Sony DPP EX-50

A fantastic photo printer

Month Reviewed: November 2004
Verdict: 9
URL: www.sonystyle.com

We’ll admit it: Sony’s DPP EX-50 surprised us. We thought printer powerhouses Canon and Epson would kick butt and take names. Instead, Sony’s EX-50 was our favorite of the bunch. Its output was the best in terms of detail, which is no shocker as it’s spec’d at 403dpi, which is about 25 percent higher than the Canon CP-200 or Olympus P-10. While the naked eye can’t discern the difference in detail level, it’s evident when viewing extremely fine objects under a loupe.

But even more than the higher resolution, we loved the EX-50’s realistic output of flesh tones. In test prints of human subjects, we generally found the EX-50’s output far more pleasing than that of the Canon or Olympus models. We say generally because in a few instances, the EX-50 actually output a little too much red.

The EX-50 also places first in terms of feature set. It boasts the Sony-mandated Memory Stick Pro port as well as a Compact Flash slot for printing directly from media. Like the other three printers here, a port also supports direct printing via PictBridge, a standard that allows the direct printing of images from a digital camera. The EX-50 is alone in offering TV support, which allows you to plug the printer into a TV through a simple composite connector and use the screen to preview and select the images you want printed from the memory cards.

One ding against the EX-50 is its inability to use the onboard media reader to copy photos to your PC. With the Epson PictureMate, inserting a CF or Memory Stick gives you access to the media card from your Windows desktop. The EX-50 doesn’t offer this functionality. But this is a minor nag, and given the EX-50’s excellent output, it’s one you can easily overlook. --Gordon Mah Ung

+ 35mm film: Most pleasing flesh tones and highest resolution of the bunch.

- 110mm film: Output is a little too warm on occasion.

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