Sony Cybershot DSC-WX300 Review

Point-and-shoot cameras are at an interesting place. Many believe that point-and-shoot cameras will soon be replaced by smartphones that have very capable cameras, and the likes of iPhone 5, Nokia Lumia 920 and others are proof of this trend. However, one advantage that point-and-shoots continue to have over smartphones is optical zoom, and having a huge optical zoom can indeed be of great use.
Sony likes to call the Cybershot DSC-WX300 the smallest point-and-shoot camera with a 20x optical zoom, and on it's own the camera indeed looks tiny. Let's take it for a test and see what it holds.

Pros: 

Good overall performance; Fast shooting; Crisp screen; Full manual control; Powerful zoom in a compact and lightweight body with solid build, Wi-Fi remote control from Android devices.

Cons: 

Noise in photos; Expensive.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX300
Price: Rs 19,990

Design And Features

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX300 is claimed to be the world's smallest and lightest camera with 20x zoom and it is just 25.7 mm in thickness, weighing only 166 grams with battery and memory card. The piece we received was dark pink (although it is officially Red) with a brush metallic finish. It is also available in black, brown, and blue. The build quality is very good. However, the body has a slippery surface and is therefore difficult to get a good grip upon.
The camera sports the Sony G lens with a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 25-500 mm (for 4:3 still images). It comes with a solid 20x optical zoom, which is nicely fitted in the small dimensions of the camera. The lens is protected by a cover, which automatically opens or closes when the camera is switched on and off respectively. An autofocus sensor is present to the top right of the lens. A Xenon flash is present on the top right.


Stereo microphones for left and right are located near the centre. A sprint-loaded zoom lever encircles the largish power button, while a mode dial is present just besides this to select different shooting modes. The barely visible tiny power button is situated besides this. It would have been better if these were a little larger. 

The back of the camera has a large 3.0" 4:3 screen with 921,600 dot high resolution, which displays very crisp and vivid images. The camera has a dedicated Movie Record button, a Play button, Menu, and Options button. There is also a jog dial with a centre button to access various functions and to cycle through recorded content in playback mode. 

At the bottom of the camera, a flap with a latch houses the battery compartment and the memory card slot. This camera supports Sony's MS Pro Duo as well as SD, SDHC and SDXC memory cards. The slim Lithium ion battery is a proprietary 3.6V Sony N-type NP-BX1 with a typical rating of 1240 mAh with a stated capacity of 500 shots as per CIPA specifications. The battery can only be charged in the camera by connecting the camera via the USB cable to the provided charger or a PC's USB port. Lastly, there is a threaded tripod mount socket made of plastic, which brings its durability into long run into question. 

The DSC-W300 comes with a lot of features. Intelligent Auto Adjustment mode is one feature we liked the most. It essentially puts the camera in autopilot mode in which the camera decides what parameters to use for getting the best shot. It is very interesting to see how the camera changes the scene modes from Backlight to Twilight as you move the camera to point a subject in brightness shifting to an area of darkness. Then there is a Superior Auto Adjustment mode in which, the camera takes six shots in quick succession and combines them to create an image with low noise and higher dynamic range. One of the features that we liked is the Background Defocus feature which can blur out the background and focus on the subject.

There are 14 scene modes to choose from, which are Soft Skin, High Sensitivity, Twilight, Handheld Twilight, Night Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Backlight Correction HDR, Anti Motion Blur, Gourmet, and Pet. Notable is the Soft Skin mode, which recognizes skin tones and reduces appearance of blemishes and wrinkles without adversely affecting the rest of the image. The camera takes six successive shots in Handheld Twilight mode to get better image in low light and in Anti Motion Blur mode to get sharper images without a tripod.

There are other notable features such as Smile Shutter, which detects the subject's smile and clicks photo automatically at the right moment. Face Detection can distinguish between an adult and child, and can detect up to eight individual faces in a scene and make appropriate settings to get the best shot. 3D still photography has been included as has been customary since the past two years.

Before we forget to mention, the camera has built-in Wi-Fi that allows you to transfer photos and videos to an Android smartphone or tablet. Additionally, you can also remotely control the camera from your mobile device to eliminate camera shake or to click group shots/self-portraits. However, the Wi-Fi functionality does not let you directly upload and share photos and videos on the Internet.

Sample Images