Sony Cybershot DSC-W150

Pocket-sized point-and-shoot cameras are becoming cheaper and cheaper, and happily, they’re even starting to take professional quality photos. The Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 represents the sensible melding of an easy-to-use interface and the general capability of a serious camera. The Cybershot DSC-W150 is the go-anywhere compact that will preserve memories in quality pictures that will rival the best work of the local photo lab.

Standout Features

• 8.1 megapixels
• 2.7-inch LCD screen
• 5x optical zoom
• Wide range of automatic and manual settings

Features

The Cybershot DSC-W150 is available in black, silver and red which adds a welcome touch of personality to the digital camera. For years silver was the only option on digital cameras. It’s a small touch, but having a color you like really makes the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 feel like your own. Size wise, the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 is conveniently small, but not so tiny that those with big hands will struggle to use the buttons and dials—it’s about the size a deck of Uno cards.

Given the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150’s small stature, the telescoping lens manages to get 5x zoom. A tripod or a stable surface is a necessity for capturing blur-free pictures on maximum zoom. Night-shooting will require a tripod as well—the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 is missing the option to manually adjust shutter speed. Instead of shutter speed adjustability, the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 leaves users with a preconfigured “twilight” and “night” setting for shooting low lit scenery, skylines or distant objects.

The Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 features a standard variety of preconfigured automatic settings along with some truly useful automatic shooting modes. In addition to the standard portrait, panorama, twilight, beach, white balance and ISO options, the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 includes a highly effective face detection option. With face detection enabled, the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 will detect up to eight faces in a photo ensure that they are optimally focused. The face detection feature can be optimized for children, adults or both.

The Cybershot series has advertised the Smile Shutter feature pretty aggressively. Unsurprisingly, you’ll find it on the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150. We were initially skeptical about the Smile Shutter feature as it sounds like a gimmick targeted at gullible amateur photographers. In reality, it’s a handy feature. The camera waits to shoot until the subjects in the frame are smiling. Smile Shutter will save you repeated reshoots for group shots.

Summary of Reviews from across the Internet

The Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 has comparatively few manual control options for users that like to take focus and shutter speed into their own hands.

Users list long battery life, onboard red-eye editing, a bright LCD, the Smile Shutter and quick lens response time as strengths of the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150.

Summary

8.1 is a lot of megapixel! The fact that all those pixels are produced by a colorful pocket-sized body packed full of features and beautified by a 2.7-inch LCD make the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 all the more appealing. Serious photographers will appreciate the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 for its portability and ease of access. Amateurs will delight in the high quality photos produced on the Sony Cybershot DSC-W150 with a simple point and push of a button.