Sony Cybershot DSCW120/B 7.2MP Digital Camera with 4x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot (Black) Reviews

• Very good all-around point and shoot

  
  By AABE5H0DKJXEP on 2008-04-22
  My wife and I recently upgraded from our Sony DSC-P8 to a Sony DSC-W130. So far we are extremely happy. We shopped around quite a bit before settling on the new cybershot, and spent a good deal of time trying out other brands. In the end, the Smile Shutter brought us back to Sony. It sounds like there is no way it would work, but it really does. We have two young children that are remarkably hard to catch smiling. With the new Sony, all we have to do is turn on the smile shutter and the camera does the rest. So far, we haven't missed a smile with the 3 year (with teeth) and have caught a few of the 4 month old (no teeth). It makes a difference.
  
  The other feature that has been great so far is the burst mode. With my old camera, the missing time between shot resulted in a lot of blurring. The new camera manages to focus each shot much better. We played around with some moving targets, and the pictures came out great. One major drawback of burst mode, however, is that you can't use flash. I took a bunch of pictures indoors and the quality was ok, but not great. The flash just turns off when you switch to burst mode.
  
  The video recording is great on this camera. Obviously not camcorder quality or anything, but very good for what you'd expect from a point and shoot. The sound quality still isn't that great, but much much better from my older camera. It seems like it balances the audio in the first few seconds. If the first few seconds are loud, the whole video will be softer. If you start out soft, however, you bury the needle when it gets lounder leading to some distortion. You also can't zoom while in video mode - something they don't tell you.
  
  The flash recharges after about 1-2 seconds, which is great. It also is pretty effective for long distances.
  
  I like the menu configurations, especially now that I've had some time to play with them.
  
  Picture quality is great, but I'm upgrading from a 2MP camera, so it probably wouldn't take too much to wow me. We took a ton of shots and were impressed at the level of detail when we zoomed in on our computer.
  
  Overall, we are very happy with this camera. It has some limitations and problems, but for the money (and for being a point and shoot) it is great.
  
  

• Great camera

  
  By A17YRVUIF9ZZRW on 2008-04-28
  It's just about perfect, for me. Of course, I'd like the quality and control of an SLR in a tiny package, but for something this portable it does a fine job. The onscreen descriptions of the settings are just fantastic, the ISO (low light) mode has to be seen to be believed...very little noise, even without flash. Pictures are mostly sharp, though without flash you still have to maintain a steady hand, as with any camera. Very balanced and realistic color. It's a very intuitive camera that lets you concentrate on your composition and not worry too much about exposure, which I think is what a small point and shoot should give you. I also love the 16x9 modes for stills, haven't done any video with it. I'd recommend getting a clear shield to stick on the screen, like I did...seems very scratchable otherwise. If I lost it I'd probably get the same camera again. I'm pretty conservative with my reviews, I'm sure many people would give this an unabashed 5 stars, and I almost did, but you still get the occasional surprise when you shoot something that should have turned out fine but didn't for some reason....I think it's just where the tech is at right now, but this camera rocks, no doubt.
  
  

• great camera

  
  By A23WD1OU8Z73XE on 2008-05-22
  I also own a Sony A700 but it is a big camera to lug around all the time. I wanted something small that I could throw in my purse to carry all the time. This camera is wonderful. I get great shots in all kinds of light, the pictures are clear, close-ups are amazing, it's fast and the battery lasts a long time. The only thing that I would change to make it even better, is more optical zoom.
  
  

• Shopped around; would buy it again; but be aware of minor issues

  
  By A3J7C36VE0JWD4 on 2008-06-15
  Just bought this new from a local retailer. Did a lot of research online comparing this model to some of Canon's compact cameras. I'm not a photography buff so I wanted something that was small and not necessarily the "best" but would still take nice pictures. I really like the features that it includes. The 4x zoom is greater than most at this price point, and even some more expensive cameras. Seems to have a lot of neat features, like the Smart Zoom (digital zoom without pixelation), multiple auto focus points, and ability to shoot 640x480 video. The face detection is pretty cool and seems to work really well. I thought about getting the DSC-W130 with its 8MP resolution and editing features, but figured that 8MP was more than I needed and I'd rather do my photo editing on the computer.
  One or two "bugs" I'm aware of:
  1. If you shoot using burst mode, you'll find that you can't turn the flash back on in any mode but Easy mode. You have to reset the camera back to factory defaults to shoot using the flash again. Even knowing this I would still buy the camera, but I'm hoping that enough people would alert Sony to this error to release a firmware update to fix it. Otherwise I would have given it five stars.
  2. When you plug in the camera with the USB cable and turn it on the lens will open and then close, so be sure not to leave it face down before transferring data.
  3. This camera (unlike some) does not receive power through the USB cable so it needs to have a battery with charge in order to transfer pictures. Don't leave it on too long while it's plugged in or it'll drain the battery.
  
  

• Perfect for my needs!

  
  By A11MEY95RV5SOM on 2008-06-21
  I was looking for a smaller camera that would take good quality pictures, especially on trips. I take college students abroad for a month in Costa Rica and wanted to be able to do a blog with lots of pictures to record their experiences. This camera far exceeded my expectations! It is extremely simple to operate. I have been able to figure out features that are new to me on the fly without having to refer to the manual. Particularly impressive to me are the video capabilities and the high sensitivity / low light with no flash setting. I have been able to take excellent shots in dark museums where no flash is allowed and have been able to upload good-quality videos to the blog. The software that comes with the camera works well and is very user-friendly. The 4X optical zoom is not powerful enough to take fine nature photographs from great distances, but it is good enough to zoom in to compose a picture for most general purposes. All in all, I highly recommend this camera, especially for travel.
  
  
• Excellent Camera
  By A3C8QDHMF61WK on 2008-05-07
  I bought this camera right before my senior prom, and it really came through on a day where I wanted to take a lot of pictures. The battery lasted all night (and I took 2gb worth of pictures). My friends have other cameras in the same price range, with the same or higher megapixels, but Sony cameras take superior pictures. They adjust to bright light or a dark room better. I keep the anti red eye flash turned on, so no photoshop is necessary later.
  
  It's also worth mentioning that the video and microphone on this camera aren't bad. I've recorded a few concerts, where it's dark and there's a whole lot of background noise, and the videos turned out much clearer than I expected or hoped for.
  
  Plus, the camera is my favorite color, matches my iPod, and I get frequent compliments on it.
  
  
• awesome purchase
  By A1GG7BDXVKNLV3 on 2008-06-22
  this was a great investment. I got that package deal (camera,case,&duo stick for computer) at a better price than Sony or Best Buy offered. Camera has really great features (auto smile, set to look for adults or children, video, & slideshow to name a few). The only downside is that Sony has not made a Marine Kit to fit this camera yet for underwater use. Excellent quality on printed pictures.
  
  
• Worst Camera I have Ever Had
  By A3H4GJIEX6OQGG on 2008-08-30
  Sure, the name looks promising. Sony is a well respected company known for their great quality in electronic devices. I thought FOR SURE that with the reviews this camera had gotten and the brand name, it would be a fantastic camera. Shortly, day after day, I found out I was completely wrong.
  
  1. The zoom, which was advertised as 4x Optical Zoom, is terrible. My old digital camera (Kodak, probably only cost me a little over $100) had a zoom that went 100x further than this camera's. The zoom gets blurry much too quickly, even though it does not allow you to even zoom that far in the first place!
  
  2. The timer button (you press it and the camera takes the picture by itself) has two options; 10 seconds and not at all. And even at that, you can not pick which flash setting you want.
  
  3. The camera does take good photos, however it takes AWHILE to take them. Sometimes the red light will go off for quite awhile before flashing (and at that, it flashes twice; most people move after it flashes the first time and then the picture does not turn out.)
  
  4. The battery does not last long. I had many issues with it when I first bought mine. I would charge it all day long, and then the camera would only run for 5 minutes and then shut off (not exaggerating!) Eventually this problem stopped, but oh so many other problems came along.
  
  5. I can deal with the little issues this camera has even though I secretly wish I could take this camera and drop it out my 2nd story window onto the concrete. BUT TODAY, I had the final straw. I went to turn on the camera, and the lens started to make a "click click" sound and pulse up and down. This was strange, so I looked at the screen which read "TURN POWER OFF AND ON" ... i followed the instructions for about 10 minutes before I took out the battery, charged it, and placed it back in where the lens still pulsed and the screen STILL read turn power off and on.
  
  At this point, I am totally done with this camera. I am looking for every possibly way I can to either A) sell it or B) refund it.
  This camera is truly not worth the money, invest in a Canon or Kodak. PLEASE.
  
  
• Fast, fast shutter
  By A1GWDRBUMQOCRK on 2008-06-09
  I've been in love with the Carl Zeiss lenses for years now, but my older Sony digital had such a slow shutter I was missing pics of my son. This camera takes really fast pictures!!! I also love the setting that allows me to force the camera to focus on a childs face before anything else in the frame. The blue color is stylish, and its small enough to fit in a front pocket. Looks great in a Kroo Camera Case Premium Quality Carrying Case for Sony Cyber-shot + Bonus Bundled with Universal LCD Screen Protector Kit + Cloth in light blue.
  
  
• good camera
  By A16D004EXFA7UV on 2008-05-26
  Its all you want in a point and shoot. I can turn it on, not even look in the screen, push the button and get good in focus-properly light pictures. Is very thin, good button lay out. Only hit of a negative with it is the port to connect to the computer is on the bottom, would prefer it on the side, still a strong five stars.
  
  
  
  
  
• Very Good product
  By A2YBOK9Y0R0Q5E on 2008-04-25
  The product is very good, the only fail is the battery. Doesn`t last to much.
  
  
• Sony Cybershot Digital Camera 7.2 MP
  By AO8DOQBHGZQFO on 2008-04-28
  Super price for this great an item- was a birthday gift to my 24 year old daughter. Couldn't ask for better quality and price. Great customer satisfaction from dealer. Thanks, Amazon and Vanns!!
  
  
• bad placement of connection to computer!!
  By A31BEGEFDXZZ30 on 2008-06-01
  I was excited after I pulled the camera out of the box, charged the battery and took a few pictures. The indoor photos set for no flash, came out with much truer color on the display than those with the flash. The video quality wasn't bad, but the zoom doesn't work when taking a video.
  
  Then I went to move the pictures to my computer, that's when I was disappointed. The connection place is on the bottom of the camera. That's not 100% bad, but it's not even covered! I don't know about anyone else, but when I put the camera down I usually put it on the base. I also use whatever's around as a tripod. Being one who takes pictures outside and other places where dirt/dust are around I found this quite disappointing. Unfortunately I felt that had to return it and start the camera search again.
  
  
• Not worth the mone
  By A2BARY2MR1T4LU on 2008-07-25
  While this camera has an impressive collection of features (albeit few useful ones), the quality of the photo it takes turned out to be very poor. We didn't expect it to be as good as the Nikon D50, 6MP SLR we purchased two years ago, but even on full quality this "7.2MP" camera's pictures were worse than a five year old 2MP camera we have. Needless to say, we were very disappointed with this camera and returned it. We have since purchased a Panasonic FS3. It also offers a wide range of obscure features that we will never use, but it takes considerably better pictures in lower light situations than the Sony. It doesn't have the 4X optical zoom like the Sony, but we'll gladly give up a bit of zoom for added quality. The increased MP, 8.1 vs 7.2, makes up for a bit of the zoom. And considering the premium we had to pay for a Memory Stick vs a simple SD card, the overall cost was the same.
  
  We have always been a Sony family for video recorders and cameras, TVs, portable stereos and game systems, but have never liked their digital cameras since the days of the Mavica and the early Cybershots. We were just hoping they had figured out what they were doing wrong, but when it comes to digital cameras, it is obvious Sony is counting on their brand name and styling to win over customers and hope they will be satisfied with what they get in the way of image quality.
  
  We can only suggest you go to a store where you can get your hands on demo units that are charged and take some test pictures. When you review them, use the zoom feature to closely examine the image quality. Everything looks sharp on the little display screen, but once you zoom in or put the image on a larger screen you will be able to compare the quality of the different cameras side by side.
  
  
• Nice Pictures
  By AVTYMUI9DCLRE on 2008-05-14
  I bought this camera becuase I was going on a cruise to Bermuda. Never owning a sony before I crossed my fingers. I am so happy with this camera. It took such beautiful clear shots, motion shots were fuzzy but for the most part every picture I took was more outstanding then the next one. Easy to use, I bought a 4gb memory card and had over 1000 pictures I could take. I took 400 pictures and I am happy with them. This is a good camera and a good buy. I am a sony customer for life.
  
  
• Love this
  By A1RZHR6DUE6Y0G on 2008-06-05
  I purchased this camera fro my trip to Paris and I was thrilled with the quality, speed, battery, and size. This was a great value.
  LOVE LOVE LOVED IT
  
  
• Excellent purchase
  By A2H95N5M9ZV85X on 2008-06-20
  I already had a sony cybershot and took great pictures. As it became older, the lenses would not open or close. I decided to purchase another camera. Due to the great quality pictures I had taken with my old sony, I decided to purchase a new cybershot and found this product to be a good value for its quality. I do feel that the batteries are very expensive in comparison to my previous one.
  
  
• Great Camera!
  By A89LWUV7FGZA8 on 2008-07-24
  Before purchasing the Sony Cybershot DSCW120 I owned a Fujifilm digital camera. The camera was all around a good camera, but the pictures weren't as clear as I wanted them and it was a little bulky. Then I lost the battery and really wasn't sure if i wanted to spend the money to purchase a new one.
  Then last week, I went onto Amazon and looked at camera's and got interested in buying a new Camera. Since I wanted something light, small, preferably black, takes clear pictures, and good reviews, I came across this Sony Cybershot. After reading all the review (which im a first review, then buy person) I was Sold. The next day I went to Circuit City and purchased the Camera, a case, screen protector, and of the course the $30 dollar memory card.
  I took it home, turned it on and just started snapping pictures. The pictures were clear as day, even in low lighting areas. I tried using the Face Smile setting, which was a little confusing in the beginning, but after playing around, was actually really cool.
  Another thing that I love is that when slidding the wheel, like when going to auto, face smile, video, etc, tells you what each setting is.
  Example: When turing the wheel to Twilight is says "shoot low light scene using tripod". I think this is an awesome setting when turning the wheel and not really know what your turning to and have to either play around or resorting to the manual.
  Overall I think this is an awesome camera thats light, a pocket size, and shoots crisp clear pictures. For the 200 dollars I spent, I cannot be happier.
  
  
• don't buy sony cameras
  By A39Q080D88Q0B7 on 2008-08-02
  The problem with Sony cameras, both photo and video, is that Sony uses a variety of Sony memory sticks. My Sony video camera memory stick does not fit in my Sony Vaio. Incompatibility is a big problem generally within the Sony family. My girlfriend's Vaio's charger does not work on my Vaio. I have made a commitment to myself to not buy anything anymore from Sony because I'm tired of having to carry an adapter for SD cards and having a memory stick gate which doesn't accept my video camera, and remembering to not pack my girlfriends charger when I go traveling, and so on.
  
  
• A little bit of a let down.
  By A2GFWZCD0S56AA on 2008-08-18
  This is a great looking camera and a nice size. I was replacing my aging panasonic camera and hoping that the pictures would be noticeably better, especially with double the mega pixels and dual antishake. But the pictures were very similar to my older camera and the antishake didn't seem to work at all. It may be that I didn't keep the camera long enough to figure out the best settings or that I got a defective one but I did return it and bought a Canon Elph instead. It's a SD850is and takes great pictures and was about the same price as the Sony. The canon has a flimsy plastic cover over the usb port that keeps popping open so I guess there is no perfect point and shoot but the pictures are very good and the digital macro lets you get as close as you possibly can.
  
  
• Sony Baloney
  By A3G4W5HHAV50HB on 2008-10-07
  I had this camera for only 4 months when the screen locked up and wouldn't function. I spent 8 bucks to send it to the Sony repair center where they said that the malfunction was my fault and that the repair would cost me $90 bucks. So the manufacturer's warranty is baloney, or
  Sony Baloney. Effectively, there is NO manufacturer's warranty, just in case you want to buy this camera. Whatever goes wrong with your Sony camera is your fault, and they will NOT cover it. Needless to say, I will never buy another Sony camera. BUYER BEWARE!!!! Any camera malfunction is your fault and will not be covered by the so-called manufacturer's warranty. The manufacturer's warranty is strictly HYPE.
  
  
• Great Camera
  By A17WSKFEBYWUIT on 2008-05-23
  This is an excellent camera. Has lots of great features and takes excellent pictures. The movie capturing ability is also excellent with great sound reception. Make sure that you get a memory stick because the internal memory can only hold 5 pictures. I got the 4gb memory stick and can now hold 1290 pictures.
  
  
• Amazing camera
  By A2LQPM7TT41VPN on 2008-05-25
  This camera is amazing! I love how big the screen is on the back and I also love how fast it takes the pictures! This is a very nice camera.
  
  
• Great for price
  By A39CS2XUXOFUJH on 2008-05-31
  Wanted a camera that used the pro duo card (which I can put in my Sony TV for a slide show). Just got back from Disney with the family--great pictures, easy to use-am buying one for my daughter who is getting married!
  
  
• Great Camera
  By A1PZ3VDFVU8BEE on 2008-06-10
  Got this just before a trip to Utah. Very compact, easy to use. A 4G memory stick holds about 1500 pictures. The OEM battery lasted a week and 600 pictures. Can't beat it. Also got one of those "gumby" mini tripods at Wal Mart for $10. It's about 8" long with flexible legs. Highly recommended as well.
  
  
• Excellent teensy camera
  By A1M6OD4XZHO4DX on 2008-07-16
  I may be the least ept photographer in the world. I have long sought a very small digital camera with automatic settings that even I could understand. Sadly I have a number of cameras that did not fit this requirement. This camera fits the bill perfectly. It has a view finder in addition to the focus frame, another thing that I wanted. I'm a lot more successful with a view finder than trying to center something in the focus frame. The picture quality is excellent and I have had no problem using it. Given my lack of eptness, this is an amazing thing. I highly recommend this little treasure.
  
  
• Outstanding compact camera
  By A2J9AFGQ5K9NAN on 2008-08-01
  I brought my new DSCCW120/B on a trip to Europe and it took hundreds of excellent photos. The ISO (no flash, low light) mode was very handy inside cathedrals and I found the landscape (far focus) mode easy to shoot through screens and still keep distant focus. My spouse (of unsteady hands) was grateful that the Steady Shot feature captured almost all of her photos in good focus. The fact that I could drop it in my front shirt pocket without feeling it was very liberating. Yes, it did fall on the pavement several times due to bending over, but no damage was inflicted.
  
  
• perfect camera
  By A2468SSQ0NLGL0 on 2008-04-29
  Very good camera, elegant and easy for taking by its small size, it incorporates good functions, and great quality of image in the screen, the photos have good resolusion at night and also.
  
  
• Very good camera..Sony is superb always
  By A1VJN7KNBSW9LZ on 2008-04-29
  I am die hard fan of Sony camera ..This is the second camera from Sony and picture quality and camera looks adorable.
  
  I am very much happy on this product
  
  
• Best little and cheap digital camera
  By A2H445LOVI3L8F on 2008-05-29
  Excelent pictures. Multiple face detection. Smile detection (fantastic). Good resolution on movies. Powerful flash. 4x3 and 16x9 pictures. Full HD 1080 prepared.
  
  

• Vista Explorer 60" Lightweight Tripod with Tripod Bag
• aVinci Media SMG-51-0003 Polar Express DVD Kit
• Sony MSMT16G 16GB Memory Stick PRO Duo (Mark2) Media
• aVinci Media SMG-51-0013 Personal DVD Movie Kit
• Adobe Photoshop CS4 Upgrade

• Sony 2 GB Memory Stick PRO Duo (MSX-M2GS) (Retail Package)
• Sony LCS-CST General Purpose Soft Carrying Case for Slim Cybershot Digital Cameras
• Sony MSMT4G 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo (Mark2) Media
• Sony 4 GB Memory Stick PRO DUO ( MSX-M4GS ) (Retail Package)
• SanDisk 2 GB MemoryStick Pro Duo (SDMSPD-2048-A11, Retail Package)