Reviews for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200 12.1 Megapixel Compact Camera - Silver

By member: TripleDuck - Nov 29, 2007

Definitely Worth the Money

Strengths: nice size, crisp clear images, massive quality, large LCD for better viewing, good selection of automatic modes as well as manual mode

Weakness: low light doesn't work very well, movie modes not very well done, battery life stinks, proprietary USB cable

For the most part, this is an outstanding camera. The interface is all pretty self-explanatory, as I have never had to reference the manual once (even for manual mode shooting). The LCD is large and bright and pretty visible in most normal situations. When different affects are turned on (such as flash and steady mode), an icon appears on the LCD. Definitely great to be able to tell what is active.

The images are great quality and resolution. The only issue I've had with images is in low light. I haven't had much success in taking good pictures with the low-light features of the camera.

The camera features 8 auto-setting modes, plus one manual mode and a movie mode. Just about covers all scenarios.

The battery life leaves some to be desired. Sony says you can get 150 minutes out of the battery with the LCD on. I'm getting more like 100-120 minutes. Supposedly, you can get 175 minutes with the LCD turned off (the camera has a viewfinder also for when the LCD is off), but I have yet to see these kinds of results. I recommend keeping an extra battery charged up and ready for use when you need more than two hours, total time on.

One feature of this camera on which I was really hopeful was the movie modes. I know digital cameras are not really movie cameras, but having a nice small digital movie camera is important for me (recording lectures/blackboards at school with something I can fit in my pocket). On a 2 gig memory stick, the 640x480 at fine mode will only record about 25 minutes. Considering it's not a HD DV mode, this file size is surprising to me, especially considering the slight artifacting obtained in the final product. It's not bad, mind you, and works for my purposes, but I think a 2 gig file should be better. Using the 640x480 standard mode, forget about quality. You may get 1.5 hours on a 2gig stick, but it will be VERY compressed and artifacted. Good luck getting any detail from it. May be good for uploading to youtube or something, but not when details count. The 320x240 mode boasts 5 hours of recording time on a 2gig stick, but with such low quality/resolution, why bother? Especially since the battery won't last that long.

The manual also claims that the movie mode will record until the memory stick is full. This is not true. 640x480@fine will only record in 30 minute chunks/max 2gig file size. Having an 8gig stick doesn't mean 1.5 hours of uninterrupted recording time. If you need to record for more than 30 minutes, you can't. You have to pay attention and when the camera stops recording, you must start recording again. The first time I filmed a lecture, I lost 17 minutes because I didn't realize this.

And the cable that connects the camera to a computer isn't one of the normal USB cables. The camera side is a proprietary connector. If you want to connect it to different computers, you either need to transport the cable with you or buy another one. Kinda stinks in my book. Sony is notorious for this kind of thing.

For the home enthusiast, this is a great camera.

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Cyber-shot DSC-W200 Silver Digital Camera (12.1 MP)

Strengths: I am extremely impressed with the quality and the features of this compact size camera.

Weakness: The Tele-Photo lens is only 3x zoom. An optional Tele-Angle Conversion len is available for $129.99 plus another $29.99 for the Adaper Ring. This lens will visually get up to 2.6 times closer.

This camera has everything I wanted in a camera.
With the face detection and antiblur features, the image details and clarity of the pictures are amazing. It captures our pets eyes as they are, not that transparent look.
The camera is user friendly with word description displayed on the LCD screen with each feature. The instruction booklet is easy to follow also.
It's hard to believe that a camera this small can have so many quality features,but it does!
To accommodate the larger 12.1MP & movie feature, I purchased a high quality 2GB Memory Stick and a second battery.

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Very Good but not Great

Strengths: It's very compact and its controls are very similar to past generations of Sony cameras.

Weakness: The download cable is very difficult to attach to the camera and almost impossible to deattach from the camera when finished unloading camera. There is a lack of detail in large scenic photos.

This is a very good camera. But after owning a Sony 7.2 mega pixel camera, which is also a very good camera, I was expecting more from this 12.1 camera. The photo quality is about the same between the old camera and the new camera. Normal size photo are very good. But when enlarging the images the detail is just not there.

The new automatic face recognition is very slow and has a hard time locking on to more than one face. The most faces I have achieved so far is two out of five.

The super low light feature also is not quite there yet. When shooting at dusk most of my photos came out blurrily.

But for taking 80-90% of routine day to day photos, I would have to guess that this Sony is just as solid as the last generation Sony which is very good. I plan on keeping this camera, but if I had a chance to have tried it first; I would have waited one more generation. I think Sony is close to getting it right.

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Awesome Camera

Strengths: Vivid shots, easy to use menu.

Weakness: The lens is off to the left of the camera, ocassionally making it hard to hold on to. probably just need to get use to it.

I have always wanted a Sony Cybershot camera after seeing the quality of my friends camera. After carefully researching, this is the best camera for the price that I got it for. I will definitely recommend this camera to anyone.

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Cool Camera, Laughably Bad Tech Support

Strengths: Compact, Lots of Features

Weakness: Memory Stick, No RAW, Absolutely Horrible Tech Support

This is a very nice compact camera that fits nicely in my pocket for those moments when carrying a giant honking dSLR isn't appropriate. It beats most other cameras in its class, and I especially like the shape and size. I used to have a Panasonic LX2, but I found it inconvenient due to the way the lens sticks out even when not extended. Unfortunately, this camera does have a few issues. First, it doesn't shoot RAW files (not a big deal, but this would be a nice addition). Second, it uses Memory Stick Pro Duo cards. It is incredibly annoying to have to buy new memory to use this camera rather than using SD or CF cards. Last, Sony provides some of the worst tech support I've ever experienced, which forms the rest of this review.


One of the cool things about buying Sony products is they give you free prints and CDs from ImageStation when you register the camera. Unfortunately, this hasn't actually happened for me yet. The coupon code and link provided to me upon registration were invalid, so I contacted tech support via email. The email reply stated that I had to call, so I then called. The incomprehensible representative who answered gave me a new coupon code. I thanked him and hung up at which point I discovered the coupon code wouldn't work! I then called back. A different rep then told me to call ImageStation tech support, so I then called ImageStation tech support where the guy collected my information and said that someone would contact me in 1-2 business days. Do I believe that someone will actually call? No. After one email and three phone calls, I'm sick of dealing with them and think I may just give up on the free prints.

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Great Camera

Strengths: Small, compact, easy to use, great picture quality

Weakness: The sole problem I have with the camera is that the lens, when fully contracted, juts out about a quarter of an inch from the camera itself.

This camera is the best ones currently on the market. It is 12 mp, which puts it at the top of the digital cameras out there in terms of quality. It is also barely bigger than its predecessor, which makes it a very compact camera. This camera takes excellent pictures, and has many varying settings to optimize the quality of your pictures (snow, beach, to name a few). I did a lot of research before deciding on this camera, and have yet to be disappointed in the 2 months that I've had it. Make sure you buy a large memory card to accompany this camera; the individual picture sizes can get quite large.

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Sony w200

Strengths: compact, lots of features

Weakness: expensive memory stick, battery life, soft photos

High resolution packed into a compact design. The optical view finder can be useful for some users. The manual exposure mode can be very friendly and helpful in a compact camera. This way you can adjust the shutter speed and aperture value. The sensitivity can go as high as 3200. The SteadyShot feature (sony’s antishake) can come on handy for pictures in low light environments and when zooming. I would like to have a more optical zoom capability because the maximal the camera can do is 3x. The overall photo quality is not that impressive. For the same money you can find cameras that produce superior pictures but of course, on a lower resolution. I think 12 mega pix are unnecessary; you don’t print pictures with big poster sizes. Overall a good compact camera with average photo performance.

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My Lost Camera

Strengths: Everything

Weakness: Nothing

I went to a party I had my Sony 10.1 MP and I had that camera for ever... I lost it I didnt put insurance... I never thought I would replaced it with any other camera... till I saw the Sony 12.1 MP... I felt in love with it. Its great and take the best pictures, and I found it in the best deal which was pricegrabber.com

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DSCW200

Strengths: Size, Picture Quality, Ease of Operation, Battery Life & Zoom is far better than my previous digital camera.

Weakness: Ability to focus when candles were present during a Birthdeay celebration in a dark evnornment. Auto focus is sensitve.

Purchased the camera before going on a family vacation. We were able to view a slideshow of pictures on a 1080i HD TV. Very satisfied - Met others while traveling who were also impressed and are considering purchasing the camera. Look forward to using the camera over the upcoming Holiday Season!

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Price to performance...

Strengths: Very high quality pictures, good price/performance ratio.

Weakness: Inadequate tech support, lack of Sony service centers.

If your worried about the cable, you can also purchase an adapter if your computer has the memory stick slots...you can add an adapter to your pro duo memory stick to make it work in that slot. The va

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The product was excellent and it's picture quality...

Strengths: The product was excellent and it's picture quality was awesome Small, compact, easy to use.

Weakness: The sole problem I have with the camera is that the lens, when fully contracted, juts out about a quarter of an inch from the camera itself..

This camera is the best ones currently on the market. It is 12 mp, which puts it at the top of the digital cameras out there in terms of quality. It is also barely bigger than its predecessor, which makes it a very compact camera. This camera takes excellent pictures, and has many varying settings to optimize the quality of your pictures (snow, beach, to name a few). I did a lot of research before deciding on this camera, and have yet to be disappointed in the 2 months that I've had it. Make sure you buy a large memory card to accompany this camera; the individual picture sizes can get quite large.

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Nice Camera

Strengths: easy to use menu compact easy to use great picture quality

Weakness: Nothing

Recently I had purchased w200. it is very sleek and nice. out of all 3, I am really impressed with W200. Nice photos even in dark. It has lots of features. it is very compact.

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W200

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Sony’s Cyber-shot DSC-W200 is certainly not a cheap compact. This is partly understandable given the 12.1 Megapixel sensor, but sadly it’s not reflected across the rest of the specifications. Sure the optical viewfinder, manual control and wide range of accessories are nice to have, but for many people they won’t make up for the entry-level screen and average zoom range. Had Sony fitted a...

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