Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 Digital Camera (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5)

Member Name: Tamarind

Product:	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5
Date:	09/07/08 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to Use

Disadvantages: Manual a bit too technical

I was given this camera as a present some time ago and have been really pleased with its ease of use. I am the type of photographer who likes to point and press and let the camera do the rest, so have been really happy with the results.

The camera comes with two manuals. The smaller manual is really just a double sided sheet of paper called "Read this First" and includes the following on how to get you started fairly easily -

Prepare the battery
Turn the camera on
Set the clock
Insert a memory stick
Select image size
Shoot images easily
Shoot still images
View and delete images

The other manual covers everything else in more depth including -

Identifying camera parts
Battery Life
Shooting menu
Using the Setup screen
Using your camera with a computer
Printing images
Connecting your camera to a TV
Troubleshooting

The camera comes with cables to connect your camera to a computer (USB) and also to a TV (A/V). You are also provided with a wrist strap, a battery charger (plus power cable) and two rechargeable batteries. A CD-ROM is supplied containing two software application - PicturePackage and ImageMixer. It should be noted that this camera does not come with a memory stick but it can record/play back images using its internal 32MB memory. I would, however, recommend purchasing a memory stick otherwise if you turn off the power by opening the battery/memory stick cover whilst the access light is on, the data in the internal memory may be corrupted. I purchased a 512MG memory stick and have found this more than sufficient for taking holiday snaps.

The camera has an LCD screen (which can be turned on or off) and a Carl Zeiss lens which produces sharp images with good contrast. However taking good photos with this camera is not all it can do. You can also record short movies. If the manual was easier to understand I would tell how long you can record, but if you are not that technically minded (like me), it can be hard to understand some of the jargon in it.

There are various scene selection modes which are very handy to use. They match predetermined conditions and give the following results -

Twilight - shoots distant night scenes without losing the dark surrounding atmosphere
Twilight portrait - shoots portraits in dark places
Candle - shoots candlelit scenes without spoiling the atmosphere
Snow - shoots snow brightly
Beach - shoots the blue of the water clearly
Landscape - shoots landscapes by focusing on a distant object
Soft Snap - shoots people and things with a gentle atmosphere

All the above scene modes can be easily selected by turning the mode dial on the camera. The mode chosen is represented pictorially which is easy to understand e.g. palm tree for beach mode, a new moon for twilight mode etc.

The camera also has a zoom button, however it should be noted that you cannot change the zoom scale whilst shooting a movie.

All in all, this is an easy to use digital camera giving good results.

Summary: Reliable little camera producing good results

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