Professional photographer drg, gives us a ton of information about the new Sony Cybershot WX1 point-and-shoot camera in this review. The WX1 is one of Sony’s latest high-end pocket cameras and this is a great review I thought deserved some extra attention.

In terms of major factors such as build quality, performance, image quality and overall specification, there really isn’t much to choose between the major camera manufacturers. If you’re looking for a high-spec ultra compact with a 4x or 5x zoom wide-angle lens, mechanical image stabilisation, HD video recording, a 6.85cm (2.7 inch) monitor and a resolution of around 10-12 megapixels then there are plenty of models to choose from; Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Samsung, Olympus, Pentax, Fujifilm and Casio all make cameras fitting that general description. In such a competitive market it’s hard for any one manufacturer to make its products stand out from the crowd. The usual lazy way of doing so is to bump up the megapixel count every few months, and indeed some manufacturers are still doing this despite the abundant evidence that it offers the consumer no benefit in picture quality.

Strengths:

* Low light images are excellent.
* Sweep Panorama is not just a gimmick!
* Face and Smile detection work well.
* Nice build with minor exception including access door.
* Good LCD.
* Good AF.
* Burst Mode.

Weaknesses:

Size I’m putting in the weakness column as this is another almost too small camera. The controls border on being difficult as they are all very close together.
* For what should be optimum lighting for a camera, adjustments are needed to get optimum performance, and it seems to change.
* A couple of features can get in the way including the Dynamic Range Optimization and the Intelligent mode sometimes isn’t.
* No viewfinder, but that’s common.
* I am not a fan of the Sony Memory Stick Flash, but it works.
* A little slippery with sweaty fingers or probably gloves (but I haven’t tried that).
* I don’t like where the wrist strap connect in the middle of the camera, though for a neck strap being centered it would be better than many small cameras.

The 3 star rating is based on the full price of the camera, the less than overwhelming images in all modes and that this is a potential ’slip through my fingers’ camera.

Similar Products Used:

Canon, Olympus, and Fuji P/S of various types.