Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W610 compact digital camera specs, test and review

Features, specifications and review of the compact digital camera Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W610

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W610 digital camera

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W610 is a cheap 14.1 MP compact digital camera with 4x optical zoom. DSC-W610 got popular mainly because of its price but it also delivers quite good images. That is thanks to the quality CCD sensor and the 26mm wide angle lens which allow you to take perfect landscape shots.

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W610 has 6 shooting modes and 10 scene selectors. In Intelligent Auto Mode the compact camera recognizes a wide range of common shooting situations and therefore uses optimal settings for the best possible quality. One nice feature in the Cyber-Shot DSC-W610 is the 360 Sweep Panorama mode for all-around view shots. On the back of the DSC-W610 you can find a 2.7-inch LCD display (230k dots) which is the only viewfinder in this camera, of course optical viewfinders are not something typical for cameras in this class.

 One of the biggest downsides of the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W610 is the low video resolution in movie mode. The highest available for recording resolution in this camera is just 640 x 480 which is quite low for modern camera and most of its competitors offer at least 720p HD video recording. This downside is fixed in the new Cyber-Shot W620 which offers max resolution of 1280 x 720 and a slightly bigger 5x optical zoom. At least the  DSC-W610 records videos in 30fps which is definitely fast for a pocket camera.

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W610 is very compact in size and weighs 97 gr. It is almost entirely made of plastic and is offered in five different color choices - silver, black, pink, green and blue. We tested the silver model which probably is the best choice for this camera.

As already mentioned the price of the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W610 compact digital camera is its biggest plus. It costs around $80 (around £65 in UK) which is a very good price for this quality Sony product.

There are many competitors in this segment and price range but probably the biggest rival of all is the great selling Samsung ST77 which is a great affordable compact camera with plenty of nice features like 5x optical zoom and 720p video recording.


Here are the full Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W610 specifications (provided by Sony):

Optical Zoom

4x (Optical Zoom is not working during movie recording)

Digital Zoom

14M Approx.8x / 10M Approx.4.7x / 5M Approx.6.7x / VGA Approx.27x / 2M(16:9) Approx.9x

F

2.8-5.9

Focal Length (f= mm)

4.7-18.8

Focal Length (f=35mm conversion)

26-105

Macro (cm)

iAuto:AF(W:Approx.4cm(1.57'') to Infinity, T:Approx.60cm(1.97') to Infinity) / Program Auto:AF(W:Approx.4cm(1.57") to Infinity, T:Approx.60cm(1.97') to Infinity)

Filter Diameter (mm)

NO

Conversion Lens compatibility

NO

Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens

NO

Sony G

NO

  Image Sensory
CCD Type

Super HAD CCD

Size (Inches)

1/2.3 type(7.75mm)

  Camera
Effective Pixels (Mega Pixels)

Approx. 14.1 Megapixels

Bionz Processor

NO

Face Detection

YES

Smile Shutter

YES

Soft Skin Mode

NO

Background Defocus

NO

GPS

NO

Waterproof

NO

Backlight correction

NO

By Pixel Super Resolution

NO

Picture Effect

NO

Sweep Panorama

YES (360 sweep panorama)

Intelligent Sweep Panorama

NO

Underwater Sweep Panorama

NO

3D Sweep Panorama

NO

Clear RAW NR

NO

Auto Focus Area (Multi Point)

YES

Auto Focus Area (Centre weighted)

YES

Auto Focus Area (Spot)

YES

Auto Focus Area (Flexible Spot)

NO

Manual Focus

NO

Aperture Auto Mode

iAuto(F2.8/F8.0(W), 2 steps with ND Filter) / Program Auto(F2.8/F8.0(W), 2 steps with ND Filter)

Aperture Priority Mode

NO

Aperture Manual Mode

NO

Shutter Speed Auto Mode (sec)

iAuto(1/8 - 1/1600) / Program Auto(1" - 1/1600)

NR Slow Shutter

NO

Hand Shake Alert

NO

Exposure Control

± 2.0EV, 1/3EV step

White Balance

Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent1, Fluorescent2, Fluorescent3, Incandescent, Flash

Automatic White Balance

YES

Light Metering (Multi Pattern)

YES

Light Metering (Centre weighted)

YES

Light Metering (Spot)

YES

Sharpness Setting

NO

Saturation Setting

NO

Contrast Setting

NO

ISO Sensitivity (REI)

Auto /80/ 100 / 200 / 400 / 800 / 1600 / 3200

Scene Selection

Soft Snap / Night Portrait / Night Scene / High Sensitivity / Beach / Snow / Gourmet / Pet Mode / Landscape

Red-eye Reduction

Auto / On / Off

Auto Daylight Synchronized Flash

NO

  SteadyShot
SteadyShot capability

YES

Optical SteadyShot capability

NO

  Auto Focus System
AF Illuminator

NO

  Built-In-Flash
Flash Mode

Auto / Flash On / Slow Syncro / Flash Off

Red-Eye Correction

Auto / On / Off

Auto Daylight Synchronized Flash

NO

Distance limitations using Flash (m)

ISO Auto: Approx.0.3m to 3.5m(0.98" to 11.48")(W) / Approx.0.6m to 1.8 m(1feet 1.96" to 5.91")(T), ISO3200: up to Approx.7.1 m(23.3")(W) / Approx.3.7 m(12.1")(T)

  LCD/ Viewfinder
LCD Screen Size (inches)

6.7cm (2.7type)

LCD Total Dots Number

230.400

Monitor Type

TFT

Auto Bright Monitoring

NO

Optical Viewfinder

NO

Electrical Viewfinder

NO

  Recording
Recording Media

Memory Stick™ Duo / Memory Stick PRO Duo™ / Memory Stick PRO Duo™ (high speed) / Memory Stick PRO HG Duo™ / Memory Stick Micro* / Memory Stick Micro (mark 2)*

Recording Media II

SD Memory Card / SDHC Memory Card / SDXC Memory Card / microSD Memory Card* / microSDHC Memory Card*

Recording Format

JPEG

DCF (Design rule for Camera File System)

YES

DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)

YES

Burst Mode (shots)

Approx. 1 fps

Burst Interval (approximately sec)

Approx.1.0 sec.(100 shots)

Still Image size (16M 4608 x 3456)

NO

Still Image size (14M 4320 x 3240)

YES

Still Image size (13M 4224 x 3168)

NO

Still Image size (12M 4000 x 3000)

NO

Still Image size (10M 3648 x 2736)

YES

Still Image size (9.0M, 3456 x 2592)

NO

Still Image size (8.0M, 3264 x 2448)

NO

Still Image size (7.2M 3072 x 2304)

NO

Still Image size (5.0M, 2592 x 1944)

YES

Still Image size (3.1M, 2048 x 1536)

NO

Still Image size (VGA, 640 x 480)

YES

Still Image size (16:9 mode, 1920 x 1080)

YES

Still Image size (16:9 mode, 4608 x 2592)

NO

Still Image size (16:9 mode, 4320 x 2432)

YES

Still Image size (16:9 mode, 4000 x 2248)

NO

Still Image size (3:2 mode, 4000 x 2672)

NO

Still Image size (3:2 mode 3648 x 2432)

NO

Still Image size (3:2 mode 3456 x 2304)

NO

2D Panorama

360°(11,520×1,080) / Wide(7,152 x 1,080/4,912 x 1,920) / Standard(4,912 x 1,080/3,424 x 1,920)

3D Panorama

NO

Moving Image Size (1440x1080 25fps Fine Approx.12Mbps)

NO

Moving Image Size (1280x720 30fps Fine Approx.9Mbps)

NO

Moving Image Size (1280x720 30fps Standard Approx.6Mbps)

NO

Moving Image Size (1280x720 25fps Fine Approx.6Mbps)

NO

Moving Image Size (640x480 30fps Approx.3Mbps)

YES

Moving Image Size (640x480 25fps Approx.3Mbps)

NO

Moving Image Size (320x240 30fps)

NO

Moving Image Size (AVCHD 1920 x 1080(50i, Interlace) Approx.24Mbps(Average bit-rate))

NO

Moving Image Size (AVCHD 1920 x 1080(50i, Interlace) Approx.17Mbps(Average bit-rate))

NO

Moving Image Size (AVCHD 1440 x 1080(50i, Interlace) Approx.9Mbps(Average bit-rate))

NO

Moving Image Size (MP4/AVI 1440 x 1080 Approx.25fps Progressive) Approx.12Mbps(Average bit-rate))

NO

Moving Image Size (MP4/AVI 1280 x 720 Approx.25fps Progressive) Approx.6Mbps(Average bit-rate))

NO

Moving Image Size (MP4/AVI 640 x 480 Approx.25fps Progressive) Approx.3Mbps(Average bit-rate))

YES

  Playback/ Edit
HD (High Definition) Playback

Under 14M(4,320 x 3,240)

Slideshow Playback

YES

Slideshow with Music

NO

Slideshow Movie

NO

Trimming

YES

Playback Zoom

YES (8x)

Cue & Review (MPEG)

YES

Index Playback

16 / 25 images

Image Rotation

NO

Auto Image Rotation

NO

Auto grouping and & Best Picture Recognition

NO

  General
Battery Remaining Indicator

NO

Histogram Indicator

NO

Exposure Warning Indicator

NO

Disk / Memory Stick remaining indicator

YES

PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol)

NO

Print Image Matching

YES

PictBridge

NO

Shop Front Mode

NO

Start up time (approximately sec)

Approx. 1.8 sec.

Menu Language

English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Greek, Bulgarian, Croatian, Romanian

  Jacks
Multi use Terminal with HD

NO

Multi use Terminal

YES

AV Out

YES

USB 2.0 Hi-Speed

YES

  Power/ Others
Battery System

Lithium N

Supplied Battery

NP-BN

Stamina (battery life) with the supplied battery(s) in normal shooting condition

Approx. 250 / Approx. 125min

Weight (g)

Approx. 97g (3.4oz.)

Weight with Accessories (g)

Approx. 113g (4.0oz.)

Supplied Software

PlayMemories Home

Supplied Accessories

Rechargeable Battery Pack (NP-BN), Batery Charger, Multi-USB, AC Power Cord, Wrist Strap, Instruction Manual

  Dimensions
Width (mm)

92.9

Height (mm)

52.4

Depth (mm)

19.3

You can also check the full Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX9V product review (the camera which I proundly own for quite some time) and the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-HX10V review.