Sony Cybershot leaves the others in cyberspace (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W130)

Member Name: Groovegal

Product:	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W130
Date:	01/04/09 (88 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Sony quality, intuitive menus, editing features

Disadvantages: Internal memory

Okay so whilst trying not to sound too much like I am writing a school essay its suffice to say there is plenty I'd like to tell you about this camera.


Tell me about it then

First of all I should state my normal bias towards Kodak camera's the reason I have always chosen Kodak is because although I pride myself on being a reasonably technology friendly lady I don't see the point in overcomplicating things and when it comes to taking pictures I just want something that gets on with it already. It should be very easy to use so that when I pass it to my technophobe friends to take a picture of me they dont spend forever trying to work out what button to press!!! I previously owned a DX4530 but after being dropped by one of the mini me's it gave up and went to the techno museum in the sky. I bid in an auction for a Praktika camera to take it's place and within minutes realised the error of my ways but thats a whole other review lol. So for some time now I have been on the look out for a suitable replacement that didnt break the bank

So what do you class as breaking the bank??
Well I have 3 kids to feed and clothe so something under the £100 mark was spot on for what I was looking for so that I can take pictures of them in all those clothes that my dear husband has to slave to pay for. The camera cost £89.99 in a clearance sale in Argos current at March 09

Whats in the box??


The camera
Rechargeble battery pack
USB/AV cables
CD Rom
A basic grey wriststrap


How does it look I hear you ask
Personally I think this camera looks damn fine maybe not as impressive in boring black (although I dare say that the men wouldnt agree) I got a pink one I realise I'm doing feminism no favours here but I wanted something a little more distinguishable. The case is aluminium no cheap nasty plastic. The LCD is pretty industry standard at 2.5 inches.

How is it powered?
So this is a change for me apparently in the past few years higher spec camera's run on lithium ion batteries this one being no exception. I'm not sure how I feel about this I can see that it would have its advantages eg the camera can be of a thinner design and recharged at no cost to the owner but I like the idea that if my battery ran out I could pop new ones in from a shop if out on a special occasion etc the jurys out. Battery takes roughly 4 1/2 hours to charge and you should get 370 shots before it runs out.


Would a technophobe cope?

Well as I said I like my camera's to be simple so I was taking a chance by straying from my previously favoured brand Kodak as this went very wrong in the past. I am very pleased to announce that I took this camera out of the box charged the battery and took my first picture within seconds on further use the menu is intuitive which is a complete relief as I think if your camera is easy to use you are more likely to use it.

Features at a glance


8.1MP
Face detection (up to 8)
Super steady shot anti blur
HD Output
4 x optical zoom
8 x digital zoom
Dare I ask does it take a decent picture??
Simply put yes. This is Sony afterall and I can vouch for the video as well its first class for a camera in this price bracket.


How easy is it to transfer pictures?

Whilst my laptop does have a slot to insert memory cards or Memory Stick duo I realised that not everyone would so I installed the software to see how user friendly it was. It took roughly 10 minutes all in thats including a restart. The software is compatible with Windows XP & Vista although not 64 bit operating systems which I thought was worth noting as one of my household pcs does run on this so there is a reasonable chance other peoples might. The software itself pretty easy to use imported the pics I had taken today without even reading any guidelines on how to do it.

Available Accesories
Okay generally I wouldnt mention accessories but I came across one for this camera which I thought deserved a mention for its usefuleness. Instead of the standard battery you can buy a premium one for which the camera can display the exact amount of power left in time for you NP-FG1 its retails for £49 on the Sony website but I dare say you could find it cheaper and if you never want to be caught out then I think its a great idea. On top of this you can get all manner of cases etc online official and otherwise.


So whats wrong with it

In a word or in this case 2, NOT MUCH. The internal memory sucks like a brand new Dyson at just 15 meg but hey you cant have it all.

User titbits
When you switch the power on the lens pops out fast so have your hands well back

Try the built in editing software its actually a nice little additon
That as loony tunes would say is all folks hope your purchasing decision is made easier

Summary: A great camera in this price bracket

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