Sony HD Camera MHS-CM1

The Sony HD Camera MHS-CM1 is actually something that absolutely is not intended for the Professionals. In a nut shell it’s a low budget, likewise quality, disposable HD camera. It does good job with the video compression for example you would be able to compress 720P video within 4MBPS. But that’s what it’s born to do. Thus, there are no credits for having done a good job with the compression part.

But the real pain area with this Sony HD Camera MHS-CM1 may be said as, the poor picture quality. The automatic settings are also a little slow, and they tend to skip around before you have had a good setting session with your camera.

The focus and the Iris color balance is also in a constant flux. My understanding about the image sensor is that Sony has compromised on the quality aspect to keep the camera at a low budget. Also chances are that in the night time shots you would be able to see a couple of burned pixels, or vertical streaks. These are all due to the cheap image sensor that has been used in the Sony HD Camera MHS-CM1.

How ever if you are looking for bullet points for the merits and demerits of the Sony HD Camera MHS-CM1 then that would be as follows.

The Pros

1. It is easy to use as not many options are there to be messed up with. The opening and the closing of the LCD panel controls the switch on and off.
2. The camera performs best at the factory settings that is 720P for video and 5M for stills.
3. The camera has normal USB ports. And there is also a light (not very bright though) along with it. At times this feature does come in handy.

The Cons

1. The camera does not have an integrated lens cover.
2. The settings are in constant flux. And there is a problem with the zoom setting too.
3. Shooting at 1080P would cause focus related problems.
4. No flash light provided for still photography.
5. The movie record button is also not positioned very conveniently.

Cyber shot T900

The Cyber shot T900 Digital Camera by Sony is moderately priced and is the latest entry in the Slim T line of digital cameras. As far as stills are concerned this Sony Cyber-shot T900 Digital Camera does a good job with 12 mega pixel images. It also has a 4x optical zoom. Which I would say is also decent. The prime human interface is the 3.5 inch LCD display. Needless to say it’s all touch screen. But the sad part if it’s far from being prompt & responsive. But what it does well is review of photos.

While testing this T900 Digital Camera did a splendid job with the color accuracy and recorded the pictures very well. Another good thing that was noticed was its good continuous shutter speed. The captured stuff was quiet good with decent amount of clarity and sharpness. Image stabilization was also noticeable. But what actually disappointed me was the amount of noise in the pictures. There was a major distortion issue with the Sony Cyber-shot T900 Digital Camera. Also chromatic aberration that was primarily there due as a result of the small lens. The next noted down side of Sony Cyber-shot T900 Digital Camera was its limited aperture range. Also some important photographic controls such as the white balance were not to be found in this T900 Digital Camera.

The Sony Cyber-shot T900 Digital Camera has good looks though with the full metal body and at the back there is nothing except the LCD display. The only buttons on the Sony Cyber-shot T900 Digital Camera are the power button and the shutter on the top of the camera. There is also a zoom ring around the shutter along with a switch to help you toggle between stills and movies.

Now a point that you might be concerned with is in all the controls like I said earlier is through the LCD display thus you would have to touch the LCD screen off and on causing you to leave your finger prints. This could be a hindrance to review the pictures. So if you see that as an issue then its best for you to look for a different model. As a matter of fact then you might not be interested in any of the touch screen enabled cameras.

Sony Cyber-shot T90

Sony is a very trusted brand name. Photography for some is a passion. Sony offers a wide range of digital cameras with a lot of advanced features. The latest model from their stable is Sony Cyber-shot T90 Digital Camera which is gaining popularity in Australia these days.

The image sensor of Sony T 90 is based around a 1/2.3” super HAD CCD. It has 12.1-mega-pixel resolution coupled with branded 4x optical zoom lens. Its equivalent focal length ranges from 35mm wide angle to 140mm. The maximum zoom apertures vary from 3.5 to 4.6. Macro focusing is possible to a minimum of 1cm because Sony T 90 consists of powerful magnifying glasses. Sony T 90 boosts (and rightly so) of wide touch screen display with on screen icons for easier camera control.  On screen display allows you to adjust the zoom and other control by the mere touch of your finger on the camera screen and hence it is so easy to operate.

Sony Cyber-shot T90 Digital Camera offers ISO sensitivity ranging from 80 to 3,200 equivalents, and includes both true mechanical image stabilization as well as digital stabilization. This allows the camera to be more sensitive; by virtue of this one gets a higher shutter speed and it also reduces motion blurring.

Sony Cyber-shot T90 Digital Camera also has face detection capabilities. It can differentiate children and adults and accordingly prioritizes one individual’s face before clicking. Sony T 90 also has a feature, which makes it sensitive enough to detect if somebody is blinking. You will also find a smile shutter button on your Sony T 90 and it clicks the photo automatically once it finds you smiling.

Sony Cyber-shot T90 Digital Camera also has features like 720p MPEG-4 high definition video, a dynamic range optimizer function, it has both USB/video out put connections and last but not the least it has 11 scene modes along with an intelligent scene recognition mode. Sony Cyber-shot T90 Digital Camera is a smart, stylish and sleek machine/camera. It is also very handy to use.

You can buy your Sony Cyber-shot®T90 Digital Camera on line through any of the sites mentioned here. Due to competition they will offer you the best available deal. ShopFerret.com Deals Direct, Harvey Norman, Dick smith, Officeworks, ebay, Bing Lee, getprice.com.au. Alternatively you can also get your Sony Cyber-shot® T90 Digital Camera in your near by reliable electronic shop, if you want to get the feel of the product before purchasing the same.

Sony Cyber-shot S980

The latest introduction from Sony of S980 has features similar to S950, but instead of 10 mega pixels of S950, Sony Cyber-shot S980 comes with 12.1 mega pixels. Often companies manufacture too many products with minor differences, to avoid letting the customers opt for other brands. Sony cyber shot S980, falls in to that category. Let us take a look at the  Sony Cyber-shot S980 Digital Camera:

The features of S980 are as follows:

1. Cheap Price- Available at a price of around $245 Australian Dollars.
2. 12.1 mega pixels enable to get sharp images.
3. The display screen is 2.7 inches wide.
4. It has a very good contrast ratio.
5. The steady shot feature helps in taking clear photos, without blur and gives good result in when the photos are taken from a moving vehicle. So, S980 can prove a best companion while traveling. The images are sharper due to inbuilt steady shot feature.
6. Even in low light, the images would be clear.
7. It is equipped with 8 face detection.
8. Is available in 3 colors- black, pink and silver.
9. Once the battery is fully charged, it is capable of taking more than 300 photos.
10. Comes with 12 MB in built memory, the capacity can be increased by using memory stick.
11. Saves power automatically, if the camera is not used for 3 minutes. Thus, even if you accidentally forget to switch off the camera, you won’t run out of battery
12. It is a light weight model and weighs 4.8 ounces only.

Sony Cyber shot S980 does not have many of the features that are available in the latest cameras such as viewing the images on HDTV. You may find the 2.7 inch screen small, as 3 inches LCD screen cameras are available in the market, having wider lens. This product is too close to S950 in terms of features and too far from advanced models. It can get lost in between.

What makes Sony Cyber shot S980 an attractive bargain is the low cost. The cameras in the range of 12.1 mega pixels with HD feature and wider LCD screens are available at a higher price. So, this camera has a cost benefit and offers a best deal within the budget range.

Sony DSC-G3 Cyber-shot

The credit of introducing world’s first Wi-Fi camera in Australia goes to Sony. DSC-G3 cyber shot is the world’s first ever still camera, which is Wi-Fi enabled. Let us take a look at the  Sony DSC-G3 Cyber-shot Digital Camera:

The salient features of this camera are as under:

1. You can transfer the photos from the camera to your home page directly or to 5 popular sites without the use of USB port or any another wire.
2. Through camera, you can inform your friends and family about the site where you have uploaded the photos.
3. With 10.1 mega pixels, the image created is detailed and has superb clarity.
4. The 3.5 inches wide LCD screen enables to the see the person, place or thing to be shot clearly.
5. The camera has inbuilt memory of 4 GB. This can be further increased using memory stick.
6. Other amazing features are blink detection and smile detection, ensuring, that none of the photos will turn out with eyes closed and will capture the best smile.
7. Its auto focus feature targets the image to be captured, and produces the best result.
8. Other standard features such as adjusting to twilight, cloudy, daylight, under water etc enables you to take the best photo any time during the day or night and at any place.
9. Its slim and sleek figure is very attractive and weighs only 590 grams. So, it is easy to carry.
10. It is priced at $514.  Since the product is shipped from USA, you will have to bear the shipping cost.

There are a few drawbacks of this camera:

1. The Wi-Fi is extremely slow and does not respond many a times.
2. The camera is equipped with virtual keyboard, but the stylus is not included in the accessories.
3. The photos can be loaded only on the 5 sites decided by Sony. Popular sites such as flicker or facebook are not included. There is no provision to alter the standard sites or to add another site as per your requirement.
4. The battery consumption is very high.

Overall, if you crave for the new technology in camera, than Sony DSC-G3 Cyber shot digital camera can prove a best deal.

Sony Cyber-shot W230

Sony Cyber-shot W230 Digital Camera features as the low budget camera. These are available for around $299 and are available in four attractive colors –black, silver, red and blue. This model is quite close to W220, except a few changes. This model was introduced in Australia in Feb’09 and is the entry level model. When we review Sony Cyber-shot® W230 Digital Camera, these are the following features which attract us:

1. The biggest advantage is the price factor. At low price, you are getting a 12.1 mega pixel camera, that too from Sony.
2. 12.1 mega pixels ensure that the picture quality is sharp and clear.
3. Wide 3 inch LCD screen enables to view the images clearly both before and after shooting.
4. It is equipped with 15mb built in memory. You can increase the memory limit by using a memory stick.
5. Superior quality lens by Carl Zeiss is used, as is the case with all the Sony cameras.
6. 4x optical zoom ensures picture quality.
7. The focal length range is from 30mm to 120mm.
8. The auto feature is quite powerful. It will automatically focus on the photo based on the size.
9. It has a good shutter speed.
10. The intelligent scene recognition feature enables to take clear picture in bright light or dim light, whether you are indoors or outdoors.
11. The camera is smart enough to recognize the difference between a child and an adult and would get the images accordingly.
12. It is very easy to operate this camera.

There are a few drawbacks with this camera. First of all, Sony introduced too many models in a short span of time. Instead of buying W230, by just shelling out a few dollars more, you can get W290, which has wider screen and better features than W230.

The images don’t come out that beautifully in twilight, without the use of flash. Though, Sony recommends use of tripod and flash, it will amount to additional expenditure. In that case, the budget increases, and it would be better to go for higher versions.

However, we should forget that we are getting a Sony make, 12.1mp camera at a cheap rate and this makes it a best deal.

Sony Cyber-shot W290

This camera was first introduced in Feb 2009 in Australia. This pocket sized camera comes in four attractive colors- black, bronze, silver and blue. Let us take a review of Sony Cyber-shot W290 Digital Camera

1. It is surprisingly cheap at $372.
2. Like most of the Sony cameras, this one too uses Carl Zeiss lens.
3. This 12.1 mega pixel camera, with 3 inches wide screen is relatively easy to operate.
4. There are three switches on the top- the normal power button, button for the shutter and a button to called Smile shutter that activates the camera quickly.
5. In terms of quality and performance, it has surpassed the earlier models.
6. There is a provision for HD output. That means you can view your photos on HD TV, with the help of a cable.
7. Since this is a high resolution camera, the picture quality is the best.
8. The settings in the camera are automatically altered as per the environment. You can switch on the auto feature and leave the rest to the camera, to get the best photos. You are saved of botheration to adjust the mode with every situation.
9. You can even shoot high definition video though the zoom in not operative in movie mode.
10. The subtle design on the body of the camera assure superior grip.
11. The other accessories are USB cable, battery, battery charger, AV cable and CD-ROM

With this camera, it is difficult to find the minuses. However, one thing that comes glaring to the mind is that the zoom feature cannot be used for movie recording. Secondly, in spite of the fact that you can view the images on a HD TV, the accessories do not include a HD cable. You need to buy it separately.  The design on the exterior body of the camera is susceptible to dirt accumulation.

Sony Cyber-shot W290 Digital Camera proves that all good things come in small packages. For just around $350, you can get features of digital camera with video recording. It is the best deal that any one can get. The negatives are too small and can be ignored.

Sony Cyber-shot W220

Sony has introduced yet another product in the lower price segment in its W series. It is available in 4 attractive colors- silver, pink, blue and black. The price of this product in Australia is  now bellow $300. Let us take a review of Sony Cyber-shot W220 Digital Camera:

What is has?

1. 12.1 mega pixels that is capable of giving sharp and clear images.
2. 4x optical zoom and Carl Zeiss lens
3. 2.7 inches wide LCD screen to view the image clearly before shooting as well as enjoy the pleasure of viewing the images.
4. Rechargeable batteries
5. High resolution of 4000*3000, so that the image is crisp.
6. 10 recording modes to enable the best shooting at any time and any place. You can adjust the light by choosing from different modes such as twilight, soft snap, landscape etc. or even take under water photos clearly.
7. The quality of the photo is very good. The colors are good too. However, they are better in the higher end models.
8. Light weight and can be easily carried in pocket.
9. It comes with 12 months warranty.

What it does not have?

1. Optical zoom is not available for recording of a movie.
2. There are 10 modes on a small button, so it often gets clumsy, between selecting a mode.
3. It does not HD feature. If you spend a little more money, you can get W290 which has many features over this camera such as it can be connected to a HD TV via cable, wider lens as well as wider LCD screen.
4. There are too many buttons and therefore, operating it could be confusing.
5. The picture quality is not very good when you take a large print.
6. You may need flash in case you are shooting out at night for better images.

Overall, W220 is a good camera, and given its low price, it is the best deal. However, you may get better features in W290 if you are willing to spend a few dollars more.
In short you can call W220 camera as a no frill camera similar to budget airlines, where you have the basic services, but there are no luxuries attached.