Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Apr 27, 2006 - By Emily Raymond
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W30 was introduced at the Photo Marketing Association Trade Show in February 2006. Marketed as an entry-level digital camera with its simplified modes and control systems, the W30 even has a function guide for users who are only now dipping their toes into digital photography. For a relatively low price, this point-and-shoot model offers basic features, such as a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens and a 2-inch LCD screen, as well as a few interesting settings like the High Sensitivity Mode. This mode offers an ISO 1000 setting so users can snap shots in low light; higher ISO settings on consumer digital cameras are becoming hot items this year. At $229, the thin Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W30 offers consumers a basic medium to snap digital photos on the fly.
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Front (7.0)
Sony revamped their W-series to look more attractive, and the W30’s flat front face shows the fruit of their efforts. A textured Sony logo sits in the top left corner, a matching Cyber-Shot logo in the bottom left. Between them is the finger grip, its shiny chrome finish attractive but not providing much grip at all, especially on sweaty August days. In the top right corner is a skinny, horizontal oval-shaped flash; below it is a small circular auto focus illuminator.

On the right side of the camera is a small telescoping 3x optical zoom lens, with two plastic doors that snap shut to protect it when off. Tiny textured lines have been engraved into the lens’s rim, as have the lens specs: “Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar, 2.8-5.2/ 6.3-18.9.”  At the top left of the rim, almost in the center of the W30, is a small circular window that resembles an LED. This window, however, is in reality possibly the smallest optical viewfinder ever included on a digital camera.

Back (6.5)
While the back of the camera isn’t overwhelmingly confusing, it isn’t as organized as that of some other models out this year. A raised platform around the LCD screen extends around the viewfinder and playback button. The 2-inch LCD monitor has the Sony logo at its bottom and an unlabeled door below the screen which opens to reveal the AV-out and USB jacks. In the top left corner of the camera, above the LCD screen, is the built-in speaker, comprised of three holes. Above the top right corner is a small, square optical viewfinder, with two LEDs to its right. Even farther to the right is the playback button.

The right half of the Sony W30 is a mess of controls. At the top is the round circular mode dial, with two vertically-aligned oval buttons below it to the left. The top button cycles through display modes and the bottom accesses the menu system. To the right of these buttons, a set of bumps help the user’s thumb stay put on the camera’s back.

Below the buttons and bumps, a ring surrounding a central button forms the W30’s multi-selector. The top accesses flash modes, while the right activates the macro mode, the bottom chooses the self-timer, and the left adjusts the exposure compensation. Arrows point out the four directions to scroll and icons on each axis explain their effects.
At the very bottom of the right side is an oval button with dual functionality; it selects the image size in recording mode and deletes pictures in playback mode.

Left Side (7.0)
The left side of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W30 is as populated as the desert. Its center boasts its 3x optical zoom capabilities and that’s about it.

Right Side (7.0)
A tiny door at the right side covers the W30’s DC-in jack. In the center, toward the rear of the camera, is an eyelet for attaching the wrist strap.

Top (7.5)
A chrome plate runs across the top of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W30. The left side has “MPEG Movie VX” engraved into it, and a bumpy microphone below it. To the right is a tiny circular power button in the middle of by a green LED. A zoom switch surrounds a shutter release button to the right.

Bottom (3.0)
The left side of the bottom opens to reveal the battery compartment, which also houses the Memory Stick slot. On the bottom right corner of the W30 is a standard tripod mount, although its positioning and design cause the camera to tilt unfavorably when locked onto the tripod.

Testing / Performance Page 3 of 12 Components
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