The 3-megapixel Sony DSC-S75 is an excellent all-around deal. Here's a camera packed with both automatic and manual features, good image quality, and an impressive rechargeable battery pack that keeps you shooting when lesser cameras would have you swapping batteries. However, it's a shame that Sony skimps by including an 8MB Memory Stick, which can store only five low-compression JPEGs. Otherwise, we have relatively few complaints with this easy-to-use and truly impressive camera. Smart and solid
The DSC-S75 is a solidly built and well-balanced piece of digital hardware, employing a design that is far more like that of a traditional 35mm camera than that of a modern digital camera. This design serves it well, with most features and settings being easily accessible without scrolling throught lots of menus or pushing multiple buttons. We especially like the command dial on top or bottom, which allows you to select a shooting mode from such settings as Auto, Manual, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Scene (which allows you to select specific automatic settings to compensate for a given situation, such as twilight), and MPEG Movie mode.
One design feature that we don't like is the four-way rocker button used to control the menus. Navigating through the camera's various settings and functions is generally intuitive, but the rocker button sometimes makes it frustrating. It's just too easy to accidentally scroll to one side when you're attempting to push the center of the button to make a selection, thus increasing the possibility of occasional blunders.
This camera certainly has plenty of settings to choose from. Some other cameras in this price range offer just 2 or 3 aperture settings in Aperture Priority mode, but the DSC-S75 offers 13 different apertures from which to choose (f-2.0 to f-8)--probably more than you're likely to need, given the minuscule variations available within that range. There are 40 shutter-speed options in Shutter Priority mode as well (1/1,000 to 8 seconds), so you will have a great deal of control and command of your shots.
For those who don't want to do so much thinking and tinkering, the automatic settings generally produce good results, with a couple of exceptions. We found that the autoexposure setting doesn't perform well in low-light situations, in part because the slowest shutter speed offered in that mode is only 1/30 second. The only warning you'll have from the camera of an underexposed shot is a rather dark preview on the LCD. We also found the automatic white-balance setting to be a bit unreliable with overcast daylight or when using the flash, sometimes producing a slight color cast and some chromatic errors.
Power and beauty
Sony's proprietary InfoLithium rechargeable battery is one of the most impressive we've seen. Not only does it deliver on its promise of more than two hours of use per charge, but the camera's display also tells you in minutes exactly how much battery power is left, instead of offering a cryptic battery pictogram gauge.
The DSC-S75 also produces sharp images with good detail in both highlights and shadows and has very little noise. We found color reproduction to be very saturated but generally natural and balanced, especially in sunlight. Though we found it helpful to adjust the white balance in overcast and flash-lit photos, the flash performance was admirable, producing good exposures at a variety of distances.
The Sony DSC-S75 has a lot to recommend it, especially considering its performance and dropping street price. Of course, you'll want to tack on another $50 or so to the price if you want a Memory Stick worthy of this camera's resolution. Even so, this camera still offers a lot for the money. Compare the Olympus Camedia C-3040 Zoom if you're looking for a solid, sub-$500 3-megapixel camera.
