Here is the Auto mode screen display. Minimal information is displayed and only a few parameters such as image size or recording mode can be changed. The battery level is full, image size is "8M"egapixels, Face priority AF is being used, the image folder is 101, and a graphical icon of the Memory Stick's available space, which is 307 shots.

This is a "P"rogram AE screen. Top left shows the battery level (full). You can see icons indicating Super Steady Shot® optical image stabilization is On, the AF-assist lamp is On, and along the bottom is an icon for Multi AF. Program mode allows for a wide variety of parameters to be set; see the record menu below.

When you half-press the shutter release the AF marks will turn green indicating the area of focus, it will also show a green dot as well as the selected shutter speed and aperture. The lightning bolt indicates the flash is charged and will fire.

The 16:9 Wide mode allows you to make pictures that are sized to fit on modern HDTV display screens. However, resolution drops to 2-Megapixels

When you rotate the mode dial a "virtual mode dial" is displayed. Select from: AUTO, Program AE, Movie, Snow, Beach, Landscape, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap and High ISO.

Record options for Program mode:

Image size - 8M, 3:2, 5M, 3M, VGA, 16:9
Rec Mode - Normal, Burst or BRK (±0.3EV, ±0.7EV, ±1.0EV)
Color Mode - Normal, Vivid, Natural, Sepia, Black & White
ISO - Auto or fixed at 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
EV Comp. - ±2EV in 1/3EV steps
Metering - Multi-pattern (default), Center or Spot
Focus - Multi AF, Center AF, Spot AF, 0.5m, 1.0m, 3.0m, 7.0m or Infinity
White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent (1,2,3), Incandescent, Flash
Flash Level - High, Normal or Low
Red Eye Reduction - Auto (On when a face is detected), On or Off
Steady Shot - Shooting, Continuous, Off
Setup - Enter the Shooting (Record mode) Setup menu

The W90 has an excellent macro focus mode that works as close as 1.8-inches (4cm) from the lens. Use of a tripod is strongly recommended!

The screen in the 640 "VX" Fine Movie mode. Fine mode is VGA resolution 640 x 480 full screen @ 30fps with audio and the length is limited only by the space available on the memory card. A Memory Stick Duo Pro card is required when using this mode. Because sound is recorded, the optical zoom may not be used during recording, but can be preset beforehand.

Movie menu options:

Image size - 640(Fine), 640(Standard), 320
Color Mode - Normal, Sepia, Black & White
EV Comp. - ±2EV in 1/3EV steps
Metering - Multi-pattern (default), Center or Spot
Focus - Multi AF, Center AF, Spot AF, 0.5m, 1.0m, 3.0m, 7.0m or Infinity
White Balance - Auto, Sunny, Cloudy, Fluorescent (1,2,3), Incandescent, Flash
Steady Shot - Shooting, Continuous, Off
Setup - Enter the Shooting (Record mode) Setup menu

The Setup option in the record mode menu gives access to these Shooting Mode only settings.

Record Setup menu options:

AF Illuminator - Auto of Off
Grid line - On or Off
AF Mode - Single, Monitor
Digital Zoom - Smart, Precision, Off
Auto Orientation - On or Off
Auto Review - On of Off