Cyber-shot DSC-W100 review

Sony isn't known for catering for bargain hunter's, but it's bucking the trend with its W-series cameras.

The DSC-W100 is at the top of the range with its 8-megapixel sensor and manual exposure mode, both of which are impressive features for a £210 camera. However, the 2.5" screen's relatively low 115,000-pixel resolution and lack of shutter and aperture priority modes remind us that this is Sony working to a budget. It's a little larger than most cameras fitted with a 3x zoom lens, but it will still fit comfortably in a handbag or pocket.

Battery life is excellent at 522 shots from a single charge. Performance is just as impressive, capturing a picture in two seconds from startup and again every 1.5 seconds. However, low light slows down the autofocus, taking up to two seconds to lock on to its subject. Continuous mode captures four pictures at 1fps, but then requires a few seconds to recover.

The controls and menu system are straightforward and effective, with a five-way navigation pad that doubles as controls for flash, macro, self-timer and exposure compensation. The usual white balance, ISO, focus and metering options are available via the menu. Rather than a continuously variable manual focus, there are five discrete options ranging from 50cm to infinity. Once again, Sony omits a Delete All function, but you can do this from the computer or by using the Format option.

A mode dial includes automatic, program, manual exposure and video modes, plus a handful of scene presets including High Sensitivity. This uses ISO speeds of up to 1,250 to allow for fast shutter speeds in low light. Images can look rather blotchy, but there's still a fair amount of detail, and it's great to be able to select this option so easily rather than having to delve into the menu. In automatic mode, the camera reverts to ISO speeds up to 400, which gives remarkably smooth pictures with less noise than many cameras exhibit at ISO 100. As such, High Sensitivity mode is necessary only in very low light, with the automatic mode coping admirably in most indoor-lighting conditions.

Manual exposure is particularly well implemented. The preview screen's brightness and an EV readout give accurate indications of how the shutter speed, aperture, ISO and flash settings will affect the resulting picture. Increasing the ISO speed even makes the preview image a little grainier, mimicking the effect you'll see on the captured photo. It's disappointing that aperture and shutter priority modes aren't included, though. This might be because the aperture has a fairly limited range, going from f/2.8 to f/5.6 at the wide-angle zoom setting.

Video is recorded at 640x480 pixels and 30fps in MPEG1 format. There's no zoom available and focus is fixed once recording has commenced, but the automatic exposure reacts quickly and smoothly to changes in lighting.

Image quality is as good as we've ever seen from a compact digital camera. Pictures taken in bright light were significantly sharper and cleaner than from all the other 8-megapixel compact cameras we've reviewed bar Sony's pricy DSC-N1. It coped superbly with high-contrast scenes, carefully controlling the exposure and dynamic range to avoid clipped highlights. Colour accuracy was almost impossible to fault, too. Skin tones always looked natural, regardless of the lighting conditions, and flash photography was unusually flattering. Subtle colour variations in foliage were reproduced with an accuracy and delicacy that other cameras missed. Our only criticism is that low light sometimes leads to slightly under-saturated colours.