Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35

Viewfinder (4.0)
The viewfinder is a real image optical viewfinder located above and to the left of the lens - a position that will drastically impair accurate framing of a photo. That said there’s no better way to "accidentally" behead a disliked family member or acquaintance. All of this is of course contingent on the photographer actually being able to get their eye anywhere near the petite viewfinder located above the right corner of the LCD screen. Considering the size, placement, and accuracy of the viewfinder, it would be better if the camera didn’t have it.

LCD Screen (3.0)
Sony advertises the DSC-W35 as having a "bright" LCD screen, and while it is bright, the screen is underwhelming, even when compared to camcorder LCD’s that traditionally have vastly lower resolutions. The 2-inch LCD found on this digital camera has a pathetic pixel count of 85,000. While perhaps acceptable several years ago, a 2-inch LCD sporting only 85,000 pixels today falls short of the 200,000 pixel and higher resolution LCD screens that provide crisp and clean image monitoring. The low-quality LCD makes it hard to gauge whether images are in-focus, plagued by noise, underexposed, or otherwise compromised. Direct printing is bound to become a guessing game with mixed results. To further the disappointment, the LCD has a sluggish refresh rate and terrible solarizing that makes shooting photos under bright sun a nightmare.

Flash (6.25)
The Sony DSC-W35's flash is one of the few components on the camera that doesn’t struggle with basic performance. This just makes its poor placement on the exterior of the camera even more disappointing. The flash is located in the upper right corner of the front face, and when the camera is held in two hands, the flash is constantly being covered with fingers of the left hand. The flash does perform well when used, and users will find that there is an included +/- flash compensation setting in the shooting menu if further general adjustments are needed.

Users can further tailor the flash performance by pressing the up arrow on the four-way control. This arrow has the flash icon printed on its surface to clearly indicate its dual purpose. Flash settings for the DSC-W35 are flash off, flash auto, flash on and slow synchro. These settings can be cycled by pressing the up arrow repeatedly until the appropriate parameter is displayed in the upper part of the LCD screen.

When shooting in auto ISO, the flash has a range of 6 inches to 12 feet 8 inches. That is a reduction of one foot from its predecessor, the W30, released last year.

Zoom Lens (6.5)
Last year, Sony overhauled the W-series' aesthetics to appeal to the more image-conscious consumer. Although the camera's construction quality is sub-par, both last year's and this year's improvements to the W-series are welcome ones. One feature that has remained from earlier models is the Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar telescoping 3x optical zoom lens. The lens protrudes from the right half of the camera‘s front face and is surrounded by a slightly raised polished silver ring. The lens extends 6.3-18.9 mm with a 35 mm equivalent of 38-114 mm with a 30 mm filter diameter. The lens is constructed with six elements in five groups and three aspheric elements. The aperture cannot be manually controlled when shooting with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35. The camera will automatically select between f/2.8 to 7.1 in wide angle and f/5.2 to f/13 in telephoto. It has a wide aperture setting of f/2.8 and f/5.2 in telephoto.

Consumers can purchase three different conversion lenses - 2.6x super telephoto, 1.7x telephoto, or 0.7x wide.