Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom and Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Silver)

I originally bought a Sony DSC-S950, for around half the price of this camera, but I returned it the same day due to a faulty flash bulb. I decided to upgrade to the W290, because I wasn't very happy with the S950 - it felt cheap, and lacked features. I've put together this list of pros and cons of this camera. Don't let the seemingly long list of cons scare you though, as they are all quite minor and not even important enough for me to rate this camera anything less than 5 stars. I just felt it was necessary to list everything I could think of. Sorry, I couldn't properly review the HD Video capability, because I don't have the HD cables (see below), and my computer seems to be too slow to properly play back HD video. Pros: -BRILLIANT colors! I am very very impressed with the colors in my shots, especially when shooting outdoor scenery shots (which is primarily what I purchased this camera for). -Night-time shots using a tripod turn out very well also, giving as much detail as one could see with their naked eye. -Smile shutter, as mentioned in previous reviews, works flawlessly. One thing that doesn't seem to be mentioned anywhere, is that when it's in Smile Shutter mode, it will continue to snap photos automatically as long as it keeps detecting smiles, which is very cool. So if you are taking a group picture, and you're one of those people that likes taking 3 shots of the same thing "just in case", just keep on smiling and the camera will take care of that for you. -there's a 3-shot burst mode, where it automatically takes 3 pictures when you click the button: one with your default EV, one at -1EV, and one at +1EV (or different intervals even, if you choose). That once-in-a-lifetime shot you take will have 3 different versions automatically, and you can choose the one you like the most and delete the rest later. -The Intelligent Auto mode works fantastically, it takes a lot of the stress out of taken urgent pictures. The only time I ever don't use it is when I have plenty of time to plan for a shot. -Startup time is great! I've seen other complaints from people that say this camera takes too long to startup and be ready to use, but those people must be the most impatient people ever, because this thing is faster than any other camera I've owned, digital or otherwise. When you click the power button, the lens fires out lightning fast and the screen immediately displays the picture and is ready for action. Probably takes about 0.5 seconds from pushing the button to being ready to use. Cons: -Plastic cover on LCD screen protrudes from the camera body, making it more easily scratched. I would recommend getting some screen protectors, as I'm about to do. -the jack for the all-in-one cable is on the bottom of the camera, which will be great once a dock is available, but in the meantime it's a very inconvenient place to plug in the cable. It forces you to lay to camera on either the lens side, or the LCD side (which, as mentioned above, is designed in such a way that it could be scratched quite easily without a screen protector) -Doesn't come with HD video cables, only the typical yellow/red/white RCA analogue cables. Seeing as how this camera records HD video, it would be nice to be able to play it back in HD on my tv without burning it to a DVD first. You can buy the HD cables from sony if you really need them, though. -Comes with an NP-BG1 battery, which disables the camera's ability to show you the remaining minutes. You have to buy the optional NP-FG1 battery to see that. That's the only difference, both batteries have the same capacity. It was obviously designed that way to force us to buy a second battery... but that was fine with me, since I planned on buying one anyways. I would definitely recommend this camera to anyone looking for a great quality point-and-shoot digital camera!

This is the single worst Sony product I have ever owned. I'm a BIG Sony fan as you can see by the currently owned Sony Cameras in our family: - DSC-W170: Wonderful camera, buy it if you can find it! - DSC-H7: Super family camera, takes excellent sports shots of the kids! - DSC-P73: Older 4meg camera that the kids use now, very nice photos for 5x7s - DCR-HC46: Descent Compact Digital Tape Camcorder with fair camera, good value. - MVC-FD91: Old Floppy disk <1meg digital - amazing in its day!! This w290 one has fewer controls on the body, they are hidden in the software but nowhere near the level you used to get with the DSC line from Sony. No option other than the 3in screen (which is beautiful) so no way to save power with an optical viewfinder. The absolute kiss of death for me is that the W290 took terrible indoor photos, about 1 out of 10 were usable. I thought, well it doesn't do low light well. So I took it on a field trip with my daughters Kindergarten class to a nature center on an absolutely beautiful clear day - same story, horrible pictures. The W170, under identical conditions, produced 8 out of 10 usable photos. The HD videos are worthless without the HD cable that is not included. They just plain won't play well on any of my computer based video players and I updated all their CODECs. So, stay away, far away and get a different Sony. Sad, I really wanted to like this model. I have returned mine to Amazon, first time ever with a Sony.

First of all; I purchased this camera specifically to take pictures and shoot movies underwater. I combined this camera with the Sony MPK-WE Marine Pack, which I've reviewed at that particular product site. Most of my usage, and the basis for this review, has therefore been below the surface. The Good: Instead of just good I would like to say: "The Awesome". The best feature of this camera - for me - is the fact that it has color modes for white balance underwater; one for blue water and even one for greenish water. This helps to really bring out the appropriate colors underwater, and produces stunning images and movies. All the underwater movies (720p) look absolutely amazing and crisp on a HD TV set (40 inch). This camera also has a setting for the "intelligent" detection of scenery and lighting. This setting seems to work quite well in detecting landscape or macro mode, or settings for underwater. With a 16GB Memory Stick PRO Duo there is plenty of space for tons of pictures and movies. The Bad: Somehow with all the latest and greatest technology on board, this camera will not allow you to zoom while shooting a movie. This is really too bad, as sometimes it is nice to go from an overview shot into more of a close-up. In all fairness; shooting a movie underwater does not really lend itself to zooming, as there is invariably some difficulty in holding the camera still. Also; this camera uses the Sony Memory Stick PRO Duo, and with SD cards becoming more of the norm, it seems silly for Sony to keep on peddling their own media. The Ugly: While this is a great camera (and underwater housing combo) for what I needed it to do, the most annoying and frustrating drawback is the fact that the focus while shooting movies is extremely poor. I understand that is is difficult enough to focus on a moving object in water that is also moving, but even in great shots where there is only one large object (say a turtle) in the foreground, the focus continually drifts in and out. At first I thought it had to do with the variable light distorted and morphed by the waves above, but even on cloudy days there were the same focus problems. A dark subject on a light background, or the reverse; nothing seems to be good enough to hold focus all the way through, or even just for more than a couple of seconds. I have tried different focus / metering settings, all to no avail. Bottom line: In the end, and despite the frustrating focussing issue, this camera still gets four stars, as it has tons of useful features and it does produce amazing underwater footage and images. I have included a few still images captured with this camera, but the movies I have made with it are even more stunning.