Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 Digital Camera

Only good if subject and/or camera perfectly still

By Local User  Jun 5, 2005 | 67 out of 78 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 review helpful

Pros: Small size, large display, loaded w/features

Cons: Difficult to take a blur-free photo

A couple years ago I purchased my first digital camera and after a time, found the long shutter lag to be annoying. I decided to purchase a new digital camera in the hope of taking better spontaneous pictures of my kids. I did the research and read h...ow other people found the shutter lag to be minimal on the Sony DSC-W1. I also liked the large display. I decided that the Sony was for me. By the time I got around to making the purchase, the DSC-W5 had been released so I bought it instead of the W1. As I said, my reason for changing digital cameras was to get better pictures of my kids. After using the DSC-W5 for a couple months, I find it very difficult to take a picture of my kids that isn't blurry. While it's true that my kids are in constant motion, I can only seem to take a sharp image in the brightest sunlight. I even set the camera to always use the flash (which increases shutter lag, the problem I was trying to get away from) and I still find that any small movement of either the camera or the subject causes the image to come out blurred. I rarely had that problem with my older digital camera (an Olympus C-4000). With the Sony, I seem to have to take dozens of pictures so I can be sure of getting a few that are not blurred. It seemed like a great camera, but I have decided to go back to the place of purchase to try to recoupe some money and try another camera. If you plan to take pictures of subjects that are moving at all or don't want to drag a tripod around with you to steady the camera, I would recommend that you do not buy the DSC-W5. Read more Less