Sony Cyber-shot WX150 Digital Camera Review

Lens & Sensor

The WX150 comes equipped with an f/3.3-5.9, 4.45-44.5mm (25-250mm equivalent) 10x-zoom Sony G lens. It extends about 0.75 inches from the body at the wide-angle setting and about 1.5 inches at the telephoto setting. The barrel feels a bit flimsy, but doesn't jut out particularly far, so it shouldn't be a problem. The zoom tilter moves the lens through the zoom range in about 1.5 seconds, which is quick.

The WX150 is built around a 1/2.3-inch 18.2-megapixel Exmor R backside-illuminated CMOS sensor. It's the same one found in about half of Sony's 2012 Cyber-shot lineup. As far as we're aware, it has the highest pixel count (and pixel density) of any 1/2.3-inch point-and-shoot sensor right now.

Display(s)

No surprise, the WX150 doesn't have a viewfinder, but it does have a serviceable 3-inch, 460,000-pixel LCD. The specs are about what we expect at this price. By default, it's not quite bright enough to see in direct sunlight, but the brightness is adjustable, and at the maximum setting, it cuts through the sun. The display has a very slight lag, but it doesn't impact the shooting experience.

Flash

A tiny flash comes built into the top-center of the front panel, right where an errant finger can block it with ease. It's rated for about 12 feet of effectiveness, which is enough to light up a small room, but not much else. Some flash is better than no flash at all, but the WX150 is adept at shooting low-light scenes without it, so it isn't an integral part of the user experience.

Connectivity

Per usual these days, the WX150 has two ports: one mini-HDMI hookup, and one USB jack (micro USB, in this case). The HDMI port is covered by a plastic flap on the side of the camera, while the USB connection is on the bottom of the body, uncovered. Watch out for dirt and debris getting in there.