Sony Cyber-shot W · announced February 2007 · a retrospective
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200: a 12-megapixel pocket camera that Cameralabs expected to be bad
Sold as the DSC-W200; we found no separate regional name.
In 2007 Sony put 12 megapixels into a $400 pocket compact with a 35–105 mm lens, a real manual mode and an optical viewfinder. Cameralabs feared noise and found more detail than it expected; the three reviews we read then differed over noise, the screen and the price.
Release date and launch price: launched February 2007; launch price $400 MSRP, May 200712.
Quick answers
- Sensor
- CCD, 1/1.7", 12.1 MP source
- Lens
- 35–105 mm equivalent, 3× 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
The W200 is a small metal compact: Imaging Resource lists it at 91 by 59 by 27 millimetres and 173 grams with the battery,2 and Cameralabs praised the smooth joins, with no creaks, and a brushed front panel.5 Cameralabs also warned that the stylish, uncluttered front leaves almost nothing for your fingers to grip.5 Behind the Carl Zeiss-branded 3x lens, which runs from 35 to 105 millimetres on a 35 mm camera at f/2.8 to f/5.5, sits a 12.1-megapixel CCD.4
Engadget reported the announcement on 27 February 2007: the W200 at $400, due in May, beside the 7.2-megapixel W80 at $250 and the 8-megapixel W90 at $300, due in March.1 Imaging Resource lists the same $400 MSRP and May availability.2 Cameralabs wrote that when Sony announced it you could almost hear a collective groan from reviewers and savvy buyers, because noise levels had been becoming a serious problem as pixel counts rose.5 It shared the title of highest-resolution compact with Panasonic's Lumix FX100, Cameralabs added.5
Why this one was interesting
The resolution race, won early
Cameralabs measured 2,250 lines per picture height from the W200, more than the 10-megapixel Canon A640 at about 2,050 to 2,100 and above any compact the site had tested.5 Imaging Resource called its resolution excellent, with strong detail out to 2,000 lines.2 Cameralabs expected the worst and wrote that the sensor was better than it feared; against the 7-megapixel Panasonic FX30 it showed more detail and held up better at high sensitivities.5
Proper controls in a pocket camera
Manual mode lets you set both aperture and shutter speed, Cameralabs noted, something it said most compacts did not do, and it called this one of the W200's highlights.5 PhotographyBLOG was less excited: there are only three aperture values and no aperture-priority or shutter-priority modes.3 There is also an optical viewfinder, which Cameralabs found useful when sunlight washed out the screen.5
A very long accessory list
Cameralabs listed an underwater case rated to 40 metres, wide and tele converter lenses, a ring light, a component video cable for HDTV slideshows and a docking station.5 For a 7-megapixel W-series sibling, see our DSC-W55 retrospective; for a slimmer Sony, our DSC-T9 retrospective.
What it left out
The lens is a plain 35–105 mm. Cameralabs held the W200 against Panasonic's 28–100 mm Lumix FX30 and said it would trade the Sony's slightly tighter telephoto for the wider angle any day.5 It also found that the JPEG compression cannot be changed: 12-megapixel files came out at only 3 to 4 MB, and there are no raw files.5 PhotographyBLOG wrote that aperture- and shutter-priority modes would have made more sense for the camera's target market.3
The dark: its weak point
The three reviewers all saw noise worsen as sensitivity rose, and disagreed on where it became a problem. PhotographyBLOG found no noise at ISO 100, slight noise and detail loss in shadows at ISO 200, detail smudged to hide noise at ISO 400 and ISO 800 as an emergency-only setting.3 Imaging Resource found moderate shadow noise at ISO 100 and said it is not overpowering until ISO 800, where an 8 by 10 inch print is soft; at ISO 1600 a 5 by 7 print is a little soft and noisy, and at ISO 3200 a 4 by 6 print was still fairly usable.2 Cameralabs saw clean test-chart crops from ISO 100 to 400 and real-life detail it called quite usable at 800 for smaller prints, then a significant loss of detail at 1600.5
Real photographs taken with this camera. The sensitivity shown is recorded in each file's own EXIF data.
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The little wins
Stabilisation you could measure
Cameralabs handheld a sharp shot at 105 mm at 1/10 second, about three stops below the usual 1/100 rule, though it called the system not the most impressive it had tested and put the real-life gain at two to three stops.5 Imaging Resource got a sharper dog at 1/15 second with the stabiliser on.2
The Home button and the beeps
Imaging Resource liked the new menu look, with tabs down the left side and an orange highlight, and a musical game-like beep with a different note for each direction, which can be switched off.2
A 30-second exposure
Manual mode runs to 30 seconds.35 PhotographyBLOG shot a 25-second frame at f/5.6 and ISO 100 and called it excellent.3
How it drew the picture
Imaging Resource liked the colour but found it pushes reds hard, along with high barrel distortion, and corners that blur, worst in the lower corners at full telephoto.2 Cameralabs measured barrel distortion of 2.56 percent at wide angle and 0.98 percent pincushion at the long end, and found corner sharpness at wide angle comparable to most 3x and 4x compacts.5 PhotographyBLOG said out-of-camera files were a little soft at the default sharpening, with obvious purple fringing in high-contrast areas.3
Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture; a ninth is the lead photograph above.
Where it let you down
The screen was the loudest complaint. Cameralabs called 115,000 dots coarse next to the 230,000-dot panels of many other compacts, and thought a 12-megapixel flagship deserved better.5 PhotographyBLOG agreed it was out of place, yet Imaging Resource listed the large, bright 2.5-inch screen among its pros.32 Cameralabs found the menu system confusing, comparing it to an adventure game full of surprise rooms.5 The HD output needs an optional cable that was not in the box,3 and pictures leave the camera through a proprietary connector on the underside, with a cable that ends in AV and USB plugs.5 Auto flash caused obvious red-eye in PhotographyBLOG's portraits.3 Imaging Resource also found the flash range slightly limited and said the mode dial can be nudged by your thumb.2 Battery life is a sourced grey area: Sony's figures run from 270 shots (Cameralabs) to 300 (Imaging Resource, and PhotographyBLOG's spec page); Imaging Resource found it lived up to that, PhotographyBLOG counted over 275 shots, and Cameralabs got around 150 on a charge, including several flash shots in freezing outdoor temperatures.425
What the reviewers said in 2007
| Outlet | Date | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| PhotographyBLOG | Page dated 28 Jan 2007 | Design 3.5, features 4, ease of use 3.5, image quality 3, value 3.5 out of 5. Resolution but noise and fringing; hard to recommend at the price.3 |
| Imaging Resource | Page dated 11/09/07 | 4 out of 5 and a Dave's Pick: small, stylish, full manual control, strong detail; distortion, fringing and red oversaturation.2 |
| Cameralabs | Page dated 27 Sep 2011 | 77 percent. Sensor much better than expected, build great; held back by price, the 115k screen and the plain 35–105 mm lens.5 |
The PhotographyBLOG date precedes the 27 February 2007 announcement report, and the Cameralabs page was republished years later; we have not reconciled the dates.
The timeline
- 27 February 2007Engadget reports the W-series, with the W200 at $400.1
- 28 February 2007Pre-orders open.1
- May 2007Expected availability of the W200.12
Should you buy one now?
Buy one if you want a pocket camera with a 12-megapixel CCD, an optical viewfinder and manual exposure, and you can live with a coarse screen and a 35 mm wide end. It launched at $400;12 what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. Before you bid, check these:
- The battery. It uses an NP-BG1;4 a fresh one is on Amazon ↗, and a spare is worth having.
- The card. It takes Memory Stick Duo and PRO Duo cards and has 31 MB built in;4 see our memory card guide.
- The cable. Ask for the original AV/USB multi-connector cable, because a standard USB lead will not fit.52
- The mode dial. Check that it stays where you put it.2
- The lens. Check that it extends and retracts cleanly; we have not tested a unit.
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
- Engadget, “Sony fesses up, Cybershot W series gets official” (27 Feb 2007): launch prices and dates
- Imaging Resource, Sony DSC-W200 express review by Stephanie Boozer (page dated 11/09/07; MSRP $400, availability May 2007)
- PhotographyBLOG, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200 review by Mark Goldstein (page dated 28 Jan 2007; pages 1, 2, 5 and 6 read; the design page has photo captions only)
- PhotographyBLOG, W200 specifications page (sensor, lens, battery, media, video)
- Cameralabs, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200 review by Gordon Laing (16 pages, page dated 27 Sep 2011; tested a final production unit)
Sample and low-light photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. We found no free photo of the camera itself. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.