Sony’s W series has a new addition, the W90. Equipped with an 8 million pixel sensor, this small compact has all of this brand’s latest technological finesse. There is Super SteadyShot optical stabilization, high sensitivity at 3200 ISO, face detection, a Carl Zeiss zoom, and a Bionz image processor. Its box is covered with these logos, and there is even one that indicates Full HD 1080. In fact, this caught our attention. Will the W90 be the first compact to produce video in 1920 x 1080 pixels (in accordance with the HD standard)? But no, and you will have to read the small letters just underneath this logo. The W90 only has a 640 x 480 pixel mode, but can display fixed images in 1920 x 1080 pixels on an HD TV (there is even a 16/9 mode in 1920 x 1080 pixels). Not that great when we know that the 8 MP sensor produces pictures in 3264 x 2448 pixels. Unfortunately, Sony didn’t think of adding an HDMI connection (like the Samsung L85), which is better suited for connection to HD screens.
In hand
The W90 has the allure of a classic compact but is of high quality. It’s relatively heavy, and this reinforces this camera’s impression of being robust. The interface is also classic with a program dial, zoom control and directional buttons. It’s simple and the W90’s handling is easy from the start. We could be difficult and criticize the rather small controls, notably that the menu and play buttons are too small for easy use. Besides this, there is a perfectly fluid screen with good precision and color fidelity (slightly saturated). In addition, a considerable amount of information is displayed such as an exposure bar, gridlines for aiming, number of shots, flash, and ISO sensitivity – almost nothing is lacking. The W90 is also equipped with an optical viewfinder as precise as it is deforming.
As for speed, there is rather prompt startup and this camera claims to be fast. Outdoors with good lighting, autofocus is indeed a model of quickness. However, indoors (under less favorable lighting) our enthusiasm was dampened. On our Barbie test shot (low fluorescent lighting), this compact struggles to focus. Luckily, the face detection system is fully operational and helps to efficiently autofocus. Moreover, this system was one of the more effective that we have seen at the time of this article and sometimes manages to pick out profiles. Finally, the burst mode attained 1.6 img/ s, which is a relatively good result.
Quality of images
In terms of sharpness, the W90 is slightly disappointing. It’s not that the lens is bad, but rather noise control processing is very noticeable even in lower sensitivities. The little Sony has less precision and details are slightly eroded compared to other 8 megapixels like the
Kodak V803 or
Fuji F40fd. In going up in ISO, smoothing is accentuated and while the W90 can attain 3200 ISO, it’s better not to go beyond 800 ISO even for 10x15 prints.
Luckily, the W90 is equipped with efficient optical stabilization, and you only have to compare its photos with those of the
Sony W55 to appreciate the benefits of this system. While a setting of 1000 ISO with the W55 is necessary (and with the resulting degradation), the W90 manages at 160 ISO. However despite this, smoothing is already perceptible. Colors are also very saturated and while photos are vivid they lack fidelity. In the end, this is more a question of taste.
