Digital Trends

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S600 February 9th, 2006 | by David Elrich

Features and Design

There's no getting away from it—this mostly-plastic camera feels cheap and lightweight. Even when loaded with two AA alkalines and Memory Stick Duo card, it tips the scales at 6.4 ounces. It measures 4 x 2.1 x 1.5 (WHD, in inches). For portability that's good but this is as far from a D-SLR “feel” as you can get.

To show how far Sony has gone to compete on price, last year's top S (for Stamina) Series camera, the now discontinued 4MP DSC-S90, cost $300 when introduced. A number of things had to go in order to hit the magic $200 plateau with the new 6MP digicam. First, the LCD monitor had to shrink from 2.5 inches (115K pixels) to an 85K pixel 2-incher. The S90 was supplied with rechargeable AAs with charger that lasted for 550 shots. The new camera comes with standard alkalines that last 160 clicks and no charger but if you buy rechargeable NiMH AAs, the figure moves to a much more respectable 440. The older S90 also had a lens that accepted add-on accessories but the new one doesn't. The handy mode dial disappeared as well. Shutter speed also was revised from 30-1/1000^0th of a second to 1-1/2000^th.

Now all is not negative with this new camera. After all it has a 6-megapixel imager versus 4MP. In theory this means more detailed photos and larger prints. The ISO was boosted to a top setting of 1000 compared to 400 for the S90. And perhaps most important, the zoom range has changed to a very wide 31-93mm compared to 39-117mm for the DSC-S90. As Designtechnica readers know, I prefer wider angle cameras since I like them for landscapes, portraits and group shots. Both are Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lenses.   

The DSC-S600 is a plain Jane digicam with a primarily silver-tone plastic case. The front has several metal accents but this one won't win any design awards. You'll find the usual items on the front including a lens with a built-in cover; the lens extends when you power up. There's also the AF Illuminator lamp, a feature that separates this camera from most of the low-cost competition. You'll also see the viewfinder window and the flash that is much more powerful than the S90's. Sony claims it goes out to over 30 feet at ISO 1000 when you're shooting wide angle. It does but the digital noise is fierce (more on this in a bit).

The top of the camera has the power and shutter keys along with a tiny microphone. The rear has a centered positioned 2-inch LCD screen (85K pixels), a viewfinder to use when the LCD wipes out and the basic mode switch above the LCD (playback, camera, movie). On the right of the screen are the wide-tele keys and the usual four-way controller with center set key. There are also buttons to review and delete images and to access the menus. To shrink the camera (and save money) there is no mode dial; you have to use the menu system. There are seven scene modes to choose from including High Sensitivity for boosting the ISO. Sony uses an icon-based system that's a poor second compared to the on-screen menus of Kodak, Olympus and others.

The left side has the USB port covered by a plastic door while the right has the battery compartment and the Memory Stick Duo slot is on the bottom of the camera along with the speakers and tripod mount. Using Duo cards allowed Sony to shrink the camera since last year's Stamina series models used larger Memory Sticks. Also missing is a way to get the video out from the camera directly to a TV! Last year's S90 used a hydra-head connector (similar to one supplied with the DSC-T9) that lets you do this handy operation. With the S600 you're stuck unless you own a TV with a Memory Stick card slot. Why Sony did this is a total mystery since the camera takes good quality MPEG VX 640 x 480 pixel videos at 30 frames per second using Memory Stick Pro Duo cards. This one is a real head-shaker. You can watch the videos on the camera or on your computer but that missing video out to the TV—sheesh.

I have to shout “hurrah” now because Sony finally gave in to constant hectoring from folks like me and eliminated the very poor Picture Package software. Instead you get CyberShot Viewer (V1.0), a straightforward program that helps transfer images into very basic folders or to a calendar view with loads of thumbnails to check out. The camera is supplied with a Read This First sheet to get you started and a 98-page owner's manual. Now if they could rewrite the manual, Sony would really earn my praises but I'm happy the Picture Package is history (hopefully). The kit also includes a wrist strap, two standard alkalines and a USB cable. In another nod toward frugality, there's no video cable since there's no way to perform this task or Memory Stick Duo card (expect to budget $40 for a 512MB card). This is a very basic, no-frills kit in keeping with its low price.

After popping in the two AAs and a 256MB Pro Duo card, it was time to see if the performance was decidedly “no frills” as well.

Image Courtesy of Sony