Sony Cybershot DSCW300 13.6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot
by Sony
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Category: Digital Camera
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Digital product summary information
Manufacturer: SonyModel: DSC-W300
Color: Silver
Product features:
- 13.6-megapixel Super HAD CCD image sensor
- 3x optical zoom/6x digital zoom (35mm-105mm) lens
- BIONZ image processor delivers speed and precision
- Large, 2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD display
- Smile Shutter technology captures smiles
- Apple Aperture 2.1.1
- Adobe Photoshop CS4
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 7
- PhotoPlus X2 Digital Studio
- Corel Painter Essentials 4 (Win/Mac)
Digital camera reviews of Sony Cybershot DSCW300 13.6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot
Digital camera Review: Big MP, Little Noise, Well-rounded Features
Summary: 5 Stars
Given the list of criteria that matter most to me for a point and shoot digital camera, I seem to keep coming back to a Sony model as much as I try to explore the field when I'm in the market for a new camera. This time around as I was preparing to update from the Sony dsc-p200 I've had for 3-4 yrs, I wanted a more pocketable formfactor, optical image stabilization, closer macro focus, higher MP rating while maintaining at least the level of image quality I get from my current P&S, continued access to manual control of shutter and aperture and, finally, a wider angle + longer telephoto range.
Tall order it seems in the P&S category. At first I rejected the w300 because of its pedestrian 35-105 mm focal length, though it had everything else I was looking for, but subsequent investigation didn't turn up many other options that didn't offer some other tradeoff. When it came to evaluating the relative merits of the various tradeoffs I determined that the focal length wasn't my greatest concern, based on my photography habits. And where there are not remedies for the shortcomings of the other cameras I considered, Sony does offer the option of wider angle and telephoto lenses for the w300.
So the w300 it is and what a camera it turned out to be. Nearly doubling the the maximum resolution of my current P&S camera while not introducing any more noise to the picture, the image quality is superb. Fine details come through in lower light conditions where other 10+ MP cameras I tested would lose those details in aggressive noise. Color temperature is perhaps a little warm by default but easily manageable while framing the picture or in post-processing and isn't generally displeasing by any means. I wouldn't claim a trained eye for objective image quality but I know what I like and this represents the single most important factor in a camera purchase for me and the w300 puts a lot of others to shame in this regard. I've seen others mention that the w300 experiences some noticeable color fringing but I haven't seen it in the shots I've taken so far (600+).
I make heavy use of the burst function on my P&S cameras, so it's nice to have the expanded options the w300 has over the p200 - not that the newer options are out of the ordinary now in newer P&S cameras. In particular, the infinite burst shoot mode is fun although, besides needing to drop resolution to 3 MP for each shot, it also seems to degrade image quality. The burst modes generally perform well but occasionally stutter and seem a little less reliable than the burst mode on the p200 in that regard. Of course, this may have something to do with a higher volume of data overall while writing to the standard MS pro duo card I currently have (as opposed to one of the "Extreme" cards with higher transfer rate).
I also use the Macro focus capability of my camera heavily and I appreciate the ability to now focus as close as 5 cm. That would seem to be as close as I'll need to get to most subjects and any further cropping around the image subject in postprocessing will retain a picture with enough resolution to still make the picture suitable for larger printed shots, thanks to that 13 MP sensor.
I can't speak to the stuff like facial recognition and smile shutter as they aren't of primary interest to me and I haven't really used them other than in an in-store demo for my wife. It certainly handled a transition from a feigned grimace to a slight smile in smile shutter mode but that's all I can offer here.
I prefer the minimalist menu UI of my p200 and the other Sony cameras of the time, but the w300 is not alone among new Sony models or among other camera brands in bringing more flash and better than 8-bit iconography to the menu navigation system. There's simply going to be some adjustment required, so not a knock against the camera, since everything seems to be organized logically enough.
As much as I tried to make a break from Sony's digital cameras this time around, it still ended up being a Sony model that had the best combination of features that appealed to my photography tastes. I think the w300 more than holds its own among the top competitors in this class. This also seems like a respectably future-proof P&S camera unless something remarkable happens in optics in the next few years.
More Sony Cybershot DSCW300 13.6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot reviews:
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Summary of Sony Cybershot DSCW300 13.6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot
The DSC-W300 includes a wide range of convenient features, including Smile Shutter Mode, which captures smiles the moment they happen. The compact and scratch-resistant titanium-coated body features an astounding 13.6-Megapixel resolution, 2.7" Clear Photo LCD display, Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens, and Sony's Double Anti-Blur solution for crisp, clear images. In addition, it has Face Detection technology that optimizes flash, focus, exposure and color for up to eight faces, as well as Intelligent Scene Recognition that automatically detects five different types of scenes and takes a picture with the optimal camera settings. Lens Construction - 6 Elements in 5 Groups, 3 Aspheric Elements Focal Length - 7.6-22.8mm 35mm Equivalent - 35 - 105mm 9-Area Multi-Point Auto Focus - AF, Center AF, and Spot AF Shutter Speed - Auto (1/4 - 1/2,000) / Program Auto (1- 1/2,000) / Manual (30- 1/1,000) Aperture Range - Auto (f2.8-f16) / Program Auto (f2.8-f16) Filter Diameter - 74mm with Adapter Ring Color Modes - Normal, Vivid, Real, Black & White, and Sepia Red-Eye Reduction Self-Timer - 10 seconds, 2 seconds, and off White Balance - Automatic, Cloudy, Daylight, Fluorescent 1, Fluorescent 2, Fluorescent 3, Incandescent, Flash, and One Push - One Set Movie Modes - MPEG VX Fine with Audio (640x480 at 30fps), MPEG VX Standard with Audio (640x480 at 16fps), 320 (QVGA, 320 x 240, 8.3fps) Scene Modes - Beach, Extra High-speed Burst, Extra High Sensitivity, Fireworks, Landscape, Snow, Soft Snap, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Auto Adjustment, Program Auto, Easy Shooting, Manual Exposure, Movie, High Sensitivity, Smile Shutter, and Underwater Flash Modes - Auto, Flash On, Flash Off, and Slow Synch Dimensions - 3 23/32 x 2 1/32 x 1 1/64 (94.3x59x26.8mm) Weight - 5.5 ounces (156 grams) Body onlyDigital Cameras
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