Sony WX1 ROCKS !! (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1)

Member Name: LeeDean

Product:	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1
Date:	08/11/09 (42 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: SIZE . LOW LIGHT ABILITIES . SWEEP PANORAMIC . Full Frame Burst Mode .

Disadvantages: NO MANUAL MODES . ZOOM Limit .

Ok. Well I feel compelled to write this brief review as I have had the opportunity of having the WX1 for a few days now. So far REALLY IMPRESSED by this camera.

First. I was surprised. It's small. Surprisingly Small That's a plus as it allows for discretion when you don't want to make it obvious that you have a camera with you. It's mobile phone size . Actually lengh wise it's Slimmer even. Width is understandably thicker though.

The 24mm lens is really handy. The w300 had a 35mm wide end and this was annoying as it meant a lot 'stepping back' or 'clipping off' of scenes...Not so with the WX1. It's 24mm 'G' lens is Wide and believe me you will appreciate it. Nice one Sony.
I love its low light capabilities!! And I will say that twice if I have to.!

It's AWESOME. ISO 400, 800, 1600 are all good in Program and iAuto modes. But in the New 'TWILIGHT Hand Held' Mode and the 'Anti Motion Blur' Mode where the WX1 takes SIX shots in around a Second and superimposes these to make one whole picture. The Results are like an Athlete taking Performance Enhancing Drugs! REALLY. IT'S THAT IMPRESSIVE!!
Even images shot at 3200 using the Anti Motion Blur mode hold up well under scrutiny. I have never thought a compact camera could go up to that level of ISO and produce anything beyond a mushy noise filled mess. The WX1 has SET a Standard now that all others..Samsung..Canon ..Fuji are going to struggle to beat.

The Burst mode is GREAT. 10 full frame shots in 1 Second. That is SO handy to have!!. And shoudnt That should be the bragging rights of PRO DSLR's only ?! Sony's done it again!! Only drawback here is that it takes like Double that time for the Buffer to process and clear the images before you can shot again. Frustrating at times But a Small price to pay for such capability though.
The 'Sweep Panoramic' mode has been much talked about by Sony. Everyone kind of knows how it works by now. It's the only function I find that I can't really Rave about. Thus far. For me the results it produces are...ok. I find the images though Wide are way to Squashed for my liking. I found if i turned the camera Vertically and sweep the scene in that position, though the image is noticeably less wide they fill the frame much better. Personal preference I guess.

Talking of..I have never indulged in panoramic shots before so I didn't think about the various exposures values that can be present in such a Wide angle shot. This can result in high and low lights being all over the place. It threw me. Gonna take some practice to get this right.
The WX1 has NO manual Functions. i find that a bit disappointing as i do like being able to adjust settings...It also has a base Iso of 160. Thats Surprising nad interesting. And has been criticised already however I must say I haven't seen any drawbacks in low iso picture quality due to this.

The WX1 HD video recording capability is also a Major Plus. It's Real handy to have this add on ability. It works well and the resulting clips are oh so impressive. Tthe ability to Zoom in and out whilst recording is a nice touch. In recorded playback i can sometimes here the zooming mechanisiam at play but i dont find it invasive.
Talking of zooming. 5x optical zoom isn't much to write home about however, the coupled with that wide 24mm lens is just oh so fine.

As you can probably tell I really RATE this camera highly. Can I add it also won the Prestigious European EISA Best Product 'Compact Camera' 2009/2010 Award. That's got to say a Lot more than my review.
If interested Go to Flickr to see some pics posted there..

Summary: so good

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