The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150 is a mid-range, compact 8.1-megapixel digital camera with a 2.7-inch LCD viewfinder and 5x optical zoom lens. Metrics aside, the Sony Cyber-shot is virtually identical to previous cameras in the W-series; however, its facial-recognition and optical image stabiliser features may be particularly useful for those wanting to take photos in more variable situations.
Owing all its design cues to its predecessors in the series, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150 enjoys a slim 93.7x59.3x21.4mm body and weighs in at a comfortable 142 grams. Sadly, like its predecessors, some of its small buttons are awkwardly embedded in its brushed-metal exterior, which may be an issue for less nimble folks.
Design
As far as compact point-and-shoot digital cameras go, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150's design is nothing particularly unique. However, that said, its brushed-metal and silver trim exterior looks like it's constructed sturdily enough to stand the test of time. Like previous cameras in the Cyber-shot W-series, it enjoys a form-factor small enough to slip into your jacket pocket but, sadly, miniature buttons to match. Thankfully, the awkwardness ends there and manipulating the camera during shooting is a joy, and from a user-experience perspective, very simple.
What will impress the folks at home is the Cyber-shot's 2.7-inch LCD viewfinder, which although is a bit of a smudge-magnet, has a commanding presence over the back of the camera. In all situations it displays bright images and video. With 230,000 pixels it provides you with a realistic idea of how your photos will turn out, although there is a degree of stutter and motion blur, which some may find disconcerting. It makes us wonder why the Lilliputian optical viewfinder was included at all — it took a close inspection to confirm that it even exists.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150's interface design is intuitive enough for even the most novice user with its mix of uncluttered shooting and menu interfaces. For the exceptionally techno-illiterate Sony has included an "Easy" mode, which banishes the scary histograms and spooky icons, simply telling the user how many photos the camera is capable of taking and then handles the rest.
Available in red, gold, black and silver, there should be a DSC-W150 to match most colour preferences.
Features
Geared towards the casual user, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150 has a number of features to make shooting as easy and reliable as possible. Notables include optical image stabilisation and face detection, which with the Cyber-shot's high-sensitivity mode can successfully extend the range of conditions in which you can take your happy snaps, although at higher sensitivities graininess sets in. There are 10 different shooting modes you can access using the silver scroll-wheel on the back of the camera. Each of these is worth experimenting with, however, most users will probably only use Auto Adjustment or Easy to achieve the most consistent results.
Included is a collection of in-camera retouching tools, including red-eye correction, sharpening, trimming and some rather cutesy filters. This is all a great way to get hands-on with your shots, but enthusiasts will probably prefer the greater flexibility that comes with editing your photos after uploading them to your computer.
There is a dark side to the W150's easy-going nature. The bane with many a gadget purchase is the shopping for accessories that goes along with it. Sadly, this is very much a fact-of-life with Sony cameras as they use the proprietary Memory Stick Duo format, not the more universally support SD card. With its meagre 15MB of internal memory, you would be very unwise to leave the shop without purchasing a stick — you'll need at least a 1GB card for a reasonable amount of photo storage. On the battery front, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150 uses a proprietary unit for its juice, which means no hot-swapping AAs when you're on the go. In addition, battery charging can take up to four hours using the bundled charger; if you have a need for speed, then you have the option of dishing out further gold for a faster charger that takes only 1.5 hours.
Performance and Image Quality
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150 is thankfully a zippy little beast which also makes good use of its small battery. Even in difficult shooting situations, it suffered minimal shutter lag and returned to a ready state in less than two seconds. Battery life was also impressive and is slated by Sony of being capable of up to 400 photos per full charge.
The Carl Zeiss 5x optical zoom lens delivers a pleasing amount of crispness to shots. Despite being a wide-angle (30mm to 150mm) lens, the corners of images aren't unduly distorted. The Cyber-shot coped well with a wide range of lighting conditions. Using Auto Adjustment mode, it generally gets the settings correct, applying the flash only when necessary and producing a vibrant tonal range. When the lights go down, the W150 produced lovely sunset images and automatically adjusted the flash to retain natural skin tones in party close-ups. As always, clarity is lost when you push the boundaries of the camera's sensitivity and after about ISO 1,600, very noticeable noise and grain appears.
Conclusion
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150's added benefits may be considered to be too minor to warrant an upgrade if you're still happy with your current compact camera. However, for those requiring an upgraded point-and-shoot, the W150 is a reliable camera that won't blow the budget. The Cyber-shot also makes an excellent choice for those just getting into digital photography, as including an "Easy Mode" eliminates the anxiety and legwork out of shooting by providing the absolute minimum to cope with. Although not the revolutionary in any way, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W150 proves that reliably good-looking images don't have to come at a premium and nor do they have to be bundled into an in-elegant device, either.
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jojo
30/10/2008, 11:24 AM
rating
9/10
Great little camera...has everything you need for taking happy snaps. The photo quality is good, when people see the pics I print off they always comment on the quality of the picture and ask what sort of camera we have. The video function is great for those unexpected moments in time, we email them off to family and friends and they love seeing what we saw 10 min eatrlier..it is soooo easy. This is a great little family friendly unit...
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Ross
23/10/2008, 06:55 PM
rating
2/10
The quality was extremely poor, similar to a poorly scanned photo with a lot of noise. We exchanged it for another and that had the same issues. The shop owner tested it and agreed. I was looking forward to using this camera since we currently have a Sony DSCS600 (6mp) and the quality is excellent.
Pros: Features
Cons: Very poor photo quality
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yozzza
08/10/2008, 09:00 PM
rating
10/10
don't know
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jthompson
03/09/2008, 08:42 AM
rating
4/10
Like many other cameras, this one is out of commision when the battery is dead. The cable doesn't provide any power to the camera so transferring photos from the camera is not an option when the battery is dead. The battery is removed from the camera to charge it so the fully functional system consists of a minimum of three parts: the camera with memory card and battery loaded, the cable to transfer pictures from the camera to computer, and the battery charger. This is such a pain, why do they have to make so many pieces?? Why can't I use the cable to charge the battery through the usb port? Or why can't I just use regular AA lithium batteries. I hate this camera.
Pros: nice camera when you have all the pieces
Cons: i have no patience for keeping up with all the pieces.
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chand_shah121
02/09/2008, 09:20 AM
rating
5/10
Has anyone printed a photo?? I read reviews saying quality is really bad while printing..
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guru84
30/08/2008, 12:14 PM
rating
1/10
I bought this camera and I'm very disappointing. I've compared the images to the Sony DSC-W35 which is an older, cheaper model with lower specs and the photos are better than this one. I want my money back. The photo quality is terrible.
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guru84
30/08/2008, 11:38 AM
rating
10/10
Comparing this camera to photos on the Sony DSC-W35 and the 35 are far better. Even though it is a cheaper, superseeded, model with much lower specs. I want my money back!!
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nicwalmsley
26/08/2008, 10:56 AM
rating
8/10
I bought one 2 months ago. Totally happy with it. Very good all rounder. I got it for $320 at Myre (same at JB) - that was 2 months ago. Bought 4 gig mem card, saves 1200 photos and a few videos.
Pros: best available combination of:
* relatively small size - jean pocket easy
+ relatively long zoom - x5
+ reasonable mega pixle - 8m
+ good image settings - EV adjust very useful
Cons: no significant downsides, but some minor points:
- a little bit of mucking around to learn the programmable settings, but worth it
- small buttons are not a real issue (I have chunky fingers and I'm fine)
- have to take battery out to recharge it (wish i could plug straight into wall)
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Izzybomfunk
25/08/2008, 05:41 PM
rating
10/10
What?! No mention of the Smile Shutter function! Probably the best and most fun to use feature completely omitted from the review! Shame on the reviewer!
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Marvo
27/04/2008, 06:35 PM
rating
8/10
I have not used this camera, as I am currently researching its specifications.
However, I can point out a couple of pros and cons from what I have discovered so far.
Pros: 1. Viewfinder - there's often times when sunlight is so bright that the viewer is washed out completely. This is where the old-fashioned viewfinder comes in. Most new compact digital cameras have deleted this feature. Olympus FE-340 (my other leaning) does not have this feature.
2. The famous Zeiss lenses!
Cons: 1. Doesn't seem to have any macro modes, like the Olympus FE-340 does.
2. 15MB internal memory is token at best, but then you're always going to need an add-in memory card anyway. Olympus FE-340 has 48MB, which I suppose is a slight advantage.
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