Like the other models, we found the DSC-W100 to be an easy camera to learn and to use, though the frequent trips into the menu system to change the metering scheme, the ISO speed and the burst mode make it cumbersome to change these oft-used settings. The tiny controls complicate matters further.
Sony's inclusion of a manual-exposure mode is an odd choice as well. Semi-manual modes -- program shift, shutter-priority and aperture-priority -- tend to be much easier to use and more practical for casual photographers. Furthermore, since the camera provides only two aperture choices for a given focal length, the DSC-W100's manual exposure is actually quite difficult to use.
One advantage the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W100 has over the DSC-W70 is a sensor that's capable of shooting at ISO 80. Photos shot at this sensitivity level -- and to a certain extent, at ISO 100 -- are relatively sharp with little noise and few processing artefacts. Beyond that, the aggressive noise-suppression algorithms kick in, blurring and smearing details. Photos print reasonably well to as large as 203x254mm (8x10 inches), but they look a little soft and foggy. In addition to some distortion in the bottom corners at its wide angle, the lens also produces some cyan and magenta fringing on the sides, as well as purple fringing on high-contrast edges.
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