Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35

Image Quality
Images taken on the W35 were generally clear and pleasing. Despite the slight softening of some finer details, the photos were nice and crisp. Colors generally reproduced well, though users should remember to switch to the tungsten white balance when shooting indoors--our tungsten-lit test shots taken under automatic white balance were harsh and yellow.

Sony does an impressive job of taming noise through the W35's sensitivity range. At ISO 100 images were very clean, with no noticeable noise, even when viewed on a monitor. ISO 200 and ISO 400 had extremely minor speckles of noise that were visible on a computer monitor, but weren't noticeable in prints. At ISO 800, noise became visible in prints and was very noticeable on monitors. Surprisingly though, even at ISO 1,000, the W35 produces usable, if grainy, prints with vivid and accurate colors. However, we'd suggest staying below ISO 1,000 or ISO 800 when possible, for better results. This is a great improvement over the W30, whose high-ISO images were extremely noisy and dull.

For a budget camera, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W35 is a very good choice. With satisfying performance and good picture quality, this sub-US$200 shooter would fit well in the pocket of anyone looking for a reliable, inexpensive camera.

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