Sony DSCWX220/B 18.2 MP Digital Camera with 2.7-Inch LCD (Black)

I recently went looking for a compact budget point-and-shoot camera as a gift for my daughters birthday and got to play and evaluate the three cameras that were available at the local BestBuy store on sale for under $200: Canon PowerShot ELPH 350 HS (Black) Canon PowerShot SX610 HS - Wi-Fi Enabled (Black) Sony DSCWX220/B 18.2 MP Digital Camera with 2.7-Inch LCD (Black) My main criteria for evaluating the relative merits of these cameras was the quality of shots made in low-light situations in which point-and-shoots are often used. In my experience with all the previous budget point-and-shoots owned by our family, they all usually do a relatively decent job in bright light outside, but most fail miserably on indoor shots in dimly lit rooms, delivering unacceptably noisy, grainy and blurry images. After bringing home the purchases I waited till the kids were in bed and went on to conduct a decidedly low-tech and unscientific test by setting all three cameras into the P (Program) mode and auto-everything (ISO/shutter speed/aperture/white balance) except the flash, placing them on the desktop in my not too brightly lit home office a couple of feet away from a random sheet of paper with some text printed on it, and firing off two consecutive shots using a 2-second timer (to avoid hand-induced shake), one with the flash and one without. The image showing a side-by-side comparison of the test results using a small fragment of each frame is attached to this review. Both Canons produced virtually identically grainy and noisy images with and without the flash. Sony, on the other hand, fared much better in terms of the visual noise to the point that it’s actually possible to read the text even on the “no flash” image on the right. It also did a somewhat better job auto-adjusting the white balance on the “no flash” image to compensate for the bluish ambient glow of the nearby computer monitor. I observed similarly noticeable differences between the Sony and the two Canons in the video mode, with the former delivering remarkably noise-free and sharp footage compared to the Canons’ crappy picture in which fine details were lost to annoyingly pulsating digital noise. I also noticed that the Sony’s footage was very close to the brightness and overall colour to how my own eyes perceived the room, while the Canons went overboard in an attempt to brighten up the picture at the expense of noise and colour accuracy. Finally, the Sony is capable of recording 60 fps (frames-per-second) progressive full-HD video vs. the Canons’ 30 fps, making it a better choice for shooting fast action footage such as sports, pets, little children and little children playing with pets. Because of my prior experience with Canon point-and-shoots I found the menu structure of the two Canons easier to navigate. The Sony’s menu navigation seemed a little foreign to me at first but overall is logical enough to quickly get used to. Physically, the Sony is similar in size, weight and holding (dis)comfort to Elph 350, the smaller of the two Canons. Even though I have rather thin fingers for a grown-up male, both cameras are way too tiny and smooth to comfortably hold, with nothing for the fingers to securely grip. In comparison, the contoured bulges and small rubbery finger grips of the larger Canon PowerShot SX610 were a really nice touch. The two Canons have very similar controls typical of all the other Canon point-and-shoots. The controls of the smaller Elph 350 are easier to use than those of the Sony DSC-WX220 where one must use one’s nails to press the tiny delicate MENU and DELETE buttons tucked too close to the rotating wheel. This might make the Sony problematic for most adults, but since I am buying a camera for a kid, its small size and tiny controls are an acceptable trade-off for the noticeably better low-light picture. P.S. The full review is published on my blog: https://caspiancanuck.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/point-and-shoot-cameras

Show more

I buy one of these each year for work. I know what you may be thinking...one per year? they must be junk! Not really. I take 100 photos per day in some of the worst places...attics and crawlspaces...it gets dropped in dirt, onto wood porches, off roofs and even in my pocket that gets dirt into it. ...so it takes a real beating over a period of a year....they continue to work, but the buttons start falling off and it becomes unusable. It takes great pictures for the price and wifi download is so simple...takes about 5 minutes to transfer 100 photos. Downside is that the cost of this little unit is getting out of hand. I first started buying them at $120, now they are close to $200.00. Finding the right model is tough...there are just too many cameras with the cybershot name and trying to distinguish b/t each model is difficult.....looked for awhile to find the model that still has wifi that was affordable. Affordable being...a camera under $200 that will only last me a year.

Show more

I bought this to replace an much older Sony digital point-and-shoot camera I have had for ten years. After a couple of weeks Im quite pleased with this little camera. Picture quality is excellent -- I download photos to my computer and print them on my inkjet color printer. A few comments. -- I use the camera only for photos, dont use the movie function. You do not need the PlayMemories software (or whatever its called) to download photos. Just plug the USB cable that comes with the camera into a USB slot on your computer, follow the prompts, and download photos. -- Batteries. A previous comment mentioned low battery life on the battery that comes with the camera. Yes, the supplied battery has little capacity. Amazon has a bundle with two BN-1 batteries, charged, USB cable, and a cable to use your car cigarette lighter to charge the batteries. The BN-1 batteries have much greater capacity. -- Size. This is a very small camera. With my old, big fingers, I have a little trouble punching the tiny buttons to change modes, etc. Fortunately, most of what I do is point-and-shoot on full automatic mode. While the very small size makes it a little difficult for people with big fingers to push the right button, the size is perfect for slipping into a pocket or purse . . . it takes up very little room. I have two Canon digital SLRs that I use for serious photography. This little camera is just fine for my casual shooting.

Show more

Liked this camera a lot. I wanted something small to take to Mardi Gras, and this was exactly what I wanted. The only drawback, like other people noted, was the inability to get the photos to transfer via wifi/Bluetooth. I was really wanting to post stuff to Facebook in real time, or at leas the same day I took the pics, but I had to wait till I got home and downloaded them on my computer. I ended up using my iPhone for pics more than I wanted to, but other than the inability for me to get my pics online quickly, its a great camera, and I liked the quality of the photos. I am going to try again to figure out the instructions for wifi, but no biggie if I cant get it.

Show more

This is a very nice camera. I like the features that are available. The WiFi transfer seems to be very slow, even on a AC network, when you are transferring the full size photos. It is a nice feature, but I have just gone to manual downloads of the photos for speed. The user interface is not too difficult, but it can be a small pain when you are trying to change the features and get those differing photos. It is a manageable interface and the smart exposure settings work well in most situations for an average photo. The WiFi connection to a smartphone is a nice feature when taking those photos that you also want to be in. It also saves a small version of the photo on your Android device (Cant speak to the iPhone interface). It has provided a great option to taking photos with my smartphone alone and doesnt take up a lot of extra space. Very light and high detail photos for a compact camera. Dont hesitate if you are looking for something to take cleaner photos than most smartphones without carrying around your dSLR for those active events.

Show more