Excellent Entry-Level Digicam

I have the privilege of using many cameras in my line of work. From entry-level cameras such as this one to digital SLR cameras and "news cameras" ($15,000+). I'll tell you from the outset that for the money this camera is smokin'!

The Sony DSC-S40 that I had hands-on with was a gift my sister received for her wedding. I borrow it every once in a while when I don't have access to better equipment. It does it's job quite well.

First and foremost, this camera is easy to use. Every button is labeled with a comprehensible picture and there aren't a gazillion of them. The manual is well-written to explain the function of the buttons and menus. The controls at your immediate disposable are Zoom, Flash (auto, on, off, and slow), Exposure Mode (Multi-zone or center), Self-timer, Quick Picture Review (view the last shot you took), LCD Displayer (turn certain information on/off or the screen off entirely) and Picture Quality (4 Megapixels down to 640x480 "email size"). All of the other controls (and Sony gives you lots to choose from, considering this is a "cheap" camera) are packed away within the menus.

Menu Controls:

As I just said, this camera gives you a plethora of controls over the camera...perhaps a bit too many for most users. Fortunately, you can set this camera in automatic mode and achieve great photos. But if you're a control freak like me, Sony has given you many options:

Sony's Program Auto-Exposure system (labeled on this camera as "Camera") has been around for quite awhile. The premise is you set the camera to a mode when you are in different scenarios (snow, beach, candlelit dinner) and the camera will deliver good pictures. Usually I just keep it set to program auto (so I can choose my own options), but if you remember to I would set it for whatever scenario you wind up in.

EV is your next menu option. I believe this camera gives too dark pictures set at default, so I set this option to +1.0. Your mileage may vary.

You can set the focus to either Center AF or Multi AF. If you're used to most film cameras, you need to set the center dot in your cameras viewfinder on whatever you want to focus on, depress the shutter release button halfway to auto-focus your camera (and lock focus) and then compose your picture then press the shutter release button all the way down to take a shot. This is my preferred method but if you're forgetful or uncertain just set this control to Multi AF. It works pretty well.

White Balance can be set for different situations. I won't go into them here (read the manual) but the only thing I'd wish for is manual white balance. But I am spoiled by higher end cameras...so not having this option for this inexpensive camera isn't too much of a negative to me. Auto white balance works pretty well.

The ISO control sets your "film speed". I keep this setting on auto for the most part unless I'm indoors shooting at night. Then I don't like to go over 200 because 400 is just too noisy. One of my gripes with this camera is that the camera has noise at anything above 80, but I've seen similar results on a $500 camera before, so for the money it isn't too bad. And if you're printing 4x6 prints, you won't notice it too much.

Picture Quality controls are your next option. You're only given two options, Fine and Standard. I keep this camera on Fine and 4 megapixels all the time and can get over 60 pictures on a 128 MB memory stick. I see no point in using lower quality settings unless you're using the built in memory card. If that's the case, I would highly recommend buying an extra memory stick. You're only hurting your memories that will last a lifetime.

Other controls include: Burst mode (for shooting higher framerates), Flash level, Picture Effects (Black and White or Sepia-toned), Saturation (more or less "warm" skin tones), contrast, and Sharpness.

This camera has a feature that is unique at it's price point...an Auto-focus illuminator. What this means is the focusing works in low-light situations. VERY NIFTY!

Another feature I was blown away by for a camera at this price is its video mode. Most cameras have their video modes thrown in as an afterthought but Sony has given you video that is actually useful. 30 frames per second, 640x480 and the sound quality is outstanding for for this tiny camera. The only bad thing is at its highest quality you can only fit about 1 minute and 30 seconds for every 128 MB you have on your card. But at it's lowest quality setting you can

For a camera at this price point, I was amazed at how quickly it took pictures. Most digital cameras have a very long delay from the time you press the shutter release to the time it actually takes a photo. Not so with this one! Although ideally there would be no delay at all, this camera cuts down significantly on your chances of losing that once-in-a-lifetime shot.

2 AA batteries last awhile in this camera. I'd still recommend carrying extra batteries around though because you never know when electronics will die on you.

Overall, this camera is a great deal. I've used it for over 6 months and have even taken shots on it that were published in a newspaper. It has very useful features and it's very compact. At this price I expected much less, but Sony delivered. Just don't expect really high resolution...after all this is a sub-$200 camera.

Sample, full-resolution photos (taken at 4 Megapixels, Fine quality):

Default settings (except +1.0 EV): http://rarshow.com/epinions/sonydscs40/normal.jpg

Saturation, Contrast, Sharpness all set to "+", +1.0 EV:

http://rarshow.com/epinions/sonydscs40/sat-con-sharp.jpg