Friday, April 4, 2008

Why Buy A Sony Cybershot DSCW200 Digital Camera?

By Chris Campbell

Is it possible for arguably the biggest electronic gadget manufacturer on the planet to produce a respectable digital camera for under $250? I'm talking about Sony here, and the camera in question is the Sony Cybershot DSCW200 Digital Camera. The DSCW200 is an ultra compact digital, but is priced on the high side of that ultra compact category. Is it a worthy contender, or just a poser?

Let's start off with the most important consideration of any camera... image quality. Not so respectable with the DSC-W200. Sony opted to go with 12 mega pixels in this ultra compact. Somewhat akin, to trying to squeeze an elephant into the passenger seat of your Mini Austin. Damn hard to do, and even if your successful, where are you going to drive with an elephant? Marketing hype aside, 12MP is complete overkill for an ultra compact camera. The majority of pictures from an ultra compact camera are going to be viewed on the LCD, or uploaded to MySpace and FaceBook pages. Nobody is looking to blow these up, frame them, and then hang them over the fireplace. 5 or 6 Megapixels would have been fine. Probably better, as image noise would have been reduced.

For this price, I had bigger expectations from the DSC-W200 LCD. Unfortunately, it looks like Sony cheaped out here. 115,000 pixels for a 2.5 inch LCD is not great. It actually pretty grainy, and quite hard to view off angle, or in bright sunlight. As a basis for comparison, the top Canon cameras in this category sport 3 inch LCD screens with 230,000 pixel resolution. At least Sony did provide an optical viewfinder. Not a great one, but a viewfinder none the less.

While this next quibble is minor I agree, I simply have to bring it up. The USB cable provided by Sony for the DSC-W200 is proprietary. I really hate being forced into buying a product that is produced by only one company. I like choice. Sony has a nasty habit of pushing proprietary technology going back to Beta Video, the Memory Stick, and now with the whole Blu-Ray fiasco. Not to say those weren't good/better technologies, I just like choice.

But wait, that's not all. Sony made enough slip ups with the CyberShot DSC-W200, to make even the most ardent Sony lover cast a flirtatious eye towards other suitors. Here's a few more reasons:

- the zoom lens doesn't have enough zoom

- excessive megapixels has driven price too high

- time for flash to recharge is unacceptable

- big handed users will find camera controls difficult

- face detection is only available in auto mode

- face detection works inconsistently

- zoom feature won't work when shooting videos

So, there you have it. The bottom line here is, take a look at some other ultra-compact cameras before buying a CyberShot DSC-W200. There's plenty to choose from, and your more likely to save money and get a better camera in the long run.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_Campbell

Monday, March 10, 2008

Sony Digital Cameras Match The Highest Standards

By Josh J

Sony digital cameras are versatile and highly innovative photographic equipment that ranges from 2 to 8 megapixel capability. Every user – novice or professional – will find an appropriate model among the many Sony digital cameras available in the market. Sony is the brand, which it famous for its high standard for design and advanced features. It is also known for its amazing array of digital cameras from the simplest models to the most sophisticated ones.

Sony Cybershot DSC-T10 Digital Camera

The Sony Cybershot DSC-T10 is one excellent model featuring a 7.2 megapixel, 3x optical zoom, auto focus and exposure, and a capability of storing images in JPEG format. It also has a movie mode with sound, a 2.5 inch LCD and memory stick storage of 56MB internal capability. This unit is powered by Lithium-ion batteries and retails for under $300. It is much like the Sony T30 that preceded it and this item gives the photographer a satisfying experience that is accompanied by its eye-catching body available in different colors such as classic silver, black, white, and pink.

Sony Alpha A100 Digital Camera

This Sony digital camera is highly rated by experts and is the first true Sony SLR that provides much competition to other manufacturers. It is a product of Sony’s recent acquisition/merger with Konica Minolta’s SLR division. The Sony A100 could be called a spiritual successor to the K-M’s Maxxuum line and this item has the capability of accepting all the same lenses as those of the Minolta. It is a 10 megapixel camera that has the Sony Alpha/Minolta A-type lens mount as well as image stabilization capability with the focus to be performed either manually or automatically, and auto as well as manual exposure modes.

It uses both JPEG and RAW file formats to store images and has a compact flash/memory stick. This powered by Lithium-ion batteries Sony digital camera costs between $600 and $800, depending on the retailer.

Rich in features and versatile Sony digital cameras make sure that every consumer will get precisely what they need within a set budget. And with such a name as Sony the last thing to be worried about is quality and reliability.

For more information on Sony Digital Camera check out http://www.digitalcameraworld.org You'll find loads of tips and techniques plus you'll find answers to questions many others in your situation have asked before. But Hurry! For a limited time you can get your very own copy of our award winning Digital Camera Software at absolutely no cost.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Josh_J

Sony Digital Cameras - Always On The Innovation Frontier

By Kevin Rockwell

Sony was the first company to introduce digital cameras into the market. Today, Sony is one of the leaders in the digital revolution. Its historical journey began in 1946 in a small room. Let us see the rise of this company in this article.

Did you know that the first product manufactured by Sony was a rice-cooker! Yes, that is true. Started in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita in a small room, Sony entered the market by making a rice cooker. It was in 1950, after the war had ended in Japan, did Sony create a tape recorder called the G-TYPE recorder. But it was not until the year 1957 that Sony was able to gain market leadership when it launched the world's first pocket transistor radio.

Up till this time, Sony was operating under the company name of Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo. However, when Morita planned to take the firm to the USA, he thought that the name should be much simpler so that people could easily pronounce it. Hence, the term 'Sony' was coined -derived from the combination of the Latin word "sonus" which means sound and "sonny" which means little son.

It was not easy for a Japanese firm to establish base in the USA. And, Sony being the first to do so, the company had to overcome quite a few challenges. However, despite all odds, Sony came up with several new products such as the Trinitron colored television in 1968 which became a landmark in design and technology at that time. In fact it was with the Trinitron that Sony entered the USA.

After this, one of the biggest hits of Sony, the Walkman was launched in the market. It was not very well received in the market by retailers since it did not have any recording capabilities. But after its lukewarm reception, the Walkman slowly picked up… and the rest as they say is history. Then, another revolution in audio technology was brought about in 1982 with the introduction of the Compact Disc (CD).

As far as digital cameras are concerned, Sony was again the first company to introduce a digital camera in the market. Way back in the year 1989, the Sony ProMavica MVC-5000 was launched. The camera provided a 720,000 pixel image which was considered to be the leader in image quality at that time.

Today, Sony is one of market leaders in the digital revolution. Always striving to be different from other players, Sony has led the market in terms of innovative technologies and high quality items. Not only has Sony surpassed others several times by being the first company to make several new products, but it has continuously strived to provide maximum services to its consumers. The company has launched several new services such as the ImageStation.com. This helps consumers to create, share and enjoy digital pictures and video. Also included as a part of this deal are free online albums and eCards, wherein members can share their favorite pictures as gifts, keepsakes and high-quality prints in a variety of sizes.

The latest digital cameras from Sony are:

Cyber Shot Enthusiast Series: These are powerful cameras with advanced optics and controls.

Cyber Shot Point and Shoot: Great cameras for snapshot photography.

Cyber Shot M: Full featured digital cameras with high quality video capture.

Mavica: Cameras which can record directly onto CDs and floppy disks.

Kevin Rockwell worked as a network TV cameraman for 20 years shooting news and sports. Now a devoted fan of digital photography and video he works to gather information, tips and news for digital camera users. Oh and he loves to shoot pictures of his kids playing sports. http://great-digital-cameras.com/gdcj.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kevin_Rockwell