Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 (Black) review: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 (Black)

Good low-light shooting without help from a flash is a rarely attained goal in the world of compact cameras. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 does it with three of the company's own components: a new sensor design, a high-end lens, and a fast image processor. The combination pays off for low-light photos as well as several other features. However, though the WX1 is capable of delivering fast performance and some very good photos, those expecting extraordinary results equal to its features will likely be let down.

8.0

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 (Black)

The Good

Well-designed; several fun, useful features; good low-light and overall performance.

The Bad

Mixed photo quality.

The Bottom Line

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1 is a great, fast-performing snapshot camera that falters on photo quality.

One of the most remarkable things about the WX1 is the amount of technology Sony crammed into such a tiny, lightweight body. Due to its back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor and a fast Sony G f2.4 wide-angle lens, the camera has most of the same capabilities as the considerably larger HX1. Both the sensor and the G lens are of the quality found in Sony's dSLR and prosumer camcorder lines.

Sony managed to get almost all of the controls on to the back of the camera without making it feel cramped and confusing and while allowing for a secure one-handed grip that doesn't result in accidental button presses or mode dial changes. There are just three buttons on top: the usual power and shutter-release buttons, and one at the far right for turning on high-speed shooting. The power button is oddly far from the shutter release, just left of the camera's center. While this quickens turning the camera on with your left hand, it also makes it easy to accidentally turn the camera off.

A single Menu button gives you access to shooting controls as well as a selection for seeing all settings. What's also nice is the camera's capability to warn you about adjusting certain settings. For example, if you set the WX1 to spot meter light, you won't be able to turn on Face Detection. The WX1 tells you onscreen that Face Detection is not available because of Spot metering being selected. Cameras from other vendors generally make you guess what needs to be shut off in order to turn on a blacked-out option.

Outside of a few specialty shooting modes, Sony keeps shooting options reasonably basic on the WX1. Though you won't find full control over aperture or shutter speed, you do get something on the Mode dial for just about every point-and-shoot user. Going around the dial, you have a Movie mode capable of 720p HD-quality video with use of the optical zoom (you will hear the motor moving, however); Program Auto with access to ISO, exposure, white balance, focus, and metering; Sony's Intelligent Auto; Easy mode that takes away all but a couple basic shooting options; and SCN, which lets you select from 11 scene situations, but automatically handles all other settings.

Then, there are the more specialized modes. The Sweeping Panorama option lets you shoot horizontal or vertical panoramas with one press of the shutter release; this is unlike other cameras that require you to take several shots. The last two are the Anti Motion Blur and Handheld Twilight modes. Both use the camera's capability to quickly capture six images and combine them into one photo with less blur and better detail than you would otherwise get with just one shot. The results are impressive as long as you don't look too closely at the images at full size. They are quite usable at 8x10 inches or smaller, though.

If you tend to leave it in Auto mode, Sony's Intelligent Auto turned in reliable results, as it picks from eight scene types (branded iSCN) and turns on face detection and image stabilization. Sony's iSCN can be set to Auto or Advanced, the difference being that in difficult lighting the camera will automatically take two shots with different settings so you have a better chance of getting a good photo. There are three levels of high-speed full-resolution shooting, too, that all live up to Sony's performance claims. However, once the photos are shot you have to wait for them to be stored to the memory card--roughly 2 to 3 seconds for each photo taken. Also worth mentioning is that the WX1 has exposure bracketing that will take three photos, one at the exposure you select and then two more at plus and minus 0.3EV, 0.7EV, or 1.0EV.

Fast performance is not an issue for the WX1; it's one of the quickest cameras we've tested in its class. The wake-to-first-shot time is 1.5 seconds with a nearly identical shot-to-shot time of 1.7 seconds. Using the flash only bumps that time out to 2.3 seconds. Shutter lag in bright conditions is a scant 0.3 second; in dim lighting it's only 0.7 second. The camera has no continuous shooting mode, but its high-speed burst mode is capable of snapping off 9.6 frames per second at full resolution.

Sample photos:
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1

When it comes to photo quality, the WX1 is a tough camera to judge. Going strictly by what happens between ISO sensitivities, the camera is a fairly typical point-and-shoot; good up to ISO 200, but from ISO 400 and above, noise reduction mucks up fine details. This is mainly noticeable when pictures are viewed at 100 percent or when heavily cropped.

The WX1's consistent color performance across sensitivities up to ISO 1600 keeps them usable for 8x10 prints and smaller. Photos at ISO 3200 look washed out, but can be printed at 4x6 inches and smaller--assuming you're not terribly picky. There's some color noise/artifacts at all ISOs, including the lowest setting of ISO 160. If you're going to make poster-size prints and stare at them from a foot away, you're probably going to be disappointed with what you see.

The WX1 has impressive center sharpness, though photos soften up out to the sides. All in all, though, the lens on this camera is pretty great. There's surprisingly little barrel distortion considering how wide it is. There's no pincushioning at the lens's longest position, and I didn't see much in the way of chromatic aberration. Color, white balance, and exposure were all excellent from the WX1--nice, natural, and vibrant.

What it really comes down to with the WX1 is expectations. Just because Sony used a sensor found in its high-end camcorders and a lens based on those from its Alpha digital SLRs, should you expect excellent photo quality? It certainly sounds reasonable. But in the end the WX1 is still a point-and-shoot, capable of above average photos under challenging conditions where most other cameras in its class fail. It's a fun little camera to use, too.

Shooting speed
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)

Time to first shot

Typical shot-to-shot time (flash)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Shutter lag (dim)

Shutter lag (typical)

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX1

1.5 

2.3 

1.7 

0.7 

0.3 

Canon PowerShot SD960 IS

1.4 

3.8 

2.6 

0.6 

0.4 

Fujifilm FinePix F200EXR

2.7 

2.5 

1.4 

0.6 

0.5 

Nikon Coolpix S630

3.9 

3.4 

3.1 

0.8 

0.5 

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX500

2.5 

2.6 

2.2 

1 

0.8 

Find out more about how we test digital cameras.