Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX300 Pro Reviews

Small, fast and friendly, but image quality is disappointing

What makes one of Sony's latest Cyber-Shot models, the DSC-WX300, so impressive isn't its feature list. At this price point, we've come to expect an 18.2-megapixel CMOS image sensor, 20x optical zoom lens, WiFi, Full HD 1080p video, 10 frames per second high speed burst shooting, and a 3.0-inch LCD display. So yeah, those things are all great. But the cool thing about the WX300 is that Sony's engineers managed to take all that cutting edge technology, and jam it into a 3 7/8" x 2 1/4" x 1 1/6" (96 x 54.9 x 25mm) body. Yup, the WX300 is -- as of February 2013 -- the world's thinnest 20x optical zoom lens digital camera.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX300 is a lovely camera to look at. It's slightly reminiscent of the new RX series that they've released and maybe that's what they set out to do. The build quality that's gone into the WX300 is great, such as the G lens, metal casing, lockable battery door, back-illuminated sensor and 20x optical zoom. The only thing its missing is a metal tripod bush and it's a real shame that they've not put one on. It would've been great to see one on there and really set the camera apart. Image quality is very good in terms of sharpness, colour reproduction, low ISO performance and chroma. However, we're unsettled by the loss of quality at wide-angle. It would be nice in this case for the manufacturers to use common sense and fit a less wide lens to the camera. They know it needs to be done, as do you. But the wider public don't and it's them that Sony are trying to appeal to with the wider lens, because it matches other models in the same price range or more expensive.

It's hard out there for a point-and-shoot. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX300 stands out by combining a 20x zoom lens, wireless features, excellent battery life, and Sony's large stable of auto shooting options. And like all good ultracompacts, it's small and light enough that you won't hesitate to take it with you when you know you're going to want something more than your smartphone can provide.

The Sony Cyber-shot WX300 is available for around £280; similarly svelte, long zoom cameras include the Canon Powershot SX260HS which is priced around £180, Sony's own less expensive HX20V (Around £210) and Nikon's Coolpix S9500 at around £260. Fuji's FinePix F900 costs much more at around £305 while the Panasonic Lumix TZ40 is even pricier at around £380 and like this Sony; many cameras come equipped with Wi-Fi today if this is the feature, which you need. Over all then, Sony's Cyber-shot WX300 is an extremely small compact, almost too small in fact, particularly in terms of the handling using the longer zoom ratios on offer because, while it's nice having such a long zoom in such a small body, the handling compromises that ensue (terrible camera shake problems) need to be born in mind. Having Wi-Fi makes it easy to share your images with smart phones and tablets. Image quality is not as good as it could be, particularly at higher sensitivities and bearing in mind the purple fringing and chromatic aberration that are the other two key issues. However images have good colour, exposure control is excellent and the camera's many fun features and modes make it sure to be an attractive option for those wanting a long zoom but very pocketable snapper, which offers the sharing characteristics encompassed here by the Sony WX300's WiFi features.

The Sony Cybershot DSC-WX300 is an extremely small compact, particularly when you consider it packs a 20x optical zoom lens and Wi-Fi. The Wi-Fi makes it easy to share images with smartphones and tablets, as well as using them as a remote control. On the downside, image quality isn't the best, images aren't as packed with detail as you'd hope and there is some purple fringing and chromatic aberration. However, considering the average user is likely to be sharing their images on the web, this won't be much of a problem, particularly as images have good colour reproduction.