Sony's Cyber-Shot DSC-W530 14.1 MP Digital Still Camera with Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 4x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and 2.7-inch LCD (Black)
by SonyList Price:$119.00
Price:$100.85 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
Technical Details
Color: Black
- 26mm wide lens with 4x optical zoom
- Capture breathtaking images in Sweep Panorama Mode
- SteadyShot image stabilization reduces blur
- iAuto mode automatically optimizes camera settings
- Face Detection and Smile Shutter technologies
Product Details
- Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 2 x 6.1 inches ; 1 pounds
- Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
- ASIN: B004H8FNNA
- Item model number: DSCW530/B
Product Description
Color: Black
From the Manufacturer
Shoot more life with the Sony DSC-W530. Capture landscapes with one touch using Sweep Panorama, get that perfect portrait with Smile Shutter, snap wider scenes with the 26mm wide angle lens, get high quality photos with 14.1 megapixels, and automatically get clear shots with SteadyShot image stabilization and iAuto; all in a sleek little design.
Sony DSC-W530 Feature Highlights
14.1 Megapixel Super HAD CCD Image Sensor
A powerful 14.1 megapixel ½.3-inch Super HAD CCD image sensor helps you capture gorgeous images with superb contrast and clarity down to the finest detail. With 14.1 megapixels, you can create stunning, photo-quality prints up to A3+ (13x19-inch) size, or crop your images and still come away with high resolution shots.
2.7-inch Clear Photo LCD display (230k pixels)
Generous 2.7-inch (230K pixels) Clear Photo LCD display features sharp, natural color that makes it easy to compose shots, read menus, and view photos, even in bright sunlight.
Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens with 26mm equivalent wide 4x Optical Zoom
The high-performance Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 4x optical zoom lens brings distant subjects closer for video recording as well as for outdoor, sports, and travel photos, and Close Focus shoots close-ups up to just under ½-inch from the subject. A wide angle of 26mm equivalent wide-angle lens allows you to take wider shots of the scene or group in crowded spaces.
Sweep Panorama mode
Reach beyond the traditional wide angle lens, and capture more breathtaking shots with Sweep Panorama Mode. Simply press the shutter button and sweep the camera in the desired direction and the camera continuously shoots at a high speed, then seamlessly stitches the images together with automatic position adjustment to create one stunning panoramic image. Available in wide and ultra-wide options, the camera can take panoramic shots of up to 268 degrees. Now capturing wide landscapes is as easy as press and sweep.
SteadyShot image stabilization
SteadyShot image stabilization compensates for camera shake and helps prevent blur through use of digital processing technologies.
Intelligent Auto Mode
Unlike traditional auto mode, Intelligent Auto (iAuto) mode thinks for you, recognizing scenes, lighting conditions, faces, and adjusts settings resulting clear images, faces with natural skin tone and less blur. Take advantage of all the technology without leaving Auto mode. Kids on the playground, landscape shots, a beautiful flower or an indoor birthday party; all result in clear images without leaving auto mode.
Face Detection technology
Face Detection technology detects up to eight individual faces and adjusts focus, exposure, and white balance to help deliver crisp, properly lit images of family and friends.
Smile Shutter technology
Smile Shutter technology captures a smile the moment it happens. Simply press the Smile Shutter button and the camera does the rest. You can also select adult and child priority and indicate the degree of Smile Detection Sensitivity. Intelligent Scene Recognition can now be used together with Smile Shutter mode when the Intelligent Auto mode is on. This means that beautiful smiles can be captured with settings optimized for the particular scene, even in difficult conditions such as twilight and backlighting.
480p AVI VGA Movie Mode4
In 480p AVI movie mode the camera shoots 640 x 480 movies at 30 fps, which is the format when working with a PC. Users will create movies in files small enough to transfer to compatible PC or Mac. Once transferred to your computer effortlessly upload media to popular photo and video-sharing websites such as Photobucket and YouTube. (Compatible computer with internet capability required)
Soft Skin mode
Portrait subjects will love the results. Soft Skin mode recognizes skin tones and reduces the appearance of blemishes and wrinkles without affecting the rest of the shot.
Natural Flash
Conventional point-and-shoot camera flash shots just don't capture colors the way the eye sees them. Natural Flash mode takes a reference shot without flash and then uses that reference to correct the color, for far more lifelike images.
Self-Portrait Timer
Self-Portrait Timer helps take the guesswork out of self portraits by utilizing Face Detection technology to recognize when your face enters the frame. Once the camera detects your face, it triggers a 2-second timer, and then snaps a picture.
Anti-blink Function
It’s frustrating to capture the perfect shot, only to review it later and discover subjects blinked during the photo. The Anti-blink function works to help counter blinking and squinting. When the camera is set to Soft Snap, the Anti-blink function captures two images, recording only the photo with less squinting. If a blink is detected in other shooting modes, a warning will be displayed after you take the shot.
Dynamic Range Optimizer Standard and Plus
Dynamic Range Optimizer (DRO) Standard and Plus uses a sophisticated algorithm to help recover shadows and highlights. The result is more natural images with clearer details that more closely match what your naked eye sees. DRO is particularly effective when shooting backlit portraits or any scene with a dramatic contrast between background and foreground lighting. DRO Plus allows for even greater optimization by analyzing each region of an image and performing additional image processing.
Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN) Mode
Intelligent Scene Recognition (iSCN) Mode automatically detects eight different types of scenes and, within just 1/30th of a second, selects the appropriate camera settings: Backlight, Backlight Portrait, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Twilight using a tripod, Portrait, Landscape and macro. iSCN has two modes: Auto and Advanced. In Auto Mode, the camera takes a single shot using the optimal settings. In Advanced Mode, the camera takes a photo with the optimal settings and, if in difficult lighting (low light or back light) immediately takes a second photo with another optimized setting so you can choose which to keep.
High Sensitivity Mode (ISO 3200)
High ISO allows for faster shutter speed, so you can take photos indoors or in low light without the need for a flash. In addition to High Sensitivity Mode (ISO), you can select up to seven ISO settings (Auto, 125, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200) when shooting in Program Auto Mode to adjust sensitivity to your shooting conditions.
Easy Shooting Mode
With Easy Shooting Mode, even beginners can take great photos. In Easy Shooting Mode, easy-to-understand basic instructions are displayed on the LCD screen and the camera switches to all automatic settings, removing several function choices and allowing you to focus on just your subject. Since this mode works together with Intelligent Scene Recognition, the camera selects the optimum setting for each scene. In addition the easy mode simplifies preview mode.
Includes Sony PMB (Picture Motion Browser) Software ver. 5.31
Sony Picture Motion Browser software offers a simple, intuitive way to transfer, sort, and view your video and still images on your compatible PC. In addition, multiple output options let you burn your memories to DVD (sold separately), as well as take advantage of one click upload to a number of popular video and photo sharing sites3.
Includes Sony PMBP (Picture Motion Browser Portable) software2
With the pre-installed Picture Motion Browser (PMB) Portable software2 the DSC-W530 makes it easy to pre-select videos and images in the camera and conveniently upload them from the camera to a compatible PC and popular Internet sharing site3 without the need for any additional software or install.
- PMB requires Microsoft Windows XP SP3/ Windows Vista SP2/Windows 7. Not supported by Mac OS.
- Uploading directly to the web requires PMB Portable (ver 5.2) for Windows; (ver 1.2) for Mac software and USB cable (included), and PC with internet connectivity. Windows XP SP3 64-bit and Starter Edition and Windows Vista Starter Edition environments not supported.
- Requires compatible wireless access point(s). Some features may rely on Internet services.
- Movie recording is limited to (29min segments for AVI)
Product Description
Combining a variety of intelligent, easy-to-use features, the Sony W530 DSCW530 Cyber-Shot Digital Camera makes it a breeze to shoot life as it happens. Capture landscapes with one touch using Sweep Panorama Mode and snap that perfect portrait with Smile Shutter™ technology. Powerful and pocket-sized, the Sony W530 DSCW530 Cyber-Shot Digital Camera also features 14.1 megapixels and a 26mm wide angle lens with 4x optical zoom. In addition to SteadyShot™ image stabilization which compensates for camera shake, this Sony W530 DSCW530 Cyber-Shot Digital Camera also has Intelligent Auto (iAuto) mode that thinks for you by recognizing scenes, lighting conditions and faces, then automatically adjusts settings for clear images with less blur.
64 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars The perfect balance of beauty, affordability and usability, April 26, 2011
By
Andrew Siew (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W530 14.1 MP Digital Still Camera with Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 4x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom Lens and 2.7-inch LCD (Silver) (Electronics)
With the prices of DSLRs and mirrorless compacts edging closer toward the 400 dollar mark, the market for compact digital cameras is not as profitable as it once was. Manufacturers struggle to find every possible way to reduce production cost to bring the retail prices of these little imagers as low as possible while maintaining their usability as an actual digital camera.
It would have been impossible to imagine a model like the DSC-W530, having a 14.1 sensor, usable high ISO sensitivities, 4x optical zoom with Carl-Zeiss optics to sell for anything less than 400 dollars just 5 years ago.
With compact digital cameras becoming obsolete as soon as they are released, Sony has attempted once again to maintain its position as a serious point-and-shoot maker since their Mavica days.
The W530, along with all of Sony's most recent W series, stands somewhere between Sony's entry level models and their somewhat advanced but expensive "luxury" models. Under the current W series line-up, Sony has the W510, W520, W530, W550, W570, WX5 and WX7.
For the past few years, Sony has been creating one ultimate point-and-shoot for each one of their W, HX and T series, stripping away certain premium features as they go down the price tags to finally arrive at some insanely cheap model made out of painted plastic for each one of those series.
So for the price of just over 100 dollars, Sony was able to retain some of the more important features from their most expensive W model, the WX7 on the DSC-W530, and they are:
1) Usable high ISO sensitivities at 1600 and 3200. Colors look a bit flat and the images look processed at these settings, but at least the images are usable for smaller prints (at a pinch, up to around A4(8R) sizes). Please bear in mind that this is after all a point-and-shoot and not a mirrorless or DSLR with APS-C sized sensors, so I'm applying a very different standard here when rating the high ISO output of this camera.
2) Useful, good quality 4X Carl Zeiss optics and fast focus lock.
3) Outdoor daylight scenes from ISO 80 to 800 are simply breathtaking, with sharp edges, deep depth-of-field (DOF), strong contrast and saturated colors, making this a great group picture camera (think family portraits at picnics etc). Although dynamic range (the total number of levels that can be captured from the darkest point to the brightest point of an image, without details getting clipped) is very limited. So beware of backlit scenes, and always point the camera in the same direction as the sun (the sun must be behind you) so your subjects are lit up as brightly as the background.
4) Very elegant semi-metal chassis with brushed aluminum on the front.
5) Extremely thin profile with the extra small battery, weightlessness: this camera will most likely be able to sneak into a concert without you having to convince the bouncers that you are carrying a bar of soap in your pocket.
6) Generously sized 2.7" LCD screen with plenty of light under room lighting, just barely viewable under very bright sunlight.
7) VGA video recording with sound and Sweep Panorama.
8) Uses both Sony Memory Stick and the very afforadable SD cards (Up to SDXC), although this feature is nothing new but it's worth mentioning.
However, the wafer-thin battery has very limited operation charge capacity, and the camera seems to be missing a few traditional controls such as creative mode selection (color, b&w, sepia, etc) and a "mode" dial to give you direct access to preset photographic parameters. Some basic manual controls (like those found on the W300) over the camera's shutter speed and aperture were of course also missing, and due to the size of the camera, it is being operated and controlled by only a handful of buttons.
And here's a list of things that I did not like about this camera:
1) A Sony processor instead of a Bionz processor, although I personally do not think the Bionz processor is that great other than providing faster image processing. The Sony image processor for the W530 seems to be providing the same quality of reduction for high ISO shots as Sony's Bionz processor.
2) No sports mode (may also explain the slower than average maximum shutter speed of just 1/1500 sec). Difficult to freeze moving objects when needed.
3) No USB charging (Sony never had them though).
4) Super slow continuous burst. At 1 frame per second, Sony might as well remove this feature altogether.
5) No zooming during movie recording.
But other than the few gripes above, I find myself enjoying the use of this camera completely. The camera is small, very light and looks really good up close and shoots half decent pictures under most conditions. The W530 also comes with a USB / Video connector (the video cable is supplied) so the user can playback their shots directly on a tv.
At the end of the day, the W530 will most likely end up in your purse, napsack or briefcase for the simple fact that they are so freakishly small and easy to carry, provide butt-kicking images with punchy colors, balanced contrast at the resolution of 14.1 megapixel even at maximum ISO and the camera simply looks too elegant to be left in a desk drawer. The camera has its limits but as far as a point-and-shoot camera goes, Sony may have hit the right spot again in terms of beauty, affordabiliy and usability with the W530. Definitely worth a test drive if you are out there shopping for a compact point-and-shoot that looks elegant but cost a little over 100 dollars.
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