Reviews for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixel Compact Camera - Silver

By member: Jythra - Jan 19, 2008

Good Digital Camera for Regular Use

Strengths: - Good picture quality - Light Weight - Factory supplied Rechargeable batteries & Charger

Weakness: - Less Optical zoom - No digital zoom - Needs Memory stick instead of regular media cards

I am happy with its features and picture quality. The features are moderate for general family pictures. The memory stick is still expensive compared to SD, XD cards etc.

It is compact and light in weight. Flash quality is not great. Also, the battery span is less. I would expect at least four batteries for more recharge span.

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Great all round compat camera

Strengths: Huge LCD screen, Easy to use, Long long battery life - Takes AA batteries, Good build quality

Weakness: Hates any kind of dirt/dust, Zoom isn't too great

The DSC-W5 is a great all round camera for holiday snappers and the average Joe. It's easy to get going with the camera, the battery life is fantastic even with the flash and the screen is big and does show a great representation of the picture taken.

The USB cable that comes with the camera is also very handy for uploading pictures from any computer. If you're travelling, this is essential as most Internet Cafes restrict software being installed - with this camera you just plug it in and the computer shows it up as another drive. All you need to do is drag the pictures off and email them (though you may need to resize them).

I'm very happy with this camera and have used it for a three month trip around South East Asia with no problems at all.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixel Compact Camera...

Strengths: Small, compact and cute camera. Excellent design. Picture quality is excellent. The big plus is a huge LCD screen - 2.5 inches. Windows XP easily recognizes it and transfer is very simple.

Weakness: Vibration warning appears sometimes even if camera sits on tripod. This is usually due to insufficient light bit not shaking.

I highly recommend this camera. This is a slightly improved DSCW1 camera but as a result the batteries work 1/4 longer. I bought 1 GB memory stick Pro that is enough for 12 minutes of pretty good video (close to quality of my mini-DV camcorder). Memory stick of this size is very good to use as a flash memory of a USB 2.0 speed. I do not think that built in 32MB memory is something special anyway I will not use it. I am new in photography but the PC-based tutorial from CD is very helpful while paper instruction is a little complicated. Automatic adjustments are very good – sometimes it is not necessary to select scene modes. The camera is very firm build and the metal body is very good. My son dropped camera from about 3 feet height – but camera is still in a perfect condition.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 Digital Camera

Strengths: Longer battery life, internal memory (32MB), 2.5 inch LCD screen, comfortable in hand, simple to use.

Weakness: Could use faster shutter speeds in auto mode once in a while.

Although I own Sony DSC-P100, I wanted to try the new technology so I bought DSC-W5. In comparison, I took a same picture with both cameras. Picture quality for the DSC-W5 was so much better. You can't go wrong with this one.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 is a compact and durable camera that's loaded with powerful features such as a Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens and a 5-megapixel imager. The W5 has very large 2.5 inch LCD screen and is very easy and simple to use in the Auto or Program AE exposure modes. Bottom line: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 is an all around great camera.

It makes a perfect choice for those wanting a compact, durable, and easy to use digital camera. The 5-megapixel images it yields plenty of resolution to make photo-quality 8x10-inch prints.

DSC-W5 is upgraded version of W1, and now with 32MB internal flash memory. So, if you forget to bring along your Memory Stick media card or it runs out of capacity, you can still take pictures. At retail of $349.95, which is similar to W1's price, it's better to get the W5, which now offers 32MB additional memory and longer battery life.

Note: A portion of the available storage capacity is used for data management functions. Actual available memory is 30MB.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixel Compact Camera...

Strengths: Large LCD, AA batteries, fast performance, nice and compact camera, good photo quality, some manual controls

Weakness: Relatively low LCD resolution, a wider angle lenses would be better

This camera is the upgrade of the DSC-W1, which received very good reviews for photo quality.
I actually bought the W1, but a few days later I saw the W5 and I decided to change, especially because of the longer battery life and the nicer 2.5" LCD screen, which has now a slightly lower resolution but seems sharper to my eyes.
The big display is a great plus on this camera, and two or three people can easily review the photos directly from the camera.

The camera body is entirely in metal, it feels solid and is very nice, in my opinion. It is small enough to go into almost any pocket - but it could be a bit thinner.
Despite the compactness, I feel very comfortable to use the camera. It's easy to shoot with one hand, even if the camera seems a bit too heavy in this case.

The photo quality is quite good, with appropriate colors, sharpness and noise levels. This is my first digital camera and I don't have much experience, but the W1 had a very good photo quality, according to the experts reviews, and from my shots the W5 seems to have the same quality (I would be surprised if it was different!)
The lenses are equivalent to 38-114 mm: this means that the wide-angle position is not so wide, and sometimes you cut something off your photo, especially when you shoot landscapes or buildings.

The auto-focus time, shutter lag and shoot-to-shoot speed are excellent, this is one of the fastest cameras I tried at the shop.

There is a complete set of manual controls (focus, white balance, shutter speed, exposure, aperture). For each of these, however, you can choose only among a set of 3-4 predefined values, but I think this is not a great limitation for beginners like me, and can add a lot of fun with respect to a pure point-and-shoot camera.

The battery life is excellent, and the use of AA batteries ensures that you will never remain without power.

In conclusion, I chose the W5 because it seems to be a very good mix of photo quality, speed, usability, nice LCD, and compact size, being above average in each of these aspects. For each of them you can find a better camera, but I couldn't find another camera as well-balanced as this one.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixel Compact Camera...

Strengths: Large LCD screen. Very nice lenses. Great flash. Very fast performance. Small, compact design. Very light to carry around. I like that I can use 2 AA batteries to power it.

Weakness: Learning manual is not too user friendly (CD is very nice).

This is an amazing little digital camera. This is my first digital camera so I maybe a little bias. I have done a lot of research on different cameras but have found that this one has one of the best reviews. I like the quality and reliability of Sony.
My first picture I took after charging the batteries all night was of my living room at 5am without any lights on. The flash worked great. It looked like I took the picture in broad day light. The large screen is very convenient and easy to use. Pictures look great on it and I have not had any trouble with it. I still have to master all the menus and buttons but the CD that comes with it is easy to use. The manual is a little different story.
The zoom works great and it is perfect for all the pictures I take (which are still shots mostly).
I would recommend this camera to anyone especially people that are beginners like me.

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Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W5 Digital Camera review

Strengths: good picture quality, form factor - easy to take stable pictures

Weakness: heavy and relatively thick and big

This is an excellent consumer digital camera with high-enough resolution for most purposes. It is constructed sturdily and the brick form factor makes it easy to take stable pictures without shakes. It tends to be relatively big and heavy, though, when compared to competing products with 5M pixel resolution. The flash is strong enough for most occasions. Overall, the camera has been operating without problems.

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Great Bang For Your Buck

Strengths: Picture quality, price, ease of use. You can use regular AA batteries as back-up.

Weakness: Optical zoom could be stronger

Have used it only a few times but it has been a joy so far. Easy to use, but has many bells and whistles for the amateur photographer in you.

Picture modes can be changed with a spin of the wheel on top of the camera. I did a lot of research and this is the best 5.1 MP camera out there without an insane price tag.

Conveniently small size but with a HUGE LCD screen.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixel Compact Camera...

Strengths: Large LCD screen Auto focus does it all! 32MB built in memory for those forgetting to insert memory stick

Weakness: An extra set of rechareable batteries must always be on hand. A little bulky.

The picture quality is excellent with very little effort. There is easy access to seeing your photos on the computer. Also easy to print and share. I am very happy with this point and shoot camera, especially when shooting young children.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixel Compact Camera...

Strengths: large LCD screen; AA batteries; smaller dimension

Weakness: a little heavy; a little delayed displaying on LCD when taking pictures

Before I bought this camera, I have owned Sony-W1. I feel W1 is quite suitable for me to use it. So this time I tried to buy another one for my friend. Because there is a new type Sony W5, I bought this camera this time. The dimension is almost same with W1 but the position of some interface is changed. It also contains a large LCD screen and uses AA batteries(this is very useful because I can buy them anywhere when my batteries are exhausted.) and has smaller dimension for easy carrying.
The disadvantages are: First, it is a little heavy compared with sony P series which uses Li-ion batteries; Second, it is a little more delayed displaying on LCD than W1 when it is set as "camera" mode, but it is Ok when it is set as "film" mode. Anyway, the quality of the pictures and films is the same as W1.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixel Compact Camera...

Strengths: Small size, but large lcd display, sharp german Carl Zeiss lense. Fast "ready" cycle.

Weakness: Weak Flash. The camera came with no case for the camera, no lcd protector.

I just started to use this camera. I previously had a Canon S50 and I noticed this camera has a much bigger lcd display. It is also lighter than the Canon.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixel Compact Camera...

Strengths: Large screen makes it easy to use. Easy controls. Excellent picture quality.

Weakness: None.

Loved the new Sony W-5.
I have used Sony P100 in the past. This one has a bigger screen.
Havn't used a lot of complicated features yet. But overall, I would
highly recommend this camera.

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