Front
The front of the S90 (and other ‘Stamina Series’ cameras) lacks the sleek look and strong aesthetics of some of Sony’s previous Cyber-shot models, but it is not completely homely. Weighted slightly right of center is an extending Carl Zeiss lens. The lens extends from the body in two segments. Around the rim of the lens are the words, “Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar, 2.8-5.2/ 6-18.” A metallic rim surrounds the base of the lens, above which are several features. In the top right corner of the S90 is the oval-shaped flash, with an auto focus illuminator below its right side. To the left of the flash is a gray circle with a rectangular optical viewfinder cut from its center. The left side of the front is quite plain. There is a Sony Cyber-shot label and a polished finger grip that is about an inch long and protrudes slightly.
Back
The back of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S90 looks rather neat and organized. The large 2.5-inch LCD screen takes up the left side of the body. A Sony logo is below the screen, while the diminutive optical viewfinder sits above the screen. To the left of the viewfinder are two slots that lead to the built-in speaker. Further left of the viewfinder are two LED lights, indicating the operating status of the camera; reading and writing to the card are indicated with green and orange lights.
To the right of the LCD screen are several buttons, interspersed with raised dots to provide texture for gripping with the thumb. There is also an elevated surface on the top right edge that supplies additional grip and support. In the top right corner, the zoom lever resides within easy access of the thumb. Below it are three circular buttons that run down the side of the LCD screen. The top button turns the LCD screen on and off. The middle button is the frequently used Menu button, while the lower, bottom control is for deleting photos and viewing thumbnails.
Between and just to the right of the Menu and Delete buttons is the four-way navigational dial, composed of four directional buttons and a centrally located control. While the center button is only used to render selections, the directional buttons scroll through menus and double as other functions when the menu is not engaged. The top dial control also determines flash settings. When the right toggle control is pressed, macro mode can be enabled. The bottom can turn on the self-timer and the left side acts as a ‘back’ button. Each of these buttons is labeled with an icon and an arrow.
Left Side
The left side is void of functions. There is a polished silver metal panel running down the center with words that say, “3x Optical Zoom.” The plastic body surrounds the panel and remains flat.
Right Side
The only feature on the right side is a tiny loop for the wrist strap. Unfortunately, it’s so small that users will need a needle, good eyesight, and lots of patience to string the strap through. No, really. I'm not kidding. Below is a picture of the right side--keep in mind that the DSC-S90 is only 1.6 inches deep--and if you look closely towards the top you can see a tiny metal horizontal bar. This is the wrist strap loop.
Top
From the top, the camera has flat compact surfaces except for its front face, which gently slopes upward into a slightly thicker right-hand grip. On the grip is the shutter release button, encompassed by the mode dial. The dial rotates to the following options: Manual, Programmed AE, Auto, Playback, Movie, Portrait, Landscape, Beach, Snow, Candle, Twilight Portrait, and Twilight. A small line on the left side of this dial shows which mode is in use. Below this line is a polished metal panel that runs down the center of the top and onto the left side. At the left side of this panel are the words, “4.1 Megapixels MPEG Movie VX.” To the right side is a built-in microphone, the power button, and a small LED to indicate when the power is actually on.
