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The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 camera combines style with power and intelligence. The W290 comes in 4 sophisticated colors and has a stylish look. With the W290 taking fantastic pictures is now simpler than ever. The iAuto mode goes beyond the traditional auto mode, thinking and working for you; recognizing scenes, lighting conditions, faces, and automatically adjusts camera settings resulting in clearer images, and faces with more natural skin tones and less blur. The W290 also features HD Movie mode, recording in 720p for capturing your precious moments on video. Compose, review, and share your memories on the large 3.0” (230k pixels) LCD.
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 One Camera does it all |
| Review Date: April 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Joseph W. Karp, US Expat in Warsaw, Poland |
| I bought a a DSC-W290 several weeks ago here in Europe. While European prices are consistently about 25% higher than in the US I went ahead and bought the unit. I have had three prior versions of the Cyber-shot and have found them to be sturdy, reliable and simple to use. The DSC 290 with its 12.1 MP clarity really is first rate. I have now started leaving my Cannon SLR and my Cannon Video Cam at home. I get all the still picture quality one needs plus the movie resolution is considerably higher than most competitors at any price. I was starting to look for a HD Movie cam but chose that the near HD quality of the movies produced by the DSC 290 are more than I could have imagined and instead spent a fraction of the cost of a new camera on 16G Memory Sticks to hand my movies. I like the camera so much I ordered two more on Amazon today to be shipped in the US for graduation gifts. |
Fantastic point and shoot
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| Review Date: June 3, 2009 |
| Reviewer: M. Cuellar, Richmond, VA |
I bought this camera back in March. I had originally wanted a pocket hd video camera like the Flip Mino HD or the Creative Vado HD. After comparing prices between the different cameras I chose my best route would be to buy a point and shoot camera which could also handle 720p video. Then Canon and Sony released two point and shoots which did just that.
I compared the Canon Powershot SD780IS to the Sony W290. The canon was more compact than the Sony. Both recorded 720p video. Both are 12.1 megapixel cameras. The Canon has a 3x optical zoom while the Sony offers 5x. The Sony has the 3 inch lcd while the Canon only has a 2.5 inch. And finally the Canon retailed for about $30 more than the Sony. I picked the Sony since it was a small less expensive and I liked the fact that it had the larger lcd and zoom.
My wife and I took it on vacation with us to the beach in April and I was able to use this camera to take many pictures and a few hd videos. I was very pleased with the quality of the stills. Not being a pro photographer, the images looked very sharp and detailed to me. The HD video was brilliant as well. I wanted the video ability so that I could record video that would be uploaded to sharing sites like youtube and facebook. So watching it on a hi def television wasn't that vital. It looks fantastic on a computer monitor.
The one drawback is that you have to buy sony memory. The camera doesn't use SD cards like most other point and shoots. But I was able to buy a 4gb memory stick card for about $15 so it wasn't too huge a deal. A 4gb card can hold many hundreds of photos and several hd video clips.
After 3 months of owning this camera I can say I've been very pleased with the buy. |
A Small But Powerful Camera
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| Review Date: May 20, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Reid in Florida, Clermont, FL USA |
I've had the camera for less than 2 weeks but absolutely like it. I received it two days before I left on a cruise, so I got to test it out on my vacation.
The shooting modes are plentiful. I always had one that would best suite the shooting conditions, even one for food! I loved being able to take pictures in settings that would normally require a flash but the W290 didn't need the additional light. I was taking pictures of the stage performances and not breaking the "no flash pictures" rule. The ability to "stabilize" photos is fantastic. It even works well in pictures without flash. I am notorious for ruining photos taken indoors due to shaky hands, but this camera overcomes that.
The video recording is clear and looks fantastic when played back. I was able to place together a fantastic movie of my trip and didn't need to bring a digital camera AND a camcorder. The software used to download your shots and video from the camera to a PC works well.
The battery lasted quite awhile. I got 4 days of taking pictures and video before I needed to recharge. I did buy an extra battery after my trip so I can always have one fully charged. The new battery I bought off the Sony Style web site also has the ability to show you how much use time is left on it. I haven't used that one yet but will post when I do with the amount of time it says it will last.
There are only three things I found that are minuses on this camera:
* You can't zoom in or out when using video - the shot is fixed until you stop recording. If a newer model comes out with this ability I would seriously consider upgrading.
* The button for snapping photos and starting/stopping video recording could have been raised a small more to make it simpler to find by touch. A few times I find myself pressing what I reckon is the photo button but nothing is happening because my finger is not on the button.
* On a few of the videos there's a section of black "corruption" that pops up in the corner of a video. Out of the approx 30 videos I took, this happened on 3 of them. It's only there for a few frames but is noticeable. I haven't seen mention of this in any other reviews yet so it may be an issue with my camera.
I might have dropped my review to 4 stars because of the video glitch that happens except that it may not be inherent with the model. I am also upgrading from an ancient Nikon CoolPix 990 (the one with the swivel body) that is cranky and doesn't like to focus when you try and take a picture - The difference in shooting pictures is night and day between them. Throw in the ease of use, compact size, video recording, and 12+ megapixel picture quality and I gladly give the Cyber-Shot W290 5 stars.
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best camera ever!!!
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| Review Date: July 18, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Rosanne Sumalpong, |
| I am very particular about cameras...this one is by far the best camera i have ever used. the lighting is awesome..plus the night mode really works in comparison to my ancient casio camera. it has fantastic auto detection features. plus the price of this camera is inexpensive compared to others. i highly recommend this camera to everyone!! |
Fantastic Price/Performance
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| Review Date: August 5, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Robert Melvin, Cambridge, MA USA |
I've used the camera extensively for 3 weeks (hundreds of shots, dozens of videos)
Positives:
* Flexible Lens (wide angle - 5x zoom).
* bright 3" LCD.
* HD (720p) video (superb video quality for this price range, though the audio isn't fantastic).
* Excellent image stabilization. Maybe not the best out there, but I took telephoto shots at dusk with no blur(!)
* Fantastic color fidelity. The Sony-ish colors we know and like.
* Brilliant user interface and ergonomics (be advised that buttons are small).
* Intelligent auto mode - determines the situation (backlit, macro, indoor/outdoor, etc.) and adjusts automatically
* Flexible focus and exposure options, plus face detection (though this is more-or-less standard these days)
* Smile shutter was a lot of fun -- but probably not something I'm going to use often.
* Blink-detected warning (Tells you if someone blinked in the photo you just took.) Quite useful.
* Easily pocketable.
* Fantastic-looking.
Negatives:
* Won't zoom while shooting videos
For the price (it was on sale at 20% off), nothing comes close. |
I like it
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| Review Date: June 27, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Emerson Poli, Campinas - Brazil |
Guys, I've bought a w290 recently, I like it! W290 is very simple to use and the pictures are wonderful, the movies are very excellent quality. It's really worth.
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January 28th, 2010 | 
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