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Sony Ericsson Cybershot c905 Review

After about two weeks with the Sony Ericsson Cybershot c905, I have had a fair appreciation of the camera phone. Check out my full review below and the previous unboxing photos I took.

More of a Camera, Less of a Phone.
Sony Ericsson

The construction of the phone itself gives you an impression that the device was built as a camera rather than a phone. That’s not saying that this phone is not well-equipped — WiFi, GPS, and 3G/HSDPA are all present so I give it high ranks on connectivity. There’s Bluetooth, FM tuner and DLNA support so you can send your photos wirelessly from your phone to the TV via Wi-Fi.

This is the first time I ever used a Sony-Ericsson phone but I’m impressed with the UI and the very responsive menu. There’s much eye candy actually but I’m surprised that didn’t slowed down the phone a bit.

Pushing the Megapixel Limit.

se c905

If my memory serves me right, it was Sony Ericsson that first announced a camera phone in the 8.1 megapixel range.

You can set the resolution between VGA, 3MP, 5MP and 8MP but at full picture size, a single photo can reach over 2MB (3264x2448pixels). The lens module size is 5.91mm and has a large fixed aperture of f/2.8. The ISO is rated between 80-320 but my Adobe Lightroom reads an ISO 64 on some of the pictures.

Dedicated Camera Functions.

se c905A lot of the external buttons of the phone are dedicated to the camera function. On the right side of the device, you will find the zoom function, switch between video and photo, a dedicated play button and a large circular shoot button.

The buttons at the front side of the phone also doubles for camera function shortcuts — exposure, focus, timing and flash as well as the center shoot button. On the top corner, just beside the earpiece, two more buttons control the preset scenes and shoot modes.

Most of these buttons are back lit so you can easily find them even on low light or shooting at night.

Powerful Flash.

Haven’t seen any phone with as much flash output as the SE c905. The camera lens is encased in an aluminum housing along with two flash sources – a small circular one with 4 LED lights for taking videos and a bigger Xenon flash for taking photos.

I took several shots at daylight, at night as well a controlled environment using my DIY lightbox (more sample shots to follow).

se c905 se c905 se c905

No alterations were made on the pictures except for a resize and high JPEG compression. Without the flash, the picture quality becomes a little grainy on low light. You can zoom in up to 16x but resolution on that end isn’t pretty — that’s just cropping out the image but the 8.1MP helps even out the quality. There are many other bells and whistles that came with the camera functions but I might ran out of space if I list them all down.

se c905 se c905

The phone comes with a 2GB Memory Stick Micro (M2) and an external USB adapter so you can just plug it in and hook up to your PC for easy file and photo transfers.

SE c905

All-in-all, I’d call this a solid camera phone and I’m sure Sony-Ericsson fans will love this model. I’m not sure though if the price tag of Php28,000 when it comes out later this month will appeal to many.

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Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

55 Responses

  1. Avatar for grace grace says:

    how much is this phone?

  2. Avatar for Mark Alcaraz Mark Alcaraz says:

    @ Juztin88

    I had the very same problem… What I did was, as soon as I got the phone back from the service center, I immediately sold it. You said that you plan on getting a Satio… I would suggest against it. Satio has a LOT of software problems which unfortunately, haven’t been addressed by SE.

  3. Avatar for Juztin888 Juztin888 says:

    Beware to Sony’s C905 owners, there is definitely a problem with it’s earpiece! I had it fixed twice, and the problem still occurred. So I have to use the speaker phone while making a call, what a hassle! I had to get it jumped by a technician…and still the problem came back! i take of my phone really well, never fell or whatsoever. There are some reviews regarding the problem of the earpiece of this model on the net that i reviewed. I can’t bring it to Sony ‘coz the warrantys’ fried, so i’m stuck with it. Not I’m planning to get the Sony Ericsson Satio, hehehe:) Hope i the reviews willn be good and no defects for the Satio, i’ll check the reviews…

  4. Avatar for Mark Alcaraz Mark Alcaraz says:

    @MrLeche

    I used to own a k700 a few years back… It was a good phone… I had a problem with the rubber cover at the bottom but other than that, the phone’s quite decent. I’ve mishandled it a couple of times and it didn’t even break. I’ve been changing phones probably about every year since the 3210 came out. Most of the phones I bought were made by Nokia and a few by SE. The C905 is by far the most problematic phone I’ve had. Sure it doesn’t scratch easily and it feels solid when you hold it, but the earpiece and keypad problem is unacceptable. Those two are the most important aspects of a phone. Hell, that’s what makes it a phone. haha! If those two fail, then all I have is a camera. A good camera but wouldn’t compete with the cameras of today.

    If you want to buy a new phone I suggest the X10 that will be coming out soon. It has the potential to be a really really good phone. It has 4″ capacitive touch screen, android OS, & the camera I think is 8mp (not sure though)… Check it out when you have the time. =)

  5. Avatar for MrLeche MrLeche says:

    @ Mark Alcaraz

    At least software problems can be resolved by fw. just a few fw updates until it’s perfect but with the c905? My wife using it for 13months now, but just came back from it’s last replacement last august, and it’s running superb for 6 mos. Yep, just like a spare tire. The last replacement made the keypad tougher to press though I guess made it a little sturdier.

    SE’s never been this way, even on ericsson days, the line ups of t10, gh688, a1018, then t68, t610, k700i, k750i, and w800i. naka ilang taon din sa’kin and my relatives on those models. Bumped, dropped, rolled over, name it! But with my X1 & the c905? never been scratched, pressed, nor bumped, treated like a raw egg. it’s not worth it.

  6. Avatar for Mark Alcaraz Mark Alcaraz says:

    @MrLeche

    I had the same problems with mine… It’s fun at first but once the defects starts to manifest it’s frustrating, wouldn’t you agree? My phone’s been with the service center for 2 months now… It’s very very VERY unnerving. Now I’m just waiting for them to return it to me so that I could get rid of the damn thing. I’m planning to replace it with a Nokia e72. Its camera is not as good as the c905 but at least it’s very reliable and sturdy.

    Anyway… To all SE C905 owners out there (and to those planning to buy it) I read an article about a certain company in the United States recalled all c905 and Satio phones due to the C905’s faulty hardware and Satio’s faulty firmware. It seems SE is desperate to compete with the market that they didn’t put much thought on their products. I just wish the X10 would save the company from this embarrassment.

  7. Avatar for MrLeche MrLeche says:

    98% of the replies are positive. but my wife had the phone first hand 30,999 SE trinoma. dec. 2008. It had tons of repairs na if you compute your fare or gasoline, you can already buy a cheap nokia or se phone. first off, the earpiece is crappy a lot of uk users replace it every time. (nevr happened to us though). second, the dreaded flex cable is so easy to deteriorate on wear and tear. Even if you don’t have a habit of sliding in and out of your phone, the slider wares down the cable inside that makes the keypad malfunction, thus making the phone malfunction, ang dami naming balik. Altough slide phone are often have these problems, c905 tops them all.

    Satio would be a very good alternative, since it doesn’t slide in or out. (or does it?). Hay naku, c905 drops from 30,999 to ewan ko kung magkano na lang, but this isn’t good buy for a superb camera feature that wouldn’t surpass the packaged dissappointments.

    Yes, for us pinoys, our hard works should be rewarded at least 3 years of what we paid for. nde 3 weeks or 3 months. I’m a loyal SE. but do not cover it’s weakness. sheez, I haven’t even started to talk about my X1.

  8. Avatar for Mark Alcaraz Mark Alcaraz says:

    I take back what I wrote earlier. I’m switching back to Nokia. I’ve read and heard that Satio has many software problems as well…

  9. Avatar for Mark Alcaraz Mark Alcaraz says:

    I made a comment/review earlier. After 4 months of using the phone, the earpiece stopped working and the keypad started to loose it’s tactile feedback as well. It’s been with SE for exactly a month now and they still haven’t started repairing it. They said that the parts still isn’t available. I used to love this phone but now i’m just waiting for it to be fixed so that I can trade it in for the new SE Satio.

    For you guys who are still thinking on buying this phone… I’d say go ahead IF you’re willing to take the risk that the unit you’ll buy won’t malfunction after a few months of use. I think the next best thing to this phone (considering the price range and camera quality) is the Nokia N82.

    For those asking which phones are capable of opening and (on selected models only) editing office documents, go with Nokia Nseries and/or Eseries phones. SE Satio can also do the job (because it makes use of a symbiam firmware)

  10. Avatar for x0x0 x0x0 says:

    magkano na po ngayon ang isang SE c905 i like the features pati yung slim sizes niya LOVE it

  11. Avatar for Peterpan Peterpan says:

    Good camera,but the problems difficult to connect to computer to make internet.needs more setting adjacement.

  12. Avatar for Edward Edward says:

    the WIfi is problematic, and after a quick software upgrade, now the GPS… Why can’t they make it more durable like they used to, which is one of the reason I stop being a Nokia user.

  13. Avatar for migz migz says:

    se c905..though i like it alot…even though i haven’t purchased one yet…im having second thoughts about getting one for myself…
    these are my reasons why i’m having second thoughts
    1st. from the reactions of the other guys on the review of c905
    2nd. complaints…this phone gets alot of complaint..faulty keypad…earpiece malfunction..screensaver malfunctions..and etc.
    3rd.they say that the 8.1 mp ain’t really 8.1 mp compared to digital cameras…

    please help me decide if im going to get one or not

  14. Avatar for coppergate coppergate says:

    hi! I need a phone where I can view and EDIT my MSWORD and EXCEL files. What phone can you recommend?thanks!

  15. Avatar for nicky nicky says:

    sira c905 ko cra ung navey key na down kpg press down ngeexit.. kahirap pa nman mgpagawa ng SE.. mahina ba talaga slide panel nun? guys give me some advise or something kung my prob din kau katulad ng sakin.. tnx

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