The latest digital acquisition

I wouldn’t have mentioned about this but for Jam. :-) Anyway, I just got myself a Sony DSCW5 DigiCam. This happens to be the second working digital cam in my home, but I couldn’t resist purchasing it since the existing one is fully automatic - the other (rather rosy) way to say that you just can’t tweak any setting to make the photo look the way you want.

Here’s the pic of the one I bought.









I’m right now tweaking with all the manual settings, with a photography book by my side, but I’ve already noted the following points… just in case if someone is interested in the specs.

The good things

2.5 Sq. inch LCD screen: Gives an awesome preview to the photo.
Sturdy: Read somewhere that it didn’t break after a 3 feet drop! It certainly isn't sleek and 'cool looking' and all, but gives a sturdy feel in the hand, probably due to its build.
Decent specs: 5.1 MPs, 3x Optical zoom, very low noise even at high ISO.
Scene modes: 7 scene modes, in addition to the auto.
Controls: Auto plus manual settings to tweak ISO, Aperture opening, Shutter speed, White balance modes, real fast boot, and minimum shutter lag.

The not-so-good things

Based on my basic experience with photography till now, here’s what I’m missing.

ISO: Would’ve great with ISO 50 and ISO 800 or more modes.
Focus: 3X is very average, more so since aperture suffers at zoom.
Shutter priority and aperture priority: Although this can be accomplished manually, auto settings for these would’ve been just great.

In all, I guess it comes as a great deal for someone who doesn’t want to go to the next level. Ofcourse, SLRs are a class apart and they come at quite a price tag. I’m hoping to move ahead to one in a year or two…

I've started a photo blog (A pixel entourage) that contains some initial images now. Expert photograhy tips and advice most welcome!