Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90 (silver)

Manufacturer: Sony Part number: DSCW90

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CNET Editor rating:
3.5 stars Very good
Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 10 reviews

More product information:: Editors' review; Product brief; User reviews; Specifications; Manufacturer info

Bottom Line:: Quick shooting and generally good picture quality make the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90 a solid choice.

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CNET editors' review

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90 (silver)

price range: $175.99 - $409.11

Quick shooting and generally good picture quality make the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90 a solid choice.

The good: Quick performance; good pictures at lower sensitivity settings.

The bad: Small buttons feel awkward.

The bottom line: Quick shooting and generally good picture quality make the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90 a solid choice.

Read full review

Sony pushes its Cyber-shot W-series forward by inches, not miles, with the DSC-W90. This 8-megapixel point-and-shoot camera offers a higher resolution than its predecessor, the Cyber-shot DSC-W80, but otherwise doesn't change much of anything.

From the outside, the W90 looks almost indistinguishable from its 7-megapixel little brother. Its slim metal body measures less than 0.9 inch thick and weighs only 5.3 ounces with battery and Memory Stick Duo. Unfortunately, just like the W80, its small, flat buttons can feel uncomfortable to large-thumbed users.

Along with the same design, the W90 shares a nearly identical feature set with the W80. The 8-megapixel camera uses a 35mm-105mm equivalent, f/2.8-5.2 lens, giving it a standard 3x zoom range. Its 2.5-inch LCD screen isn't huge by today's standards, but it offers a decent view and leaves enough room on the camera for an optical viewfinder. Despite being part of Sony's budget line, the W90 incorporates a 9-point autofocus system and a face detection mode, both useful when your subject is not in the center of the frame. The W90 also includes 31 megabytes of internal memory, enough to hold a few dozen photos or about a minute and a half of fair-quality VGA footage. Invest in a Memory Stick Duo to get any shooting longevity out of this camera.

As with the W80, a generous suite of onboard retouching options help offset the W90's cookie-cutter feature set. Once you've taken a picture, you can crop it, rotate it (in 90-degree increments), or remove red eyes from portraits taken with the camera's flash. It even offers a handful of picture effects, like soft focus, fisheye, and cross filter. Most of these retouches feel more like gimmicks than actual useful features, but they can still be fun to play with.

In our lab tests, the W90 fared similar to the W80, with a quicker shutter but otherwise slightly slower performance. After a 1.7-second wait from power-on to first shot, the W90 could capture a new picture every 1.3 seconds with the onboard flash disabled. With the flash turned on, that wait more than doubled to 3 seconds. That's slower than we like to see, even for a budget point-and-shoot. The shutter lagged a scant 0.4 second with our high-contrast target, and a respectable 1.1 seconds with our low-contrast target. In burst mode, the camera captured 15 full-resolution shots in 7.4 seconds for an average rate of 2 frames per second.

The W90's photos generally look pretty good, save for a few quirks. On the review unit we acquired, the left third of the camera's photos appear distinctly softer and out-of-focus compared with the rest of the frame. It looks a lot like what happens when a lens is out of alignment, which isn't all that uncommon for budget cameras. It's likely you won't see an identical problem, though you may see something similar or your unit may have no such problem. Outside of the softened area, details appear clear and crisp at the camera's lowest ISO settings. Extremely subtle noise creeps in at ISO 200, but definitely won't show up in prints. At ISO 400, noise becomes more prominent, may show up in prints, and ever so slightly eats up some finer detail, such as hair or the texture of objects. At ISO 800, grain causes more damage to finer textures, but enough detail remains for respectable 4x6 prints. ISO 1,600 pictures get far too noisy for prints, though enough detail remains for e-mailing them or posting them to the Web. Photos taken at the camera's maximum sensitivity of ISO 3,200 are nearly unusable, becoming so covered in noise that they look like they were drawn on shag carpeting with spray paint.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90 adds a slight resolution bump to an already good snapshot camera. If you're looking for a simple, modestly priced pocket camera that shoots quickly and produces good pictures, the W90 makes a nice choice. If you already have a Cyber-shot DSC-W80, you don't need to give the W90 much consideration; the minor increase in picture size doesn't justify getting an entirely new camera.

Shooting speed (in seconds)
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90

1.3

1.8

0.4

Canon PowerShot SD870 IS

1.6

0.9

0.4

Fujifilm FinePix F40fd

2.5

1.1

0.5

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80

1.2

1.8

0.6

Nikon Coolpix S51c

3.4

4.1

0.9

Typical continuous-shooting speed (frames per second)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80

2.7

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90

Canon PowerShot SD870 IS

1.3

Nikon Coolpix S51c

0.9

Fujifilm FinePix F40fd

0.5

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Product brief

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 4.0 stars out of 10 reviews

Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 10

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9 stars

Superb Piece of Technology

by wobannon on May 11, 2007

Pros: Fast, Easy to Manipulate Menus, Lots of Options for shooting environments and easy to adjust. Burst Mode is Super Fun and useful in more situations than I would have figured.

Cons: Proprietary Cable for connecting to computer. I've always bought the other camera whose name starts with a "C" and I could use any standard USB/Camera cable to connect .

Summary: I love this camera so far and would have rated it a 10 if it wasn't for the Sony cable you must use to connect to a device. I ...

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Summary: I love this camera so far and would have rated it a 10 if it wasn't for the Sony cable you must use to connect to a device. I know, I know, sounds a little persnickety.

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8 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Perfect camera for pocket

by r0ss0w on May 30, 2007

Pros: fast, battery life is excellent, makes cool sounds(u can turn them off if u want to though), lightweight, easy to use

Cons: only 3x optical zoom(megapixels and my dsc-h2) make up for it

Summary: This is a great camera. I bought an Olympus the day before i got this and was dissatisfied, so i returned it. the sony is 300x better. I would recommend ...

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Summary: This is a great camera. I bought an Olympus the day before i got this and was dissatisfied, so i returned it. the sony is 300x better. I would recommend this camera to anyone who is an average photographer!

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2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Excellent point and shoot camera with extras

by rlteders on April 25, 2007

Pros: speed, simple to use, HD output

Cons: tiny buttons

Summary: Great camera thus far. Burst mode is impressive for an 8MP point and shoot digital camera.

Summary: Great camera thus far. Burst mode is impressive for an 8MP point and shoot digital camera.

2 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Excellent Camera

by zr600mn on April 8, 2007

Pros: Fast, Clear Pictures, Size

Cons: Menu Structure

Summary: This is a very good camera for the money. It is very fast and takes good pictures in a lot of different types of light.

Summary: This is a very good camera for the money. It is very fast and takes good pictures in a lot of different types of light.

1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
4 stars

Small, but not great pictures

by Blargosaurus on February 20, 2008

Pros: Easy to use, easy to carry

Cons: Picture quality leaves much to be desired

Summary: My wife wanted a smaller camera than our older 3MP Olympus which was also showing its age and the DSC-W90 was well rated so I bought it for her for ...

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Summary: My wife wanted a smaller camera than our older 3MP Olympus which was also showing its age and the DSC-W90 was well rated so I bought it for her for her birthday in December.

We have taken between 2000 and 3000 photos with it so far and have been generally unimpressed.

In anything but bright, direct light it seems to have focus issues. Even when face detection is working or the autofocus correctly identifies the subject matter most of my pictures are at least slightly out of focus. If the subject is more than three feet away the possibility of having an in-focus image are even worse.

Granted, I am using the point and shoot mode, and am not a great photographer, but our older camera consistently took good quality pictures at any focal distance even with motion. On this camera though, indirect light or motion seem to prevent a good picture. Daytime, outdoor pictures on the other hand turn out uniformly well.

The movie mode, small size, quick focus speed (relative to our old camera), and daytime shooting are all positives, but I definitely wouldn't recommend this camera and will be purchasing something else soon and relegating this camera to a secondary.

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1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 stars

Great value, nice features and design

by kurtthewurt on February 20, 2008

Pros: great price , big LCD, good battery life

Cons: sometimes slow, terrible playback speaker, VERY expensive accessories

Summary: The DSC-W90 is by far the best value for a point and shoot camera i've ever had! The camera takes great pictures, almost as good in 8x10's as ...

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Summary: The DSC-W90 is by far the best value for a point and shoot camera i've ever had! The camera takes great pictures, almost as good in 8x10's as my Nikon D40X DSLR! The stainless steel body is beautiful and it has a nice 2.5 inch LCD. I purchased mine at Costco for only $275 with the software and USB and AV connect cables. The battery lasts hours and is great for long day-trips. The camera fits easily in your pocket (as long as you're not wearing really tight pants), and doesn't scratch easily. I also really like the built in cropping, rotationg, and picture effects as well as the ability to make beautiful slideshows with your own music and separate albums of photos.

Here are the bad things about the DSC-W90. Although you can upload your very own music to play during slideshows, the onboard speaker is TERRIBLE. You can't even hear it unless you are in a VERY quiet environment. The music slideshows are definitely meant to be played on a TV with the included cables. Also, the Sony accesories for the camera are EXTREMELY expensive. I have never paid FORTY dollars for one simple leather case before. An additional battery costs about 20-30, cables are 20-30, and a simple waterproof casing is TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS!!! I will compensate for the unnecessary costs witht the fact that Memory Stick Pro Duos are very good deals, with 2GB around only $35.

Overall, I would recommend the DSC-W90 to anyone looking for a simple, easy to use pint and shoot with good resolution, features, and a great price.

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7 stars

Awesome For Price!

by nowruss94 on January 5, 2008

Pros: High Def. Quality

Cons: Short Optical Zoom!

Summary: I love this camera. I got it for $279.00 at Costco and still have it. Optional cradle for High Def. is a must have. It can be better but ...

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Summary: I love this camera. I got it for $279.00 at Costco and still have it. Optional cradle for High Def. is a must have. It can be better but it is a good camera.

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9 stars

Excellent Camera

by sudeepthegreat2000 on October 28, 2007

Pros: Good Quality

Cons: Yet to find one...

Summary: Excellent camera with good quality and yet very slim.

Summary: Excellent camera with good quality and yet very slim.
9 stars

great picture quality

by ferdiguzman on August 12, 2007

Pros: great outdoor picture quality

Cons: none that i know of

Summary: i brought this on my trip to the beach and it was able to provide me superb pictures including a sunset background...lots of things you can do with the ...

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Summary: i brought this on my trip to the beach and it was able to provide me superb pictures including a sunset background...lots of things you can do with the camera...battery life is satisfactory, too.

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9 stars

Small and compact. Great on-the-go pictures.

by lbblue on June 10, 2007

Pros: Small. Light. Good low light pictures.

Cons: PC connector is not standard USB cable.

Summary: This is a camera that you can put in your pocket and forget about it. It's light. It's easy. While the low light pictures are grainy, I still ...

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Summary: This is a camera that you can put in your pocket and forget about it. It's light. It's easy. While the low light pictures are grainy, I still think it's cool to be able to get images that we thought were too dark.

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Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 10

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Sony
Part number: DSCW90

General
Product Type Digital camera - Compact
Color Silver
Body Material Metal
Main Features
Resolution 8.1 megapixels
Image stabilizer feature Optical stabilization helps prevent blurry pictures, especially for handheld cameras at slow shutter speeds or when using high optical zoom. This camera utilizes built-in Super SteadyShot stabilization to assist in taking sharper pictures.
Sensor resolution 8.1 megapixels
Optical Sensor Type Super HAD CCD
Effective Sensor Resolution 8,100,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size 1/2.5 in
Light Sensitivity ISO 200, ISO 800, ISO auto, ISO 400, ISO 3200, ISO 1600, ISO 100
Digital Zoom 2 x
Shooting Modes Frame movie mode
Shooting Programs High sensitivity, Twilight portrait, Twilight mode, Soft snap, Landscape, Beach, Snow
Special effects Vivid, Black & White, Sepia
Max Shutter Speed 1/1600 sec
Min Shutter Speed 1 sec
Exposure Metering Multi-segment
Exposure Modes Automatic, Program
Exposure Compensation ?2 EV range, in 1/3 EV steps
White Balance Automatic, Presets
White Balance Presets Incandescent, Fluorescent, Cloudy, Flash, Daylight
Digital video format MPEG VX
Still Image Format JPEG
Continuous Shooting Speed 2.2 frames per second
Color support Color
Image Stabilizer Optical (Super Steady Shot)
Face Detection Yes
TV Tuner None
Video Capture MPEG - 320 x 240, MPEG - 640 x 480
Memory / Storage
Flash Memory 31 MB Flash - Integrated
Integrated Memory 31 MB
Floppy Drive None
Flash memory 31 MB - Integrated
Supported Flash Memory Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo
Lens System
Type Zoom lens - 5.8 mm - 17.4 mm - F/2.8-5.2
Focal Length 5.8 mm - 17.4 mm
Lens Construction 5 group(s) / 6 element(s)
Lens Manufacturer Carl Zeiss
Additional Features
Self Timer Yes
Self Timer Delay 10 sec, 2 sec
Additional Features Digital noise reduction, Built-in speaker, USB 2.0 compatibility, Face detection, Auto power save, PictBridge support, In-camera red-eye removal
Camera Flash
Effective Flash Range 22 ft
Type Built-in flash
Flash Modes Flash OFF mode, Fill-in mode, Slow synchro, Auto mode
Red Eye Reduction Yes
Effective flash range 22 ft
Features AF illuminator
Viewfinder
Viewfinder Type Optical - Real-image zoom
Color support Color
Display
Type LCD display - TFT active matrix - 2.5 in - Color
Mounting Built-in
Resolution 115,000 pixels
Digital Player (Recorder)
Type None

Microphone
Type Microphone - Built-in
Connections
Connector Type 1 x Composite video/audio output, 1 x USB
Expansion Slot(s) 1 x Memory Stick PRO Duo
Lens Systems
Auto Focus TTL contrast detection
Type Zoom lens
Focal length 5.8 mm - 17.4 mm
Focal Length Equivalent to 35mm Camera 35 - 105 mm
Focus adjustment Automatic
Auto Focus Points (Zones) 9
Min Focus Range 19.7 in
Macro Focus Range 4cm
Lens Aperture F/2.8-5.2
Optical Zoom 3 x
Zoom Adjustment Motorized drive
Lens construction 5 : 6
Features Aspherical lens, Built-in lens shield
Miscellaneous
Cables Included USB cable, 1, 1 x A/V cable
Included Accessories Wrist strap
Power
Power Device Battery charger - External
System Requirements for PC Connection
Operating system Apple Mac OS 9.1, Apple Mac OS X 10.0 - 10.4, MS Windows ME, MS Windows XP, MS Windows 2000, Apple Mac OS 9.2
Peripherals USB port, CD-ROM drive
Battery
Supported Battery 1 x Sony NP-BG1 Li-ion rechargeable battery - 960 mAh ( Included )
Manufacturer Warranty
Service & Support 1 year warranty
Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Parts and labor - 1 year
Type 1 year warranty, - Limited warranty - Parts and labor
Full contract period 1 year
Software
Type Sony Picture Motion Browser, Drivers & Utilities

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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90 (silver)

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CNET editors' review

Product brief

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Specifications

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Main Features

Memory / Storage

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Additional Features

Camera Flash

Viewfinder

Display

Digital Player (Recorder)

Microphone

Connections

Lens Systems

Miscellaneous

Power

System Requirements for PC Connection

Battery

Manufacturer Warranty

Software

Manufacturer info