Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 12 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Dark Blue)
by Sony
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 12 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Dark Blue)
Customer Review: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.
Summary: 4 Stars
First of all; I purchased this camera specifically to take pictures and shoot movies underwater.
I combined this camera with the Sony MPK-WE Marine Pack, which I've reviewed at that particular product site.
Most of my usage, and the basis for this review, has therefore been below the surface.
The Good:
Instead of just good I would like to say: "The Awesome".
The best feature of this camera - for me - is the fact that it has color modes for white balance underwater; one for blue water and even one for greenish water. This helps to really bring out the appropriate colors underwater, and produces stunning images and movies. All the underwater movies (720p) look absolutely amazing and crisp on a HD TV set (40 inch).
This camera also has a setting for the "intelligent" detection of scenery and lighting. This setting seems to work quite well in detecting landscape or macro mode, or settings for underwater.
With a 16GB Memory Stick PRO Duo there is plenty of space for tons of pictures and movies.
The Bad:
Somehow with all the latest and greatest technology on board, this camera will not allow you to zoom while shooting a movie. This is really too bad, as sometimes it is nice to go from an overview shot into more of a close-up.
In all fairness; shooting a movie underwater does not really lend itself to zooming, as there is invariably some difficulty in holding the camera still.
Also; this camera uses the Sony Memory Stick PRO Duo, and with SD cards becoming more of the norm, it seems silly for Sony to keep on peddling their own media.
The Ugly:
While this is a great camera (and underwater housing combo) for what I needed it to do, the most annoying and frustrating drawback is the fact that the focus while shooting movies is extremely poor. I understand that is is difficult enough to focus on a moving object in water that is also moving, but even in great shots where there is only one large object (say a turtle) in the foreground, the focus continually drifts in and out. At first I thought it had to do with the variable light distorted and morphed by the waves above, but even on cloudy days there were the same focus problems. A dark subject on a light background, or the reverse; nothing seems to be good enough to hold focus all the way through, or even just for more than a couple of seconds. I have tried different focus / metering settings, all to no avail.
Bottom line:
In the end, and despite the frustrating focussing issue, this camera still gets four stars, as it has tons of useful features and it does produce amazing underwater footage and images.
I have included a few still images captured with this camera, but the movies I have made with it are even more stunning.
Customer Review: Great affordable camera - lots of features and HD video is stunning (if you don't move the camera too fast)
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this camera about 3 weeks ago to take on a biking/hiking/kayaking trip though Utah. During the trip I took about 512 pictures and a ton of HD video and was pretty impressed with how much of an improvement it was from my Sony DSC-W50 (6 MP camera).
Highlights:
* Great picture quality - especially for outdoor shots.
* HD Video is really great when staying still- HOWEVER it gets really shaky if you try and move too quickly. (This is not a full blown HD camcorder replacement.) I took about 30 seconds of video atop Angels Landing in Zion Park and just slowly rotated 360 to capture the view. At home, my friends were stunned by the beauty of the park and the details the video captured.
* HD video was easy to edit in both Movie Maker (I have a Vista Ultimate PC) and new Mac Book Pro. You will need a pretty speedy processor to edit large chunks of video as it really makes the computer work.
* Picture modes are great - IF you are a point and shoot person. (Like me) A friend on the trip was a bit frustrated by the lack of fine tune options - he kept turning down my EV setting to make the sky look dark blue VS whitish blue.
Lowlights:
* I wish there was a mode to shoot fast action shots. (Maybe I haven't found it yet?) I had a few shots of bikers zipping by that just looked like blurs.
* The huge display on the back seems to drain the battery. I would need to charge the camera every other day (and sometimes every night) with a lot of use.
All in all, I think this is a great little camera (you can fit it in your pocket)with lots of features and HD video.
Customer Review: Typical Sony Product
Summary: 4 Stars
This camera is worth the price! Of course Canon is probably the best point and shoot camera out on the market in terms of picture clarity. However, to get the same features on a Canon, I would have to pay $100 more. I am not a pro photographer. If I was I would have bought an SLR instead. I wanted a camera that is simple to use for me and especially my wife. Most pictures are clear. You will have difficulty in low light situations, however. I am satisfied with the action shots for a point and shoot. The HD video is adequate. I would rather sacrifice a little image clarity than have to carry around both a camera and a video cam. Of course I love that it fits in my pocket so I don't have to carry a camera case. The camera start up is fast, but there is a lag time between pictures if you are using the flash. The burst option is great to take action shots. I don't use the smile recognition much. The person's smile must be large to be recognized. The 3 inch screen is fantastic and the buttons and control dial are simple and easy to use. I can see someone with large hands having a problem with the dial. I just wish I could zoom in and out while shooting video. A perfect point and shoot would have this option and have more zoom capability.Customer Review: Sony Digital Camera
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this to replace my Sony Cybershot P-8. I have over 9,000 images recorded on it. Two thousand of these were after a piece of lumber fell on it and broke the LCD panel. The P-8 had an optical viewfinder and the camera was still functional. The only drawback about the W-290 is that it has no optical viewfinder. If the LCD panel breaks the camera will be non functional. I did not notice this until I had received it in the mail.
The smile shutter works, which amazed me. I don't know how it does it but it does. The blink detector also works as lauded. I also like the bracketing feature.
The easy mode should offer more features. It is very limited and offers no customization. With the P-8 I almost never needed to change modes. With the W-290 I find myself using all of the modes in a particular setting. One feature that I might need is only available in "Intelligent" other features are only available in "Program" mode.
I like the feel of the camera but I liked the shape and feel of the P-8 better.
Customer Review: A slight step down from my old Cybershot
Summary: 4 Stars
CONS: No Manual Mode (you can't adjust shutter speed), Proprietary Battery, Proprietary Output Cable
My old DSC (Cyberhot) had manual mode with all options adjustable, my old DSC used any AA battery of my choice, my old DSC used the standard mini USB connection and a standard A/V output jack. These features alone kept me from rating this 5 stars. Additionally, it doesn't use the regular "memory stick" my old DSC used.
PROS: Pretty much everything else. Great price, very small and portable, easy to use, many options for taking pictures, surprisingly great video quality (though without zoom option) that I viewed on a 55" TV, picture quality is obviously not at the level of an SLR, but I am very happy with it.
Overall I recommend the W290 as a simple, easy to use, inexpensive point and shoot camera. I feel like it is a bit of a downgrade from my old DSC in terms of manual mode, battery type, output cable type, and memory stick type, but I still like it.