Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35 Easy Digital Camera Review

For consumers who don’t want to drop a ton of cash but need a decent digital camera, the 7.2-megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35 is a good option. It’s an entry-level digital camera, so it doesn’t come with many frills, but its retail price of $179 makes it a practical choice.

 

The camera’s design is simple with a clean and flat silver finish. The Sony W35 measures 3.5 x 2.3 x 0.9 inches and doesn’t weigh much. The housing of the camera feels cheap and its construction is questionable: don’t expect it to last a decade or anything. This camera isn’t built for long photo shoots but instead for the occasional snapshot.

 

The W35 has a Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens that is compatible with a few Sony conversion lenses that fit over the lens to widen or lengthen the view. Other camera components include an optical viewfinder that is small and inaccurate and best avoided, and  a 2-inch LCD screen.

 

The LCD is perhaps the best viewing option but is still flawed. It has only 85,000 pixels so the view is grainy and it’s hard to tell if subjects are focused. It is bright but the refresh rate isn’t very good so if your subjects are moving it’ll look like an old-fashioned movie.

 

Speaking of movies, the Sony W35 does have a basic movie mode that records television-quality 640 x 480-pixel clips. The camera comes with 56 MB of internal memory. It records video to the internal memory at a slow rate of  16.6 frames per second, which makes video look choppy. When recording to an optional Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo card, however, video is recorded at a much better 30 fps rate. The audio in the movies isn’t fabulous but it’s decent considering that the camera’s low price.

 

The easy-to-use Sony Cyber-shot W35 doesn’t have any truly manual modes but has an auto mode and seven scene modes. Most of the modes are tailored to bright lights such as the Beach and Snow modes. The High Sensitivity mode is the only one optimized for less-than-perfect lighting. Its pictures don’t look great though: edges look fuzzy and details are lost.

 

We ran the W35 through several tests and determined its resolution isn’t what it should be. The advertised 7.2 megapixels can still produce decent 8 x 10-inch prints, but very fine details are lost. Even more detail is lost when the ISO sensitivity (comparable to film speed) is boosted. The Sony W35 has ISO options up to 1000, but the image gets speckled with noise starting at ISO 400.

 

Pictures taken in low light were noisy and dark especially because the shutter doesn’t open longer than 1 second. Most cameras of this caliber offer at least a 4-second shutter speed. To its credit, this digital camera produced realistic and accurate colors.

 

All in all, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35 is a decent digital camera at a relatively low price. The 7.2-megapixel digital camera costs $179 and comes with a basic set of components like a 2-inch LCD and 3x lens, and very few frills. There are a few bright spots: 56 MB of internal memory is more than the average of 12-16 MB offered on other cameras and allows you to snap more photos straight from the box. The Sony W35 is a good camera but if you’ll be shooting in low light often, you should look elsewhere.

 

 

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35 - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 344.94

Likes

-         Excellent color reproduction -         Flat and portable -         Simple menus -         Consistent flash -         56 MB internal memory

Dislikes

-         Not very durable -         Small, inaccurate viewfinder -         85k LCD resolution -         Need Memory Stick Pro Duo card for decent movies -         Longest shutter speed only 1 second -         Poor flash placement

 

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35 Compared to the...

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55 Rating: N/A	Canon PowerShot A460 Rating: N/A	Fujifilm FinePix A500 Rating: N/A	Kodak EasyShare C743 Rating: N/A	Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ6 Rating: N/A
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- Comes in four colors: silver, black, pink, light blue - 2.5 inch LCD with 115k pixels - Battery gets 380 shots	- 4x optical zoom lens - Custom white balance - $149 cheaper price - Convenient AA battery power - Compatible with Canon printers - Macro mode focuses as close as 1 cm - Shutter speeds as long as 15 seconds - 8 scene modes - Custom self-timer - Faster 1.5 fps burst mode	- Cheaper at under $150 - AA batteries more convenient	- $149 price - Larger max aperture of f/2.7 - 2.4 inch LCD screen - Longer shutter speeds to 4 seconds are better in low light - Bracketing feature snaps several pictures at different exposures to ensure you always get the best shot - 640 x 480 video at 30 fps without any special card - Easy to use - Docks in Kodak EasyShare printers - Share button - 12 scene modes - Mark pictures as “favorites”	- Optical image stabilization - 6x zoom lens - ISO sensitivity up to 1250 - Easy Zoom function allows you to jump to telephoto quickly - High sensitivity mode uses ISO 3200 - Custom white balance and compensation - Mark pictures as “favorites” - Convenient AA battery power
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- 7.2 megapixels - 56 MB internal memory - 3x optical zoom lens - Same movie mode - Memory Stick compatibility - High sensitivity mode with ISO 1000 - Same exposure modes - Same 1.1 fps burst mode - Same dimensions	- 2 inch LCD with 86k pixels - Real image optical viewfinder - PictBridge compliant - Similar 4 color modes	- 3x optical zoom lens - Optical viewfinder - Similar 3.7 x 2.4 x 1.1 inch housing - Similar 1/10th sec shutter lag	- 7.1 megapixels - 3x optical zoom lens - Optical viewfinder - Same 5.1 ox weight	- 7.2 megapixels - Same $179 retail price - 5-point auto focus - 2 inch LCD with 86k pixels - PictBridge compatible
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- More expensive $199	- 5 megapixels - Comes with only 16 MB MMC card (also compatible with SD though) - More cluttered external layout - Disappointing movie mode - ISO up to 400 only - Alkaline AA batteries get only 120 shots - Flash isn’t as powerful - Thicker and bulkier design	- 5.1 megapixels - 12 MB of internal memory - 1.8 inch LCD screen with 77k pixels - 320 x 240 pixel video at 10 fps is awful - No audio in movie mode - ISO only up to 400 - Movies stop recording after only 1 minute - Flash isn’t as effective - Alkaline AA batteries snap only 100 shots - Uglier design	- 32 MB of internal memory - No manual metering options - ISO up to 400 only - Thicker 1.3 inch body	- Not compatible with conversion lenses - Macro mode focuses as close as 5 cm - No color modes - No burst mode - 27 MB internal memory - No optical viewfinder - Thicker 1.3-inch body