DSC-S600: A Good Point-And-Shoot From Sony (Updated)
Written: Aug 23 '06 (Updated Aug 30 '06)
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Pros: Compact size, sturdy control buttons and switches, quiet zoom lens motor
Cons: No all-manual controls, 1/40 sec. non-standard flash shutter speed can wash out subjects
The Bottom Line: A very good pocket camera that sports Sony's style and ease of use. Its price tag makes it an excellent value for a Sony product.
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| truegenius's Full Review: Sony Cyber-shot® DSC-S600 Digital Camera |
Okay, here's the scoop – I recently bought a honkin' big digital SLR, my first ever. I love the thing but it's heavy. At a pound and a half, I wanted something I could toss in my pocket for quickie shots. Having cruised my local computer retailers recently I saw nothing I wanted, not even at Best Buy. But when I walked into Target a few days ago I saw something that made me say "yes", proving once again the value of shopping around. I found the Sony DSC-S600, a nice little digital camera with good features and a reasonable price tag.
To provide a little background, this is not the first point-and-shoot I've ever owned. The first serious point-and-shoot I had was a 2-megapixel Nikon Coolpix 800 (circa 2000), still one of the best simple cameras I've ever owner. Some time later I bought a 3-megapixel Pentax Optio 30, a nice little camera with a noisy zoom lens motor that ran on 2 AA cells. I used that for a while but it seemed the focus was becoming blurry. So I decided to nab a newer model camera and so far, the S600 hasn't been too bad.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The DSC-S600 (hereafter, the "S600") has a footprint a little larger than a deck of playing cards. It fits in the hand and pocket nicely. The exterior is the typical silver-color plastic one sees in a lot of cameras like this, which is to say that it may not age particularly well (the Pentax camera looked a bit ragged after only a year, but I didn't keep it in a carry bag).
The LCD is not one of the larger-size ones you see on some of the more stylish pocket cameras out there, but it's a good size, about 1.25" wide, is fairly crisp, and allows the camera to retain its sleek profile. A three-position switch near the top turns the camera and video mode on, as well as playback – simple and nice. Other buttons on the rear are the wide and telephoto controls, a menu button, a four-way rocker button with a selector button in the middle, and two other buttons to change the screen mode and resolution. All of the buttons feel firm and solid to the touch, which I appreciated – those feel like they'll last a while.
Bad news for those of you with regular Memory Sticks, though – they won't work in this camera. You'll have to go out and buy Memory Stick Pro Duo cards, which are about half the length of the original Memory Sticks (Sony, would it kill you to go with one standard size card for once??). Happily, you can buy SanDisk OEM Memory Stick Pro Duo cards and save some money (and they also throw in a Memory Stick converter if you have a media reader that can only accept full-size MS cards). (I caught a sale at Fry's Electronics on a SanDisk 1 GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card for $29 with a $15 rebate - not too shabby.)
The battery hatch is the entire right side of the camera body and a switch and latch allow it to open. The hatch doesn't just flop open, either – it lifts firmly, adding to my positive impressions about the camera's durability.
On the other side of the camera is a soft plastic cover for the USB cable. I think I would have preferred a small, hard, plastic door for this but it doesn't bother me much. I guess my concern here is that repeated opening and closing will wear it out and cause it to break off. If that's the case, be prepared to watch out that dust, sand and moisture don't enter the USB socket.
Sony continues to tout the Carl Zeiss lens in many of its products and this camera is no different. For such an humble offering to have such a lens is a bit impressive. (Now, I just need to find out who this Carl Zeiss person is...)
Overall, this is a nice-looking pocket camera. Some would say it's not particularly stylish, that it's a bit utilitarian, but I disagree.
ANNOYANCES
The LCD is reasonably good. I expect that most folks that are looking at this camera aren't especially picky, and the display won't disappoint them. If you have a higher-end camera, though, you may find the display just a bit grainy.
In a mystifying bit of design, Sony placed the tripod screw all the way to the left on the underside of the camera rather than closer to the middle of the bottom of the camera body. I'm not sure what drove that bit of engineering but I don’t think it's a smart decision – the camera's weight will almost surely pull it down even as it's affixed to a tripod. Be prepared to screw it on good and tight to the tripod. If you're planning on using this camera on-the-go – as I expect most people will – this won't be an issue. Those wanting to use the self-timer, though, might find an image at a slight angle irritating (better set the camera on a flat surface like a table).
Those of you wanting control over aperture and shutter speed, forget it. This camera was clearly designed for those seeking simplicity. You'll have to look at – and pay more for – one of the more sophisticated Cyber-Shot cameras to get more control.
And another problem I observed with the DSC-H1 (the 5.1-megapixel "monster" zoom camera at 12X) is present in the S600 – flash at 1/40 of a second rather than the standard 1/60. I do not understand what Sony sees in leaving the shutter open a full 50% longer (do the math, you fraction whizzes) but they apparently feel it makes better images. If you find this bothersome, you'll have to switch the camera over to Program mode, then change the 3-setting Flash to the minus setting (the lowest of the three brightnesses). You cannot change the shutter speed manually, so this is all you can do. Some of your flash photos may make your subjects appear blanched or washed out, so take a step back before taking a flash picture.
PLUSSES
All that said, the S600 has lots of things to make up for these irritants. The camera has a video mode with sound, which is easily accessed with the 3-position switch on top.
The 3x optical zoom lens extends quickly and quietly. The barrel of the lens doesn't protrude much from the camera body. And when you're through with the camera and turn it off, the lens retracts completely inside the body, protecting the lens.
The camera uses AA batteries, of which I highly recommend nickel metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeables. You can get a set of four 2100 mAH batteries for around $10 now (less in many places) and a 15-minute charger for about $30. Do it – you'll never buy batteries for this camera again unless the number of photos you take is in the thousands.
One of the things that caught my attention about the S600 is that it's rated for ISO 1000 sensitivity. For those of you new to photography, the higher the ISO rating for a camera, the lower the light conditions in which you can use it. The S600 has ISO settings for 80, 100, 200, 400, 800 and 1000. The only hitch to the higher settings 800 and 1000 is that you'll see more "noise" in the photos – the sort of mottled dots overlaying your images. But this is typical for most cameras and shouldn't bother most of you very much. You will be able to get more low-light photos – without the need for flash – by using the 800 and 1000 settings. The camera's automatic setting actually does a reasonable job of picking the right ISO. (It seems to like ISO 320 for most low-light situations, which helps reduce noise.)
And, of course, the camera has a video mode as well, meaning if you have a Memory Stick Pro Duo card installed, you can capture quite a bit of video. On a 512MB card, you can capture about 20 minutes of video (at 15 frames per second) in standard resolution, or about 6 minutes in high-res mode (at 30 frames per second). For those short bursts of video you might want to stick on YouTube.com, you may find this fun (although you won't be able to zoom in and out while recording).
PRINT QUALITY
6-megapixel-class cameras can produce prints of a substantial size. The less "noise" there is in your photos (keep that ISO as low as you can) the better your larger prints will look. The S600's photos look good, although you might notice a little softness at the edge of wide angle photos. Telephoto images look good.
VERDICT
At a street price of $199, the DSC-S600 is a very good buy for those wanting Sony style and sophistication in a compact, simple-to-use package. First-time digital camera users will be delighted; veterans like me may grouse over not having more control but will get over it. For a long trip or those candid shots you've got to have, the light, small, pocket-sized DSC-S600 is a great choice.
*****
FOOTNOTE (Added 8/28/2006)
I returned the first DSC-S600 I bought to the Target store due to a wide angle focus problem (the edges appeared a bit out of focus) - and purchased another unit at a Comp USA store. This unit was completely shrink-wrapped in plastic, leading me to belive that either (a) the unit I got before was indeed defective, or (b) the unit I got before had sustained some sort of abuse from the previous buyer/owner. After trying a Canon PowerShot A540 (see my other review) I got a new DSC-S600 and the wide angle issue I criticized in the original edition of this review appears not to have been a problem (which is a good thing, since Sony touts Carl Zeiss optics). So I can more heartily recommend the DSC-S600 and have adjusted my review accordingly.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 199
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
truegenius
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Location: Houston, TX
Reviews written: 47
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About Me:
Experienced software developer, web designer and techno-gadget lover
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