Sony Cyber-shot W · on sale March 2008 · a retrospective
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W120: the $200 metal pocket camera DPReview picked as best pocket point-and-shoot of its group
In January 2008 Sony announced a 7.2-megapixel CCD compact with a 32–128 mm Zeiss-branded zoom, optical stabilisation, a smile-triggered shutter and four colours, at $200. CNET found it quick and stylish, and DPReview later named it the best pocket point-and-shoot in its budget group test.
Release date and launch price: launched March 2008; launch price $20012.
Quick answers
- Sensor
- CCD, 1/2.5", 7.2 MP source
- Lens
- 32–128 mm equivalent, 4× zoom source
- Memory card
- Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Pro Duo source
- Battery
- NP-BG1 source
- USB / A/V cable
- See our Sony cable page
Meet the camera
It is a thin, all-metal compact: DPReview said the all-metal casing makes it look more expensive than it is, and found it easy to grip despite the typical “pack of cards” styling.4 CNET weighed it at 5.4 ounces with battery and Memory Stick card, and called it a middle-ground camera on the fence between budget and fashion.3 The W120 was the cheaper of two near-twins announced together: the W130 had an 8.1-megapixel sensor and cost $230.1
Sony announced both on 23 January 2008, opened pre-orders on 31 January and said they would ship from March; the W120 came in black, silver, pink and blue at $200.1 Imaging Resource's page repeats the $200 price and lists availability as March 2008.2 DPReview's group test, run that autumn, priced it at $148 in the US and £105 in the UK.4
Why this one was interesting
A 4x lens with a stabiliser
CNET described the lens as a slightly longer than usual 4x zoom, with slight barrel distortion at its widest angle.3 DPReview noted that the lens starts at 32 millimetres equivalent, and that Sony's optical stabilisation was the difference from the otherwise identical, similarly priced W110.45
Smile Shutter and face detection
A feature Sony and CNET both highlighted was Smile Shutter mode, which fires the shutter when a subject smiles. Face detection could also tell children from adults, with an adult or child priority setting, and detect up to eight faces to set focus, exposure, white balance and flash.2 CNET listed it with a nine-point autofocus system.3
Good value
CNET gave it 7.4 out of 10 and a bottom line of style and substance for the price.3 The step-up W130, it added, beat the W120 in nearly every way for about $30 more, with higher resolution, quicker performance and more in-camera editing.3
For an earlier camera in the same Sony W-series, see our DSC-W55 review.
What was missing
CNET found the buttons small and the in-camera editing sparse: the W120 could only rotate and resize pictures, and CNET would have liked at least digital red-eye removal; the W130 added red-eye correction.31 DPReview's specification page lists no aperture- or shutter-priority modes.5 DPReview found the interface quirky, with the Menu button opening a sub-menu of shooting settings and the Home button the main settings, though it said this does not hurt usability once learned; it also called the optical viewfinder small and hard to see through.4 The screen is low in resolution and hard to see in bright light, and the camera uses the proprietary Memory Stick format, DPReview said.4
The dark: its weak point
The two full reviews agree on the shape: clean to ISO 400, then a steep fall. CNET found noise low up to ISO 400, grain building and obscuring fine detail at 800 yet still quite usable online and for small prints, and most shadow detail destroyed from ISO 1600 to 3200.3 DPReview named the W120 one of the clear winners at ISO 400, where it applies lighter noise reduction than the Kodak, Samsung and Fujifilm and so keeps more detail, grouped it at ISO 1600 with the cameras that at least make an effort to retain some detail, and called ISO 3200 pretty awful.4 At night it was joint winner of that test: heavier noise reduction gave cleaner but less detailed pictures that printed well to about 5 by 7 inches.4
Real photographs taken with this camera. The sensitivity shown is recorded in each file's own EXIF data; the files may have been resized after shooting.
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The little wins
Quick to shoot
CNET measured 1.8 seconds from power-on to the first shot and shutter lag of 0.5 second with its high-contrast target and 1 second with its low-contrast one;3 DPReview said it felt very fast and responsive, and focused noticeably quicker than most of the group.4
Accurate exposure and focus
DPReview found exposure and focus very accurate, even in low light, and rated print-size results excellent.4
A strong flash
DPReview called the flash excellent, perhaps the best in the group, with a recycle time usually about a second, and said the W120 best managed balancing foreground and background exposure, though it found the Sony and Olympus flash results a little harsh and contrasty.4 DPReview's specification page gives a range of 3.9 metres.5
Honest colour
CNET saw crisp pictures with neutral, accurate colours and artefacts within an acceptable range for a camera of this class.3
How it drew the picture
DPReview said that, perhaps because of its joint-lowest pixel count in the group, the W120's output is at pixel level one of the best, though it noted softness and smearing of low-contrast detail at 100 per cent and a touch of corner softness at the wide end.4 Nit-pickers would not like the 100 per cent view, it added, but at normal viewing and print sizes it called the output excellent.4
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Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture.
Where it let you down
Flash recycle was fine in DPReview's test, but CNET found it slower: 2.7 seconds between shots with the flash on, against 1.3 without.34 Continuous shooting was weak, and the sources differ: CNET measured about one frame per second (12 shots in 12 seconds), while DPReview's specification page lists 1.5 frames per second.35 Video tops out at 640 by 480.5 Photography Blog's note of a Megapixel.net review adds a mild verdict: above-average photos for pocket cameras of its kind.6 DPReview disliked the low-resolution screen and the proprietary Memory Stick format.4
What the reviewers said in 2008
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| CNET | 8 Mar 2008 | 7.4 out of 10. Good picture quality, quick, broad feature set; small buttons, few editing options. Buy the W130 if you can spare about $30.3 |
| Megapixel.net (via Photography Blog) | 9 Sep 2008 | Above-average photos for its category; usable fully automatic or with manual exposure, focus and ISO.6 |
| DPReview (budget group test) | 27 Nov 2008 | Best pocket point-and-shoot of the group: very accurate exposure and focus, excellent at normal print sizes, with a quirky interface. The most expensive camera in the test, but in its words well worth the extra.4 |
Imaging Resource's W120 page is a launch overview, not a lab review, so it is used here only for specifications.2
The timeline
- 23 January 2008Sony announces the W120 at $200 and the W130 at $230.1
- 31 January 2008Pre-orders open on sonystyle.com.1
- March 2008US shelf availability.2
- 8 March 2008CNET publishes its review.3
- 27 November 2008DPReview publishes its budget group test.4
Should you buy one now?
Buy one if you want a slim, fast, metal CCD compact for daylight and flash snapshots and can live without aperture or shutter control and a good screen. It launched at $200;1 what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. Before you bid, check these:
- The sibling. The W130 is the 8.1-megapixel version with more editing tools; DPReview called the W110 nearly identical but without the stabiliser.45
- The battery. It uses an NP-BG1;1 a fresh one is on Amazon ↗.
- The card. It takes Memory Stick Duo or Pro Duo, not SD;12 see our memory card guide.
- The screen. It is low resolution, so check it for dead patches and scratches.4
- The lens. Check that it extends and retracts cleanly.
If you are wondering why cameras like this are being hunted down again, we tell that story once, in Pictures that never left the card.
See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗NP-BG1 battery ↗
Sources
- Imaging Resource, “Sony: Four new W-series digicams” by Zig Weidelich (announcement of 23 Jan 2008: price, March shipping, colours, battery, card)
- Imaging Resource, Sony DSC-W120 overview and specifications (7.2 MP, 32–128 mm, CIPA 350 shots, MSRP $200, availability 03/2008; a preview with no lab test)
- CNET, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W120 review by Will Greenwald (8 Mar 2008; scored 7.4)
- DPReview, Budget Camera Group Test (Q4 2008) by Simon Joinson (27 Nov 2008), Sony W120 section
- DPReview, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W120 specifications page (weight, burst, flash range, video)
- PhotographyBLOG news item of 9 Sep 2008 quoting Megapixel.net's review (we read only this summary, not the original)
Photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.