Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W90 8-megapixel digital camera (Black)

General Features
Recording Images
Viewing, Editing and Printing Images
Supplied Software

General Features

Memory Stick Compatibility: This camera is compatible with Sony's Memory Stick Duo media, including Memory Stick Duo, MagicGate Memory Stick Duo, and Memory Stick PRO Duo. All compatible Memory Stick Duo(s) can be used to record still pictures and moving images with audio. Although this unit is compatible with MagicGate Memory Stick Duo, it cannot be used to play or record any data that requires MagicGate technology.

31 MB Internal Memory: This camera has 31 MB of internal memory. Even when there is no Memory Stick Duo inserted in the camera, you can record images using the internal memory. This memory is not removable but it can be copied to a Memory Stick Duo.

Image Recording Format: The camera records still images in JPEG format. Moving images with audio (monaural) are recorded in MPEG1.

Imaging Device: For optimal image quality, the camera uses a 7.182mm (1/2.5") 8.1 Mega-Pixel (Effective) Super HAD (Hole Accumulated Diode) color CCD imaging device with approximately 8.286 million gross pixels and 8.083 million effective pixels. The advanced Super HAD design allows more light to pass to each pixel, increasing sensitivity and reducing noise.

Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens: The Vario-Tessar lens is specially produced for very compact cameras. This specialized design allows quick auto-focus, appealing zoom range while still maintaining a compact design.

Viewfinder and LCD Screen: The DSC-W90 has an optical viewfinder for accurate framing at eye level, great for added stability and for following fast moving objects. The camera also has a 2.5" color LCD screen with 115,200 pixels. The LCD screen allows you to view an image before taking a picture and replay images that have been stored in memory. For best viewing, you can adjust the brightness of the LCD monitor as needed when using the camera outdoors. Turning the LCD screen off increases battery life.

Lens: The lens has a 3x optical zoom and a focal length of 5.8mm to 17.4mm, equivalent to 35mm to 105mm in 35mm photography.

Super SteadyShot Picture Stabilization: SteadyShot picture stabilization uses motion sensors to remove unwanted picture shake. The optical Super SteadyShot system controls an even higher range of shake and vibration frequencies, to achieve an even higher level of smoothness without picture degradation. The Super SteadyShot feature may be turned on/off.

Dynamic Range Optimization: Powered by the exclusive Sony Bionz high-speed processing engine, dynamic range optimization preserves image data in bright highlights and reveals more detail in shadows or backlit areas, for great results even in difficult lighting conditions.

Function Guide: When you highlight a menu option or turn on a feature, a brief description of that feature appears on the display. The guide can be turned off if you prefer.

Image Size: When recording digital still images the DSC-W90 allows you to choose from six image sizes. The larger image sizes use more of the CCDs pixels and offer a better image quality, but also take up more memory space. When recording moving images, you can choose from three different image sizes/frame rate settings. The image sizes include:

Digital Zoom: This camera has two digital zoom options to exceed the 3x optical zoom, Precision digital zoom and Smart zoom. Precision digital zoom offers a standard doubling of the optical zoom, for a total of 6x. Smart zoom intelligently uses the full CCD to let you zoom into the portion of interest by cropping the image size, thus avoiding the image degradation generated by most digital zooms. The maximum zoom scale depends upon the image size. When the image size is set to 8M (3264 x 2448) or 3:2 (3264 x 2176) the Smart zoom is not available. The total Smart zoom ratio is as follows:

Auto Focus Modes: Depending on the location of your subject, you can choose from the following AF modes:

• Multi AF: the finder area is enlarged and the camera focuses on all objects in the area, useful with multiple subjects

• Center AF: the finder area stays small and the camera focuses at the distance to the object in the center of the frame

• Spot AF: focuses on a narrow area of your choosing, the distance is fixed using AF Lock, useful when your subject is not centered on the frame
• Distance: the camera will focus at a preset distance; 0.5, 1, 3, or 7 meters, or infinity, useful if shooting through a net, screen, or glass

AF Illuminator: The AF (auto focus) Illuminator briefly provides red fill light to focus more easily on a subject in dark surroundings. Recommended focusing distance with the AF Illuminator is up to approximately 11.5' with the zoom set to wide and 8.25' with the zoom set to telephoto.

AE/AF Lock: If you have difficulty focusing on an off-center subject, you can set and lock the focus and exposure on the subject by holding the shutter button halfway down with the subject in the center of the frame, then recomposing the shot and pressing the shutter button fully to take the picture. 

Macro Focus: For close-ups of small objects such as flowers and insects, this camera has macro focus capability. With Macro on and the zoom set all the way to wide (recommended), the camera can focus on objects as close as 1-5/8" from the lens, with the zoom set all the way to telephoto, the camera can focus on objects as close as 13-7/8" from the lens.

Auto Power-Off: If you do not operate the camera for approximately 3 minutes, it will turn off automatically to conserve battery power.

Date Stamp: Each time you take a picture, the camera records the date along with the other Exif information. While the camera cannot add the date to the picture, if the printer recognizes the Exif information, the picture can be printed with the date superimposed.

Battery Information: The DSC-W90 comes with a NP-BG1 lithium-ion rechargeable battery and BC-CSGB battery charger. This battery takes approximately 5.5 hours to fully charge.

Battery Performance: Under normal operating conditions the battery has the following approximate capacity:

Recording Images

Shooting Modes: The camera features the following shooting modes:

• Auto: the camera automatically adjusts all settings
• Program Auto: allows you to shoot with the exposure and shutter speed adjusted automatically and allows user adjustment of other settings (color mode, ISO speed, metering, white balance, flash level, and SteadyShot)
• Scene Selection Modes: settings are fixed based on preset scenes:
  • High Sensitivity: shoots without flash in low light using high ISO speed to reduce blur
  • Soft Snap: shoot portraits with a softened background
  • Twilight Portrait: used for shooting people in the foreground at night, without losing the dark atmosphere in the background
  • Twilight: used for shooting a distant subject at night
  • Landscape: shoot with distant landscapes in focus
  • Beach: for shooting at seaside or lakeside
  • Snow: maintains color and clarity with a large white background

Picture Effects: When desired, you can select one of the following picture effects:

• Vivid: the image has bright and deep color
• Natural: the image has quiet color
• Sepia: the picture is sepia-toned, like an old photograph
• B & W: The image is recorded in monochrome (black & white)

Face Detection: By automatically controlling focus, exposure, color, and flash, this feature reveals faces in shadow, makes skin tones look more natural, and eliminates harsh facial glare.

Grid Lines: Horizontal and vertical line can be drawn on the display when taking pictures to help you square the subject.

Auto Orientation: When you turn the camera on end to take a portrait, the camera recognizes the change; when you play it back it's properly rotated.

Burst Mode: You can shoot up to 100 images in succession while holding the shutter button down. The image interval varies based on the picture size. When you use burst mode and the self timer together, five pictures are taken. Burst mode is not possible when using the High Sensitivity, Twilight Portrait, or Twilight scene modes.

MPEG Movie VX: Besides recording still images, you can also record moving images with sound. Moving images are recorded in MPEG1 format. There are three size/frame rate combinations:

• 640 (Fine): 640 x 480 at 30 frames/second
• 640 (Standard): 640 x 480 at 17 frames/second
• 320: 320 x 240 at 8 frames/second

Flash Modes: The flash can be set to Auto, Forced Flash, Slow Synchro, or No Flash. In Auto mode, the flash automatically strobes when the surroundings are dark. When the flash is set to Forced Flash, it strobes with every shot. In Slow Synchro, the flash is used regardless of the amount of ambient light, but the shutter speed is slower under dark conditions, allowing you to clearly shoot a background that is out of the flash-lit area. In addition, this camera has a "red-eye reduction" setting, which causes the flash to pre-strobe before shooting to reduce the red-eye phenomenon. You can also adjust the flash level.

Flash Range: The useful flash range is approximately 8" to 11' with the zoom set to wide and 1.25' to 6' with the zoom set to telephoto.

ISO Speed: The ISO speed can be set to Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, or 3200. When shooting in low light conditions or shooting a fast-moving subject, use a high number setting. When shooting a slower subject in better light, use a low number setting for higher quality images.

Metering Modes: You can select Spot, Center-weighted, or Multi-pattern Metering. Spot metering lets you adjust the exposure to the subject, even when the subject is a backlit or when there is strong contrast between the subject and the background. Center-weighted metering measures the center of the image and determines the best exposure based on the brightness of the subject. When multi-pattern metering is used, the image is divided into multiple regions and metering is performed in each region. The camera judges the subject position and background brightness, and determines a well-balanced exposure.

White Balance: When the white balance is set to auto, the white balance is set automatically in response to the condition of the subject, and the overall color balance is adjusted. When shooting under special lighting conditions, you can select other settings. In addition to Auto, the white balance can be set to:

• Daylight: outside on a clear day
• Cloudy: outside on an overcast day or in shade
• Fluorescent 1: under white fluorescent light
• Fluorescent 2: under natural white fluorescent light
• Fluorescent 3: under day white fluorescent light
• Incandescent: incandescent or very bright light
• Flash: adjusts for flash conditions

Exposure Adjustment: Besides the automatic setting, you can adjust the exposure from +2.0EV to -2.0EV in 1/3EV increments.

Approximate Still Image Capacity:

Approximate Movie Capacity:

Viewing, Editing and Printing Images

Viewing Images: Still and moving images can be played back on the camera's color LCD screen, or the images may be transferred to a computer, where they can be displayed or manipulated with the use of compatible software. In addition, the images can be played back on a television (NTSC or PAL), if the television has an RCA composite video input.

Retouching: Once a picture is taken, it can be retouched to achieve the desired look. A second file is saved using one of these effects:

• Soft Focus: the background around you subject is softened
• Partial Color: your specified subject remains color, everything else changed to black and white
• Fisheye Lens: subject is enlarged and the edges are rounded with a fishbowl look
• Cross Filter: a starburst effect is added to light sources
• Trimming: the image is enlarged and re-centered
• Redeye Correction: corrects the redeye phenomenon caused by the flash

Index Mode: In addition to viewing images one-by-one in full screen, you can view multiple images at once in the index mode. This feature lets you to display up to 12 images at a time, allowing you to easily find the image you want.

Slide Show: The Slide Show function lets you play back images one after the other. The interval between the pictures can be adjusted to 3, 5, 10, or 30 seconds, or 1 minute. You can select Folder play (all images in the selected folder) or All play (all images on the Memory Stick Duo). There are also several slide show effect modes to set a particular tempo and atmosphere. When repeat is selected, the images are replayed in a continuous loop. The slide show can be played with or without music.

Component Video Output: The component video output can be set to SD (Standard Definition) or HD (1080i), depending on the connected TV.

Deleting/Protecting Images: You can delete a selected image, or you can delete all the unprotected images at once. In order to avoid accidentally deleting an image, it can be protected.

Playback Zoom: You can enlarge a recorded still image up to five times the original image. You can also record the enlarged item as a new file. To select the area to be enlarged, you can move the enlargement "frame" up/down/left/right with the arrow buttons, and adjust the zoom with the W/T button.

Print Mark: You can place a print mark on still images recorded with this camera. This mark is convenient when you have images printed at a shop that conforms to the DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) standard.

Exif Print (Exif 2.21): The DSC-W90 conforms to Exif Print, a worldwide standard. Vital camera settings (such as: exposure mode, white balance, exposure time) and scene data are recorded to the image file when it is captured. Printers compatible with Exif Print are able to use this information to produce high quality photographs, exactly the way they were intended at the time of capture. This intelligent communication process also allows the printer to correct for poor lighting or mistakes, resulting in photos that can be even better than the originals.

PictBridge Printing Capability: Using the supplied USB cable, you can connect this camera directly to a PictBridge compliant printer. PictBridge is a new standard that allows you to connect a PictBridge compliant camera directly to a PictBridge compliant printer and make prints, regardless of brand.

Supplied Software

Software: The DSC-W90 comes with Picture Motion Browser Ver.2.0.05 (Windows), Music Transfer (Windows or Macintosh), and ImageStation XPRESS Upload Software (Windows) offering these features:

• Picture Motion Browser: import images to your computer then, organize, retouch, print, send as e-mail, and burn to a disc
• Music Transfer: add music for slide shows from CD, MP3, or the files factory set on the camera
• ImageStation XPRESS Upload Software: upload still photos to the internet and order prints

PC System Requirements: All the supplied software can be used on a Windows PC. Your Windows computer must have these minimum system requirements:

• Operating System: Windows 2000 Professional, XP Home, or XP Professional pre-installed
• CPU: Pentium III 500 MHz or faster (Pentium III 800 MHz recommended)
• Memory: 128 MB or more (256 MB is recommended)
• Hard Disk: 200 MB or more
• Sound: 16-bit stereo sound card with stereo speakers
• Display: 1024 x 768 dots or better, High Color (16-bit color) or more

Macintosh System Requirements: You can copy images to your Mac using existing software and use the included Music Transfer software. The Macintosh minimum system requirements are:

• Operating System: OS 9.1, 9.2, or OS X v10.1 to v10.4 (OS X v10.3 or v10.4 to use the included Music Transfer software)
• CPU: iMac, eMac, iBook, PowerBook, Power Mac G3/G4/G5, or Mac mini
• Memory: 64 MB or more (128 MB is recommended)
• Hard Disk: 250 MB or more