Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W270 review

Does Sony's latest high-performance compact carry on the good work set by previous cameras in the Cyber-shot W Series?

Due to the great quality of its cameras, Sony has the potential to become a victim of its own success. Its Alpha range is dominating the DSLR corner of the market, and the word Cyber-shot has become synonymous with feature-packed compacts. The W270 has a tough job ahead of itself to live up to the high standards set by the stylish W Series so far.

Style really is the name of the game, and the W270 oozes it in bucketfuls. Available in four different colours to suit a variety of visual palettes (red, pink, black and silver), the metal body reassuringly dispels any doubts over its durability without its weight causing too much of a strain during transportation.

The 2.7-inch TFT LCD screen is prone to the odd fingerprint and takes up a decent chunk of the back plate, but leaves enough room for the mode dial and directional buttons to be accessed with ease. It can also be viewed in direct sunlight better than a lot of other compacts on the market, thanks to technology beneath the hood of the 12.1MP W270. Screen display settings rotate through four different options to allow for optimum viewing out in the field. Credit also has to go to the camera’s 28mm wide-angle Carl Zeiss lens for the quality of the images.

In use, the W270 fares well in both unpractised and experienced hands. For enthusiasts, the Program Auto mode offers all the usual settings to tweak to perfection without stepping out of its box as a mid-to-high-range compact camera. However, for those with a bit of prior knowledge of how digital cameras operate but who would get swamped by all the options under Program Auto on the mode dial, the W270 comes laden with treats.

First up is the Enhanced Face Detection on board. Most people will be aware of the concept of Face Detection, perhaps even be bored of hearing about it by now, and it seems that Sony has tried to jazz it up a bit on the W270. Unfortunately, it seems to be under the impression that people would actually make good use of the ability to differentiate the priority between children’s or adults’ faces, whereas in reality they will more than likely stick to good old standard Face Detection without the frills. However, the camera does include a helpful feature in the form of an Anti Blink setting, which analyses the subject’s eyes to enhance the likelihood of, quite literally, eye-opening shots.

Next up is the Smile shutter on the camera’s top plate. Again, the initial concept is good, with the W270 automatically taking a picture once a smile has been detected in the scene. There are even options to activate this feature only when a big smile is apparent – and it does require a big, cheesy grin on this setting - or anything as subtle as a slight smile.

Elsewhere on the Mode dial is the Movie Mode, which allows high-definition filming at 720p with clear stereo sound. This is an area where the W270 has improved upon previous models, as it has significantly upped its specs to allow decent playback on HD TV sets.

In terms of performance, the W270 is sound. Images are on the whole clear, although it did tend to struggle to pick up fine details in bright sunlight. Colours were vivid though, both in playback as well as in composition, thanks to the Clear Photo LCD Plus screen’s increased colour gamut. Sony’s onboard Bionz processor aids enhanced image quality, too. ISO levels shoot up to a maximum of 3200, but there is grain evident at that level, as well as at 1600 below it.

The W270 definitely has its pros and its cons; there are enough short cuts for the beginner to point and shoot with it, while an experienced photographer could just about scrape enough play time out of its manual controls. But there’s a certain gimmicky nature about the camera that once the initial sheen has been wiped away, may well make the buyer baulk at the asking price.