I( have some information about the Sony Cyber-shot that could be of interest. Read on...

The world of digital cameras came to my wife and I about three years ago when I was sent a Canon A100 as a gift from Epinions.com for writing on the site. My wife and I are avid amateur photographers taking pictures of family, special occasions and vacations. My wife also runs a camera club in her school. Between us we take thousands of images every year.

Though we call the cameras our own, we share them with each other and learn of the cameras capabilities through reading and sharing each others' experiential discoveries. Though we take so many photos we are still novices when it comes to cameras. We use them for their basic features and rarely use the many that this camera, and others we have owned, afford. Looking this camera over, I believe I will be using many more. Getting to the functions of this camera seem easier than all the other digital cameras we have owned.

Purchase

We made our last purchase of a A530 Canon at a local Radio Shack just before Christmas. My wife negotiated a fine deal for a camera that was being replaced by Canons newer versions. After using it a short while she found she wanted to upgrade a bit more. I was all for it. The only reason she went for the A530 originally is because she previously owned the A520. They are much the same in features and overall body style. My wife was comfortable with that heavier more substantial body. So was I yet, I was pleased when she agreed with purchasing the Sony Cyber-Shot. I was ready for a less bulky, smaller camera.

The 3-11/16" x 2-3/8" x 1" Sony Cyber-shot digital camera DSC-W100, silver in colour is not as sleek as many of the newer ultra-thin cameras now available yet it still is light in hand. I always put my hand through the strap when using it because I do not get the same ergonomic grip the previous A 500 series Canons gave. I can tell, because of its smaller size, it could slip from my hand much easier.

Once again my wife talked the salesman and manager to a more affordable price of just $207 with a couple of discounts. We were told we payed less than what they payed for it. The sticker stated $299. The camera does not come with a memory card. A few sizes are available for the camera.

The camera does have an internal memory(64) that can take a number of pictures but an additional memory "stick" as they called the small card, is a must. Though I still haven't done it, I read the built in memory images can be sent to the memory stick ot directly to my computer.

Instruction, Getting Started

Reading and learning the basics of a camera is my "job" when we purchase a new one. I opened the camera box, a flimsy, hard to re-close, piece of thin cardboard, and looked for directions. There was a book and thankfully the Sony "Read This First" pamphlet. Canon had a wonderful beginners guide. This one, though not as big and clear as Canon, was adequate. It took me on a 6 step journey of knowledge. First was preparing the battery pack. This camera comes with one rechargeable battery pack that also includes a convenient travel charger for the rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. My wife balked when she first learned of this. Our previous cameras all took the convenient AA batteries that can be purchased most anywhere at good prices. We also had a AA battery charger. We bit the bullet and moved to this different battery system. We were told we could take hundreds of photos on one charge. My daughter who has the same kind of system can attest to that. We haven't taken that many on one charge only because we have tended to recharge once the battery is showing half power in the LED window.

The battery locks in and out of the charger easily with one hand and inserts into the camera easily too. The charger has an indicator light that stays green until the battery is charged. Once yellow it's ready to go, though the directions stated keeping the battery in another hour would charge it even more. The first full charge took a little more than two hours. Now I find it charges in less than half an hour when the battery is a bit less than half charged.

I had to set the clock on the camera as soon as I put the battery in. Directions were a snap to follow.

Inserting the memory stick and changing from the default setting of 8M was then discussed. Selecting the image size for different use was also easy to follow, much easier than on the Canon cameras. My wife wants extra sharp photos so we left it on that setting. In other setting one can get more images per card but the images could be less sharp.

It also makes a difference in recording time of movies. The better the quality, the shorter the recording time. The recording function was pretty good though the speakers do not allow much volume come through.

What I did like about the "Read This First" pamphlet is that each step then gave direction to further detail in the official camera guide booklet if needed.

Shoot Images Easily (Auto Adjustment Mode)

Shoot images easily was the 5th step in the "Read this First" pamphlet. It's here where instruction is given as to setting flash options, Macro, (that my wife loves to use for close-ups) the self-timer, and image brightness for adjusting exposure.

There are images that are difficult to focus on ( object distant from the camera, sometimes the contrast between distant and nearby objects is poor, subjects shot through glass or perhaps a fence) so the guide gives some options for better control.

I really like the function wheel. It is designed so the pointer finger that usually takes pictures can easily reach and turn to any desired scene selection. It seems to me that manufacturers are learning how to better make a small camera that is still easy to use by big fingered guys like me. Also very cool is the text/icon display that, when the wheel is turned the LCD screen shows a wheel image and description of what the options capabilities are in eay to read fashion. Very Cool! Some of the settings include Scene Modes Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach, and High Sensitivity

This makes viewing very easy especially on eyes that aren't as strong and focused as the used to be.

The final #6 in the pamphlet discusses viewing and deleting images. The first thing I really liked was that to view images when the camera was off I just needed to press one button. With my other cameras I had to turn on the camera and then put it in the proper mode. I like this feature. One hit of a button and I'm looking at what I want. Deleting images was pretty much as it has always been. I liked that you could actually undelete if you made an error while doing this function.

A few Things I Like

I do like its smaller size. After using the A100 canon and then the A520/530s I longed for a smaller camera again. The Zoom Lever is well located and easily used on the top of the camera.

Though I don't know much about cameras I have read that the Zeis lenses this camera comes with are excellent quality and the camera uses a 3X Optical zoom that is about what we are use to.

I am very pleased with an LCD screen that is much larger and brighter than what we previously had. 2.5" is excellent for my eyes. It can easily have the brightness adjusted to outside conditions.

Hooking the camera up to our computer and downloading images and seeing them on the monitor is much the same as it always was. My daughter uses a lot of the functions available for cropping, editing, stitching and such but my wife and I don't. Perhaps one day I'll move on to that.

I have started playing with the manual modes. I always liked being able to set speed and aperture on my SLR cameras to be creative in my picture taking. Though limited to just a couple of f-stops I do have a good amount of speeds I can set 30 sec – 1/1000 sec. (Manual). That means I can take shots of the stars rotating like I used to do with my old film cameras. I was having fun playing with this function. It reminded me of the old days with my SLRs. The Canon did have speed settings but they just aren't as easy to play with.

It's kind of weird that I stepped down in quality cameras when I first started with digital and now we are slowly working our way back up.

The camera also has a High sensitivity ISO-1250 setting that takes great shots in dim natural lighting. This looked great taking pictures in our back room with just the fireplace as a source of light. Great mood shots.

The camera also has a stronger flash than the A530 my wife is returning, brightening up larger group shots better. It also seems to adjust in auto mode better. The auto focus on this camera is far better than the others we have. Press down halfway and you see the lens make its move to the perfect setting.

There are times when I don't want the light of the LCD screen on. I do like to shoot looking through the viewfinder instead of the screen. An easy-to-reach button on the back makes the transition a snap. I love it.

This camera has less lag time than our other cameras. That's something I had a real problem with. This one isn't bad. I also like the mode where I can take quick shots in succession. Cool again! The camera is also quieter when actually shooting shots.

Deciding Factor

Now I can talk about a zillion other features this camera has but the deciding factor of whether we were keeping it or not was the quality of images and photos made from them. Though I know what I like and expect in photos, it's my wife, the artist, who has the critical eye. She was hoping the 8.1 Pixel camera would do the trick. She however isn't happy with the final product this camera produces. We aren't sure if its the way we use it or the lens it has but we have returned it and are once again in search of the perfect all-round camera.


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Other digital cameras owned and operated by pops and wife.

Canon PowerShot A530 Digital Camera.
Canon PowerShot A520
The camera that gave us confidence to purchase the A530
Canon PowerShot A400 Digital Camera My first digital camera and still going strong.

Olympus FE-170 Digital Camera

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 207
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts