Sony CyberShot DSC-W1

First ever Digital camera. Had it for some years, best camera I have had. User friendly Great quality, unfortunately now broken and can't find spare parts. C A

The Sony CyberShot DSC-W1 camera is not user friendly at all, there is nothing worse when you have taken a fantastic picture of the kids or something knowing that you will never recapture that moment and then when you get home and load the pictures onto your pc they came out to dark, or to blurry, or red eye.. I just want a good quality simple to use camera where i dont have to think about the settings..

Sony CyberShot DSC-W1 - Love it! First digital camera of my own but when looking to buy best one I used all my mates which were nowhere near as good quality.

After my faithful old Fujifilm digital camera finally died thanks to a drop too many, I began to look for a replacement with an affordable price and a trusted name. I had a look on a few websites and decided on a Sony Cybershot. When I went to look for it in a local electrical store, they no longer had the particular model I was looking for, but they recommended this camera instead. The camera was an extremely good price and I was so very impressed by the look and feel of it, that I purchased it on the spot and I certainly haven't regretted splashing out!

I can honestly say that I have never had a compact camera which has taken such sharp and well-exposed photos. None of my old compact 35mm or APS cameras came even close in quality to the Sony, only a Canon SLR 35mm camera I once had gave similarly impressive results.

Everything about the Sony Cybershot DSC-W1 is spot on and of high quality. The LCD screen on the back of the camera is the biggest and clearest I've seen and is impressively viewable, even in bright sunlight. The menu dial is extremely simple to use. You just click the dial clockwise or counter-clockwise to select your desired setting. There are symbols for auto mode, video, landscape, for viewing and deleting previously taken photos and video, menu mode and more. In menu mode everything is well-laid out and simple to navigate. The macro and self-timer buttons are on the back of the camera and the power button is on top of the camera, next to the selection dial. Sony have really done their homework in designing the camera body as everything is in just the right place! It's got a ridge to help you grip the camera and the various buttons and flash, viewfinder etc have been laid out in such a way that it makes it a lot more difficult to accidently put your fingers over them when composing a photo.

Sony have produced a superb little compact digital camera here and I give it 10/10 + some more!

I have been shooting (amature) for 30 years. My "other camera" is a D1X.

I purchased a Nikon 5700 before the W1 without doing much research. I figured "Hey. It's a Nikon. What could go wrong?" Plenty. The 5700 went on eBay within one week. Then I did my homework.

The action of this camera, both the time to power on and the lag between shutter actuation and moment of capture, is fantastic. Power on time is a little more than a second. There is no perceived shutter lag time. In this regard, a film photographer will not be disappointed.

The build quality is very good. I am appreciative of the metal tripod receiver which will not wear out as readily as a plastic receiver will. The tripod mount is not exactly under the sensor but I have not have any trouble with shooting tripod mounted panoramas.

The screen is wonderfully large, bright, and clear. While it doesn't pivot, I have been able to take over-the-head shots successfully because the screen is visible over a wide angle.

Focus speed is good and very accurate in the center AF mode. I gave up on the multi-point AF mode. This is the "custom feature" that doesn't seem to stick. That is, I find the camera resetting to multi-point mode (default) at odd times.

Manual mode is essential for good panoramic photography. The W1's manual mode is good for a point-and-shoot limited by the aperture range of the lens.

Flash is powerful, and located exactly over the lens - not offset.

The W1 takes standard batteries and can use rechargeables.

I used its video capture mode for the first time today (have had the camera for about 6 months) and was amused by it. It's not a video camera, but it was really fun to be able to capture my kids rocking and rolling in a full motion flight simulator.

I really enjoy this camera. I am continually pleased by picture sharpness, exposure quality, low noise, and the very, very fast action.

I recommend this camera very highly.

I have owned several digital cameras, my last being a Casio QV3000 with 340meg microdrive.

I looked at quite a few 5meg cameras including the Casio QVR51, Sony V1, Canon ixus500. I eventually settled for the Sony W1, the large screen and AA battery useage tipped the scales in its favour (I also got it from a national company who's shop was closing down, so got it at a great price). The first thing I did was get a 256meg pro memory stick, as the 32meg that comes with it is put in as a token gesture and not much use, only holding about 10 top quality pics.

The first thing I noticed was how quick it was, from pressing the ON button, it's ready to shoot in about 2 seconds. The instruction book is 127 pages long and very informative with lots of pictures to follow. It takes fantastic pictures as well, even in complete dark, the camera omits a red beem that the auto focus can use, then the flash fills the (small) room. The macro setting allows you to take a photo as close as a couple of inches away.

I would recommend this camera to anyone wanting an easy to use pocketable camera that has scope for more professional use if required.