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Sony DSC-S50 Sony makes a compact 2.1 megapixel digicam with full movie/sound capability! Select a topic Reference: Datasheet DSC-S50 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:Optics Review First Posted: 4/12/2000

Optics
The S50 is equipped with a 3x, 6.1 to 18.3mm lens (equivalent to a 39 to 117mm lens on a 35mm camera). As we mentioned earlier, the lens is protected by a removable lens cap (which unfortunately means you have to keep track of it). Aperture is manually adjustable in Aperture Priority mode from F/2.8 to F/11 in nine steps. Focus is controlled either automatically or manually with a range from 1.75 feet (0.5m) to infinity. Pressing the Focus button cycles through a number of manual and autofocus options: Auto, Macro, 1.75 feet (0.5m), 3.25 feet (1.0m), 9.75 feet (3.0m), 23 feet (7.0m), infinity and back to autofocus. The explicit distance settings are particularly helpful in very dark situations where it's hard to determine proper focus otherwise: We'd really like to see more manufacturers provide distance readouts like this. Under the Auto Macro setting, you can capture subjects as close as 1.18 inches (3cm) to the lens with the lens set at the furthest wide angle setting. Additionally, the Panfocus exposure mode sets up the camera so that the focus will change quickly between far away and close-up subjects. The Landscape exposure mode sets the focus at infinity, for recording distant subjects. One advantage of the non-telescoping lens design is that it supports standard 37mm filter threads, useful for attaching a variety of adapter lenses and other accessory optics.
A 2x digital zoom function can be turned off and on through the Record menu and effectively takes the S50's zoom capabilities to 6x. As always, since the digital zoom simply crops into the CCD array, it directly trades off resolution for the increase in apparent magnification. Digital zoom can be useful if you're working at smaller image sizes for use on the web, but in our opinion is of little use when shooting high resolution photos.
The S50's lens appears to be of fairly high quality, with rather low chromatic aberration (we called it at about a pixel o color at the edges of objects in the corners of the frame). It does have moderate geometric distortion though, showing 0.9%barrel distortion at wide angle, changing to 0.5% pincushion in telephoto mode. (Barrel distortion refers to a tendency for straight lines near the edges of the frame to bow outwards in their centers. Pincushion distortion is the opposite effect, with lines bowing inward from the edges.)
The S50 does very well in Macro mode, capturing a very small area only 0.93 x 1.25 inches (23.7 x 31.6 mm) on a side. This is a good deal smaller area than most digicams we test can handle.