Sony Cyber-shot® DSC-W80 Digital Camera

I'm an amateur photographer who has been struggling with camera envy for quite some time now. I'm someone who would rather create my own images for design projects as opposed to buying stock photography, and I'm also someone who is obsessed with recording my daughter's babyhood. You may have seen me over the past several years with (gasp!) disposable cameras snapping photos for collateral at work, and at family gatherings.

When my daughter was born, I tried to eek out nice photos from disposables, but got tired and frustrated with the terrible quality and mounting costs. I decided that it made sense to invest in a nice mid-level digital camera that could make a lovely 8x10, should inspiration strike.

Features That Were Important to Me When Selecting a Camera to Buy

First and foremost, I wanted a digital camera with at least 7 megapixels for under $300. I also wanted something slim and portable, but something with a little weight to it as well. Intuitive menus are nice, but as long as menus are somewhat logical I can find my way around most technical devices without consulting an instruction manual. A high ISO was also important to me because I wanted the ability to take good shots in low light. Mostly, I wanted crisp, clean images that would make nice prints without having to tweak the settings before each shot. I also wanted a long battery life with a rechargeable battery, because all of my AA's get stolen by the kids in the house anyway.

Editing pictures with the camera wasn't as important, since I have at least a basic Photoshop and Microsoft Picture Editor literacy. Movie quality also wasn't as important because I believe that movie cameras are for movies, though I would soon learn that today's digital camera can double nicely as an impromptu camcorder.

I don't have any brand loyalty, but I do have one brand aversion and that's to Kodak. My experience with the Kodak EasyShare C310 was a disaster, largely because of the pitiful software that impedes every other program from running effectively during its long updates. I enumerated my issues with that camera in a previous review, but suffice it to say that I was not going to sink my money into another Kodak. A Canon was recommended to me, but it didn't have the features I needed so I started perusing the Sony products on sale at Sears. While researching this model, I read one detailed review that made very minor complaints (slight problems with crispness, does not support conversion lenses, poorly designed menus, screen resolution too low, etc.) most of which weren't applicable to me so I picked it up for $279 along with a $50 Sony MemoryStick PRO Duo 2GB memory card. (Note that you must ask for a special adapter for this memory card when attempting to get prints directly from it on the machines at pharmacies like Walgreens if you don't want to risk losing it in the machine.)

A Few Notable Specs and Comments

For a full list of specs, click here.

This is a mid-range model in Sony's W series, with the W90 boasting 8.1 megapixels over the W80's 7.2, but the W90 wasn't available at Sears and I'm not missing the extra megapixel at all. You have the option of shooting with a lower megapixel setting to reserve more space on your memory card, but to me that's just being pennywise and pound foolish. You never know when that beautiful shot will come along, so why not have the best quality shot if it does?

The lithium ion battery life lasts through about 340 shots, and the unit comes with a standard charger that must be plugged into an outlet. My experience is that the battery recharges enough for moderate use in just a few hours, but I often leave it plugged in overnight when I do pull it out to charge. Surprisingly, I've only needed to charge the battery about 4 times since I bought it and I use it frequently.

The camera comes with a built-in Carl Zeiss 35 mm. zoom lens that pops out and open when the power button is depressed. There is a built-in lens cap. This camera takes about a second to prepare for its first shot after turning the power on. It boasts an ISO range of 80-3200 which I anticipated taking advantage of, but I don't actually use the ISO mode very often because the auto mode works well for my use. Users who want a viewfinder will be happy to hear that the DSC-W80 has one, but I've never used mine. The camera also comes with automatic face detection and an automatic shot stabilization mechanism that helps to minimize shaky shots.

The dimensions are 3.6 x 2.3 x 0.9 in.. I love that this isn't so small that I'm afraid it'll drop down into the depths of the city after slipping through a sidewalk grate, but still small enough to fit into a very small purse I have. I also really like the weight - about that of my T-Mobile MDA Smartphone or a small, unfilled coffee cup to use another point of reference. In all, the construction is very durable. I did buy the Sears insurance to protect it against damage, but we have dropped it twice already without any noticable issues. I really like the feel in my hand, as well as the attractive silver design. This model is also available in black, pink and white, but the silver design looks far more streamlined than the other colors.

The camera connects to a PC with a USB cord and all images and movies download automatically with the Sony Cyber-Shot software. The software is not recommended for editing. If you don't want to use Photoshop or a similar photo editing tool, I recommend using the built-in editing tools, which include cropping, contrast, zooming, etc. There are also a few floofy editing tools that are just plain silly. The one that adds little starbursts in the image comes immediately to mind.

If you plan on plugging the camera directly into your television to watch slideshows or view pictures, you can do that with this model, but I don't use it for that purpose.

My Use

I was able to install the software, charge the battery, get comfortable with the menus and insert the memory card to begin taking pictures the first day I bought it. I was immediately impressed with the large preview screen (2.5 inches) and I didn't feel that the resolution was lacking at all for my use. Now, this camera doesn't have the largest screen in this price range, but 2.5 inches is more than enough for me. The screen also performs well in bright rooms or sunlit areas.

When taking shots of people from about 10 feet away, the faces are nicely detailed and I can make out subtle changes in their complexion or the play of light on their clothing on the screen. In review mode, I can zoom into the picture using the standard + and - control for zooming into a live shot. I didn't experience any shaking or problems with light on auto mode for the first several days of use. In fact, the morning after I bought it, I took one of the most beautiful pictures of my daughter (who, at three months, is certainly a moving target) imaginable. The full-sized image came in at just over 2.5 MB though, so I had to make it much smaller in order for it to be e-mail friendly.

In addition to the 2.5 inch screen, zoom control and built-in viewfinder, the back of the camera has a very simple little wheel that turns to easily take you from auto mode to movie mode, white mode (for snow shots), beach mode (for bluer blues), high ISO mode, a mode for scenic shots, and night shots. I usually use the auto mode and the movie mode, but I've used all of the modes and am happy with the results. Professional reviews of this camera will include actual shots from the camera for you to inspect, if you so desire. My only complaint with this wheel is that it sometimes gets turned to launch another mode when handling the camera for a shot, so I need to check it before use.

There is also a button that allows you to jump into review mode quickly. I use this all the time because the shots don't stay on the screen for very long at all after taking them. There is also a control that allows you to easily turn off the flash and Macro modes, as well as adjust the volume and screen brightness. The tricky buttons are the Home and Menu buttons, but a quick glance at the instruction manual will help you to figure out how to access various settings and, most importantly, to customize your auto mode as you wish. I looked at all of the settings for the auto mode and changed them here and there, but in the end I found that the default settings were best for me.

Movie mode lets you use the shutter button to easily record mpeg movie files of varying resolutions (I use Fine Mode which records 640 x 480) and lengths, depending on the size of your memory card. I already have two short (one minute) movies of my daughter up on YouTube, which brought joy to our family and friends with a high-speed internet connection. It's really just as simple as downloading the movie to your PC and uploading it to YouTube, so I can't imagine most users who have at least enough knowledge to email an image wouldn't be able to figure out how to do this. The movies aren't terrific when it comes to sound quality, but I really like them for capturing cute kid moments. I only wish I could zoom while filming.

Even though I don't have too many problems with shaky shots, I do get some blur from time to time. The face detection isn't perfect, but it works well for most shots. One particularly annoying quirk is the unfailing red eye effect in many shots, no matter what the lighting. Even the in-camera red eye editing feature usually can't find the red eye in faces, so I have to edit them in another software program. The other in-camera editing features are surprisingly good as I said earlier, but you can eat up your memory by saving too many versions of your edits. I recommend performing good PC and camera memory maintenance so that you don't paralyze your system with too many images and movie files.

Another feature that is by turns nice and annoying is the sound the camera makes when you turn it on. While I like the sound in a way, candid shots can be ruined by it when the camera is powering on. You can control the volume after powering up, but when I turn the camera on the sound is always there.

I love the prints I get from the DSC-W80. The detail of the milk on my baby's chin or the light in my quasi-stepdaughter's red hair takes my photographs from good to great.

MWAH!

That's the sound of me kissing my camera envy good-bye. I would easily recommend this to any photo enthusiast who wants slightly more control and range than they'd get out of a Kodak EasyShare or similar model. This works well for personal and professional use. I feel like I got much more than I thought I could get for under $300.