key information is also displayed on the LCD screen. This includes a battery power remaining indicator, a Memory Stick remaining indicator, a histogram, a hand shake alert and an over or under exposed warning indicator.

When you first start to use the camera it is likely that you will just want to turn it on and start taking pictures. The easiest way to do this is to place the camera in automatic mode. As you get to know the camera better you will find the preprogrammed scene modes useful. There are preset scenes for Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach, Candle and Snow. To use a scene mode you just set the dial on the top of the camera to the appropriate mode. The scene mode will then help the camera to take the best possible shot in the conditions.

The built in flash unit has a maximum range of four and a half meters. This reduces to around two and a half meters when the optical zoom lens is in use. You can set the flash to fire automatically, always fire, not fire at all and slow synchro. Slow synchro is often used outdoors at night when you would like both the background and foreground to be illuminated. Red eye reduction is also available. To help the camera focus in poor light there is an AF (Auto Focus) Illuminator.

TV quality movies can be shot with the DSC W5. The highest resolution available is 640x480. This is supported by a speed of thirty frames per second. The duration of each movie is only limited by the capacity of the memory card.

To change the appearance of your photos you can try different levels of picture sharpness, contrast and saturation.

There are a number of more advanced controls. These include multi pattern, centre and spot metering, exposure compensation (+/-2.0 EV, 1/3 EV step), ISO sensitivity values of 100, 200 and 400, plus white balance settings for Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent and Incandescent. There is also a burst or continuous shooting mode that can take a shot every 0.7 seconds for up to nine shots.

There is also a manual exposure mode, but it does have a limitation. Although there are a range of shutter speeds between 30 seconds and 1/1000 seconds there are only two aperture settings you can select from f2.8 and f5.6.

Sony provides all the necessary cables and software to connect the DSC W5 to a computer, television set and a PictBridge compatible printer.

This camera is fairly easy to use. The main control is a dial on the top of the camera. The dial is used to select the shooting mode. For example still image, movie or playback. On the back of the camera you will find control buttons for setting the flash mode, self timer and macro facility. There are also buttons for deleting unwanted photos and accessing the menu system. As with the majority of Sony digital cameras the menu system is well thought out and you should soon be finding your way around like an old hand.

You can pick up a Sony DSC W5 for around £210. This compares to around £195 for an Olympus MJU 500, £200 for an Olympus C-55 and £215 for a Canon IXUS 500.

The DSC W5 is built like a brick! I mean that as a compliment. It is a solid, well built camera that gives a good feeling in the hand. For some people smaller, ultra compact digital cameras are difficult to get a real grip of. This can have an adverse affect on a photo, because the resulting camera shake leads to a blurred image. You should not have that problem with the DSC W5. A really sturdy model that is ideal for anyone with a decent sized pair of hands.

The DSC W5 weighs in at 195g and has dimensions of 91mm x 60mm x 37mm.

Full marks to Sony. The DSC W5 runs on AA batteries, but Sony supplies a set of rechargeable batteries and a charger with the camera. In my opinion this is the ideal battery set up. You can always buy a spare set of alkaline batteries fairly cheaply as back up, but a set of rechargeable batteries certainly helps to keep running costs under control.

Sony also scores well by providing 32mb of internal storage. Most digital cameras come with 16mb or less. As the storage is built into the camera no memory card is supplied with it. Even with this increased capacity you are likely to find a spare card with a high capacity useful. The type of memory card that the camera uses is Memory Sticks. There are two types that are compatible with this camera, standard Memory Stick or Memory Stick Pro. Click here to save money on Memory Sticks

Good picture quality
Good build quality
Rechargeable AA batteries supplied

Indoor portraits suffer from red eye.

The Sony DSC W5 is a very impressive camera. The picture quality is among the best you are likely to find in a consumer model and is backed up by fast shutter response, TV quality movies and a good build quality. I am more than happy to recommend this camera.

Sony DSC W5 Front View

Sony DSC W5 Back View

Sony DSC W5 Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Sony DSC W5