Thanks Santa! - Probably the best present I have ever received, a Sony WX1, a great upgrade from my treasured Sony W80 I have had in my possession for nearly 3 years now.

Now the first thing that attracted me to this camera is it's beautiful body (steady...) and slim size, this camera looks expensive and it is - why should you pay around £300 for a camera, when you can pick one up from Tesco that is also 10 megapixel for nearly £250 less?

Well let's answer this question I'm sure a lot of people ask themselves when trying to decide which camera is right for them...It's important to understand before we begin the three main components of a camera that make up the price tag.

1. The sensor - "A device that converts an optical image to an electric signal" or in English, the device that determines how much light can be taken in before the camera has to reach for the flash button,
the better the sensor the better your pictures in low light conditions will look.

2. The processor - The device that takes the data sent to the camera from the sensor.

3. The lens - "an optical lens or assembly of lenses used in conjunction with a camera body to make images of objects" or in English, the part of the camera that determines the detail and clarity of what you are looking at.

The reason that camera in Tesco is £49.99, it has poor excuses of a lens, processor and sensor - thus, worse pictures!

Sony WX1 camera features
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Optical zoom 5X - The amount of zoom the lens will do, not to be confused with digital zoom which is a higher number but basically stretches the image to give a zoomed effect.

24mm wide angle lens - The wider the lens, the more you can fit in the image.

EXMOR R CMOS sensor - One of the main features of this camera is its inclusion of the Exmor R sensor, this is currently exclusive with Sony until the middle of this year. The "R" in Exmor R stands for reverse, Sony have actually turned the sensor upside down so that maximum light hits the sensor, thus giving you excellent picture quality where light is limited (i.e. an evening party)

BIONZ processor - The same processor that Sony use on their current range of digital SLR cameras, BIONZ gives fantastic image clarity, colour depth and detail.

2.7" LCD screen - The screen actually has an anti-glare coating on it, this allows you to be able to take images where there is a lot of glare on the screen, an invaluable feature to have if you are taking this on a nice sunny holiday with you. The screen itself is a lovely quality and keeps up quickly when you move the camera around your subject. The only down point is maybe the inclusion of a 3" screen, like its sister camera the TX1.

720p HD movie recording - This records film in stunning HD quality (you can also select lower quality modes to fit more onto your memory card or for quicker transfer times to your PC) - it also does a good job with sound too which is rare for a camera.

10FPS shooting - The WX1 can take pictures 10 times every second, this mode is perfect for people who take shots of subjects that move fast (footballers, car racing, motorbikes etc)

ISO 3200 - This aids the sensor in giving fantastic low light pictures, the higher the ISO level, the lower the noise or pixilation within the image.

Smile shutter - Another Sony exclusive feature, this basically takes pictures for you! - Turn this mode on and aim at a person, the moment they smile, it will take a snap, resulting in fantastic pictures.

The final mode worth mention is the new Sweep Panorama mode; this mode was first introduced on the HX1 back in March with a price tag of £499, this mode has now been added to this camera. Sweep Panorama takes 30 separate pictures as you move the camera across a landscape (works around 180 degrees) the camera then instantly stitches together these 30 pictures and gives you one long panoramic shot. The end results are stunning and perfect for holidays or walks in the country.

Included in the box
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Instruction manual
Battery charger
TV cable to view images back on your big screen
Rechargeable battery, takes around 250 shots on a single charge
Wrist strap
Quick reference guide
Power cable for charging battery

The good
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- Picture quality is stunning in all conditions, the inclusion of Exmor R now gives the user the ability to take shots without having to reach for the flash and giving people's faces the white out effect!

- Great build quality, all the buttons are well placed, easy to use and the camera has a good weight to it.

- HD movie recording is a very good standard, if you don't have a camcorder or yours is like mine and takes VHS videos! - this camera is a great all in one solution.

- The size is just right, not too small to make it fiddly but small enough to fit snuggly in your pocket.

- Features, this camera has plenty but more importantly, features that are useful and can be used daily, sweep panorama,

The bad
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- Optical zoom is low for a camera of this price tag, if it was around 7 or 8 this would sell much better and set it apart from cameras that sit around £100 less.

- No HD cable in the box, if you want to view HD video back on your TV, you have to pay extra for a cable to do this!

- Uses the Sony memory stick pro duo memory card - Most people are now used to SD cards so be prepared to spend up to £20 for a 2GB card that only fits Sony products (laptops, PS3, PSP etc).

- Price, there's no getting away from it, this is expensive - although I hope after reading this review you can appreciate why the price tag sits a lot higher than the Currys bank holiday special!

Overall
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All things taken into consideration, this camera would be perfect for anybody - the inclusion of HD movie recording potentially saves you £500 you would of spent on an average HD camcorder. Yes this is expensive, yes there may be models available without Sweep Panorama and an EXMOR R sensor, but if you want the ultimate camera in a lovely style and pocket size, then get one of these!

8/10
If you can pick this up for £250 or less and this is a 9/10