Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W650

Bottom line

Sluggish and plasticky, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W650 can't compete with the Canon PowerShot A4000 IS (*Est. $130) in the ultra-cheap camera class.

Ease of use

Light, thin and easy -- but button labels and LCD screen can be hard to see. The Sony DSC- W650 is thin and light, at about 4 and a half ounces and three-quarters of an inch thick -- "always easy to carry with you at all times," say editors at Steves-Digicams.com.

It couldn't be simpler to operate -- just turn it on and snap the shutter, CNET says. Intelligent Auto mode does all the work (although you can adjust a few things like exposure if you want to). Easy mode makes the on-screen text bigger.

The LCD screen is 3 inches -- standard size -- and Steves-Digicams.com's testers find it easy to see in any light. Other experts disagree, though. One source judges it fair, and CNET's Joshua Goldman says it's "difficult to see in full sun, and off-angle viewing is poor."

The tiny buttons' labels are hard to see without direct light, Goldman says, but they're easy to press. There are only a few buttons, so they're easy to learn.

"Most people familiar with digital cameras should be able to use it out of the box, but there is a full user manual embedded in the camera for quick reference whenever you want," Goldman says.

Performance

Not for dim light or fast action. Photos only really look good if you shoot outdoors in the daytime, testers say. In dim-light tests (above ISO 400), photos look fuzzy, with vague detail. Flash photos look good, but only if you're close enough to your subject -- the Sony W650's flash is typically weak for this price.

At 16 megapixels, the Sony W650 sounds more high-resolution than it really is. It "isn't really usable for enlarging and heavy cropping," says Goldman at CNET. "For small prints and Web sharing, most people should be pleased with the results."

It's not quick. "If you're considering the W650 for regularly shooting kids, pets, and sports, I wouldn't recommend it; it's just too slow," Goldman says. In his tests, it hesitates for more than three seconds between shots, and shutter lag -- how long it takes for the camera to actually snap the photo after you press the shutter button -- drags out for half-second in bright light, and nearly a full second in low light. That's more than twice as slow as the top-rated Canon PowerShot A4000 IS: "frustratingly slow at times," Goldman says.

Video (720p HD, not full 1080) looks typically mediocre for this price class. "Movie clips are on par with a basic HD pocket video camera or smartphone; good enough for Web use, but you probably won't like looking at them on a large HDTV," Goldman says. Audio is only fair in one test. And if you zoom, you'll hear the motor on your soundtrack, testers say.

Battery life is rated at 220 shots per charge -- average for the class, Goldman says.

Durability

Some owners say the W650 feels cheap. Experts don't have much to say about the Sony W650's sturdiness -- but a few owners do. "While the front has a nice look of brushed metal finish, the back looks like it's made of cheap plastic," one owner writes at Amazon.com (the Canon A4000 IS is metal). The Sony's buttons "look like they may come off or break off easily."

Another owner says the W650 is so light that it feels cheap. Another says the battery cover pops open. "Cheap plastic catch broke off 1st day ... Cheap, plastic-y unit. Didn't last long!"

Features

Typical features for its class. Features are pretty standard for this price. You get a 5x zoom (the Canon has 8x) and the usual scene-shooting modes. You can pick Beach, Snow, Night Portrait, Pet, etc., and the camera will automatically choose the right settings.

You'll also find a few special effects, "for those who are addicted to playing with various photo apps or just want to experiment," say editors at Steves-Digicams.com. "Options include Toy camera with different hues to pick from, Pop Color, Partial Color (turns everything monochrome except for a selected color), and Soft High-key," which turns everything bright and diffused. 

The W650 also gets Sony's signature Sweep Panorama feature. You sweep the camera vertically or horizontally, and the camera stitches the pictures together into a panoramic shot. "Though fun, the results are just on par with a screen capture from a video clip," says Goldman at CNET. "Consider them for Web use, viewing on a TV from a proper distance, or very small prints."

Like the Canon, the Sony lacks an HDMI port for hooking up directly to an HDTV, but there is a micro-USB jack.