Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W650 sample photos

Check out an examination of photo quality from Sony's 16-megapixel, 5x zoom, wide-angle ultracompact, the Cyber-shot DSC-W650.

Joshua Goldman

Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.

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Joshua Goldman

April 2, 2012 12:34 p.m. PT

1 of 7 Matthew Fitzgerald/CNET

ISO comparison

Photo quality from the W650 is very good for its class, but like most compact cameras, it still stumbles at higher ISOs. Photos at ISO 80 and 100 are relatively sharp with a decent amount of fine detail and low noise. At ISO 200, subjects soften some, losing sharpness and fine detail. At ISO 400, images get noticeably softer and there's an increase in noise in darker areas of images. If you're printing at and below 5x7 inches and are not doing heavy cropping, the results are usuable. Photos at ISO 800 and 1600 look painterly from noise reduction, so subjects will appear soft and smeary; it's even worse at ISO 3200, making it unusable.

Viewed larger, you can more easily see noise and loss of detail start at about ISO 200. Basically, any photo taken indoors without a flash or in low-light conditions will likely result in a soft and somewhat flat-looking photo.

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Color

Colors are pleasing from the W650. While blues and reds may not be as accurate as other colors, they are bright and vivid.

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Macro

If you like to shoot close-ups, the W650 can focus as close as 2 inches from a subject. This is a 100 percent crop from the inset photo.

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Shooting performance

If you're considering the W650 for regularly shooting kids, pets, and sports, I wouldn't recommend it -- it's just too slow. From off to first shot takes about 2 seconds with shot-to-shot times averaging 3.3 seconds. Using the flash extends that wait to 3.8 seconds. Its shutter lag -- how quickly a camera captures an image after the shutter-release button is pressed without prefocusing -- is OK for its class, but still long; 0.5 second in bright lighting, and in low-light conditions the lag goes up to 0.9 second. Its continuous shooting speeds are pretty sluggish, too, shooting at only 0.7 frames per second. Now, that's not to say you won't get the occasional action shot, but you probably won't get the shot you want.

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Zoom range

The 5x zoom lens on the W650 goes from an ultrawide-angle 25mm (top) to 125mm (bottom).

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Picture Effects

Sony added a few of its Picture Effects for people who are addicted to playing with various photo apps or just want to experiment. Options include Toy camera, with different hues to pick from (pictured); Pop Color; Partial Color (turns everything monochrome except for a selected color); and Soft High-key.