Sony W80

Sony’s Cyber-shot W80 packs in some amazing features for such a cheap camera, which currently retails at a street price as low as £149. At 7.2 megapixels with a Carl Zeiss lens with 3x optical zoom it offers crisp, clear image quality – but then it has to, because it’s HD-ready. Yes, that’s right: this camera is optimised for image playback on high-definition TVs. Are you ready for your close-up?

Before we get onto that however, the first thing you’ll notice about the W80 is that it actually houses a proper viewfinder. We’re all so used to compact models only having LCD screens, that initially you forget the viewfinder is there and carry on setting up shots through the LCD as normal. We quickly remembered the feature, however, and while we were taking our test shots we did a little experiment with a moving subject, taking some shots through the LCD and some through the viewfinder. Without exception, the viewfinder shots were crisp, clear and focused and, also without exception, the shots composed via the LCD suffered from movement blur. There are a variety of anti-blur solutions on board this camera: a maximum ISO of 3200, Super SteadyShot Image Stabilisation and Double Anti Blur will all combine to reduce blurring from hand shake or subject movement – and they do so efficiently. Our tests prove, however, that LCD screens can be just a fraction of a second behind real-time, whereas with a viewfinder what you see is what you shoot. Combining the two framing methods in one compact is a great way of ensuring that the user can compose accurate, sharp shots almost every time.

Another feature that works well with the W80’s HD capabilities is its Face Detection-2 technology. It’s designed to recognise and focus on faces even in deep shadow, while smoothing skin tones so that they look more natural and eliminating shine and glare from reflections, sweat or oily skin. We tested this too, and it works well across all skintones, even in crowded shots. We’ve all heard the tales about celebrities having to rethink their makeup routines since the advent of high-definition TV, as it picks up facial flaws with annoying ease. So it’s a relief

to know that at least the W80 is on the side of those of us who don’t have time to apply three layers of the latest must-have concealer before venturing outside!

Besides being HD-ready, the W80 is also an excellent camera for capturing great shots that look just as good printed out as they do when viewed digitally. A basic range of scene modes covers all the common bases to offer help in most situations. Burst mode is great for action or concert photography and a good selection of white balance settings allow you to optimise your shot for a variety of artificial light sources, as well as clear or cloudy days. Colour balance and saturation is fantastic, as you can see from our test shot – shades, tones and contrasts are all picked out well. While wide-angle shots aren’t hugely expansive at a focal length equivalent to 35-105mm, the 3x optical zoom handles detail from a distance well. And macro shots are incredibly sharp and very impressive indeed in their overall colour, tone and depth of focus.

Sony hasn’t placed too much importance on conventional digital zoom in this product – which is generally a good thing! So the Cyber-shot W80 only offers a contemptuous 2x digital zoom. However, the W80’s on-board editing offers instead a 14x Smart Zoom, which allows you to crop and resize around points of interest without falling foul of the usual blur and image degradation associated with digital zoom.

There are a raft of other editing facilities available natively on the camera too: cropping, red-eye reduction, soft focusing, filters and effects all combine to make a mini Photoshop inside your camera. We particularly liked the partial colouration filter that allows you to turn most of an image monochrome around a subtle, diffused circle of colour. We had a lot of fun playing with the effect as well as creating some arty images.

The W80 only takes Sony’s MemoryStick Duo as opposed to the more generic types of memory card, which can prove expensive. You’ll need them though, because although it has got 31MB of internal memory, the W80’s HD (yes, we’re back to that again) slideshow feature allows you to upload MP3 files straight to the camera to create a high-definition slideshow for viewing on your TV. There are four preset musical selections that you can use instead of your own audio, but although Sony products generally make fairly pleasant noises, it’s always worth personalising these things with your own content.

Overall we were really impressed with the performance of this camera. It’s easy to use and offers great image quality and has some nice added extras, especially for the price.