The Sony DSC W90 is one of the cheaper pocket sized cameras. Its strong points include ease of use. This camera is one for the shortlist if you are looking for a camera you can slip into your pocket, but you don't really want to spend all your pocket money. The DSC W90 is aimed at someone looking to take the normal range of snapshots on holiday and at all the usual social occasions. This camera has eight megapixels and a three times zoom lens.
Image Quality Sony DSC W90 test shots
Outdoor 1
This is a fairly standard outdoor photo. Colours have a natural feel to them. Sunlight is handled well too and the photo has a bright feel to it. I would like to have seen a bit more sharpness in the shot. This is true across the photo. The brickwork on the building and also the boats themselves could do with some extra clarity.
Outdoor 2
I like the colour the DSC W90 manages to produce for this shot. With the lens zoomed right out the camera makes a credible attempt at focusing and manages a shot that is a bit sharper than most cameras manage for this shot. There is a loss of detail when looking at the boat in the shade of a tree on the left hand side of the shot.
Outdoor 3
Using the zoom lens to its full extent causes the colours to become that bit weaker. Sharpness is inline with levels I am used to seeing in this test. For any digital camera with a 3x optical zoom lens it is quite a lot to ask for perfect focusing at this distance.
Outdoor Portrait
The DSC W90 produced a pleasant outdoor portrait. Skin tones are good and there is just enough colour in the photo to give it a natural feel.
Indoor Portrait
Here the camera adds a bit too much colour and comes up with a photo with a red glow to it. Otherwise it is a credible effort and the photo is well focused considering the artificial lighting.
Lowlight
Once again a Sony digital camera does extremely well in my lowlight test. Despite the extreme conditions the camera manages to focus well and produce a sharp photo.
Colours
There are one or two places where I would like to have seen the DSC W90 produce stronger colours. Even so the colours it has managed have a natural feel to them and they are also well balanced.
Macro
A good effort. Perhaps not the very best macro shot, but very acceptable for a camera in this price range. The test photo is clear and the sharpness levels are good. The artificial light has also been handled well.
ISO 400
Not a bad effort using the ISO 400 setting. All cameras tend to suffer from noise at this level and I would only use this setting when I had no other options.
ISO 3200
By the time you push the ISO setting to its maximum noise becomes a major issue. I would be surprised if anyone manages to capture photos worth printing at this level.
Overall
The DSC W90 is roughly average when it comes to picture quality. My main gripe is the focusing levels I managed to achieve for the outdoor test photos. A bit of extra sharpness wouldn't go amiss.
Shutter Lag
No problems with shutter lag. A single shot took 0.15 seconds. Five shots took 5.45 seconds. With flash the times increased to 0.28 seconds for a single photo and 12.73 for five photos. All times are impressive.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Style: The DSC W90 is a pocket sized digital camera with a no frills style. It has a standard rectangular shape and is available in black and silver.
Dimensions: 91 x 58 x 22.9mm
Weight: 124g
Batteries: Lithium ion. A battery and charger are supplied with the camera. Sony suggest around 350 shots can be taken in between charges.
Memory cards: Sony have built 31mb (enough for around 13 shots) of storage into the camera and do not supply a memory card. The camera is compatible with memory stick duo and memory stick duo pro cards.
Click here to save money on Memory Stick.
Ease of use rating: There is nothing to complain about when it comes to ease of use. Most of the key controls are on the back of the camera. When you do need to use the menu it is well laid out and easy to read.
Points I like:
Low shutter lag - viewfinder - ease of use
Where it could improve:
Photos could be a touch sharper in places
Verdict:
The Sony DSC W90 is a decent option if you are looking for a pocket sized digital camera that is not one of the more expensive models. It has a lot going for it, but I would like to have seen a little more sharpness in some of my test shots.
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
| Sony DSC W90 Summary |
| Description: | 8 megapixels and a 3x zoom lens |
| Ease of Use: | 8 |
| Features: | 8 |
| Colour: | 8 |
| Macro: | 8 |
| Indoors: | 8 |
| Value for Money: | 8 |
| Style: | 8 |
| Movie Mode: | 8 |
| Image Quality: | 8 |
| Build Quality: | 8 |
| Total: | 80 |
| Verdict: | A pretty solid offering from Sony. Low price for a camera you can slip into a pocket. |
| Review Date: | August 2007 |
| Click for: | Specification Sample Images Features |
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