Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W70 review

In areas without noise, you can see the compression artefacts, which give some photo details a crunchy, sparkly look

With the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W70, you can record good-looking VGA-resolution, 30fps MPEG-1 movies that play in Windows Media Player or QuickTime; they look better running at 320x240, however.

Performance
For the most part, the Cyber-shot DSC-W70 performs well relative to its classmates. From power on to first shot takes about 2.2 seconds, with about 1.4 seconds between shots thereafter. The flash recycles quickly, adding only 0.2 seconds to the shot-to-shot time. Though relatively fast to focus in good light -- shutter lag is a decent 0.5 seconds -- focus in dim light jumps to a not-so-good 1.9 seconds. Burst shooting at full resolution is limited to 4 frames at about 1.4fps despite its 58MB of built-in memory.

Although the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W70 is a decent enough camera, both the DSC-W30 and the DSC-W50 are probably better value than the DSC-W70. Because they're lower resolution, the photos are a bit softer, but they also produce significantly less noise than the DSC-W70. If you need the higher resolution, check out one of Canon or Fujifilm's competing ultracompacts.

Shooting speed
Measured in seconds (smaller is better)

Typical shot-to-shot time

Time to first shot

Shutter lag (typical)

Sony Cyber Shot DSC-W70

1.4 

2.2 

0.5 

Canon Digital IXUS 65

1.9 

1.4 

0.5 

Fujifilm FinePix V10

2 

1.5 

0.5 

Casio Exilim EX-Z60

1.8 

2 

0.6 

Pentax Optio W10

3.6 

3.5 

0.7 

Nikon Coolpix P3

3 

4.1 

0.9 

Typical continuous-shooting speed
Measured in frames per second (larger is better)

Typical continuous-shooting speed

Canon Digital IXUS 65

2.0 

Nikon Coolpix P3

1.5 

Sony Cyber Shot DSC-W70

1.4 

Pentax Optio W10

1.1 

Fujifilm FinePix V10

1.1 

Casio Exilim EX-Z60

0.9