Sony DSC-S600

Reviewed November 2006

Introduction

Offering a 6-megapixel resolution and a 3X Carl Zeiss optical zoom, the Sony DSC-S600 is an excellent example of how affordable digital cameras are becoming.

Two controls are located on top of the camera, to the right of the little holes that indicate the position of the camera's speaker.

The smaller of the two is the Power Switch, recessed into the surface to avoid any accidental activation, and ringed by a green light when the camera is On. The other is the Shutter Release, a 2-stage system that activates the auto focus and auto exposure at the halfway point, and locks them when maintained there.

The viewfinder is flanked by two LEDs which light or blink during some operations:

• The upper one lights green, solid when the autofocus has locked on the subject, blinking when it is having difficulty.
• The lower one indicates flash charging by flashing orange, becoming solid when the flash is ready for use.

Further to the right, and above the LCD monitor is the 3-position Mode Switch:

• indicates the Playback mode, making it possible to review captured images and videos.
• indicates the Still Image capture mode (see further for the different modes available with the S600);
• Serves to capture Movie clips, with sound, in any one of three formats:
  • 640 Fine: 640 x 480 pixels at 25 frames per second using a low compression, but only available when a Memory Stick Pro Duo is used in the camera.
  • 640 Standard: 640 x 480 pixels at 25 frames per second with a stronger compression.
  • 160: 160 x 112 pixels at 25 frames per second.
  During movie recording the optical zoom is locked at its position at the first frame but white balance and exposure are adjusted as the recording progresses.

The remaining external controls of the DSC-S600 are grouped on the right of the monitor so they can be reached easily with the thumb. At the top of the back, inside a concave area, are the two buttons that are used to control the optical zoom. As usual, the buttons also have a function when the camera is set to the playback mode:

• Pressing the wide angle [W] button, it is possible to review images as an index , that presents 9 thumbnails per screen.

• Pressing the telephoto button [T], an image can be zoomed into up to 5X.
• And when the image has been magnified, the [W] side serves to zoom out gradually until the image is back to full screen.

Below is a button labelled MENU which serves to display the camera's menu, capture or playback, depending on which mode is currently selected. The specific shooting mode is selected in the Capture menu:

• Auto: lets the camera control all capture settings, the user only has to select the image size.
• Program: the camera selects the aperture and shutter speed, but the user remains in control of exposure compensation, ISO, etc. White balance is under the camera's control, however.
• : High ISO mode lets the camera increase sensitivity up to 1000 ISO if necessary so it can maintain as high a shutter speed as possible.
• : Twilight mode allows a maximum exposure time of 2 seconds to capture a dark subject. The flash is automatically turned off and sensitivity is set to 80 ISO. Noise reduction is automatically applied after the image is captured.
• : Twilight Portrait mode also allows exposures up to 2 seconds, but increases sensitivity up to 160 ISO while setting the flash to Slow Synch. The Setup menu must be accessed to activate Red-eye Reduction.
• : Snow mode applies exposure compensation automatically to counteract the effect of bright and reflective snow on the metering. Sensitivity is set automatically between 80 and 320 ISO.
• : Beach mode limits the flash modes to Forced On or Forced Off and has a minimum shutter speed of 1/8 sec. Sensitivity is automatically set between 80 and 320 ISO while the camera increase blue saturation slightly.
• : Landscape mode has a shutter speed range of 1/8 sec through 1/2000 sec. The flash can be set to Forced On or Forced Off and sensitivity, automatically controlled, ranges from 80 to 320 ISO.
• : Portrait mode causes the camera to soften sharpness and accentuate flesh tones. Sensitivity is automatically controlled and covers from 80 to 320 ISO.

Next is a four-direction control that Sony calls the Control Button. It serves to navigate the menus, and review pictures in the playback mode. The control is composed of a disk with a single round button at the middle.

The button in the middle serves to confirm selections made in the menus. While each of the four directions of the control are labelled with an icon indicating the directional control's additional function when the camera is in the capture modes.

	The up arrow serves to select the Flash Mode: Auto, Forced On, Slow Synch and Forced Off. Red-eye reduction is available but must be enabled in the Set up menu (see the Interface and Software section of the review for more details about the Setup menu).
	The right arrow starts the Spot metering mode, since by default the S600 uses a Multi-pattern metering. A green icon appears on the left side of the monitor when the Spot metering mode is active, and a cross that shows the area being metered is shown at the centre of the screen.
	The down direction starts the Self-timer which offers either a 10 or 2-second delay after the shutter release has been pressed and the camera takes the photo. It must be reinitialized after each use.
	The left arrow starts the Quick Review which displays the last captured image or video.

The round button labelled with below the Control button control the quantity of information superimposed on the monitor:

• Set to a Capture mode, the default display presents basic information about camera settings: battery state, image size, image quality, folder name into which images are being saved, remaining number of shots that can be captured, memory in use (internal or Memory Stick Duo), AF brackets and AF mode in use. Pressing the button once leaves only the most basic information on the screen; and pressing it a second time turns off the monitor. Whatever the display mode, as long as the monitor is active, when the shutter release is pressed halfway the aperture and shutter speed selected by the camera is displayed on the lower right side of the screen.

• Set to the Playback mode the default presentation superimposes battery charge, image size, folder name, position of the image with those contained in the folder, memory type in use, image file name and time and date of capture on the image under review. Pressing the button once adds information about exposure compensation, ISO setting, flash mode, white balance, shutter speed and aperture. Pressing the button a second time removes all superimposed information from the image.

Finally, the last button, below and to the right of the Control button, also has a dual function:

	With the DSC-S600 set to capture still images or movies, the button serves to select the image resolution or frame size (See the Characteristics section of the review for more detail about the image resolutions offered on the DSC-S600).
	And when the camera is set to the Playback mode, it server to Delete unwanted images.

The Sony DSC-S600 benefits from an excellent ergonomic design. Its controls are few but well placed, making it easy to get accustomed to the camera quickly. The monitor, albeit one with a comparatively low resolution, is sufficient to frame shots and if needed, the optical viewfinder can be used. Moreover, the DSC-S600 is fast, exhibiting no noticeable shutter lag.