For most of us, a massive D-SLR is way too much camera to carry around all the time. Trim and lightweight, Sony's $349.99 Cyber-shot DSC-W300 is small enough to keep in a pocket and at the ready, but just because it's tiny doesn't mean it isn't capable. The speedy, super-high-resolution 13.6-megapixel DSC-W300 snaps some sharp photos with rich, pleasing colors, especially when outside. On the other hand, the camera's flash is a bit heavy-handed, and its physical controls may prove difficult for large fingers to operate.
The DSC-W300's attractively styled all-metal frame feels solidly built. About the size of a deck of playing cards, the camera measures 3.7 by 2.3 by 1.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 6.6 ounces. It features a relatively standard 3X optical zoom lens with an aperture range of f/2.8 to f/16 and a focal length of 7.6mm to 22.8 mm (35mm equivalent: 35mm to 105mm). The 2.7-inch screen, which dominates the back of the camera, is bright and easy to read except when viewed in strong, direct sunlight. There's also an optical viewfinder for framing shots.
Button layout is typical for a slim point-and-shoot camera. Along the top left edge are the power and shutter release buttons—both within easy reach of your index finger. Since the big display takes up so much real estate on the back of the cam, the dedicated Menu, Home, Picture Playback, and Slideshow viewing keys are extremely tiny. The mode dial, which lies flat on the camera body (right next to the screen), is also a challenge for larger hands, like mine, to manipulate.
Located within the SCN function are eight handy scene modes to make shooting simpler. You'll find helpful modes like SoftSnap, which shoots subjects with soft backgrounds, as well as Twilight, Beach, and Snow. Turning the mode dial to the Smiley Face icon flips the device into Smile Shutter mode, a feature integrated across Sony's Cyber-shot camera line. With this mode enabled, the camera locks onto faces in the frame and automatically snaps shots as your subject smiles. Yes, it's a bit of a gimmick, but it worked well on my tests. Other handy features include a face-recognition engine that can track up to eight faces at a time and a nine-point autofocus system.
The camera's menu system, unlike those of competing models such as the Canon PowerShot SD790 IS, takes a little while to understand. The interface is similar to that of Sony's own Cyber-shot DSC-T2, but unlike the T2, the DSC-W300 doesn't have a touch screen to help you out. Hitting the Home button pulls up a list of global settings. You navigate by using the aforementioned flat, circular mode button. The experience is reminiscent of Sony's XrossMediaBar interface (found on its TVs and PlayStation 3 consoles). Think this may be what he's after: "Pressing the Menu key yields a list of options you can change—but, confusingly, there's a different list for each mode. On the plus side, descriptions of menu items appear as you select them.
During labs testing, the DSC-W300 displayed nimble performance. The camera's average boot-up time was a swift 2.1 seconds. Shutter lag was minimal at 0.2 seconds, and I measured recycle time as an acceptable 3.1 seconds between shots. The camera's optics weren't bad, either. Though I observed a touch of barrel distortion at the lens's widest angle setting, there was no trace of pincushion problems when I zoomed up close. As far as image quality goes, the DSC-W300 delivered pleasing daylight pictures, possessing rich colors and crisp detail. Flash shots, on the other hand, were inconsistently exposed, with bright, flaring hot spots in the foreground and murky darkness plaguing the background. The DSC-W300 averaged 2,100 lines on our resolution test, confirming that it is capable of delivering its advertised 13.6MP resolution.
Informal shots taken outside in bright daylight were lovely, with vivid color and proper exposure. Dark environments were another story. Despite the device's ISO range (which tops out at 6400), shots taken without the flash or inside dimly lit bars resulted in heavy blurring of moving objects. These pictures also exhibited a fair amount of noise. Under the same conditions with the flash enabled, inconsistency issues popped up again. Subjects in the foreground had a tendency to be blindingly bright while those in the background were correctly exposed. Still, this type of problem is common among point-and-shoot cameras. If you want to take natural-looking night photos, you'll need to spring for an expensive D-SLR model.
As for video, the DSC-W300 captures MPEG movies in 640-by-480-pixel resolution at 30 frames per second. My test videos looked smooth and sounded fine. The camera stores video and pictures to Sony's proprietary Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick Pro Duo media.
With its stylish design, high resolution, and agile performance, Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-W300 is a compelling compact camera. If you plan to shoot most of your pictures outdoors or within well-lit environments, the W300 captures some great-looking images. And at $349, it's not outrageously priced when compared with other high-end models like the $399 Canon PowerShot SD950 IS. But there are better bargains out there—in particular, the $150 Casio Exilim EX-Z9, which also exhibited good daylight picture quality and excellent video capture. Of course, none of these cameras displaces our reigning Editors' Choice point-and-shoot camera, the top-notch Canon PowerShot SD790.
Article Courtsey of pcmag.com
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