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More…For a slightly pricey $250 (as of 11/21/08), Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-W170 offers a 10-megapixel sensor and a pleasing wide-angle Carl Zeiss lens with 5X optical zoom, not to mention a number of fun features, in a sturdy, industrial-looking form. However, this Cyber-shot's shortcomings--the soft image quality, in particular--somewhat mitigate the positives it brings to the table. The combination of its price and its image quality placed it just outside our latest Top 10 Point-and-Shoot Cameras chart.
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W170
- Spec Navigator
- Digital Format
- Display
- Exposure
- Image Processor
- Included Software
- Lens
- Shutter
- Storage
- LCD Screen
- Exposure Controls
- Dimensions
- Power
- Flash
- Lens Features
- Connectivity
- Other Features
Image Processor
| Number of image sensor pixels | 10.1 megapixels |
| Image sensor | CCD |
| Maximum horizontal image resolution | 3648 |
| Maximum vertical image resolution | 2736 |
| Image sensor quantity | 1 |
| Image format | JPEG |
| White balance | 0 |
Lens
| Accessory Lens | Yes |
| Lens Model | Carl Zeiss wide 5x |
| Telephoto Aperture Maximum | 2.7 mm |
| Wide-Angle Aperture Maximum | 4.2 mm |
Exposure Controls
| Maximum shutter speed | 1600 |
| Minimum shutter speed | 1 |
| Bulb setting | 0 |
| ISO equivalencies |
|
| Exposure settings | 0 |
| Exposure compensation range | 0 |
| Number of scene modes | 14 |
3.5
5 User Reviews Add your own »
$138.97 - $257.23
From 3 Vendors
Buy at Dell.com »
- Lab Tested
- How We Test Point-and-Shoot Cameras »
Pros
Very full-featured, with unique extras
5x optical zoom Carl Zeiss lens
Cons
In-camera navigation takes practice
No zooming in video mode
Bottom Line
The DSC-W170 is a high-quality camera with nifty features that are worth the extra cash.
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W170 Point-and-Shoot Camera
Cyber-Shot DSC-W170 Review, by Kathleen Cullen, PC World November 21, 2008
While the front of the camera is simple and shiny, dominated by the seemingly gigantic Carl Zeiss lens, the back is a bit cluttered with buttons and dials. The clearly labeled function dial helps matters, though.
The zoom toggle switch is similarly easy to use, but I found fingernails were an asset when it came to the W170's tiny buttons. One of those is the menu button, which many people will need to press fairly often. An aspect I found particularly irritating was that the "down" button doubles as the self-timer, which I often tripped and had to exit. But after consulting Sony's very good manual a few times, I got the hang of the settings.
The camera was very responsive, with no shutter lag. For old-school holdouts, the W170 packs a tiny viewfinder, a feature lacking from many new point-and-shoot cameras. The W170's viewfinder is so small that I almost never used it, but it was nice to have, just in case my battery ran low. The camera's 2.7-inch screen worked well for most of my compositions, except in the brightest direct sunlight.
I was thrilled to discover that this camera had 5X optical zoom (28mm to 140mm)--a bit above average for cameras of this class. Unfortunately, my test zoom images were disappointing, especially from what should be a high-quality lens. Pelicans soaring over a slow-moving ferry became indistinct gray blobs floating above a huge, slightly less blurry blob.
The W170 fared better at wider angles, but even then my pictures looked slightly soft yet oddly oversharpened, with artifacts appearing along high-contrast edges. Color and exposure, however, were quite good across the board.
The image-quality shortcomings were also apparent to our panel of judges in the PC World Test Center. The W170 received an overall image-quality rating of only Fair, lagging behind competing point-and-shoot cameras in sharpness and general image quality.
In my hands-on tests, however, portraits in close settings were adequately sharp, vivid, and well lit with automatic flash. The camera also did reasonably well in low-light settings, rendering natural-looking skin tones. Flash intensity is adjustable, a wonderful feature that I look for on every camera. (Without flash, though, expect plenty of noise at ISOs over 400.)
Then there's the really fun stuff: One of Sony's bells and whistles is smile detection, which you can apply in adult or child priority modes. This feature keeps the shutter from firing until your subject smiles, and it works quite well. You can also boost the saturation of your color shots, or apply artistic filters such as black-and-white or sepia, from within the camera.
Battery life is another plus: In our PC World Test Center evaluation, the W170 fired off 310 shots on a single battery charge, enough to earn it a rating of Very Good when compared with other point-and-shoot cameras.
Manual settings include three kinds of light metering (centered, multipatterned, and spot metering), as well as white-balance modes. The W170 also has a helpful optical image-stabilization feature and a dynamic range setting that provides a little more detail in shadowed areas. You'll find macro and several scene modes, too, though not as many as I've seen in other cameras of this class. Sony does include the essentials here, such as landscape, night portrait, beach/snow, and twilight.
The W170 shoots 640-by-480-resolution video at 30 fps. The lens is quick to focus, but you cannot zoom while shooting video.
Overall, the Sony DSC-W170 has several very appealing features that may win over some people, but its image quality doesn't overwhelm. I expected better performance from its 5X optical Carl Zeiss lens. Nevertheless, this camera's interesting features are definitely a draw.
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PCWorld Lab Results
- Rating Breakdown
-
72
-
88
-
88
- See Complete Lab Results »
Performance
| Battery Life (minutes) | 169 |
| Battery Life Score | Very Good |
| Image Quality Score | Fair |
| Image Quality, Color | 53.7 |
| Image Quality, Distortion | 57 |
| Image Quality, Exposure | 49.1 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Flash | 59.7 |
| Image Quality, Exposure--Normal | 44.5 |
| Image Quality, Overall | 46.2 |
| Image Quality, Sharpness | 43.8 |
| Number of Batteries | 1 |
| Number of Shots | 310 |
User Reviews
Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: rudolfm
Strengths: Not found
Weaknesses: Bad quality pictures.
Overall: Bought this camera for wide angle options. Took sample pictures & checked on computer - terrible quality. Replaced it for another one from Future shop and the same story. Return it for full refund. My 4 years old Olympus much makes better quality pictures
-
Reviewed by: Venice2004
Strengths: 5X zoom, larger lens, user friendly extras, and small enough to fit in a purse!
Weaknesses: None
Overall: I was happy with my old Sony W-7, but this one far exceeds that one! The pictures are clearer and the colors are sharper. The "smile detection" really works! My husband rarely smiles for pictures, so this makes me really happy. The face detection feature also is a pleasure to use-no need to have subject in the middle anymore. It takes great photos at night. I was happy with the battery life too. This is one great little camera with a lot of terrific features to use.
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Reviewed by: moolman
Strengths: Wide Angle lens, 5X Zoom
Weaknesses: Memory Stick, Beeping
Overall: First off, any compact camera takes crappy pictures compared to a SLR or any big camera with a big lens. The problem with compact cameras is that the lens is so small that the amount of light reaching the CCD is small, hence bad picture. You just try to do the best because of the trade off of being a small camera you can keep in your pocket. This Sony has one of the bigger lenses because of the 5X Zoom, more light means better picture. Also, it has a decent wide angle lens compared to other compact cameras. The worst part is that you have to buy Memory Stick flash for this, why can't Sony just go with the pack and use SD like the rest of the world. Because they have to milk every penny and insist upon their memory only. The closest competing camera is the Canon 890 which also has a wide angle and 5X zoom for a compact camera. I chose the Sony because the 890 has been out for a longer time and is a 2007 model. A replace should be out in November.
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Reviewed by: howdumb7
Strengths: 10 Mega Pixel, wide angle, image stabilization, it's a SONY.
Weaknesses: It's bigger and heavier than my Canon SD IS1100. Focus slow under low lighting situation. ISO can also be high in those situations. The black one looks better.
Overall: This is a quality SONY camera with wide angle and image stabilization. It's built quality is very good but there are some weaknesses which are described above. Another thing that I don't like about the camera is that while in recording mode, you can not zoom digitally. It's also quite heavy for a portable camera but that is expected due to its battery. Overall good performer but make sure you play with it in a store before purchasing.
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Reviewed by: gaoed
Strengths: 10 Mega Pix, 5X optical, compact
Weaknesses: Only use Sony style memory card, only use Sony style battery which is expensive to get a new one.
Overall: I would hope Sony use industrial style memory card and AAA battery. Though the battery life is OK, but it still made me wait for the charging from time to time. The 10 Mega pix is impressive, and the 5 X optical is better than most comparables. The interval between two shots is too long, I am not sure if it because of the card or the camera. it is not really any different than its counterpart, the W150.
Shop for the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W170
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