Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35 review

Gallery

Verdict:

Review Date: 20 Jul 2007

Price when reviewed: inc VAT

Reviewed By: Ben Pitt

Our Rating 5 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

The DSC-W35 is the successor to Sony's W30, which we named Best Photography Product of 2006.

It's the most expensive camera in the group, but £109 is hardly pricy. Its screen is 2in across and has a meagre 85,000 pixels, but the W55 (What's New, Shopper July 2007) is largely the same camera with a 2.5in screen. Unlike most of the cameras here the W35 has an aluminium case and a Li-ion battery, which lasted for an impressive 526 shots in our test. It's more compact than most, too.

The W35 was impressive in our speed tests, taking just 1.5 seconds to switch on and take a picture, and 1.3 seconds between shots, making it the fastest camera here. It's disappointing that the continuous mode is limited to four shots, but a Multi Burst option captures 16 one-megapixel shots at up to 30 frames per second (fps). The menus are straightforward and efficient and offer a generous selection of features, including contrast and sharpness. There's also a choice of five manual focus presets, ranging from 50cm to infinity. The macro mode focuses on subjects just 2cm from the lens for microscopic close-ups.

The W35 produced exceptionally high-quality images and excelled at flash photography. Low-light shots were often too dark, but a high-sensitivity mode is easy to access from the mode dial. This gave credible results using ISO 1000, although they're not quite as good as the F20's ISO 1600 pictures.

This is a very good camera, but FujiFilm's FinePix F20 takes similarly excellent photos and costs a little less.

Prev Next

Get more reviews, tutorials and in-depth advice, every month with Computer Shopper.
Click here to try 3 issues for £1

< Previous Reviews : Digital cameras Next >

Sponsored Links

Be the first to comment on this article

You need to Login or Register to comment.