Sony created the W-series to be its budget line of snapshot cameras. Without the sleek designs of the T-series or the high-powered zoom lenses of the H-series, the W-cameras distinguish themselves only through their modest price tags. Despite their lackluster features, the W-cameras have proven themselves with solid performance and good image quality. This trend follows in the Cyber-shot DSC-W80, Sony's high-end Cyber-shot W-camera. Like all current W-cameras, the W80 might not look like much more than a simple, shiny, blocky camera with a standard 7-megapixel sensor and 3X zoom lens. Once you start shooting, though, the W80 quickly proves itself.
The DSC-W80 boasts a newer, prettier interface than the other W-series Cyber-shots. The camera's tweaked system is much more colorful than those of the W35 and W55, and resembles the Playstation Portable's menu system more than any camera's. The home button activates this new design in a secondary menu that separates media and camera settings from more commonly used settings such as white balance, ISO sensitivity, and exposure compensation. The enhanced menu includes more media-friendly features than any other W-series camera, like high-definition slide shows with MP3 music support and in-camera image retouching. All of these features are nice, but the buttons that access them are irritatingly tiny and spaced around a slightly-too-sensitive control pad; it's far too easy to tap the wrong command when navigating the menus. The W80 also includes more useful features like optical image stabilization, ISO 3200 maximum sensitivity, and face-detecting autofocus and autoexposure.
The W80 uses Sony's new Bionz image processor, another first for the W-series. Despite its unfortunate name, Bionz seems to work very well. In CNET Labs' tests, the W80 shot much faster than its little brother's, lagging only 1.2 seconds between pictures. In burst mode, the camera captured 19 full-size photos in just 7.1 seconds for a fantastic 2.7 frames per second (FPS), far better than the W35 and W55's 4-shot bursts of 1.4 fps.
The photos themselves looked great, with sharp details and accurate colors. Noise stayed relatively low up to ISO 800, when a noticeable grain developed. Predictably, shots taken at ISO 1600 appeared noisy and blurry, and the ISO 3200 setting produced pictures that looked more like impressionist paintings than photographs. Still, if you keep to ISO 800 or lower, you can pretty much count on solid pictures.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80 reigns as the current king of the Cyber-shot W-series. While the most expensive, it also packs in the most features and polish of any W-camera to date. Its solid picture quality and fast speed make it a great choice for a small, reliable snapshot camera.
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Typical continuous-shooting speed |
Product Specifications:
Product Description:
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80 - Digital camera
Product Type:
Digital camera - Compact
Dimensions (WxDxH):
3.6 in x 2.3 in x 0.9 in
Color:
Silver
Flash Memory:
31 MB
Supported Flash Memory:
Memory Stick Duo
,
Memory Stick PRO Duo
Integrated Memory:
31 MB
Sensor Resolution:
7.2 megapixels
Shooting Modes:
Frame movie mode
Focus Adjustment:
Automatic
Min Focus Range:
19.7 in
Focal Length:
5.8 mm - 17.4 mm
Image Stabilizer:
Optical (Super Steady Shot)
Red Eye Reduction:
Yes
Microphone:
Microphone - Built-in
Viewfinder:
Optical - Color - Real-image zoom
Display:
LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.5 in - Color
Supported Battery:
1 x Sony NP-BG1 Li-ion rechargeable battery - 960 mAh ( Included )
Product Basic Spec:
Video input type:
Digital camera
Digital Zoom:
2 x
Sensor resolution:
7.2 megapixels
Optical sensor size:
1/2.5 in
Optical sensor type:
Super HAD CCD
Light sensitivity:
ISO 100
,
ISO 200
,
ISO 400
,
ISO 800
,
ISO 1600
,
ISO 3200
Still image format:
JPEG
Lens Aperture:
F/2.8-5.2
Optical Zoom:
3 x
Camera Flash:
Built-in flash
Exposure metering:
Multi-segment
Exposure compensation:
±2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
Flash memory:
31 MB - Integrated
Display type:
2.5 in LCD display
Battery type:
- Lithium ion
Weight:
4.4 oz
Manufacturer Warranty:
1 year warranty