Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W1S Digital Camera [5MP 3xOptical]

I bought this camera a month ago for girlfriend's birthday from amazon. I had researched extensively and chose this over the DSC-V1 (poor battery life) and the Canon S500.

I'm extremely glad I bought it. My girlfriend's description of the camera is "addictive". She takes it everywhere and has filled a stack of CD-R's. The movie mode is great little addition.

Overall, pictures are extremely clear and well balanced. Once or twice the picture was a little blurry on a fast snap but changing the ISO setting would probably fix it. The amazing thing is how fast this thing powers up. Its literally possible to turn it on and get a quick shot on a bus ride or in the car. Very cool.

I'd give it five stars except for two things. 1 is the price of memory stick pro. I eventually found something reasonable but still its about twice as expensive as compact flash. 2. The software it comes with isn't very powerful. I'm using GIMP as a substitute but since the pictures are really good I rarely have to do much post processing.

Overall a great buy, especially on Amazon - and its even cheaper now (damn)!

I received my DSC-W1S from Amazon just the other week, and I am extremely happy with it. (Would have liked a speedier turn-around on the order, but thats another story).

I spent a lot of time deciding between the various Canon and Sony offerings at the 5Mpx segment. This is my first digital camera, so I wanted a something that would be suitable for a novice like myself, yet has the manual functionality that I could grow into. Canon offerings such as the S50 and the S500, do offer a tiny bit more manual tuning (white balance etc.). Yet the Sony comes close for manual options. The Sony also offers a huge LCD screen (very very useful), an amazingly quick start-up time, easy to use, excellent photo quality, 640x480 video, and AA-size batteries.

The pictures are simply stunning at both 5mpx and 3.1mpx. With blue sky's actually looking blue. Objects are crisp. Also the digital zoom feature does not ruin the picture quality.

Battery life also seems superb, I used the camera on and off continually for about 8 hours last Saturday, taking about 70+ pictures, 5-6 videos, with numerous play-backs - and it didn't even make an impression on the battery charge!

Some people may argue the valid point that you are tied into Sony Memory Sticks and that they are more expensive than CF cards. This is true, but my advice is shop around, and maybe go for a Lexar card rather than Sony - it works out cheaper. Although not as cheap as CF. I bought a 256mb card for about £60.

This camera is hot. I personally have an Ixus 400. But I bought this (DSC-W12, Black) for my girlfriend as she trusted me to find her something easy to use that would take excellent photos. The three contenders were the Canon IXUS 500, Sony DSC-W1 (Silver) or the DSC-W12 (Black). The DSC-W12 is exactly the same as the silver unit but the package comes with an extra set of AA Stamina Batterys, and carry case.

This camera is a fast little thing. It's start-up kicks ass to my IXUS 400. Navigating the different modes is simple and there are 2 modes that could be quite useful, ie Beach mode, Candle mode. The screen is a massive 2.5inch which pretty much takes up the entire back of the unit. The controls on the back are simple to uses, ie delete, preview. Video Recording mode is exceptional.

The unit takes the Memory Stick media, and is only expandable to 512MB, this is a little disappointing as the IXUS doesn't have a limit. I've since purchased a 256MB Sandisk Ultra II Memory Stick as I have the Compact Flash version in my Ixus and it's a quick memory, the best there is. The camera being USB 2.0 compatible means faster downloading to a PC.

The IXUS however, has a better combination of resolution/quality settings, and so can fit more on its Compact Flash media. But still your just going to dump a full Memory Stick onto CD, Format it then continue shooting.

The option to screw a telephoto lens and other lens attachments to the SONY is extremely useful, also an external flash similar to a shoe mount flash is available.

The SONY DSC-W12 is a brilliant camera. Have a play with both the Canon Ixus 500 and the SONY. You can't go wrong with either. The 2.5inch LCD might sway you a little.

I recently got this camera from Amazon after months of research! I'm not dissapointed with the Sony W1, it does everything I want in a camera. The start-up time is so fast you could probably knock someone out with the zoom lens- you are ready to take a photo after around a second after pressing the power button. The picture quality is very good and is probably on par with similar models from Canon which are often compared to the W1. The movie mode is as good as it gets, and battery life is typical Sony lasting ages (for a digicam). The only two gripes I have are that Memory Stick Pro's (which you need for 30 fps movies) are much more expensive than compact flash equivalents, and the Sony software that comes with the camera is as basic as it gets- you cant even fix redeye etc which compared to other manufacturers software is a bit dissapointing.
On the whole though, if you want a small but not too small camera which is easy to use yet does pretty much everything and more the average user wants, this one comes highly recommended.

Well, after having owned a W1 for 3 weeks now I thought I would contribute to the ongoing "softness" and "blurry" debate.

First of all, I've got to say I'm very pleased with the camera overall. The plus points
· Very clear and crisp shots, believe it or not.
· Virtually no shutter lag.
· Batteries last forever, or so it seems J.
· Excellent value for a 5mp camera. I paid £209 incl postage.

The negatives, if they could be called that:
· Standard setting flash a bit weak. Although this is overcome with a plus setting in the flash menu.
· A very slight softness of image noticed in facial close shots, but nothing to worry about really.
· The multi focus can sometimes be caught out which results in out of focus shots. This hasn't happened a great deal, but switching to normal focus produces good, sharp shots every time.

I've read a multitude of postings criticising this little camera, but for me, it meets all my expectations and I would be happy to recommend it (remember to set the camera to normal focus and perhaps sharpness +). Beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say!!