Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100

Auto Mode (7.0)
A green camera icon on the mode dial indicates automatic mode, which the function guide describes thus: "Auto Adjustment: For shooting with automatic settings." This may not be the most informative explanation, but is fairly accurate nonetheless. Otherwise similar to the Program mode, the Auto mode denies access to all but burst mode options.

Auto mode doesn’t automatically reset to all of its defaults every time it is entered. Instead, it saves flash and macro settings when modes, but resets the exposure setting to 0 EV. This can be a little confusing, especially when most other compact digital cameras include automatic modes that automatically reset the camera for quick and easy shooting.

Movie Mode (7.0)
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100 records movies in two different sizes with three frame rates, all of which simultaneously record clear audio. At its best, the W100 can record 640 x 480-pixel video with 30 frames per second. Unfortunately, this camera is only at its best when an optional Memory Stick Pro Duo card is used – not the internal memory or less expensive Memory Stick media. This seems a little silly, since most compact models offer VGA video at 30 fps without strings attached. Without the required card, the movie mode can still shoot 640 x 480-pixel resolution, but at a much choppier 16.6 fps. This frame rate just isn’t enough to capture moving subjects and yields a clip that looks more like a flip-book. The W100 can shoot video clips optimized for emailing as well; its 160 x 120 video mail option shoots only 8 fps. It is easy to email, but looks awful.

There is no optical or digital zoom available while recording movies, so users must employ the old-fashioned method of zooming – walking toward or away from the subject. This method doesn’t make for great results either; without image stabilization, the choppy video looks even worse when bouncing up and down.

Quite a few options exist in the movie mode’s menu. Users can shoot black and white or sepia videos and can change the auto focus, metering, and white balance settings. These are important, especially in less than optimal lighting, as the automatic and default settings don’t handle low light very well. A movie I recorded after dark, with the lights on, showed my son as a little orange goblin and my walls as a putrid yellow color when they should be white.

Drive / Burst Mode (4.5)
Burst mode, while easy to select from the recording menu, is incredibly slow and doesn’t make much of a difference to shots. When in burst mode, the camera only snags four pictures at one shot per second. This isn’t very impressive at all. Reducing resolution produces more pictures, but doesn’t speed up the process.

There is also a multi-burst option, designed for those budding photographers who want to snap action shots of themselves jumping off couches or swinging golf clubs. It snaps 16 quick shots at 1/30, 1/15, or 1/7.5 seconds, then stitches the images into a 1-megapixel shot and plays them back like a choppy movie. The quality is terrible and really only good enough for viewing on the LCD screen. Of note in this section are the self-timer options that can be found by pushing the bottom of the multi-selector. The camera can wait 2 or 10 seconds to snap a picture, indicating its intent with the blinking orange LED on its front.

Playback Mode (6.75)
A designated button accesses the playback mode. From here, users can view pictures one at a time or bring up index frames of nine images for easy deletion choices. The playback menu also offers options for filing pictures into different folders, selecting images to protect or print, play slide shows, and make minor editing changes like resizing and rotating. Slide shows can play each picture for anywhere from 3 seconds to a minute and repeat the loop over and over, though they don’t have music or fancy transitions. Playback mode also lets users review movies, which play back complete with sound and both rewind and fast-forward functions. Users can divide movies into two separate files, separating the good parts from the dear air.

While the playback mode covers all the basics, it doesn’t really provide anything else. Furthermore, showing pictures off in the camera will make users wish that the LCD screen had better resolution.

Custom Image Presets (6.0)
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100 doesn’t have pages and pages of scene modes – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. While many compact digital cameras are including dozens of scene modes, some are repetitive and unnecessary. The W100 keeps its offerings simple enough that they can all fit on the mode dial, represented by icons which the function guide explains. While users will have to sacrifice Behind Glass and Cuisine modes, they won’t have to hunt through menus to find the Sony’s, which consist of twilight, twilight portrait, soft snap, landscape, beach, and high sensitivity. Most are self-explanatory, except for the somewhat ambiguously named Soft Snap mode, which is really Sony’s name for its portrait setting. High-sensitivity mode is fairly new to the Sony W-series digital cameras. The function guide explains it this way: "High Sensitivity: Shoot without flash in low-light reducing blur." This mode is designed to capture more ambient light instead of using the flash.