Sony Cybershot DSC W200 | Digital Camera Review | Camera
Sony W200 Beach scène mode
The camera has a special mode for pictures capturing water. This mode is called Beach mode and it is supposed to make the water bluer. I experiment with this mode and I compare the pictures with the pictures in auto mode. Indeed, the water of the Red Sea is bluer when this special mode is activated. Sony boasts years of experience in manufacturing underwater housings and the house I am about to use looks neat also. It is secured against accidentally opening it and the shutter release button can be found blindfolded. Moreover, the Sony W200 comes including a large and strong wrist strap that is a joy to use. The underwater housing can be used to a depth of 40 meters.
Sony Cybershot DSC W200 | Digital Camera Review | Adjustments
The water in the Red Sea however is so light and clear that the camera often refuses to use the flash when it is set to auto mode. But for me the pictures then don’t have enough color. I thought to solve this problem by setting the camera in the Flash On mode. In this mode the flash will fire always, independent of the measured amount of light. Unfortunately it does lead to overexposed pictures in some cases because the flash will fire at full power. You can solve this by manually adjusting the flash power in small stops, but you do have to know your camera well to achieve this.
Sony DSC-W200 Diffuser
The housing has been standard equipped with a diffuser to better spread the flash light. In my opinion the diffuser could have been developed better. It is placed on the right side of the lens. The lens extends a bit and that is why the underwater housing has a ‘nose’ for fitting the lens in. However, the diffuser has not been placed on the far end of the ‘nose’ but closer to the camera itself. Part of the flash light gets blocked and never reaches the place it should reach. As a result the bottom left corner doesn’t get exposed well. With some creativity in the choice of your object you can overcome this problem.
Sony CyberShot W200 ISO values
The rechargeable Stamina battery lasts for two dives of one hour each. The camera is capable of showing the pictures in HD 1080 quality. But I don’t have an HD 1080 television set at hand so I cannot check to see how much sharper pictures look on a television like that. After two dives it is time to head back for Dahab. The camels receive their heavy load again and I climb onto my camel a lot more at ease than when we set out. The way back seems a lot shorter because I am now enjoying the memory of the two beautiful dives. At the end of the day there is still time to capture some marvellous sunsets. And because it is getting a little dark I use a higher ISO sensitivity. The highest ISO of the camera is 6400. When using this ISO value, the camera switches from 12 million pixels to 3 million pixels. This mode does cause more noise. ISO 1600 delivers excellent pictures in twilight.
Sony Cybershot DSC W200 | Digital Camera Review | Camera
After diving
Diving is done. Of course you are curious as to how your pictures turned out, but more important is to take care of your underwater housing before watching the pictures. The main practices after diving are:
• Rinse the underwater housing straight after diving using fresh water. Often a boat or a resort will have a unit with fresh water available specifically for housings.
• Press all the buttons of the underwater housing during rinsing and turn all dial buttons. These buttons are prone to salt water residue. If it dries, salt crystals can appear that can cause leakage.
• Dry the underwater housing with a soft cloth, micro-fibre for example.
• Open the underwater housing on a dry spot and not on the back of the boat between the wet diving suits. Make sure you are dry too. It prevents the camera getting damaged from water drops falling from your wet hair for example. Keep the lens of the underwater housing pointing down-wards when opening the housing. That way the camera cannot fall out.
• Transfer pictures to the computer or the memory tank in order to empty your memory card before the next dive. Don’t forget to recharge the batteries.
Storage and transport
It’s not likely you will use the underwater housing on a daily base, except for on a diving holiday. It means you will have to store the underwater housing for several weeks or even months. Also transporting of the underwater housing needs special attention.
• Take the o-ring out of the groove, clean it and grease it. Don’t place the o-ring back into the groove but put it in an airtight bag. This way there won’t be constant pressure on the o-ring.
• Store the underwater housing on a dark and dust-free spot. Store accessories, maintenance materials and the user’s guide on the same spot. When your next diving holiday comes up, you can find all your material in one go.
• Do not transport your underwater housing in luggage that gets checked in but put it in your hand luggage. Underwater housings don’t like the rough treatment that suitcases usually undergo on an airport.
• Take the o-ring out of the groove when you travel by plane. The pressure differences may cause the underwater housing not to open again. The same for when you are travelling by car on a high mountain pass.
Sony Cybershot DSC W200 | Digital Camera Review | Image Gallery
Sony W200 rear
Sony MPK-WB Marine Pack rear
Sony Cybershot DSC W200 | Digital Camera Review | Test-images
underwater photo
Resolution :
4000 x 3000 pixels
Aperture :
f/2.8
Exposure time :
1/40 sec
ISO :
100
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Center Weighted Average
Compensation :
0 step
underwater image
Resolution :
4000 x 3000 pixels
Aperture :
f/2.8
Exposure time :
1/320 sec
ISO :
100
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Center Weighted Average
Compensation :
0 step
underwater picture
Resolution :
3780 x 2835 pixels
Aperture :
f/2.8
Exposure time :
1/160 sec
ISO :
100
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Center Weighted Average
Compensation :
0 step
diving photo
Resolution :
3780 x 2835 pixels
Aperture :
f/2.8
Exposure time :
1/40 sec
ISO :
100
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Center Weighted Average
Compensation :
0 step
diving image
Resolution :
4000 x 3000 pixels
Aperture :
f/2.8
Exposure time :
1/100 sec
ISO :
100
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Spot
Compensation :
0 step
diving picture
Resolution :
3780 x 2835 pixels
Aperture :
f/2.8
Exposure time :
1/125 sec
ISO :
100
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Center Weighted Average
Compensation :
0 step
Sony Cybershot DSC W200 | Digital Camera Review | Test-images
Camel photo
Resolution :
4000 x 3000 pixels
Aperture :
f/5.6
Exposure time :
1/1000 sec
ISO :
200
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Center Weighted Average
Compensation :
0 step
Blue Hole photo
Resolution :
4000 x 3000 pixels
Aperture :
f/8
Exposure time :
1/500 sec
ISO :
100
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Center Weighted Average
Compensation :
0 step
Egypt photo
Resolution :
4000 x 3000 pixels
Aperture :
f/5.6
Exposure time :
1/1000 sec
ISO :
100
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Center Weighted Average
Compensation :
0 step
Diving trip
photo
Resolution :
4000 x 3000 pixels
Aperture :
f/5.6
Exposure time :
1/800 sec
ISO :
100
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Center Weighted Average
Compensation :
0 step
Egypt diving photo
Resolution :
4000 x 3000 pixels
Aperture :
f/5.6
Exposure time :
1/400 sec
ISO :
100
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Center Weighted Average
Compensation :
0 step
Jeep photo
Resolution :
4000 x 3000 pixels
Aperture :
f/8
Exposure time :
1/640 sec
ISO :
125
Focal length :
8mm
Metering :
Pattern
Compensation :
0 step
Sony Cybershot DSC W200 | Digital Camera Review | Conclusion
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This post was written by admin on September 12, 2008
