Sony Cybershot DSCW50 6MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom Review

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(More customer reviews)The W50 is the sweet spot in the Sony W series lineup, for most people. You can take it everywhere and get very good pictures. But it's not that expensive, so there's no reason not to take it everywhere (except maybe that kayak trip).
If you're wondering whether to get the W30 or the W50 (especially given the lack of reviews on the W30) - go with the W50. The W50 is a little smaller and lighter, and even with the bigger screen has lower power consumption than the W30 - so you don't have to worry that having the big screen will cut your shooting time. The W50 also comes with a combination computer / TV cable.
The S600 is somewhat interesting at the price, but a step down in LCD size and features and a little bulkier - as noted below for most people you can get plenty of battery life and a smaller size with the proprietary battery cameras.
In general, you'll also get better pictures with a W50 than with credit-card type cameras that have a tiny lens system - optics will always make a difference.
If you've used an older generation camera, you may have some misconceptions about battery life. Many newer cameras have sharply reduced power consumption, so the powerful proprietary battery can get you through a day of shooting hundreds of shots with no problem. (Be a little wise about turning it off when you're not using it!) So a lot of the conventional wisdom about batteries is wrong - you probably don't need a second battery, unless you're going into the woods for a while, and you don't need to mess with AA rechargeables. Also, lithium ion batteries don't have a memory effect, so don't worry about partial recharging. Just charge the battery each night. So - before getting a second battery, try it for a while and see if you need it.
But a case is a good idea - see the LCS-WF, or LCS-WE, or LCS-CSG maybe - there are a lot of cases out there.
Get a Memory Stick Pro Duo card - Pro cards are faster, and you need the smaller Duo size with this camera. Get at least 512MB, and maybe 1-2GB, especially if you plan to travel for more than a week, or use the video mode - which is surprisingly good, if set to fine, but uses enormous amounts of storage at that setting.
I've been using the Sony DSC-P200 for over a year now. Reviewers generally rated it as the best of the compact cameras. The W50 can't match it in some respects - the P200 has a bigger sensor and a bigger lens, both a fundamental to picture quality. But any reasonable person will be very happy with the pictures from the W50, given the size of it.
And the controls, menus and interface on the W50 have definitely been improved - for example, the W50 has easier access to the various scene modes (twilight, etc), with some explanation on the screen of what those mysterious little icons mean (so you might actually use them). Try the High ISO mode in low light no-flash situations - for nit pickers the picture quality suffers, but most people will find it useful. And again, if you need that often, no ultra-compact camera will work really well - think about something with a bigger lens and bigger sensor.
But the W50 still offers enough control (through the scene modes and the Program mode) to allow a fair amount of control over the pictures, for an automatic camera.
The build quality seems fine to me.
By the way, it uses essentially the same cable as the DSC-P200 for the USB/AV cable.
The charger is fairly compact and rated 100-240V, so while you'll need a plug adapter overseas you won't need a voltage converter.
My only real complaint so far - the battery charger is a little slow, though probably OK. Sony isn't doing itself any good on customer satisfaction by not including the (optional) fast, compact charger to go with the fast, compact camera.
A few common problems and easy fixes:
- All of these cameras will focus on what's in the center when you press the shutter halfway down. If the center of the shot you want to take is background, and not subject, you'll get the background in focus. So aim at the subject, hold the shutter halfway down to fix the focus and exposure, then compose the picture and press the rest of the way down.
- Flash pictures rarely look really good on most cameras. The W50 is pretty good, but you might have even better luck using the P mode and setting the flash to the - setting, especially for closer shots (across a table, for example). Or, use the + mode if you're in a big room.
- Try using the P mode and putting the ISO setting to something very high if you want to force a fast shutter time (for example, for action shots).
But of course good light always gives the best pictures with any camera. There are limits to what you can currently expect from any ultracompact camera.
Most of the complaints are from people expecting a camera to do everything. Be a little smart about it, and don't expect the (currently) impossible - and you'll be surprised at how many good pictures a camera like this can get for you.

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The compact, hi-tech Sony DSC-W50 delivers superb 6.0 megapixel quality for cropping images or making big prints -- with an extra-large 2.5" LCD screen and Function Guide text and icon display for adjusting color, sensitivity, brightness, image size and more. High Sensitivity Mode and Sony's Clear RAW NR circuitry get great results in low light. Also features a top-quality Carl Zeiss 3X Optical zoom lens, 32 MB Internal Memory to capture shots in-camera, and StaminaLithium Ion battery for up to 390 shots -- enough for a whole vacation.

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Vonage VDV21-VD - Router - VoIP gateway - desktop Review

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(More customer reviews)In fairness, I am a new Vonage customer, having signed up April 27, 2009. Within 48 hours after signing up, I received this new adapter (paid $9 and change for it - was a Vonage deal) and hooked it up to an ethernet switch. Hooked up a corded phone to the device, and had dial tone. I kept this hook-up for 3 weeks, making LOTS of phonecalls and sending faxes to be sure I was ready to say bye-bye to my Verizon landline ($42 a month and never touch the phone for an outgoing call because of the costs involved). I have a networked setup: Modem --> Wired Router --> Ethernet Switch --> Vonage adapter. (I also have a wireless access point connected to my wired router,just to be precise.)
There are 3 PCs hard-wired and 1 wireless laptop. My cable provider is Cablevision (Optimum Online) at 10Mbps down and 3Mbps up.
Service is great. You could not tell between Vonage or the landline. The only issue I had was with faxing via my Canon MP780 all-in-one (outgoing faxes would not complete), and that wound up being just a matter of shutting down and re-starting my Canon. If you have this issue, please do not make yourself crazy changing your fax baud rates or ECM to off until you shut down your fax, remove all cables, replace cables and restart your fax. When I changed my baud rate from 33000 to 9600 because of many, many threads on the net, my fax capability was completely crippled. Now, it works great. And I don't have a dedicated fax line, it's done through my regular voice VOIP line.
After the 3 weeks, we cancelled the landline, disconnected the incoming Telco lines from the house, and then plugged the Vonage adapter into our phone jacks which back-feeds the signal through all of the phone jacks.
I have spoken to customer service for matters relating to my office (which also uses Vonage on 3 lines) and customer service has always been helpful and polite and there pretty much without a wait. Nice to have them available 24 hours, 7 days a week, if you did need them (better have a cell phone too though -- duh!)
I also have the line split and going to my Dish Network ViP722 DVR, which enables the ViP722's on-screen caller id. (So it is compatible--could not confirm this prior to trying it myself.)
As for complaints from others about bad sound quality, please realize that the service will be as good as your internet connection. If you don't have a stable, strong connection -- do not bother with VOIP. And, DSL filters can interfere with the signal, so read up on that. And never, ever plug these adapters into telephone jacks that still have Telco lines connected to them outside -- you can short out your equipment.
I got the $9.95 a month for 3 months deal, and thereafter it will be $24.99 (approx. $32 with tax). I did not port my home telephone number because the Vonage site informed me it was not available, but I was able to search through loads of telephone numbers and pick one that was memorable. Yes, I am in it for 2 years or I will fax a $39.99 disconnect fee. But, as far as I concerned, Verizon violated me for years with its fees and nickel-and-diming for every feature and call. I have to say that I wanted to try Vonage when it first came out, but was hesitant. Since my office has had it for over 2 years now, I decided to just do it myself.
Besides the many features listed on the website, you have access to alpha features like Vonage Fax (free outgoing faxes through your PC) and Vonage Talk.
Also, others here have complained that your trial starts as soon as you order, even though you don't have your adapter yet -- but you immediately can make calls through your computer with a headset. They assign a temporary number if you are porting your own, and the service and online features are instantly accessible.
And, as for the disconnect fee of $39.95, it's still less than what your cell phone provider would charge, so what's the big deal? You can't have everything.
Oh, the adapter...forgot what I was reviewing! The adapter is great. You have an orange backlit screen that shows the date and whether you have missed calls. It has built in caller-id, and you can initiate a call-back right from the adapter itself (your home phone will ring to tell you it's calling the number back). It has some other features too, like calling weather and traffic for free, and you can call your voicemail too.
Highly recommended. If you want to try it, try to do so without porting your number (check if you can port it free after you're sure it works well for you.) Try it risk-free (but keep an eye on the calendar!).


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