Sony W690

Sony W690 is Sony's Small Sensor Compact camera first announced on February of 2012. The camera features a 16MP, CCD 1/2.3" sized sensor and has a full resolution of 4608 x 3456.

The W690 is scored #77 out of 261 in Small Sensor Compact cameras & over-all #881 out of 1465 for digital cameras in our database. Please check our Smart camera finder to get camera listings based on your custom requirements.

Below is a chart of various factors used in the rating system.

The Sony W690 is part of a family of cameras. You can see the detailed range below.

You can see the W690 from different angles in the gallery below.

Below is a selection of good and bad points of the Sony W690 based on criterias that are normally regarded as crucial in a camera.

The Sony W690 features the BIONZ chip. The sensor size in the Sony W690 is 6.17mm x 4.55mm (1/2.3"). The 28 mm² sensor has the capability to capture 4608 x 3456 pixels at aspect ratios of 4:3 and 16:9. The camera has Image Stabilization (Optical). Optical stabilization is better than digital stabilization as the latter can lead to cropping.

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The CCD sensor has 16 megapixels and includes a native ISO range of 80 - 3200. Unfortunately, RAW files are not supported which means that you have less room to maneuver in post.

The image below displays the W690's sensor dimensions when compared to other common sizes. The W690 sensor has a crop factor of 5.8 and is outlined in green.

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To get an understanding of different aspect ratios, you can refer to the visual below.

Sony W690 weighs around 0.31 lbs (142 grams or 5.01 oz) & the over all size of the camera is 94mm x 56mm x 22mm (3.7" x 2.2" x 0.9"). The weight of average Small Sensor Compact camera is 174 grams so the Sony W690 is less heavy compared with its rivals.

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Below is a photo of the Sony W690 besides a soft drink so you're able to get a feel for its scale.

The top view below will highlight the button design on the W690.

The W690 comes with a built in lens and a focal range of 25-250mm making it a 10.0 x zoom which may not be ideal nevertheless it will probably be helpful in certain conditions.

At the widest 25mm, the lens has an aperture of f3.3 and that's kind of slow and not good for low light occasions and you will likely struggle to get a shallow depth of field. You will probably also need to up the ISO resulting in noisy pictures. For the tele end, 250mm is terrific zoom and comes with f5.9 making it pretty sluggish and you might need to utilize slow shutter speeds.

The W690 has the following connectivity:

• USB Yes

Digital cameras that come with NFC and / or Bluetooth support are able to be controlled wirelessly with smartphones. You will be able to send pictures and at times alter settings with no need to connect directly to the camera.

Some applications even allow a Liveview and release the shutter in case you are not close to the camera. If the camera includes a HDMI port, it can easily be attached to an external screen. Nearly all cameras will allow you to charge the battery pack with the USB socket.

The highest possible video quality in the Sony W690 is 1280 x 720 and you can capture in MPEG-4 format. 720p is terrible for today's standards. You really should shoot for a minimum FUll HD quality for good video. The camera does not offer a microphone and / or headphone socket which means you get no control over the sound. It is probably best to shop for another camera if you want good sound for your video clips.

There is no environment proofing for the Sony W690 so you need to be careful in rainy or dusty conditions.

The Sony W690 features a 3" fixed display boasting a resolution of 230k dots.

Unfortunately the display is not a touch screen.

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The ViewFinder specifications for Sony W690 are below:

• ViewFinder None

Viewfinders are quite handy during bright outdoor conditions which can easily make the camera display washed out and hard to see.

Sony W690 has the capability to shoot continuously at 1.0 frames per second. The maximum shutter speed is 1/1600 seconds.

Sony W690 has only built in flash with no external flash support.

Sony W690 has just Contrast Based Auto Focus & doesn't have Phase Detect Auto Focus. Phase Detection autofocusing is more snappier and exact compared with Contrast Based autofocusing. The camera features Face detect which can be handy for portrait photography.

It also includes Tracking Auto Focus for subjects on the move. Sony W690 lacks manual focusing. Manual focusing is useful during low light or you want to have more precise focusing control.

The battery life (NP-BN) for the Sony W690 is fashioned to last for 220 shutters according to the CIPA measurements making it about average when compared to it's rivals. The average Small Sensor Compact camera battery life is 241. Fujifilm X30 features the best (470) battery life within this group of cameras.

Here is a number of Small Sensor Compact cameras which have the best battery life:

ModelVisualizeBattery LifeRAWNFCBluetooth

Fujifilm X30
W690 vs Fujifilm X30470 yesnono

Casio EX-10
W690 vs EX-10455 yesnono

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Ricoh GR Digital IV
W690 vs GR Digital IV390 yesnono

Canon G12
W690 vs G12370 yesnono

Canon G16
W690 vs G16360 yesnono

The following chart provides a outline of the Sony W690 for various forms of photography. To read more, scroll to the specific paragraph below.

The Sony W690 has a points tally of 34 which is lousy, meaning that it is just not very good for portrait images. Photographing portraits favors heavily to sensor specs, RAW support in addition to the option to utilize off-camera flash.

Coming in at a moderate rating of 57, the Sony W690 is reasonably appropriate for street photography. A good street photography camera offers a good balance of picture quality plus portability.

A lousy sports photography points total of 40 indicates the Sony W690 is just not very good for taking photos of sports. A camera needs very good focusing plus fast shutter speeds for sports photography.

Portability is very critical in choosing a camera for travel. All things considered, the Sony W690 gets a very good 68 for a travel camera which makes it a fine pick to buy for your travels.

For anybody planning to choose a digital camera for landscape photographs, the most important factor will be image quality. The Sony W690 and it's lousy grade of 43 as a landscape camera is just not very good amongst it's competition.

A camera for vlogging preferably should come with a articulating display screen, microphone port and preferably IBIS. Taking all things into account, the Sony W690 is just not very good as a vlog camera as it comes to a lousy score of 31.

If you are shopping for replacements to the W690, here is a list of the top ranked cameras that fall under the class of Small Sensor Compact.

The chart followed below offers you a bird's eye view of the W690 compared to it's top scoring rivals suggested previously.

Here are a handful of other cameras you may consider as alternate options. To check out a extensive comparison, visit the "compare" link.