I heard this news that China government has banned the sale of 5 Sony models, one of which includes SONY CYBERSHOT DSC W5. But this model invariably gets a place in top 5 digital cameras in most of the review sites!
Why did it ban? Because it failed some quality tests it seems. But china does not have any scales to measure the quality of digital cameras. So the cameras were tested using the standards provided by Sony. So Sony fails the standards they themselves passed on to the Chinese!!! Can this happen? Or the Chinese (government obviously) didn’t know how to test it? I cannot comment this, but you are the best judge.
But, India becomes the dumping ground for these models, especially this W5 and the cost falls from 16, 990 to 10, 990 (a whopping difference of 6, 000!!!!!). Never mind, it only works to our advantage.
Source of news: 1. A dealer who showed me a card with this information of banned 5 models
2. Since I just don’t believe anyone just like that, I Googled; (Google text to search ‘Sony W5 china csr’)
I still recommend this model as it comes with a national warranty of 3 years. I mentioned the above information, because if you happen to buy this camera after reading my review and you get to see the above information later, you might be disappointed. But that shouldn’t stop you from buying the model or at least reading my review!
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After all my confusions
(https://mouthshut.com/review/Buying_a_Digital_Camera-102451-1.html prequel to this review!) to buy a digital camera, I ended up buying this model – SONY CYBERSHOT DSC W5.
My camera in a gist:
It is a 5.1 Mega pixel camera that comes with a 3X optical zoom. With such a specification you might want to call that as an entry-level point and shoot camera. But this one performs much better. The best feature about this one is its 2.5” LCD display, big and great resolution that you can enjoy the snap then and there. The design is just so simple that it looks like the usual film cameras that you don’t find any discomfort when you switch to digital.
It comes with an inbuilt memory of 32 MB; just enough for 11 shots at 5 mega pixels (about 17 in 3 MP). You will have to add a memory card (that you will have to buy separately) especially if you wish to use the video recording. For power, the camera uses 2 AA batteries. The pack comes along with 2 rechargeable Sony batteries, which at full charge can exhaust a 1GB memory card!! (about 450 snaps). The pack also comes with the USB connectivity cable, TV output cable and a charger. You don’t have to buy anything separately at all. It’s all in here.
The model has some good 6-scene selections and comes with auto-focus and auto-flash that you don’t have to do anything at all to shoot. Just see the object; zoom if you want; and shoot. This is a protruding lens type, where the lens bulges out to shoot. There are some cool slide show features too. There is a rotating wheel around the click button, which you use to switch between slide show, camera and video recording. It is just so easy to use, rather than invoking the menus.
Overall, it is quite handy and very easy to use. The images quality too is really good and this model has got all the basic requirements right. It is a very good buy at the slated price, especially if you can bargain a carry case along with this (except the very low in-built memory).
If you are interested to know more about this camera, read further … and dont miss my illustrative snaps in the links given ...
Few more things in detail:
Great camera: This is almost in par with high-end models. There is always a difference between cameras even if they are of same specification. See how Sony outperforms an Olympus model (with virtually no features), when both used at 3 MP here (https://envy.ram.googlepages.com/cameradifference).
Memory: The camera speed does not slow when you add a memory card up to 2GB. That is a very good quality of this camera. But there is no integration between the in-built memory and the memory slot. You can access the in-built memory only when the memory card is out. Small drawback when you had taken a few snaps with in-built memory and then put the card on.
One small disadvantage of Sony models is that your memory card will not fit into any other make. It can be used only with Sony, unlike the SD memories, which you can use both on your mobiles and your cameras (Nokia and Canon for instance). Here, you are saved if you have a Sony mobile as well.
Start time: Literally no time; lightning fast. The camera reloads too, in a jiffy after one snap for the next one.
Additional modes: The camera also has this ‘burst shot’ (as in almost all cameras these days), where you can capture 5-6 snaps as a sequence.
The scene selections are really useful. First, I had a presumption that these scenes would not make any difference. But they did and significantly. There are about 6 scenes like snow mode, beach mode, night modes, etc. Check how the beach mode makes the difference here (https://envy.ram.googlepages.com/beachshots).
Finder window: There are few models where there is no ‘view’ slot as in film cameras (called as ‘finder window’ by Sony). This one has this though. This is quite useful and often people do not realize. Only with this you can use your camera without your LCD display, the best battery-saving method.
Looks: Should say ‘not so great’ when compared to super sleek models available these days but it is not bad either. But I like it for its similarity to usual film cameras. A bit heavier too when compared to models like Canon A530. Overall not so bad and quite handy.
I am not much into the ISO sensitivity and stuff, which I find in almost all reviews. Rest of all that I know I have mentioned. Hope you found it useful. Go for this model – cost effective and full of features.
-Vinayak
(Please do RRC)