Sony DSC W300 Review

The Sony DSC W300 is a stylish, point and shoot camera. It has a massive 13.6 megapixels and a 3x optical zoom lens. The camera also has a viewfinder.

If its megapixels you are after then this camera is likely to be very high on your wish list. Be warned though that such a high number of megapixels does not always equate to better picture quality. One big advantage is that you have scope to shoot at lower resolutions and increase the amount of zoom available. Other reasons for buying include the attractive titanium finish, ease of use and the fact that Sony have squeezed in a viewfinder.

The DSC W300 also has far more features than a standard point and shoot camera. These include being able to adjust the level of the flash, a number of colour options, noise reduction and being able to adjust levels of contrast and sharpness.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
Focusing is sharp in the centre of the photo, but there is a softening of the image as you move out towards the edges. I also think that there could be some extra brightness and detail in the darker areas of the shot. The DSC W300 handles the glare from the sun well and the lighter areas of the shot come out very well.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
With the lens zoomed all the way out focusing is inline with what I am used to seeing on the whole. One area the DSC W300 does a good job is in retaining sharpness in the most distant parts of the scene. Light is lost from the corners of the photo.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
As with the first outdoor scenic shot the camera does a decent job of handling any glare from the sun. The level of detail in the shot is good. Although sharpness does drift towards the edges I am still happy enough with overall focusing.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
Compared to other cameras in this range this shot looks a bit sharper to me across the entire picture. Again sharpness does just slip away at the edges. Overall the DSC W300 merits around 8 out of 10 for focusing.

Outdoor Portrait
As with my first outdoor scenic shot this photo lacks a bit of brightness and definition in darker areas such as around the hair. Skin tones and colours are fine, but I would like to see those darker areas, brighter and with more detail.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
With flash on the DSC W300 produces a pleasant, bright portrait. In my view the lighting and colouring are more or less spot on.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
The lighting conditions used for this photo are not especially challenging even though the photo is taken indoors. Therefore I feel that this picture should have been lighter. It is a real contrast from the much better photo taken with flash on.

Colours
As with other Sony digital cameras I would describe the colours as being a shade or two stronger than average without being overpowering.

Macro
The macro test shot is sharp enough without being outstanding. There is also a touch of purple fringing showing around the face of the watch.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600
This is not a bad effort. There is noise in the photos, even when I tried the noise reduction setting, but the photos retain acceptable levels of definition.

Overall
As with other digital cameras in this series I would say the picture quality delivered by the DSC W300 is good, but nothing really stands out to make the camera exceptional. I would like to have seen more light in some of the photos.

A single photo took 0.48 seconds and five photos clocked 10.22 seconds. With the flash on a single photo took 1.74 seconds and five photos took 14.64 seconds. The only seriously slow time was the single shot taken with flash, although I would also like to have seen the single shot without flash faster as well.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The DSC W300 is just a bit too wide to fit easily into any pocket. It is charcoal grey in colour with a tough, titanium finish.

94.3 x 59 x 26.8mm

156g

Lithium Ion (NP-BG1). Sony includes both a battery and a charger in the box with the DSC W300. They estimate you should be able to take up to 300 shots in between charges.

Just 15mb of storage have been built into the DSC W300. That is not a lot for a 13 megapixel camera. I was only able to take 3 photos before the memory was full.

Click here to save money on Memory Stick.

Despite having a few extra features compared to many point and shoot cameras I still found the DSC W300 easy to use. The control dial on the back of the camera brings key controls to your fingertips and the menus are bright and clear.

Ease of use - price tag - viewfinder

Some of the photos are darker than I would like to see - very small internal memory

A camera with similar dimensions, a stylish finish and offering that bit better overall picture quality is the Canon IXUS 970 IS.

There is nothing to really dislike about the Sony DSC W300. It has plenty of features and is sure to interest anyone who likes to get to grips with gadgets. It is a decent camera and I found it straightforward and easy to use even with those extra features.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

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 W300