So I got myself a 4GB Sony Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo for my Sony Cybershot DSC-WX1!

The WX1 is a fun camera – I brought it to a meeting as a ‘happiness indicator’. I turned on Face Detect and Smile Shutter – the more smiles, the more pictures the camera takes, and the more happy it was!

Now you may ask why a slim camera – honestly, there’s no point in having an in-between-sized camera, for me – you can have a Panasonic LX-3 which has PASM modes but is not pocketable, and it doesn’t quite reach dSLR quality yet. If I wanted to go for social events and not bring my dSLR, I’d want it to be as small as possible. The WX1 (and previously, W190, which I sold) does it for me.

PASM modes are honestly pointless on a point-and-shoot camera. Too much time fussing over the aperture to use makes for a missed moment. I loved how I could just pull this camera out of my pocket and take the shot. Admittedly, I use this camera in P mode, but as with all modern cameras they tend to pick the brightest aperture possible, in this case, F2.4.

Here’s one at ISO6400 (ISO1600 boosted 1 stop, then the red and blue channels pulled 1 stop, as the original shot was very greenish.) The WX1 has a backlit Exmor-R sensor, meaning the circuitry for the sensor is behind the sensor thus letting in more light.

But enough of the pixel-peeping! Here’s one discovery I had – the WX1 makes an excellent crotch-cam! I just tied it to my lanyard, set Smile Shutter on, activated forced flash and hid it under my jacket – I then opened my jacket like a flasher and thrusted the camera towards the subject!

Yes it is hilariously fun!

Of course that is, if they notice the camera; if not they might look upwards (at you) instead.

Surprise!

Bored while waiting for lunch? Here’s something fun you can do with the center coaster…

Put the camera on the coaster, and use Sweep Panorama while rolling the coaster!

Smile Shutter can be triggered by pictures as well!

We also turned the coaster to get food – at that point the camera would be pointing at different people. Fun!

Okay, it didn’t trigger this. I had to press it manually. This is the 120mm (35mm equivalent) telephoto end, far longer than the Panasonic LX-3’s 60mm.

It goes wide; 24mm (35mm equivalent) at F2.4!

Ah, I love wide-angle macro.

Ah, I love wide-angle group shots from above.

Smile Shutter is triggered by anything white entering the mouth area.

Some have said the WX1 has muddy color – this is because there is no Vivid setting on the camera! It tends to desaturate at ISO1600 and above. However it is still very usable at ISO1600 for a point-and-shoot! There is a decent amount of latitude to pull the mids and add contrast, as well as add saturation.

I pulled up the shadows a fair bit on this, from the JPG files. Nope this camera does not do RAW.

Generally, I’d say that if the scene and lighting is dull, the pictures turn out the same way. Here it is unedited, and depicting the mood I saw.

Of course, shoot a sunny colorful scene and you’ll be blessed with bright colors!

Mmmm pepperoncinis!

I couldn’t find much practical use for 10 FPS yet, except to capture the exact moment when he discovers the vinegarish kick that pepperoncinis have to offer!

Again, I am loving the stealthy ability to grab a quick shot.

Sweep Panorama means almost nothing is too wide.

Above is my Sony Alpha 900 with Peleng 8mm F3.5 circular fisheye; below is the WX1 using right-to-left Sweep Panorama. Note that it gets a sweet 180 degree angle of view. This is in Standard mode – Wide mode gets wider! Strangely you’d think that Wide mode would just crop pixels off the top and bottom, but it seems to allow just a bit more in the sweep arc.

Above is my Sony Alpha 900 with Peleng 8mm F3.5 circular fisheye with 2x teleconverter for a 16mm F7.1 diagonal fisheye effect; below is the WX1 using bottom-to-top Sweep Panorama, turned 90 degrees left so that it is effectively right-to-left Sweep Panorama. Here it is not quite as wide as the diagonal fisheye (180 degrees from top-left to bottom-right corner.) Also note the much superior dynamic range of the A900 (which it is famous for, anyway.)