Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W690

Slim10x optical zoomPicture EffectsPoor screenLow quality sweep panorama

The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W690 was announced in February as part of a trio of stylish and slim compact cameras.

Although it's not quite as slim as the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-WX100, the Sony W690 is no porker, cramming in a 10x optical zoom lens in its 21.7mm deep body. Not only that, it also has a 16 million pixel 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor.

That lens starts at an equivalent focal length of 25mm and rises up to 250mm at the telephoto lens. Unlike some of Sony's other compact cameras, it doesn't feature Clear Zoom technology to digitally boost the zoom capability of the camera.

Other features on this tiny camera include a Bionz processor, face detection, smile shutter and an in-built guide to using the camera.

Pretty squarely targeted at casual users, a number of creative options have been included to attract the Instagram crowd.

First up we have four digital filters, or 'Picture Effects', to use Sony's parlance, such as Toy Camera, Pop Colour and Partial Colour.

Secondly, Sony's Sweep Panorama enables super-wide images to be captured by sweeping the camera across a scene and then stitching the resulting images together in one picture.

There's not a great deal of manual control available on the Sony Cyber-Shot WC90, though a Program mode does give some flexibility.

HD video recording at 720p is available, with minimal control over recording settings. Videos can also be shot in VGA mode, which is more suitable for uploading quick videos straight to the web.

A 230k dot resolution, 3-inch TFT Clear Photo screen can be found on the back of the camera, on which you can watch slideshows of your images accompanied by music that you load into the camera.

Scene Modes including High Sensitivity, Night Scene, Night Portrait, Landscape, Soft Snap and Pet Mode are also available, as is Intelligent Auto for automatically detecting the optimum shooting settings.

The Sony W690 has a full retail price of £149 in the UK or $179.99 in the US, putting it in the same price bracket as the Nikon Coolpix S6200, Canon IXUS 220HS and the Panasonic SZ1.

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Sony Cyber-shot RX1: A compact camera with a full-frame sensor

The RX1's sensor-size-to-body-size ratio does not seem possible.

There are quite a few premium fixed-lens cameras available with F2.0 lenses, manual exposure controls, and sensors that are larger than the ones found in run-of-the-mill compact cameras. However, there has never been a compact camera with a sensor size anywhere close to that of the just-announced Sony Cyber-shot RX1. The RX1 somehow packs a full-frame sensor into a relatively compact, fixed-lens body.

The RX1's F2.0 lens has a fixed focal length of 35mm.

To put that sensor-size-to-body-size ratio in perspective, most consumer-level DSLRs don't have a sensor nearly as big as the one found in the Cyber-shot RX1. Only the biggest and most-expensive DSLR cameras offer full-frame sensors, and professional photographers are usually the only people who buy them.

A full-frame sensor measures 36mm by 24mm, which is about 2.3 times the size of the APS-C-size sensors found in most entry- to mid-level DSLRs. It's about 20 times the size of the 1/1.7-inch-type sensors found in most premium point-and-shoot cameras.

The RX1's 24.3-megapixel full-frame sensor is also about 7.4 times the size of the sensor found in the Sony Cyber-shot RX100. You may remember the Cyber-shot RX100 as the camera the photography world was drooling over when it was announced earlier this year, primarily due to the fact that it had a very big sensor for a pocket camera—a "very big sensor" that's 0.13 times the size of the one tucked in the RX1.

In practical terms, that full-frame sensor should mean the RX1 performs extremely well in low light, especially when you consider its wide-aperture F2.0 lens and its maximum ISO setting of 25,600. That sensor/aperture combo should also capture very shallow depth of field in macro mode.

As you'd expect, the RX1 also comes loaded with all the features found in Sony's higher-end cameras, such as 1080p video recording at 60fps or 24fps, manual exposure controls for both stills and video, RAW shooting, and automated modes for HDR photography and other creative effects. The camera also features a control ring around the lens for adjusting aperture settings, a pop-up flash, and a standard ISO hot shoe for external accessories.

The RX1 has a large body size for a compact camera, but that provides room for physical controls.

With bigger sensors come bigger body sizes, and the RX1 isn't exactly a "pocket camera," even though it's impressively small for its imaging prowess. At 4.5 inches wide and 3 inches tall, it's closer to the size of beefier cameras such as the Canon PowerShot G12 and Nikon Coolpix P7700 than it is to the size of its Cyber-shot RX100 sibling.

Bigger sensors also translate to bigger prices, as well, and the RX1's asking price puts it firmly in the realm of enthusiast niche cameras. If the $2800 price tag isn't enough to make you flinch, then the fixed focal length of 35mm on the RX1's F2.0 lens might. That means you can't zoom unless you move your feet.

If you're interested, start doing calisthenics and saving up now, because the Cyber-shot RX1 is due in November.

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Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-TX20

Sony's latest 'tough' compact camera, the TX20, boasts a pretty comprehensive feature-set, with a 16.2MP 1/2.3-inch Exmor CMOS sensor, Carl Zeiss 4x optical zoom lens, a 921,000-dot, 3-inch touchscreen LCD screen and Full HD movie recording.

On top of these features, photographers investing in the new Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-TX20 get the added benefit of being able to submerge the camera underwater (to a depth of up to 5m), drop it from a height of up to 1.5m and keep using it in temperatures as low as -10C (14F).

While these specifications may not quite match up to the top-notch tough credentials of the Olympus TG-1, for instance, the water/shock/dust/freeze-proof design of the Sony TX20 should provide more than adequate protection against the rigours of everyday life – with the added bonus of being presented in a stylish and compact body.

The Sony TX20 replaces the older Sony TX10, but there's little, if anything, to tempt owners of the previous model into upgrading.

But for those looking to invest in a rugged compact camera for the first time, the Sony TX20 - priced at £309 in the UK and $329.99 in the US - represents a keen contender in its field.

Far less chunky and cumbersome than your average rugged compact camera, the Sony TX20 is slim, stylish and perfectly pocketable. Just like its predecessor, the new camera sports a slender profile and neat sliding cover that conceals the lens, flash, stereo microphones and AF-assist lamp on the front of the camera when it's not in use.

Sliding the cover downwards reveals these hidden features and simultaneously powers the camera on, although you can also activate it using the power button on the top panel.

Outwardly, there's nothing to distinguish the Sony TX20 from the older TX10, save for the altered decals bearing the new model's name.

The controls – consisting of just the power button, plus a shutter release, zoom lever, playback and movie record buttons – remain in the same logical positions and are well-proportioned, making it easy to pick up the Sony TX20 and start shooting right away.

Around the back, the same 3-inch, 921,000-dot touchscreen from the TX10 remains in-situ. As before, the entirety of the widescreen-format LCD's surface area is only used when shooting movies. The rest of the time you're restricted to using the central portion of the screen, with black bars filled with interactive icons flanking it on either side.

From here you can access and tweak most of the camera's key functions, including options such as the focus mode, flash control, burst mode and exposure mode, for instance.

The main menu icon in the top left-hand corner offers a quick route to the rest of the options on offer, with a stylish and clearly laid-out menu page materialising instantly.

The interface remains pleasingly simple, and the touchscreen is responsive enough to allay our fears brought on from past experiences with frustratingly nonreactive screens. However, the nature of the capacitive touchscreen means that its functionality is limited somewhat when operating the camera underwater.

But our main concern is that – in spite of Sony's assurances about the toughness of the Cyber-Shot TX20 – we can't help but feel that the build quality isn't quite up to the calibre of some rivals. The sliding cover remains a concern when it comes to the possibility of getting dust, grit and/or moisture trapped beneath it, increasing the chances of inadvertently scratching the lens or the area surrounding it.

Likewise, the plastic covers protecting the SD card/battery compartment and the connection ports – although they do sport rubber seals to guard against water and muck getting inside – don't offer the same reassurance provided by the double-locking mechanisms on some competitors.

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