Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80 (silver)

Manufacturer: Sony Part number: DSCW80

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CNET Editor rating:
3.5 stars Very good
Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 37 reviews

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

Bottom Line:: With a shiny new interface, fast performance, and great pictures, the DSC-W80 sits on the top of the budget snapshot heap.

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CNET editors' review

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80 (silver)

price range: $169.95 - $243.28

With a shiny new interface, fast performance, and great pictures, the DSC-W80 sits on the top of the budget snapshot heap.

The good: Attractive new display; great performance and pictures.

The bad: Small buttons can sometimes feel awkward.

The bottom line: With a shiny new interface, fast performance, and great pictures, the DSC-W80 sits on the top of the budget snapshot heap.

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Sony created the W-series to be its budget line of snapshot cameras. Without the sleek designs of the T-series or the high-powered zoom lenses of the H-series, the W-cameras distinguish themselves only through their modest price tags. Despite their lackluster features, the W-cameras have proven themselves with solid performance and good image quality. This trend follows in the Cyber-shot DSC-W80, Sony's high-end Cyber-shot W-camera. Like all current W-cameras, the W80 might not look like much more than a simple, shiny, blocky camera with a standard 7-megapixel sensor and 3X zoom lens. Once you start shooting, though, the W80 quickly proves itself.

The DSC-W80 boasts a newer, prettier interface than the other W-series Cyber-shots. The camera's tweaked system is much more colorful than those of the W35 and W55, and resembles the Playstation Portable's menu system more than any camera's. The home button activates this new design in a secondary menu that separates media and camera settings from more commonly used settings such as white balance, ISO sensitivity, and exposure compensation. The enhanced menu includes more media-friendly features than any other W-series camera, like high-definition slide shows with MP3 music support and in-camera image retouching. All of these features are nice, but the buttons that access them are irritatingly tiny and spaced around a slightly-too-sensitive control pad; it's far too easy to tap the wrong command when navigating the menus. The W80 also includes more useful features like optical image stabilization, ISO 3200 maximum sensitivity, and face-detecting autofocus and autoexposure.

The W80 uses Sony's new Bionz image processor, another first for the W-series. Despite its unfortunate name, Bionz seems to work very well. In CNET Labs' tests, the W80 shot much faster than its little brother's, lagging only 1.2 seconds between pictures. In burst mode, the camera captured 19 full-size photos in just 7.1 seconds for a fantastic 2.7 frames per second (FPS), far better than the W35 and W55's 4-shot bursts of 1.4 fps.

The photos themselves looked great, with sharp details and accurate colors. Noise stayed relatively low up to ISO 800, when a noticeable grain developed. Predictably, shots taken at ISO 1600 appeared noisy and blurry, and the ISO 3200 setting produced pictures that looked more like impressionist paintings than photographs. Still, if you keep to ISO 800 or lower, you can pretty much count on solid pictures.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80 reigns as the current king of the Cyber-shot W-series. While the most expensive, it also packs in the most features and polish of any W-camera to date. Its solid picture quality and fast speed make it a great choice for a small, reliable snapshot camera.

Shooting speed (seconds)
(Smaller bars indicate better performance.)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Canon PowerShot SD800 IS

1.3

1.1

0.4

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55

1.4

1.3

0.5

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80

1.2

1.8

0.6

Canon PowerShot A570 IS

1.8

0.5

Olympus FE-240

5.1

2.5

0.7

Typical continuous-shooting speed
(Longer bars indicate better performance.)

Typical continuous-shooting speed

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80

2.7

Canon PowerShot A570 IS

1.6

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W55

1.4

Canon PowerShot SD800 IS

Olympus FE-240
N/A

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Product brief

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User reviews

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Average user rating: 3.0 stars out of 37 reviews

Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 37

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9 stars

Excellent High Quality Camera

by PLmike on April 15, 2007

Pros: Sleek compact design, Great Interface, Simple to use, Face Detection and Various Extra Settings, Nice brushed metal plate, Build Quality, Size

Cons: Charger(I dont like how its directly against the outlet, the older cybershot cameras had a charger that was connected to a cable)

Summary: Before I purchased this camera I bought the Sony Cybershot DSCT10. I later exchanged it for this camera; the T10 lacked many features of this camera and showed orbs on ...

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Summary: Before I purchased this camera I bought the Sony Cybershot DSCT10. I later exchanged it for this camera; the T10 lacked many features of this camera and showed orbs on many of the pictures. So I experimented with the W80 if it had any of the flaws the T10 featured and so far I have found no problems. I really like the design of the camera and the size is just right. The screen is crystal clear and bright. The cameras brushed metal finish is beautiful looking and overall everything works like a charm. It has a nice clean menu and it even explains every setting on the camera. This feature is excellent since on my previous Sony camera you would have to assume what the setting does. The camera is quick at taking shots one after another and the photos come out great. The macro photos look nice and sharp as well. The battery lasts fairly long and face detection is really neat. For the price I think this camera is an excellent buy and I recommend it to everyone who is looking for a point and shoot camera that?s affordable and works great.
Updated
I had not mentioned the image quality of the camera, but now since I have experimented with it...I must say I am impressed with the quality of images this camera produces. When the camera is set to auto it takes excellent pictures in every environment. There is no delay when taking pictures. The macro mode on this camera produces amazing detail and quality. Overall I have found nothing wrong with the pictures and I am extremely satisfied!

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16 out of 19 users found this user opinion helpful.
5 stars

Very disappointing Camera/Company

by chgabay on July 14, 2007

Pros: Price, may be?

Cons: Smear phenomenon

Summary: One can expect that Sony will keep high level of quality camera
Usually I am a Sony customer: Sony Video, Sony Still Camera and Sony Video camera, so you can'
...

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Summary: One can expect that Sony will keep high level of quality camera
Usually I am a Sony customer: Sony Video, Sony Still Camera and Sony Video camera, so you can't say that I don't like Sony
But with this camera is a different story.
Starting with: "Vertical streaks appear when you are shooting a very bright subject"
Took me one month to see it in the manual, page 101, until then I thought that I got a malfunction camera, but in 101 you can read:
"The smear phenomenon is occurring and white or black streaks appear on the image. This phenomenon is not a malfunction"
The issue is that it is a malfunction because you can see it in the video taken by the camera!

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10 out of 14 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Very Good For Specified Use

by JordanG247 on August 22, 2007

Pros: Compact, Fast, Decent Quality Photos, Good Battery Life

Cons: Needs Sony Memory Card, 3x Zoom,

Summary: I think that this camera would please the average consumer, and most likely others as well. The Camera has an extremely good battery life, and is very fast. Perfect for ...

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Summary: I think that this camera would please the average consumer, and most likely others as well. The Camera has an extremely good battery life, and is very fast. Perfect for taking quick snapshots. Face detection and image stabilization make your pictures turn out better; and features work well. There are many automatic and manual settings to satisfy most people.

Definitely this camera is not for people looking to buy a high end camera. The limited zoom and lack of pro features (such as an electronic viewfinder, more manual settings and a further reaching flash) would prevent taking truly professional photos in some cases.

For myself, I have found this camera to be the best one I have ever owned. I have taken it on vacation a few times this summer and have been very thrilled with how I can switch to different modes quickly to take the best possible photos. The battery life is also amazing. The specs say about 340 shots, but I got around 500, and was able to review my pictures fully three times before the battery died; it lasted me a whole week of vacation!

Definitely a camera I would suggest to those looking for a good quality, low-cost and compact camera.

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

My First Camera (Besides Camera Phones)

by goldberg3971 on April 28, 2007

Pros: 7.2MP, ISO, Home Feature, Picture and Video Quality, Optical Viewfinder

Cons: Noisy pictures in higher ISOs

Summary: This is my first digital camera which I bought at SonyStyle and I thank the clerk there that said I should buy this one. I wanted the W55 but he ...

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Summary: This is my first digital camera which I bought at SonyStyle and I thank the clerk there that said I should buy this one. I wanted the W55 but he said that the W80 is the camera more people bought. The things I was looking for were amount of megapixels, image stabilization, and the slot for MS Pro Duo. At higher ISOs noise is completely visible. At ISOs 100 and 200 there's no noise, at ISO 400 there's some noise but it's not that noticeable, at ISO 800 you can see see noise but it's not that bad, at ISOs 1600 and 3200 noise is really horrible so I say stay under ISO 800. I keep the ISO at 200 most of the time and it looks fine. The flash is really good and it goes fairly far in my opinion. You can control the intensity of the flash which I like. The Home feature is something I admire and that I want to see in more cameras in the future. It reminds me of the XMB of my PSP and PS3. The optical viewfinder is a nice touch and it comes in handy at times. Super SteadyShot can be adjusted in the menu of Program Auto and it takes out most of the shake when taking pictures. Red-eye reduction didn't work sometimes when I put the feature on but it happened every once in a while. And when you leave the camera idle for about 5 minutes it'll automatically turn off which is a really nice touch when you want to save battery. Other than that the 2.5" LCD, 7.2MP, and the ease of use makes this camera my personal best.
Updated
It is said to last up to 340 shots but on one full charge I managed to get 356 shots out of it which is amazing.

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3 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
3 stars

bitterly disappointed

by raoul ramone on October 29, 2007

Pros: pocket size camera

Cons: poor picture quality

Summary: after returning from a weekend in the country I was looking forward to see how my fall foilage photos came out & I am very disappointed. The reds, oranges & ...

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Summary: after returning from a weekend in the country I was looking forward to see how my fall foilage photos came out & I am very disappointed. The reds, oranges & yellows of the leaves were very washed out, weren't very colorful at all, I took them at all the various settings offered & didn't find much improvement

I relied heavily on the reviews I read on this site & now I'm thinking they were written by Sony employees

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6 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 stars

Fantastic great camera

by sinikol on June 26, 2007

Pros: Quality with great battery life

Cons: No infinite battery life but who does have it? no one

Summary: Superb camera, great fine quality pictures with more sweet features. Cnet as always has very picky nerdy reviewers, dont listen to them. They just expect everybody to dish out atleast ...

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Summary: Superb camera, great fine quality pictures with more sweet features. Cnet as always has very picky nerdy reviewers, dont listen to them. They just expect everybody to dish out atleast 500 dollars on any electronics they buy.

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

Average, Very

by WuxOnWuxOff on February 15, 2008

Pros: Jingly music when you turn it on

Cons: Boring everything else

Summary: The power button is so small and hard to click and there is a delay before the lens pops out, so by the time you realize you actually got the ...

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Summary: The power button is so small and hard to click and there is a delay before the lens pops out, so by the time you realize you actually got the thing to turn on, you have already pressed the button again to shut it off.

The various option buttons are miniscule, forget ever having a glove on when using (such as if you live in Minnesota and want to take winter photos of your kids skating).

The pics are very average and will usually take some software editing to make decent; the colors are just not very vibrant and the darks are one hue of 'kinda black'.

If you only want to spend $200 on a digicamera, save yourself $50 and get something cheaper. You gain almost nothing for the extra fifty except a cutesy jingle when it powers up.

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

Research doesn't always pay off

by mommie2097 on February 4, 2008

Pros: small sturdy

Cons: Colors aren't even close

Summary: Because I am no professional photogropher, I looked for the "pretty easy to use" but, top rated "image quality." Everywhere I looked, editor ratings were perfect and "highest recommended" for ...

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Summary: Because I am no professional photogropher, I looked for the "pretty easy to use" but, top rated "image quality." Everywhere I looked, editor ratings were perfect and "highest recommended" for this camera. I read the manuel, set what I needed, when I needed it, and used it for the past year. Half the photos taken were fixable to print, the others were memories I'll never get back. None of the features actually work. One of my main concerns in a camera purchase was the image stabelization features which was the biggest disappointment about this camera, but I couldn't get over how different everything looked on the computer screen. Colors were not just way off true, but everything seemed to have a reddish haze. All I can say is be careful in your faith in ratings because something just didn't add up about this camera and now I think I'll put my faith in user (realistic) ratings rather than the ones that were paid to do so.

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

does what it is made to do

by cb3099 on August 3, 2007

Pros: size, battery life, picture quality, speed

Cons: owner manual lacks detail

Summary: Replacing my Cannon A95 power shot and I have a Cannon Rebel XTi SLR. Was reluctant to go with Sony since I have had so much luck w/ the Cannons ...

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Summary: Replacing my Cannon A95 power shot and I have a Cannon Rebel XTi SLR. Was reluctant to go with Sony since I have had so much luck w/ the Cannons but this is priced more reasonably. I did not want to drop a ton of cash on a back up camera. However I am pleasantly surprised. This thing is lightning fast from start up and shot to shot. Picture quality is good and this thing slips in any pocket. It is well built (metal construction) and easy to use. If you want a small point and shoot you cant go wrong. You will need to buy a memory card. The owners manual is very limited and you must access the included cd/ software for the nitty gritty. Wish it had a neck strap. All and All very happy.

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

Highly disappointed

by MicroMouse14 on April 16, 2008

Pros: Great shots during the day; light and easy to use

Cons: Incredibly grainy images at anything less than broad daylight; no manual controls

Summary: I got this camera as an early birthday present when I was in NYC in June of 2007, and have been using it pretty regularly. I should have taken it ...

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Summary: I got this camera as an early birthday present when I was in NYC in June of 2007, and have been using it pretty regularly. I should have taken it back, though.

The camera is perfect for people who consider themselves technologically inept, take a lot of pictures on their cell phone, or don't know much about cameras. If you're looking for something that you can just take with you on vacation to, say, NYC, then this is a great camera.

However, if you're looking for a camera that can shoot pictures at low lighting or a camera that has any manual control at all, this camera is not the one for you. The only manual control that I can really use on the camera is the exposure level. No a/s priority, no manual mode (seen on most other Sony cameras).

And the noise is terrible. The camera has a really weak flash and is very bad for shooting low-light pictures. Anything over ISO-400 is grainy as hell. At night, shooting pictures of a city is impossible. Wherever there's any light it just comes up looking like someone sprayed it on there with spraypaint.

Also, I'm not sure how it happened, but there's dust underneath the LCD screen cover. A lot of it, too. I've only seen that happen on cell phones before, but never on cameras. Though, I think this is unique to my camera.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a camera you can use during the day at the park or something, this is a great camera. If you want manual control and low-light image quality, skip it.

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Showing opinion 1 to 10 out of 37

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Specifications

Manufacturer: Sony
Part number: DSCW80

General
Product Type Digital camera - Compact
Color Silver
Weight 4.4 oz
Width 3.6 in
Depth 2.3 in
Height 0.9 in
Body Material Metal
Main Features
Resolution 7.2 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 7.2 megapixels
Optical Sensor Type Super HAD CCD
Effective Sensor Resolution 7,200,000 pixels
Optical Sensor Size 1/2.5 in
Light Sensitivity ISO 200, ISO 800, 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 2.8 frames per second
Color support Color
Image Stabilizer Optical (Super Steady Shot)
Face Detection Yes
TV Tuner None
Video Capture MPEG - 640 x 480, MPEG - 320 x 240
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, Direct print, Face detection, Auto power save, PictBridge support, In-camera red-eye removal
Camera Flash
Effective Flash Range 8 in - 11 ft
Type Built-in flash
Flash Modes Flash OFF mode, Fill-in mode, Slow synchro, Auto mode
Red Eye Reduction Yes
Effective flash range 8 in - 11 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

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80 (silver)

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CNET editors' review

Product brief

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Specifications

General

Main Features

Memory / Storage

Lens System

Additional Features

Camera Flash

Viewfinder

Display

Digital Player (Recorder)

Microphone

Connections

Lens Systems