The fact that Sony
is able to pack a 12.1 megapixel CCD into
the DSC-W200, a camera smaller than the proverbial
pack of cigarettes, is all the more remarkable as the camera
also includes a stabilized 3X optical zoom
and a 2.5 inch LCD monitor.
The Sony DSC-W200 is completely
clad in metal with a brushed finish on the front, and a pearl
finish everywhere else. As is the case with most of Sony's
Cyber-shot cameras, the W200 has a precise fit and finish
that not only makes it look expensive, but solid as well.
power
switch with to its right, the microphone —
the speaker is underneath the camera. When the W200 is On,
a small green LED lights at the centre of the power switch.
On the right is the shutter release, a two-stage
system that provides auto focus and auto exposure when pressed
to the halfway point, and then image capture when pressed
fully.
The DSC-W200 offers an optical monitor,
its exit pupil being well-placed on the far left side of the
camera's back, minimizing the inevitable parallax
error. Two LEDs, on the right of the viewfinder's exit pupil,
serve to indicate flash charging and AF, either locked or impossible.
Below is the 2.5 inch (6.2 cm) LCD monitor, composed
of 115,200 pixels — the optical viewfinder is
a true bonus when the ambient light is too bright to make
the LCD screen useful — which, regrettably, is only
of average resolution.
The other external controls of the W200 are all on the right
side of the monitor.
At the top is the zoom
control, a rocker switch that moves the lens to the
wide angle end when pressed on the left, and the telephoto
end when pressed on the right, over a range of 8 steps. As
usual, the control also allows zooming in ()
and out ()
of an image under review when the camera is set to the Playback
mode (a maximum magnification of 5X is possible) and when
pressed to the
side to review captured images as an index, with either 6
or 12 thumbnails visible at once on the screen.
Directly below is the Playback mode button,
which can be used to turn the camera On directly in the playback
mode if it is held pressed for more than 2 seconds, and switch
it to the capture mode if it is pressed again while the camera
is in Playback. To its right is the Mode dial,
which, when it is turned and the LCD monitor is active, is
replicated on the right edge of the screen by a virtual dial
that rotates simultaneously with the real one, and which provides
a short text explanation of the selected mode's use:
Auto mode lets the
DSC-W200 take care of all photographic settings. The user
can select the image size, face detection, the flash mode
and whether red-eye reduction is used, exposure compensation,
the macro mode, and the burst modes.
Program mode
allows the user to select all shooting parameters —
exposure compensation, exposure bracketing, white balance,
metering pattern, sensitivity, etc. — while the
camera selects the aperture and shutter speed.
Manual mode offers
complete control over all camera settings, offering an
aperture range of f2.8, f5.6 and f8.0 at the wide angle
end and f5.5, f11 or f16 at the telephoto end, while shutter
speeds can be set from 1/1000 second down to 30 seconds.
Movie allows capturing
video with sound at any one of three formats:
640 Fine: a format that is only available
when a Memory Stick Pro Duo is used, it captures
a frame size of 640 x 480 pixels at 30 frames per
second.
640 Standard: also captures a frame size
of 640 x 480 pixels at 16 frames per second.
320: captures a frame size of 320 x 240 pixels,
also at 8 frames per second, making the format useable
with e-mail.
During the recording, the zoom is locked at the first
frame, but exposure and white balance are adjusted as
needed.
The SCN position is the
access to some useful, but not commonly used Scene modes:
Extra High Sensitivity
allows the camera to increase sensitivity up to
a maximum of 6400 ISO, to capture an image in very
low light without flash.
Beach automatically
sets the sensitivity (from 100 to 800 ISO maximum)
and boosts blue saturation.
Snow also allows
sensitivity to be automatically set as required
from a range that covers from 100 to 800 ISO, and
increases the exposure sufficiently to overcome
the effect of snow on the metering so the camera
captures snow as bright white.
Fireworks requires
the use of a tripod as the shutter speed is set
to 2 seconds and and it has a maximum sensitivity
of 125 ISO.
Landscape provides
a shutter speed range of 1/2000 to 1/8 second. The flash
can be set to Forced On or Forced Off and the sensitivity
is automatically adjusted by the camera in a range that
covers from 100 to 800 ISO.
Twilight mode offers
a maximum exposure time of 2 seconds. The flash is forced
Off and sensitivity ranges from 100 up to 125 ISO. Noise
reduction is automatically applied to the image.
Twilight Portrait also
offers a maximum exposure time of 2 seconds, and has a
sensitivity range that goes up to 250 ISO so as to increase
the range of the flash, which operates in Slow Sync mode.
Red-eye reduction is available, but has to be enabled
in the menu.
Soft Snap mode is designed
to capture portraits while softening the background behind
the subject. Sensitivity is automatically set between
100 and 800 ISO.
High Sensitivity allows
the camera to set the sensitivity from 100 through 3200
ISO so the shutter speed can be maximized.
Three other controls are positioned
below the mode dial. First, the MENU button
calls up the Menu associated with the current mode. Below,
the HOME button displays the "Home" screen which
serves to access all the settings of the camera. As has been
the case with current Sony digital cameras, the menu system
is now confusingly divided into the Shooting and Playback
menus, which are displayed — depending on the camera
mode — when the MENU button is pressed,
and the Home menu, displayed when the HOME
button is pressed, which also contains the aforementioned
menus, but also serves to access other parts of the menu,
such as the setup options.
Ergonomically, this is a poor
design that replaces a system that was better. For more details
on the menu system of the DSC-W200, see the Characteristics
and the Interface and Software sections of
this review.
The last external control of the W200 is its 4-direction
navigation control with, at its centre, a small round button
that serves to confirm menu selections.
DISP
The up arrow of the control serves
to choose the level of information superimposed on the
monitor, both in the capture modes and in Playback:
Capture: pressing the button cycles
between a display that shows basic camera settings,
one that adds a real-time histogram, a display with
the minimum level of information, and finally turns
off the monitor.
Playback: the camera cycles through
similar displays, a basic display with some information
on the image under review, followed by a more detailed
display that shows aperture and shutter speed, as well
as sensitivity. The last display is free of any superimposed
information.
The right arrow controls the Flash modes:
Auto, Forced On, Slow Synch or Forced Off. Red-eye
Reduction is available, but must be enabled in the menu.
The down arrow starts the Self-Timer,
which provides first a 10-second delay, then if pressed
again a 2-second delay before the shutter is released.
The Self-Timer must be re-selected after each photo.
The left arrow selects the Macro mode,
which allows the camera to focus on a subject that is
5 cm (1.95 inches) from the front element of the lens
when it is at the wide angle end, and 34 cm (13.5 inches)
at the telephoto end.
The DSC-W200 is an elegant,
well-crafted camera that responds quickly to its controls.
It does, however, have some shutter lag as its auto focus
is not extremely fast. Still, the W200 is a great travel companion
— this one spent three weeks traveling throughout France
— and its 12 megapixel resolution, combined with a very
effective stabilization system make it well-suited to many
subjects and admittedly, lighter and easier to carry than
an SLR.
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Introduction
)
and out (
)
of an image under review when the camera is set to the Playback
mode (a maximum magnification of 5X is possible) and when
pressed to the 
side to review captured images as an index, with either 6
or 12 thumbnails visible at once on the screen.
