Sony Cyber-shot WX · on sale March 2014

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX350: a 500 mm zoom in a box you can lose in a coat pocket

We found no other regional name for it: the review sources and Imaging Resource's specification page all use DSC-WX350.¹²⁵⁸

In 2014 Sony put a 20x zoom, Wi-Fi and a 470-shot battery into a body of about 164 grams. Reviewers liked the reach and the stamina, disagreed about the build, the panorama mode and where the noise begins, and one told owners of the WX300 to stay put.

Launched

March 2014

Sensor

18.2 MP CMOS

Lens

25–500 mm, 20×

Card

SD, SDHC, SDXC, Memory Stick Duo

Battery

NP-BX1

Specs and sources

Meet the camera

Sony called it the smallest and lightest compact camera with a 20x optical zoom, according to Imaging Resource and Cameralabs.¹⁵ The numbers behind that claim: 96 by 55 by 26 millimetres, and about 164 grams with battery and card (137 grams body only).² Inside is a Sony G lens covering 25 to 500 mm in 35 mm terms, at f/3.5 on the wide end and f/6.5 at full zoom.²

How it felt in the hand depended on who held it. PhotographyBLOG called the body "not particularly solid or tactile" and missed any finger or thumb grip.² TechRadar found the casing durable and the camera light enough to hold in one hand without trouble.⁸ Cameralabs agreed about the grip, calling the ridge on the front of little practical help, and found the buttons small for large hands.⁵

PhotographyBLOG listed it at about US$299, £239 or €289 at launch.² Imaging Resource expected about US$320 and said units were arriving in March 2014.¹ TechRadar set it against the Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, which it called significantly cheaper, and against the Nikon Coolpix S9500, which had a 22x zoom.⁸

Why this one was interesting

The longest zoom for the least weight

Reviewers went straight to the 500 mm end. Cameralabs found the lens reaches further than the 450 mm of the Canon SX600 HS, and said its stabiliser can eliminate camera shake at 1/15 second at 500 mm, though of two frames at that speed only one was sharp and the reviewer added that slow shots often take several attempts.⁵ TechRadar called the stabilisation fantastic and found the 40x digital zoom steady and sharp too.⁸⁹ Cameralabs also checked the lens against the Canon at three focal lengths and judged the Canon slightly better at wide angle and the Sony ahead at longer focal lengths.⁶

Superior Auto

For a buyer who never leaves automatic mode, the useful trick was Superior Auto, which Cameralabs said combines several frames for low light and backlit scenes.⁵ PhotographyBLOG found it also repairs what it called a slightly underwhelming dynamic range by capturing several exposures of a high-contrast scene.³ Our Cyber-shot HX20V review mentions a similar multi-frame noise trick on Sony's 2012 travel zoom.

Wi-Fi with a tap

Cameralabs found transferring pictures to a phone through the PlayMemories app very straightforward once the Wi-Fi connection was made, and a full-size picture took around eight seconds.⁵ NFC let a compatible phone connect on touch, TechRadar explained, and TechRadar also complained that the on-camera instructions never say you need to install an app first.⁸

What was lost, and what was not gained

This was an update to a camera that looked the same. PhotographyBLOG called the two bodies visually identical, said the new BIONZ X processor did not speed up the burst rate, and noted that the battery rating fell by 30 shots and the screen was not changed.⁴ TechRadar listed a 20-gram weight saving, the BIONZ X processor and Full HD movie recording as the changes.⁸ PhotographyBLOG told WX300 owners they had little reason to upgrade, though it still thought the new camera good value.²

Macro focusing started at 5 cm, which PhotographyBLOG found slightly disappointing next to rivals that reach 1 cm.³ TechRadar liked the close-up results but disliked that you cannot select macro mode yourself, since the camera decides.⁹

The dark: where the noise begins

All three reviewers tested noise and put the line in different places. PhotographyBLOG rated pictures very good from ISO 80 to 800, saw fine detail suffer at ISO 1600 and called colours noticeably blotchy at ISO 3200.³ Cameralabs found ISO 80 impressively clean, ISO 800 clumpier but still good, and a large jump in noise at ISO 1600; at ISO 3200 small text turned illegible while larger detail held, which it called an excellent result for a compact sensor.⁶ TechRadar said noise was low in bright light and not really noticeable until above ISO 3200.⁹

The settings above 3200 were the camera stacking a burst of frames, and PhotographyBLOG judged neither ISO 6400 nor ISO 12800 attractive.³

Real photographs taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, by four different photographers. The camera model and sensitivity shown are read from each file's own EXIF data, and every one is at the camera's top normal setting of ISO 3200.

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The little wins

How it drew the picture

At wide angle, Cameralabs found a sharp centre and edges weaker than expected, with the Canon SX600 HS slightly ahead there.⁶ TechRadar, in contrast, found edge-to-edge sharpness particularly impressive and no fringing, distortion or chromatic aberration, only some lens flare toward the sun.⁹ PhotographyBLOG saw corner sharpness matching the centre, no distortion, and purple and blue fringing around high-contrast edges.³ TechRadar said prints at A4 or smaller would give no trouble.⁹

Photos taken with this camera, from Wikimedia Commons, credited under each picture. The lead photo, the ducks and the oystercatcher were taken at the 86 mm (500 mm equivalent) end of the zoom, the others at shorter settings, as each file's EXIF data records.

Where it let you down

The screen drew the most complaints: PhotographyBLOG said its viewing angles were limited and its colours inaccurate,² and Cameralabs and TechRadar both found it hard to see in direct sunlight.⁵⁹ Manual control was thin. Cameralabs missed exposure compensation on a quick control and found the menus without a quick menu awkward, and TechRadar agreed that changing settings was fiddly.⁵⁸ Cameralabs added that photos cannot be taken while recording video, that the zoom motor is faintly audible in clips and that the Wi-Fi remote offers only zoom, exposure compensation, flash and self-timer.⁵ TechRadar found remote control from a phone worked only about half the time.⁸

What the reviewers said in 2014

Cameralabs named the Canon PowerShot SX600 HS as the close rival: the Sony offered a longer zoom, faster burst and a panorama mode Canon compacts lack, while the Canon had a screen easier to see outdoors, more wireless options and a more practical video format.⁷

The timeline

• February 2014Imaging Resource posts its overview, with an expected price of about US$320.¹
• March 2014On sale, according to Imaging Resource.¹
• 20 May 2014PhotographyBLOG publishes its review.²
• 7 June 2014Cameralabs publishes its review.⁵

Should you buy one now?

Buy one if you want the most zoom that fits in a pocket, a battery that survives a trip, and you can live with a poor screen outdoors and automatic-first controls. It launched at about US$299;² what it sells for now is a question for the sold listings, not for us. Before you bid, check these:

• The lens. Run it through the whole zoom range and check that it extends and retracts smoothly.
• The battery. It uses an NP-BX1;⁵ a fresh one is on Amazon ↗. Check how long a charge lasts against the 470-shot rating.²
• The card. PhotographyBLOG lists SD, SDHC and SDXC (and Memory Stick, microSD); Imaging Resource names SD and SDHC (Class 4 or higher) and Memory Stick;²¹ see our memory card guide.
• The screen. Reviewers found it dim outdoors, so check it for dead pixels and scratches indoors.⁵⁹
• Wi-Fi. You need the PlayMemories app on your phone to transfer pictures.⁵⁸

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. For a Sony compact with a shorter zoom, see our Cyber-shot DSC-W830 review.

See recent sold prices on eBay ↗Shop on eBay ↗NP-BX1 battery ↗

Sources

1. Imaging Resource, Sony WX350 overview and specifications by William Brawley (first posted 11 Feb 2014; availability March 2014)
2. PhotographyBLOG, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX350 review by Jack Baker (20 May 2014): overview, specifications, handling
3. PhotographyBLOG, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX350 review, image quality page
4. PhotographyBLOG, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX350 review, conclusion page
5. Cameralabs, Sony Cyber-shot WX350 review by Ken McMahon (7 Jun 2014), page 1: introduction and handling
6. Cameralabs, Sony Cyber-shot WX350 review, page 2: image quality and noise
7. Cameralabs, Sony Cyber-shot WX350 review, page 4: verdict
8. TechRadar, Sony WX350 review by Sarah Chong (page carries no date), page 1: introduction and handling
9. TechRadar, Sony WX350 review, page 2: performance and verdict

Sample photographs are credited under each one, all via Wikimedia Commons. TechRadar's and Imaging Resource's pages print the lens as 24 to 1200 mm; PhotographyBLOG and Cameralabs give 25 to 500 mm, which we use. Coverage is thin in places: TechRadar's page shows no date and no score, Imaging Resource posted a specification overview rather than a lab test, and we did not read Cameralabs's sample-image page. Links to eBay and Amazon are affiliate links.