Review: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2

At most family gatherings I am the designated photographer. For the most recent event I came packing the DSC-T2 because of its ease-of- use, the photo-sharing programs and massive internal memory. I wanted a camera that I could hand off to other family members and get in the picture for a change. The T2 is made with a task like this in mind, with included programs like Photo Sharing, Favorites, Albums, Sharemark, and Scrapbook. They’re a big help when running a slide show or uploading videos and pictures to the internet and for storage, retrieval and tagging.

This attractive compact camera features a sliding lens cover with a touch screen. The touch screen is a handy shooting feature you can use to focus on a particular subject. On playback the touch screen can zoom in on an object or person. The LCD touch screen is 2.7 inches and the lens type is Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar. The T2 has 4GB of internal memory; in plain speak, room for 1,000 massive 8-megapixel pictures. There is also face detection, red eye reduction with image stabilization and the optical zoom is 3X. The T2 is truly pocket size at 2.5-inches by 0.8-inches by 3.5-inches weighing 5.4 ounces

The T2 has a fast start-up; from power-on to taking the first shot it takes less than 2 seconds. Focus also is fast (depending on the light) at around one second (give or take). The time between shots is a little over a second without the flash and about 2.5 seconds with the flash. Burst mode averages around two seconds. The internal 3X optical zoom is pretty slow, taking almost three seconds to extend and focus. The face detection works well and you can use the touch screen to indicate the primary face. The Smile Shutter mode is an interesting feature; it pauses the shot until all the detected faces smile.

The 4GB of internal memory is massive and sounds great, but there is a caveat. If you want to use the Memory Stick you can’t until you use up all the internal memory. I’m not sure I understand Sony’s thinking on that one. A better solution would be to let you choose using either the Memory Stick or internal memory. There is no docking station for the T2. Instead it has a dongle converter (included) that connects to a USB cable, which I feel isn’t a good solution. The dongle is proprietary; if you lose it you have a big problem because it isn’t easy to replace. Also, USB transfers are usually slower than docking stations or even card readers. This definitely detracts from the camera’s appeal.

The touch screen isn’t as responsive as I’d like. The icons are very small and there were times when I thought the function was frozen and wound up touching it twice. Pictures are pretty good and the automatic white balance and optical image stabilizer works very well. From the picture quality to the massive storage and uploading features, I am very pleased with this camera. The overall performance is pretty good, above average. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T2 is an excellent choice for holiday photos. Be advised that the Sony T20 and the Sony T200 are very similar cameras with slightly different features and price points. I would look at all three of these cameras and decide which one is best for you. Remember that “Sony does it their way” and with the DSC-T2 this saying holds true. Not that it’s a bad thing, but from memory cards to engineering, Sony, marches to its own drummer sometimes odd specifications. Is this a good thing? That depends on who you ask.