Camera
Although the W580i was designed primarily as a music phone, the handset
comes equipped with a 2.0-megapixel camera and camcorder. While high-end
phones on the market are now offering cameras that shoot up to 5.0-megapixels,
a 2.0-megapixel lens is standard fare for mid-range phones like the W580i.
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As previously mentioned, the W580i does not feature side key activation,
a function found on many other phones that provides quick access to the
phone. To trigger the shutter, users have to go into the main menu, which
is time consuming and defeats the purpose of snapping impromptu photos.
One way to get around this issue is to set the phone as a smart key on the
circular dial.
The W580i's camera has a 4x digital zoom and shoots in a 1600 x 1200
px resolution, not quite print quality, but good enough for sending to friends
and displaying on a computer.
In well-lit environments, the camera produces vivid photos with good
depth of field that look good on the phone's bright screen. However, because
the camera lacks a flash, pictures taken in low light settings come out
dark and videos appear grainy.
The W580i's lens captures photos in three sizes: 2.0-megapixel, 1.3-megapixel
and VGA (640 x 480 px). Shooters can choose between normal and fine picture
quality in the settings menu and take panorama pictures using the camera's
internal guide that lines up the series of shots using a ghost image of
the previous shot. Other camera functions include a self-timer, night mode,
black and white and negative effects, a choice of saving to the phone's
internal memory or a memory card and white balance. Four different shutter
sounds offer a variety of cool effects for snapping pictures.
The phone's volume keys transform into brightness control when the camera
turns on. When settings are changed to the lowest resolution (640 x 480
px), the top and bottom buttons on the phone's navigation wheel will zoom
the camera up to 4x.
Once a photo is captured, users can edit using the "Photo DJ" application.
Editing tools include light balance, brightness and contrast, red-eye removal
and rotate canvas. Users can also add an effect such as cartoon, negative
or frosted glass. The phone comes with a USB cable that can be connected
to a PictBridge compatible printer for on-the-spot prints.
The camcorder produces high-quality video in two sizes that can be played
back on the phone's screen or sent via Bluetooth to a phone or computer.
Video shot in high-quality mode (176 x 144 px) can be saved and transferred
to a computer. Lower-quality (128 x 96 px) can be attached to messages and
sent to contacts. The camcorder takes up to 30 seconds of lower-quality
videos for multimedia messaging. The camcorder shoots 15 frames per second
and records in .3GP format.
Like the camera, the camcorder's settings menu includes a night mode
and special effects. The "Video DJ" editor enables users to run a number
of videos together with other images and music to create a longer film.
Shooters can turn the microphone off to create silent films or shoot in
black and white. While multimedia videos have a 30-second time limit, high
quality video can run as long as memory permits.
Photos can be saved to the phone's memory or to the external memory stick,
which accepts Memory Stick Micro cards holding up to 2 GB and is compatible
with cameras, PCs and other devices, making it easier to transfer and manage
files for future use.
Downloading video is also an option for W580i users who want to save
streamed video on the phone's memory and view it later on the Walkman.
While the phone's camera works great for multimedia messaging and adds
a component of fun and spontaneity to the W580i, the 2.0-megapixel camera
shouldn't be considered a replacement for a digital phone. While the camera
is a convenient way to send spontaneous snaps to friends and family and
enhances the phone's multimedia capability, serious photographers will want
a separate camera capturing for print-quality shots.
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