Sony DSC W35 - very good for the price. Review on Sony Cyber Shot DSC-W35

I purchased the Sony DSC W35 at Vijay Sales, Andheri Mumbai in January, 2008 for Rs.9800/-.  It includes a 1 GB Memory Stick and a camera carry case.  With a 3 year warranty for the Camera and a 5 year warranty for the 1 GB Memory Stick.

On Feb 14, 2008, I checked the price of this camera on https://indiaplaza.in and found the following rates -

Sony CyberShort DSC W35+ 1GB Card+ Pouch= Rs.8395.00

Sony CyberShort DSC W35= Rs.6868.00

When it comes to image quality I have to say I was very impressed by the DSC W35.  Even with the Zoom lense fully extended it still takes very clear pictures. The colours are also well balanced.

The DSC W35  has a 7.2-megapixel imagers and precision Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar lenses. It combines a traditional, eye-level viewfinder with a 2" LCD screen for easy framing and viewing of photos.  It features a 3x optical zoom, blur-reduction technologies(ISO), and 56MB of internal memory for shooting without a media card. The storage capacity can be expanded further with optional 8GB Memory Stick flash media cards.

Long battery life - up to 380 shots on a single charge.

It includes high sensitivity settings up to ISO 1000, which allow for shooting at higher shutter speeds to capture fast-moving subjects with less blur. With higher light sensitivity at your fingertips, you can shoot in available light without a flash for more naturally-exposed, “true-to-life” pictures. With Sony’s Clear RAW imaging technology, you can up the camera’s sensitivity without dramatically increasing picture noise, which makes pictures look blurry and grainy.  The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 3.9m.

To help you improve the quality of your photos there are a selection of scene modes available(Twilight, Twilight portrait, Soft snap, Landscape, Beach, Snow, High Sensitivity). When you select a scene mode the camera uses what it believes to be the optimum settings for the shot.

You can take a single photo in 0.27 seconds and five photos in 6.15 seconds. These are good times. When I turned the flash on the times increased, but only by a small amount. With flash a single photo took 0.42 seconds and five photos took 8.90 seconds. A good performance.

Another useful feature in the DSC W35 is the onscreen text help.  When menu icons are selected, such as a specific shooting function or scene mode, a text explanation is displayed on the LCD making it easier to take a great shot. This function guide can be turned off once the user becomes more familiar with the camera.

For printing 4 x 6" photos there is a special 3:2 aspect ratio you can use. This means that none of the photo has to be trimmed to fit on the paper. There is also a special 16:9 aspect ratio for displaying images on a wide angle television screen. Be aware though that this is at a low resolution and will affect the quality of any prints you may wish to make later.

Movies can be recorded at a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. The maximum recording speed is 30 frames per second. Sound can be captured. You can zoom in and out before you start shooting, but not while recording is in progress.

Sony supplies cables and software to connect the DSC W35 to a television, compatible printer and a computer. You can also add wide angle and telephoto conversion lenses to the camera. This makes it one of the most versatile pocket sized cameras you can find.

DSC-W35 Major Features:

• Sony 7.2 Megapixel effective CCD image sensor

  
  




• Carl Zeiss 3x Zoom(38-114mm equivalent in 35mm photography)

  
  




• MPEG Movie: 640x480 VX Fine w/audio at 30fps(Memory Stick Duo Pro required),

  
  

640x480 VX at 16fps, length limited only by media

• Auto, Program AE, High ISO plus 6 Scene modes

  
  




• 4-shot Burst at 1.1fps, 64 Shot VGA at 1.3 fps

  
  




• Live histogram display in capture and playback

  
  




• 5 Area Multi-point AF; auto or selectable Spot AF point

  
  




• 2.0" TFT color(85, 000 pixels) LCD Screen with Auto Brightness

  
  




• ISO Sensitivity: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000

  
  




• Adjustable flash level, contrast and sharpness

  
  




• Noise Reduction: Automatically cleans up long exposure images

  
  




• 14bit A/D Conversion - allows a wider dynamic range from highlight to shadow

  
  




• Built-in flash with Auto Fill, Red Eye Reduction and Slow Synchro

  
  




• USB 2.05 Auto-Connect to host computer

  
  




• Powered by Li-ion rechargeable battery

  
  




• 56MB internal memory plus Memory Stick Duo / Duo Pro compatible

  
  




• DPOF and PictBridge direct-print USB compatible