Sony W800 Review

Sony W800 Review -- First Impressions

by Dave Pardue
Preview posted 02/11/2014

The Sony W800 follows the Sony W710 from 2013 and takes aim at the teenage crowd or anyone wanting an inexpensive option to keep with you at all times for casual, on-the-go shooting.

Dropping in price to just $80 (from the W710's $99), the W800 clearly has no intentions of breaking the bank, and with a 5x optical zoom will lend increased functionality over the camera on your average smartphone.

The 35mm-equivalent zoom range is an effective 26-130mm with a fairly dim maximum aperture range of f/3.2 - 6.4. And combined with the smaller 1/2.3" sensor the camera will not likely wow anyone much for low light shooting, but will suit just fine for casual shooting at typical outdoor parties or strolling around town.

The W800 sports 4 different types of AF modes for a variety of shooting needs and preferences, including Multi-point AF, Center-weighted AF, Tracking Focus as well as Face Tracking Focus.

Built-in digital zoom takes the effective zoom range to 260mm equivalent, and combined with the Optical SteadyShot's Active mode gives the W800 the ability to help control blur caused by shaky hands, especially while zoomed out. It also sports the popular 360 degree Sweep Panorama mode, which stitches the photo together for you seamlessly in-camera.

The CCD sensor gets a boost in resolution from 16.1 megapixels on the W710 to 20.1 for the W800, and can shoot 720p HD video in AVI (Motion JPEG) format. The LCD is a 2.7" Clear Photo model with 230K-dots of resolution. A Sony BIONZ processor rounds out the nuts and bolts of this simple, ergonomical and very reasonably priced little camera.

The Sony Cyber-shot W800 begins shipping in March 2014 for around US$80 and will come in black and white.

Place your pre-order with a trusted Imaging Resource affiliate now:

• Sony W800, Black: ADORAMA | AMAZON | B&H
• Sony W800, Silver: ADORAMA | AMAZON | B&H