Sony DSC-W130 Review

Easy mode takes all of the guess work and options out of using the camera. You will not be able to make any selections from the options menu, all you do is point and shoot.

The screen display when in the AUTO (point-n-shoot) mode. Minimal information is displayed and only a few parameters such as image size or recording mode can be changed. Upper left is the battery level that's constantly displayed. The image size is 8 "M"egapixels, the image folder is 101, and there's 281 shots left. You can also see that we have macro focus mode enabled. By pressing the display button, you can change the amount of info shown from nothing to full info that includes a histogram. You can also turn on the grid lines from the cameras menu.

Program AE mode is also automatic but it offers the user a wealth of options, like white balance, ISO speed, metering, etc. All of this information can be cleared off the screen by pressing "Up" (DISP) on the 4-way controller.

Half-pressing the shutter will activate the auto focus system, if successful the AF marks turn "green" and a green dot s also displayed. You can also see the shutter speed and aperture values.

Home menu options:

Shooting - Choose the exposure mode (Auto, Scene, Program, Movie)
View Images - Single image, Index display
Slide show - Slide show, Music tool
Print - Print
Manage Memory - Memory tool
Settings - Enters the shooting settings menu

Program Record options:

Image Size - 8M, 5M, 3M, VGA, 3:2 (6M), 16:9+ (6M), 16:9 (2M)
Face Detection - Off, Auto, Children priority, Adult priority
REC Mode - Normal, Burst, ±.3 BRK, ±.7 BRK, ±1.0 BRK
Exposure Compensation - ±2.0EV
ISO - Auto or manually locked at 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200
White Balance - Auto, Flash
Flash Level - High, Normal or Low
Red Eye Reduction - Auto, On, Off
Color Mode - Normal, Vivid, Sepia, B&W
Steady Shot - Shooting, On, Off
Setup - Enters the shooting settings menu

Macro (close-up) focus mode allows you to shoot much closer than normal. The focus range in macro is from 0.74-inches (2cm) to infinity.

Record motion video with audio. The 640×480 "VX Fine" mode is 30fps and requires the use of Memory Stick Duo Pro media to insure that it can stream the data fast enough from the camera. The VX standard mode is also VGA resolution (640×480) but at a lesser 16fps frame rate and can be recorded on regular Memory Stick Duo media. The length of recording is limited to approx. 10 minutes.

Movie clips can also be recorded in 320×240 resolution at 8fps, these movies will playback in a smaller window. The advantage is that the file sizes are smaller and more practical for e-mail purposes.

Movie mode options:

Image Size - 640(fine), 640(standard), 320
Exposure Compensation - Offset the exposure metering by ±2.0EV in 1/3EV steps
Metering - Multi-pattern (default), center
Focus - Multi AF, or fixed focus at infinity
White Balance - Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent (1, 2, 3), Incandescent
Color Mode - Normal, Sepia, B&W
Steady Shot - On, Off
Setup - Enters the shooting settings menu