Sony DSC-W120 Review

The Cyber-shot W120 features a Carl Zeiss 4x 5.35 - 21.4mm (32 to 128mm equivalent) zoom lens. The maximum aperture is f2.8 (wide) - f5.8 (tele). It is constructed of 6 elements in 5 groups with 3 Aspheric elements. When powered down, the lens retracts into the body and is protected by a built-in shutter, no lens cap is necessary.

Equipped with a low-light AF-assist lamp, the 9 Area Multi-point contrast detection autofocus system has a range of 1.6 in. (4cm) - infinity at wide angle or 19.7 in. (50cm) - infinity at telephoto.

The built-in flash has modes for: Auto, Forced On, Forced Off and Slow-sync, with Red-Eye reduction. The working range at ISO Auto: 0.7 - 12.8 ft. (0.2 - 3.9m) Wide, 1.6 - 6.2 ft. (0.5 - 1.9m) Tele; ISO3200: up to 23.3 ft. (7.1m) Wide, 12.8 ft. (3.9m) Tele. The flash squelches down nicely for macro exposures and has 3 power output settings (Low, Normal, High.)

The eye-level optical viewfinder provides 80 - 85% frame coverage but lacks dioptric adjustment. The two LEDs indicate flash and focus status.

The high resolution 2.5-inch color LCD has 115,000 pixels and can be used for preview, review and accessing the camera's menu system. The monitor can display a real-time histogram in record mode if desired.

Controls on the back: The Zoom lens control for Wide and Telephoto - also functions as Index and Magnify when in review mode. The Mode Dial has positions for: AUTO, Program AE, Movie, SCN, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Soft Snap, Smile Shutter, High ISO, and Easy Shooting. The MENU button calls up and dismisses menu screens. The Home button pulls up the "Home" menu with options for shooting mode, playback mode, slieshow, print, settings etc. The 4- WAY CONTROLLER is for navigating menus, changing settings and selecting playback images. The center button accepts menu selections. In record mode the 4-way buttons are used for: "Up" controls the amount of info on the LCD as well as turns it on/off. "Right" changes flash modes, "Down" enable self-timer, and "Left" is for Macro focus mode.

On top you can see the built-in microphone, Power on/off button, and shutter release.

The Multi-connector I/O port is located on the bottom of the camera, and when connected to the supplied cable, provides an A/V output (video is NTSC or PAL, audio is monaural) and a USB 2.0 (high speed and PictBridge compatible) data port.

The W120 stores its data on ~15MB of internal memory and optional Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick Duo PRO Cards up to 16GB. Memory Stick PRO media is required for capturing the MPEG "VX" Fine mode 30fps motion video clips.

The W120 is powered by a Sony Lithium-Ion NP-BG1 3.6V, 3.4Wh (960 mAh) battery pack. At this time (2/2008), Sony does not specify battery performance with this model. This pack is charged in the handy BC-CSG charger. It features folds away prongs, which is great for traveling and easy storage.