Howard_Creech's Full Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S85 Digital Camera
If you're in the market for a digital camera, there has never been a better time to buy. The high tech electronics marketplace is absolutely glutted with digital cameras; nifty features and consumer options are way up, and prices are way down. Currently available digital camera models cover the resolution range from less than one megapixel to almost six megapixels. Prices range from less than fifty dollars to more than five thousand dollars. The dotcom meltdown and the downturn in the economy coincided perfectly with the digital camera marketing and manufacturing tool-up peak. The crucial holiday period saw new digital camera models being discounted as they were introduced, something unheard of until this past Christmas. Several popular models from major manufacturers dropped hundreds of dollars overnight.
The Sony Corporation has always been a leader in the digital camera marketplace and that leadership position has allowed Sony to exact a high tariff from buyers. Sony Digital cameras have always been among the most expensive models available. Sony’s managers may have seen the economic writing on the wall a little earlier than their competitors. The introduction of CD-R and CD-RW storage media in their popular Mavica line obviously signals Sony’s first steps in a move away from the company’s proprietary memory stick format. Sony’s executives haven't forgotten the painful marketing lessons they learned in the beta vs vhs video format wars of the eighties. Sony’s new DSC-S85 was the first the first consumer four megapixel digital camera to hit dealers shelves (last summer) and the real news in that introduction was the list price of $799. This was well below the expected $1000 to $1200 price tag.
The new Sony model is almost identical to the popular Sony DSC S75. Utilizing the DSC S75 as a platform for the S85 allowed Sony’s engineers to save a lot of research and development money. These R&D savings were passed on to consumers in the form of a lower MSRP.
The CAMERA
The DSC S85 features the proven Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar 3X zoom lens, an accurate auto focus system, an optical view finder, and a 1.8-inch LCD display, all in a compact package that looks and performs like an upscale 35mm point and shoot. The 4.1 megapixel CCD provides superb images (2272x1704 pixels) that actually get pretty close to the resolution of a scanned 35mm negative (3000x2000 pixels) giving digital photographers image quality options that were beyond the financial reach of most consumers until very recently.
In real terms this means 11X14 enlargements of digital images that are comparable to 11X14 enlargements from 35mm film. While resolution parity between digital cameras and silver based imaging is still a couple of years in the future (somewhere between six and eight megapixels) you can shoot digital images today that roughly approach 35mm quality levels, and for considerably less than $1000 (which is what a 1.3 megapixel digital camera cost just three years ago)
FEATURES
Optical Viewfinder
The optical viewfinder covers about 85% of the actual image area and zooms with the lens. There’s no viewfinder information display, just a set of AF crosshair marks.
There is a diopter adjustment for those who wear glasses.
Controls
The controls are well laid out with most commonly used features linked to buttons (rather menu driven) The mode switch quickly rotates between Setup, Review, Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual, "SCN", and Movie. Buttons on the back provide controls for flash, macro-mode, exposure compensation, spot-metering, manual focus mode, and AE lock.
3X Zoom Lens
The S85 features a sharp fast f2.0-f8.0/34-102mm (35mm equivalent) Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar Zoom. The lens is a proven performer that was already in the Sony inventory, allowing additional savings when they tooled up for the S85. The 3x optical zoom’s focus range is from 19.7 inches to infinity in normal mode (1.6 to 8 inches in the macro mode) The camera powers on with the lens at the mid point, so it is relatively quick and easy to zoom to either end of the range. Add-on wide angle and telephoto extenders may be attached with the optional VAD-S70 lens adapter, which also allows the use of inexpensive 52mm filters.
Flash
The built in flash features settings for automatic, redeye reduction, fill flash, and off. The optional HVL-F1000 Sony external flash extends the range and provides bounce options.
Battery
The S85’s power comes from a Sony "M" series NP-FM50 InfoLITHIUM rechargeable 7.2v battery, and it tells you (on the LCD) how many minutes of runtime you have left. The NP-FM50 is a Sony camcorder battery. Kudos to Sony for creative engineering (adapting a high powered battery from another product line) an absolutely brilliant move that allowed them to increase savings by using a proven component already in inventory, and an opportunity to overcome a constant complaint (short battery life) from consumers. The battery charges quickly and will run for more than three hours (with flash and almost continuous LCD use) on a single charge. Both battery and charger/adaptor are included.
Technical Specifications
Resolution: four megapixel (2272x1704)
Viewfinder: Optical, zooms with lens, diopter adjustment
Image Storage: Sony Memory Stick
Recording Formats: JPEG, TIFF, GIF, and MPEG
Lens: 3X Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar Zoom f2.0--f8.0/34--102mm (35mm equivalent)
Sensitivity Settings: Auto, 100, 200, 400 (ISO Equivalent)
Exposure Modes: Program Auto exposure, Aperture priority, Shutter priority, Manual.
Exposure Bracketing: +/- 0.3--0.7 or 1.0 EV steps
Metering: Center-weighted, Averaging, or Spot
White balance: Auto, Outdoor, Indoor, and One touch custom
Shutter Speed: 8 sec to 1/1000 sec.
On Board Flash: Auto, Fill-in, Red-eye Reduction, Off (range 1 ft - 9 ft) plus accessory shoe for Sony (Optional HVL-F1000) external flash
Exposure Compensation ± 2 EV in 0.3 EV increments
Video: MPEG: 320x240 and 160x120
Power: one InfoLITHIUM NP-FM50
Included: I can’t comment on what is included “in the box” since the test camera was returned/used.
In the Field/Handling and Operation
I have a good friend who sells and distributes photographic equipment. He provides me with “tips” about digital cameras that are real bargains, models that are selling (and performing) very well, and occasionally about clunkers and models to avoid. This advice is a great help to me because I work very hard to make my camera reviews as good as they can be. Having a friend in the industry gives me access to information that is not usually available to the general public. Photography magazines have a vested interest (advertising from camera/photo equipment manufacturers makes up the greatest part of their income) in putting a positive spin on every model and accessory that they test. My friend lets me in on what is usually known only to industry insiders.
His latest tip was about what a tremendous bargain Sony’s new Cybershot DSC-S85 digital camera is. It turns out that he had one returned by a local photographer who has been shooting 35mm for more than thirty years. This guy bought the Sony Cybershot DSC-S85 after reading a very positive photo mag review. He was really disappointed when the images weren’t as good as those he was used to getting with slow speed 35mm slide film. He also complained about all the images having a “pinkish cast”. Since the gentleman has always been a good customer my friend allowed him to return the camera.
My friend has been carrying the S85 around for about a week and he asked me if I would like join him on a photographic outing to test the camera’s white balance (which could have been the cause of the “pinkish cast”) and its overall performance before he sent it back to Sony. I am always ready to drop everything and go play with a new camera, even when it is cold as hell outside. Louisville has finally gotten a little winter weather the past couple of weeks so I have been avoiding any unnecessary trips outside. However, the opportunity to check out a new four megapixel digital camera made me forget how cold it was.
We got together early Saturday afternoon and spent about two hours shooting “street” images along Bardstown Road in the Highlands. We then made a quick trip into Cherokee Park to shoot some winter shots along Beargrass Creek. The S85 did an admirable job with the static shots of the ice bound creek, but wasn’t completely up to the job of hitting the “decisive moment” in our “street” photography efforts. Digital cameras don’t usually perform very well in “action” photography settings. Sports, “street” shooting, and wildlife photography remain beyond the capabilities of most digital cameras because of shutter lag and start up/cycle/write-record times. The S85’s shutter lag is pretty short for a four megapixel camera, but the start up/cycle time lag is a bit longer than average.
We took along a Nikon F4S with a 35/1.4 AIS Nikkor and a 105/2.8D AF Micro Nikkor to shoot comparison images. The F4S was loaded with ISO 100 Kodak Elitechrome slide film. After we finished at Beargrass Creek, we returned to my friend’s and set up a small area with a white backdrop and a light box to shoot some close-ups and check the white balance capabilities of the S85. The one button white balance feature works well and we were not able to duplicate the “pinkish cast” that my friends customer had complained about.
We shot a large fruit basket my friend had gotten as a Christmas gift from one of his suppliers. The woven raffia basket contained two Navel oranges, two huge bright red apples, some pecans (in the shell) and three bright mint green pears. The fruit basket made an absolutely perfect photo subject and the images were almost faultless. The S85’s metering did an exceptional job of getting the exposures right in both auto and aperture priority mode. The colors were a bit over-saturated, but very accurate.
Louisville received between two and three inches of fresh snow over-night, and when we got together just before noon on Sunday we headed straight for Cherokee Park to shoot some winter wonderland stuff in the woods while the white stuff was till new and pristine. We went to “Dog Hill” (Louisville’s premier sledding venue) to shoot sledders. The new snow was soft and wet, making for some blazingly fast sled runs down the long steep hill. The S85 wasn’t able to lock on and capture decent shots of the fast moving sleds. Many of the sledders were dressed in very bright colors and we were able to shoot them easily with the F4S (loaded with Kodak ISO 100 color print film) and both the 35/1.4 and the 105/2.8. Once the cold started to be a little bit painful, we returned to my friend’s place and he ran the slides and color prints while I organized my notes and started putting this review together.
We compared the slides (on a color corrected light table with a Schneider 6X loupe) and 4X6 color prints to the digital images from the S85. The slide images were significantly sharper, with much better contrast, and truer color; but the S85’s images compared quite favorably with the Kodak ISO 100 color prints. The S85 had an irritating tendency to over expose the snow scenes (which could have been easily controlled with a neutral density filter) but since the lighting was pretty dull it wasn’t too much of a problem. In brightly-lit snow or beach scenes I think the S85 would be very likely to blow out everything in the scene without a neutral density filter in place.
A Few Concerns
The Proprietary Sony “memory stick” digital storage media (rather than the more versatile industry standard CompactFlash) and the single model proprietary Sony external flash are my primary complaints against the new S85. Slow start up/cycle times (a bit longer than comparable models from other manufacturers) are balanced by the shot to shot times which are a little better than average. No filter threads on the lens (you have to buy a PROPRIETARY Sony adaptor). The S85 suffers from low-light color inaccuracies and there is a bit of barrel distortion with the Zeiss Vario Sonnar Zoom lens. Noise control is very good in well-lit outdoor scenes, but noticeable in indoor (flash) and low light shots. There isn’t any way to confirm correct focus in the manual focus mode.
Conclusion
As the gentleman who returned the S85 we tested learned, digital photography is not the same as 35mm-film photography, however if you are technically competent and motivated, this camera can be a very impressive imaging tool. Overall, the S85 is a very good performer, capable of producing excellent pictures. The camera is relatively easy to use with good ergonomics and well placed logical controls. The S85 handles most lighting conditions very well, has an excellent Carl Zeiss zoom, an autofocus system that is quick and accurate, very good macro performance (with close focus of about an inch and a half), and a wide range of manual options. The Sony Cybershot DSC-S85 is a real bargain too, the best priced 4 megapixel digital camera currently available. Sony’s engineers have done an exceptional job of developing a feature rich four megapixel digital camera while holding down costs. The S85 can be found (with a little research) for between $600 and $700, which is $100-$300 less than comparable 4 megapixel digital cameras from other manufacturers.
For more information on How to Choose a Digital Camera please see my review:
4-megapixel sensor captures 2,272 x 1,704 images for prints at sizes up to 11 x 14 inches Carl Zeiss autofocus lens with 3x optical/2x digital (6x tot...More at Amazon Marketplace
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