Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W510 Overview

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W510 digital camera is based around a 1/2.3"-type, 12.1 effective megapixel Sony SuperHAD CCD image sensor with RGB color filter array, coupled to a Sony-branded 4x optical zoom lens. For 4:3 aspect-ratio shooting, the Sony W510's lens offers a 35mm-equivalent range from a generous 26mm wide angle to a moderate 105mm telephoto, while 16:9 shooting yields a sensor crop and 28 - 114mm equivalent focal range. The lens has a two-step aperture with ND filter, which offers either F2.8 or F8.0 at wide angle; at telephoto the maximum aperture is F5.9, and the minimum aperture isn't stated. Autofocusing is possible to a minimum of just four centimeters at wide angle, or 60 centimeters at telephoto. The camera can capture 4:3 aspect ratio images at up to 4,000 x 3,000 pixel resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio images at up to 4,000 x 2,248 pixels, or 30 frames-per-second video at VGA (640 x 480 pixel) resolution or below with monaural audio.

On the rear panel of the Sony Cyber-shot W510 is a 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD panel with a resolution of 230,400 dots. This serves as the only method of framing and reviewing images, since the Sony W510 doesn't feature an optical or electronic viewfinder. The Sony DSC-W510 has a 9-point autofocus system, and includes a face detection system, capable of detecting up to eight faces in a scene. The face detection function is also used to provide a Smile Shutter function that automatically triggers the shutter when your subject is smiling. There's no blink detection feature in the W510, however. The W510 offers three methods for determining exposures - multi-pattern, center-weighted or spot metering. Shutter speeds from 1 to 1/1,500 second are possible under automatic control, and sensitivities ranging from ISO 80 to 3,200 equivalents are on offer. 2.0EV of exposure compensation is available, in 1/3 EV steps. The DSC-W510 doesn't offer any form of optical image stabilization.

Eight white balance settings are available, including auto and seven presets, but there's no manual white balance setting in the Sony W510. As well as Intelligent Auto and Program modes, the W510 offers a selection of nine scene modes -- High Sensitivity, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Soft Snap, Beach, Snow, Gourmet, and Pet -- which offer a modicum of control over the look of images. The Sony W510 includes a four-mode flash strobe with red-eye reduction capability. Flash range is stated as 0.2 to 4.8 meters at wide angle, or 0.2 to 2.3 meters at telephto, when using automatic ISO sensitivity. A two- or ten-second self timer allows the photographer to get in the picture themselves, or to avoid camera shake caused by pressing the shutter button when shooting on a tripod.

Images and movies can be recorded on Secure Digital or SDHC cards, but not the latest SDXC types. The W510 is also compatible with Sony's own proprietary Memory Stick PRO Duo cards. No information was available at press time regarding internal memory, if included. The Sony W510 includes standard definition video output connectivity, as well as USB data connectivity. Power comes courtesy of a proprietary NP-BN1 Infolithium battery pack, rated as good for 220 shots on a charge to CIPA testing standards.

Basic Specifications
Resolution:	12.10 Megapixels
Lens:	4.00x zoom (26-105mm eq.)
Viewfinder:	LCD
LCD Size:	2.7 inch
ISO:	80-3200
Shutter:	2-1/1500
Max Aperture:	2.8
Mem Type:	MS Duo / MS PRO Duo / SD / SDHC
Battery:	Custom LiIon
Dimensions:	3.8 x 2.1 x 0.8 in. (96 x 54 x 20 mm)
Weight:	4.2 oz (119 g) includes batteries
MSRP:	$110



Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W350

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W350 digital camera is based around a 14.1-megapixel sensor, coupled to a Carl Zeiss 4x optical zoom lens. The Sony W350's lens offers a 35mm-equivalent range from a generous 26mm wide-angle to a moderate 105mm telephoto.

The Sony W350 can capture 4:3 aspect ratio images at up to 4,320 x 3,240 pixel resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio images at up to 4,320 x 2,432 pixels, or HD movies at 1,280 x 720 pixels at 30 frames per second. In addition, the Sony W350 includes Sony's unique Sweep Panorama function for the first time in a CCD-based Cyber-shot camera, allowing automatic creation of up to a 268-degree panorama in-camera by simply sweeping the lens across the subject.

On the rear panel of the Sony Cyber-shot W350 is a 2.7-inch LCD with a resolution of 230,400 dots. This serves as the only method of framing and reviewing images, given that the Sony W350 doesn't feature an optical viewfinder. The Sony DSC-W350 has a 9-point autofocus system, and does include face detection capable of detecting up to eight faces in a scene and differentiating between children and adults. This ability is used to provide a Smile Shutter function that automatically triggers the shutter when your subject is smiling, as well as both anti-blink and blink-detection features.

Shutter speeds from 2 to 1/1,600 second are possible under automatic control, and sensitivities ranging from ISO 80 to 3,200 equivalents are on offer, with ISO 80 to 800 available under automatic control. 2.0EV of exposure compensation is available, in 1/3 EV steps.

Images and movies can be recorded on Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Duo, PRO Duo (Mark 2 only), PRO Duo High Speed, or PRO-HG Duo cards, as well as the more common Secure Digital and Secure Digital High Capacity cards. 45MB of internal memory is also available, helpful for capturing a few of the most important photos should you forget to bring a flash card along on a day trip. The Sony W350 includes NTSC / PAL standard definition video output connectivity, as well as USB 2.0 High Speed data connectivity. Component HD connectivity is available via optional proprietary cable. Power comes courtesy of a proprietary NP-BN1 Infolithium battery pack rated 240 images.

Lens.

As big fans of wide-angle lenses, we're happy to see manufacturers embrace this feature in their latest digicam line-ups. The Sony W350 starts out at a nice 26mm and the 4x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens hits 105mm on the tele end. Would we like more? Sure, but this is a very compact and light camera so there are the inevitable tradeoffs. The lens features six elements in five groups (including three aspheric elements). Apertures range between f/2.7-f/8.0 in iAuto or Program mode. There are no individual aperture adjustments, other than those made by the camera via specific scene modes--so if you're looking for that feature, try another model.

Corners are pretty soft at wide-angle and there's noticeable chromatic aberration, but nothing out of the ordinary for compact wide angle point-and-shoots. At telephoto there was almost no CA and some flare and no significant softening. There's essentially no barrel or pincushion distortion.

As a plus the Sony W350 has Optical Image Stabilization which does a good job eliminating blur at wide and telephoto settings; it's a real benefit with Sweep Panorama. As with any camera you should still try to hold it as steady as possible when pressing the shutter.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370 digital camera has a 14.1-megapixel Sony sensor and a Sony-branded 7x optical zoom lens. The Sony W370's lens offers an equivalent range from a rather tight 34mm wide-angle to a useful 238mm telephoto. The lens has a two-step aperture with ND filter, which offers either F3.6 or F7.1 at wide-angle; at telephoto the maximum aperture is F5.6, and the minimum aperture is F11. The W370 includes Sony's Sweep Panorama function for the first time in a CCD-based Cyber-shot camera, allowing automatic creation of a 243-, 167-, 127- or 88-degree panoramas in-camera by simply sweeping the lens across the subject.

On the rear panel of the Sony Cyber-shot W370 is a 2.7-inch TFT Clear Photo LCD panel with 100% coverage, and a resolution of 230,400 dots. This serves as the only method of framing and reviewing images, given that the Sony W370 doesn't feature an optical viewfinder. The Sony DSC-W370 has a 9-point autofocus system, and does include a face detection and recognition system, capable of detecting up to eight faces in a scene and differentiating between children and adults. This capability is used to provide a Smile Shutter function that automatically triggers the shutter when your subject is smiling, as well as both anti-blink and blink-detection features. The W370 offers three methods for determining exposures - multi-pattern, center-weighted or spot metering. Shutter speeds from 2 to 1/1,600 second are possible under automatic control, and sensitivities ranging from ISO 80 to 3,200 equivalents are on offer, with ISO 80 to 1,600 available under automatic control. 2.0EV of exposure compensation is available, in 1/3 EV steps. The DSC-W370 also offers Sony's Optical SteadyShot image stabilization, useful for combatting blur caused by camera shake without adversely affecting image quality.

Nine white balance settings are available, including auto and seven presets, plus a manual white balance setting. As well as Intelligent Auto and Program modes, the W370 offers a selection of ten scene modes - High Sensitivity, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach, Snow, Gourmet, Pet, and Sweep Panorama - which offer a modicum of control over the look of images. There's also an intelligent scene mode which can automatically select from a subset of eight scene modes - twilight, twilight portrait, twilight using a tripod, backlight, backlight portrait, landscape, macro and portrait - as appropriate. The Sony W370 includes a four-mode flash strobe with red-eye reduction capability. Flash range is stated as 0.2 to 5.0 meters at wide-angle, or 0.5 to 3.2 meters at telephoto, when using automatic ISO sensitivity. A two- or ten-second self timer allows the photographer to get in the picture themselves, or to avoid camera shake caused by pressing the shutter button when shooting on a tripod.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W330 Overview

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W330 digital camera is a simple pocket camera with a 14.1-megapixel sensor, a 4x optical zoom lens, and a large 3-inch LCD. The Sony W330's lens offers a 35mm-equivalent range from a generous 26mm wide-angle to a moderate 105mm telephoto. The lens has a two-step aperture with a built-in neutral density (ND) filter, which offers either f/2.7 or f/8.0 at wide-angle; at telephoto the maximum aperture is f/5.7, and the minimum aperture isn't stated. Autofocusing is possible to a minimum of just four centimeters at wide-angle, or 60 centimeters at telephoto. The camera can capture 4:3 aspect ratio images at up to 4,320 x 3,240 pixel resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio images at up to 4,320 x 2,432 pixels, or 30 frames-per-second video at VGA (640 x 480 pixel) resolution or below with monaural audio.

On the rear panel of the Sony Cyber-shot W330 is a 3-inch TFT Clear Photo LCD panel with 100% coverage, and a resolution of 230,400 dots. This serves as the only method of framing and reviewing images, given that the Sony W330 doesn't feature an optical viewfinder. The Sony W330 has a 9-point autofocus system, and does include a face detection system, capable of detecting up to eight faces in a scene. This capability is used to provide a Smile Shutter function that automatically triggers the shutter when your subject is smiling. There's no blink detection feature in the Sony W330, however.

The Sony W330 offers three methods for determining exposures: multi-pattern, center-weighted, or spot metering. Shutter speeds from 1 to 1/1,600 second are possible under automatic control, and sensitivities ranging from ISO 80 to 3,200 equivalents are on offer, with ISO 80 to 800 available under automatic control. 2.0EV of exposure compensation is available, in 1/3 EV steps. The W330 has Sony's SteadyShot digital image stabilization, not optical, to help eliminate blur.

Ten white balance settings are available, including auto and nine presets, two of which are for underwater shooting, but there's no manual white balance setting in the Sony W330. As well as Intelligent Auto and Program modes, the Sony W330 offers a selection of eleven scene modes - High Sensitivity, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach, Snow, Underwater, Gourmet, and Pet. There's also an intelligent scene mode which can automatically select from a subset of seven scene modes: twilight, twilight portrait, backlight, backlight portrait, landscape, macro and portrait.

The Sony W330 includes a four-mode flash strobe with red-eye reduction capability. Flash range is stated as 0.3 to 3.5 meters at wide-angle, or 0.6 to 1.8 meters at telephoto, when using automatic ISO sensitivity. A two- or ten-second self timer allows the photographer to get in the picture themselves, or to avoid camera shake caused by pressing the shutter button when shooting on a tripod.

Images and movies can be recorded on Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Duo, PRO Duo, PRO Duo High Speed, or PRO-HG Duo cards, as well as the more common Secure Digital and Secure Digital High Capacity cards. 28MB of internal memory is also available, enough to capture a few of the most important photos should you forget to bring a flash card along. The Sony W330 includes NTSC / PAL standard definition video output connectivity, as well as USB 2.0 High Speed data connectivity. Power comes courtesy of a proprietary NP-BN1 lithium-ion battery pack.