Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370 review – Reasonably Priced Compact Camera
Thumbs Up:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370 has a decent user-friendly design for its compact body, and on top of it the camera comes with imposing 7x zoom lens and it is reasonably priced considering the general specifications of the printer.
Thumbs Down:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370 comes with long shutter lag, delivers average low-light photos and some of the components featured in Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370 are really low end components.
The Whiz Kid Speaks:
Manufacturer: Sony
Price range: $209.95 – $229.99
Part Number: DSC-W370
Dimensions (H x W x D): 2.2 x 3.9 x 1 inches
Weight: 5.6 oz
Resolution: 14.1 megapixels
Shooting Programs: Snow , Pet , Gourmet , Beach , Landscape , Fireworks , Back light , Soft snap , Twilight mode , Portrait mode , Twilight portrait , High sensitivity and Backlight portrait
Exposure Modes: Automatic and Program
White Balance Presets: Cloudy , Flash , Underwater , Daylight , Fluorescent light, Incandescent , Fluorescent light (warm white) and Fluorescent light (cool white)
Exposure Metering: Spot , Center-weighted and Multi-segment
White Balance Presets: Cloudy , Flash , Underwater , Daylight , Fluorescent light (daylight) , Incandescent , Fluorescent light (warm white) and Fluorescent light (cool white)
Digital Video Format: MPEG-4
Still Image Format: JPEG
Supported Flash Memory: Memory Stick Duo , SD Memory Card and Memory Stick PRO Duo
Flash Modes: Fill-in mode , Auto mode , Flash OFF mode , Slow synchro and Red-eye reduction
Features: Built-in lens shield, AF illuminator, Auto power save , Direct print , DPOF support , Audio recording , Face detection , Built-in speaker , Date/time stamp , Histogram display , Cropping an image , PictBridge support , Exif Print support , Progressive scanning , PRINT Image Matching , USB 2.0 compatibility , In-camera red-eye fix , Digital noise reduction , 720p HD movie recording , Sweep Panorama technology , Self Portrait Auto Shutter , Blink Detection technology , Dynamic Range Optimizer , Smile Detection technology , Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN) and Motion Detection Technology
Software: Sony Picture Motion Browser and Drivers & Utilities
Operating System Support: MS Windows Vista, MS Windows 7, Apple Mac OS X 10.4 – 10.6 and MS Windows XP SP3
Cables Included: USB cable , A/V cable
Peripheral Devices: CD-ROM drive and USB port
Included Accessories: Wrist strap
Power Device: Battery charger – External
Supported Battery: Li-ion rechargeable battery (Included)
Razzle Dazzle:
The first appearance of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370 is pretty pleasing for the all the three colors (green, silver and red) in which the camera is launched. All the three models of the camera have got chrome trim on their top and on right spine. The camera has been kept compact enough to make it get into any pants pocket or in any clutches easily. Though, a little bit of heft is added into the camera by its 7x lens, and hence you always will have the knowledge that you are carrying a camera with you, either in your pocket or in your bag. Though, the overall body of DSC-W370 is rather slippery as it is made up of metal. This is what makes the one handed operation of camera a tad fiddly maneuver.
Inside Dope:
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370’s has got a pretty imposing specifications-to-cost ratio on surface. The camera comes with a 7x zoom lens having resolution of 14 megapixels, the camera has a 3 inch LCD screen, ropes 720p HD movie capture and facilitating the easy connection of the camera to an HDTV, there is an HDMI output. But what makes this all even more enticing is the price tag around DSC-W370, and you easily can get all these for less than $230. The DSC-W370 actually is an update to 2009′s outstanding W290 camera, but the camera has plenty of resemblance and similarity with 2010’s W350.
We mentioned “imposing specifications-to-cost ratio” term above, because we still haven’t found that whether Sony has done a bit of trimmings and compromises in terms of features and performance, to bring the price down or not. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370 comes with Sony lens, out of the three lenses we know, starting from highest to lowest; Sony G, Carl Zeiss, and Sony. The Sony lens, used in Cyber-shot DSC-W370 is not very wide, and on top of it, the camera also doesn’t have Sony’s Bionz image processor, which clarifies the sluggish shooting performance and presence of high noise in the pictures taken at higher ISO sensitivities for the camera.
This is the reason why if you are committed to get a Sony Compact then its better to go for W350 rather than W370, at least that’s what we think. But if you are committed on buying a reasonably priced camera with 7x optical zoom and a compact body, then the W370 is a decent choice, but if you making this decision then be prepared for certain sacrifices.
The control panels for W370 are rather simple, with the power button and shutter release button located on the top. The power button here is tad flushed with the surface, but still can be pressed easily, but it can be tricky to allocate the buttons for the first time users. The rest of the controls of the camera are placed on the back of the camera and at the right of the LCD. Though, the LCD is decently bright, but not bright enough to be used in bright sunny conditions. Located at the top of the camera is a zoom rocker of the camera and located underneath it is the shooting mode dial.
The rest of the tasks of the camera are handled by Playback, Menu, Delete button and a rounded directional pad. On a whole the controls and control panel is rather simpler and user friendly, so even if you are a novice user you wont have any problem in navigating through the camera.
Nitty Gritty:
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W370 is pretty decent camera with a long lens and reasonable price tag. Though, the long lens, poor low-light photo quality and shutter lag stops it from being a high-end camera.
