The Sony DSC S650 is a simple, straightforward digital camera. It has seven megapixels and a three times optical zoom lens. If you are particularly interested in a camera form Sony then the S650 is the cheapest model available from their new releases announced in spring 2007.
In the box you will find a couple of AA batteries. Sony estimates you should be able to take around 100 shots with the DSC S650 before these need to be replaced. There is no memory card in the box. This is because there are 24mb of memory built into the camera. When you do need a memory card the camera is compatible with memory stick duo and memory stick duo pro cards.
Size wise the camera has dimensions of 91 x 61 x 26.5mm. In my opinion this makes it a bit too large to fit into a typical pocket. You may therefore wish to consider a small case to carry the camera round in. This will help to protect the camera from dirt in general and also help to protect the LCD screen from marks and scratches.
One of the biggest attractions is likely to be ease of use. I like the fact Sony have added a control dial to the camera. This places a few extra features within easy reach and cuts down on the number of times you need to dip into the menu system. When you do need to access the menu you should find it easy enough to find your way around. It is simply a case of scrolling through the options until you find the one you are after. There is nothing hidden or difficult to get to.
In terms of looks it is a fairly identikit digital camera. There is not a great deal to distinguish it from the masses of other models on the market. Although it is unlikely to win too many style awards it is not an unattractive camera either.
When it comes to features this one has most of those you would expect from a camera in this price range. All the usual options are there for using flash, macro, zoom and a self timer. For composing your shots there is a 2 inch LCD screen. Screens are getting bigger even on the cheaper models so this is an area where you may be able to find improvement elsewhere. There is no viewfinder. This is a shame because on a bright sunny day the LCD screen can be difficult to see.
The camera's movie mode is a bit basic. The maximum resolution is 320 x 240 pixels. This does not give you TV quality movies. Sound can be captured, but zoom can only be applied before you start shooting the movie and not while recording is in progress.
The more advanced settings such as aperture size and shutter speed and controlled automatically by the camera, but you still have access to other controls such as white balance, ISO and exposure compensation. You can also connect the camera to a printer, television set and a compatible printer.
