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By Damian Koh, CNET Asia
Jul 05, 2006

The Cyber-shot W100 belongs to Sony's W-series which also includes other lesser models such as the W70, W50 and W30. These cameras are targeted primarily at first-time users and people looking to replace their current compact shooters.

Design
Boxy is an understatement when it comes to the design of Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-W100. In fact, it not only has a square-ish exterior, the unit also comes with some rather awkward slopes and protrusions. This 8-megapixel camera measures 94 x 61 x 25mm and weighs 190g (with battery and Memory Stick DUO)--something you would not put in your chest pocket due to its weight. However, the unit does feel very solid in the hands.

The textured face of this shooter doesn't just look aesthetically pleasing. It eliminates fingerprint stains and has, to a very limited extent, the ability to prevent your digits from slipping on the surface, ensuring a better grip.

An optical viewfinder sits on the top left corner at the back of the camera--the area where we mentioned about the awkward protrusion--just beside the indicator lights and speakers. At the other end, there's a mode dial which cycles among the various camera settings and the playback button. The rest of the keys lie to the right of the 2.5-inch LCD on the rear.

The usual camera's controls (power button, zoom rocker), connections (DC-in, multi-port connector) and battery/Memory Stick DUO compartment surround the four edges of this Cyber-shot.

Features
The features on the Cyber-shot W100 are rather basic, but compared with its siblings in the W-series, the W100 stands out by offering manual controls, though it's still somewhat limited. At the wide-angle end of the lens, you can select apertures F2.8 and F5.6, and at the maximum telephoto end, you can choose F5.2 and F10. Shutter speeds range from 1/1,000 second to 30 seconds.

The W100 is an 8-megapixel camera with a 3x optical zoom (38-to-114mm, 35mm equivalent). Unlike the Cyber-shot DSC-W70 which has a maximum sensitivity setting of ISO 1,000, the W100 pushes the edge a little to ISO 1,250. As to how our pictures would turn out at the maximum ISO, we'll find out later in the review.

What's nice of Sony is to include 64MB of internal memory; coincidentally also the unit with the largest memory capacity in the W-series. Other user-friendly features include the onscreen overlay which displays the mode setting you are at--good for dimly lit environments.

Other than the limited manual controls, there's also the Auto mode which pretty much leaves all the decisions to the camera's mechanism, several scene selections (Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach, Twilight Portrait, Twilight) and Program mode which you can configure metering, focusing, white balance, contrast and sharpness.

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