Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 – Straight Entry-Level Camera
Thumbs Up:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is powered by AA-size batteries; has simple operation and a huge 3 inch display LCD.
Thumbs Down:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 doesn’t have any modish features and comes delivers really soft photos.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Manufacturer: Sony
Part Number: DSC-S2100
Price: $99.00 – $113.63
Product Type: Digital Camera Compact
Weight: 4.8 oz
Dimensions (W x D x H) in inches: 3.9 x 1.1 x 2.4inches
Operating System Support: Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows 7, Apple Mac OS X 10.4 – 10.6 and Microsoft Windows XP SP3
Optical Sensor Type: Super HAD CCD
White balance: Custom, Automatic and Presets
White Balance Presets: Cloudy, Flash, Incandescent, Daylight, Fluorescent light (cool white), Fluorescent light (daylight) and Fluorescent light (warm white)
Software: Sony Picture Motion Browser and Drivers & Utilities
Cables Included: USB cable
Connector Type: 1 x USB and 1 x Composite audio/video output
Extra Features: Direct print , DPOF support , Auto power save , Face detection , Cropping an image , Built-in speaker , Resizing an image , Histogram display , Built-in help guide , PictBridge support , In-camera red-eye fix , PRINT Image Matching , Digital image rotation , USB 2.0 compatibility , Smile Detection technology , Blink Detection technology , Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN) and Camera orientation detection
Shooting Programs: Beach, Snow, Landscape, Gourmet, Twilight mode, Soft snap, Twilight portrait and High sensitivity
Focus Adjustment: Automatic
Flash Modes: Fill-in mode, Auto mode, Flash OFF mode, and slow synchro and Red-eye reduction
Included Accessories: Wrist strap
Camera Flash: Built-in
Peripheral Devices: USB port and CD-ROM drive
Service & Support: One year warranty
Razzle Dazzle:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is a graciously built camera, which gives great feel for its price when held in hand. The camera measures 3.9 x 1.1 x 2.4 inches (W x D x H) and comes in three color options of orange, black and silver. One of the biggest assets for the camera is its AA batteries that powers the camera, and related to that is it’s another asset, the decent grip on the right of the camera. This extra room on the right of the camera was generated while creating space for the AA-batteries. Maximum part of the camera is made up of plastic, but in order to give it a high-end look, Sony has used a piece of brushed metal around its lens. One another highlight for the camera is its larger-than-usual 3 inch LCD display; we generally have seen 2.5 and 2.7 inch LCD screens in the cameras of this price bracket and class.
Inside Dope:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is the only camera in Sony’s 2010 lineup, which is powered by AA-Size battery. Apart from this, another major selling point for this entry-level compact camera is its huge LCD. The camera primarily is for the basic users who actually doesn’t needs a lot of complex functions and can do only with the basic features and simple operation. Just as expected, the photo quality delivered by the camera surely isn’t exceptional and so is the case with the performance speed. Its better that you keep your expectations modest if you are buying the S2100; it will protect you from any sort of disappointment. But this not at all means that the camera is worthless; considering the price and class of the camera; it delivers decent performance. Also the respectable color quality of the camera gives you decent photos even in the dim lightening conditions.
The controls for the camera are rather basic. Placed on the top of the camera are power and the shutter release buttons. The remaining controls are all located at the back and at the right of the huge LCD display of the camera. the camera comes with a rocker switch for its 3x zoom; a button for switching amid the photo and movie modes; a play button to review the movies and shots captured from the camera and a four-way clasp for varying the flash and timer functions, displaying information, navigation and to activating smile detection. Most of the buttons positioned on the camera are comparatively smaller in size, but can be pressed easily. But the select button and the control panel for the camera definitely could have been a bit larger.
Just like the control system, the menu of the system is also rather clear-cut. Pressing the Menu button opens the shooting modes along with the particular settings for the mode in which you actually are in.
The left edge of the camera houses an uncovered Micro-USB/AV port, which can be used for taking the output on a TV, monitor or computer. The base of the camera houses a non-locking door, covering memory card slot, the battery compartment, and the tripod mount. Just as most of the Sony’s 2010 Cyber-shots, the S2100 also has only one slot, which accepts Memory Stick Pro Duo cards and SD/SDHC.
The performance of Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is just as you expect from an entry-level compact camera; the camera is slow. But as we knew its class we were expecting the slowness and hence were not surprised with it. Though, the good thing here is that the camera is faster than most of the cameras of its class. The camera gets ready for its first shot in 2.3 seconds from a completely off state. The shutter lag here is 0.6 second in bright sunlight, while in low lighting conditions it goes to 1 second. The only thing that the camera does at a reasonable speed is that it shoots at 1.1 frames per second. SO seeing the performance figures for the camera we would recommend you to use the camera for capturing still or immovable objects.
Even the photo quality of the camera was somewhat entry-level type. The photos taken here were smeary and soft and it remained the same even in the very low ISOs. The condition gets worse as you move up at higher sensitivities. Though, the steady color performance of the camera up to ISO 800 will get you decent shots even in very dim light. In general, considering the class and cost of the camera, the performance was fine; although you got to be choosy in your purpose of using the photos.
Nitty Gritty:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S2100 is a simple entry-level compact camera powered by AA-Size batteries.
