Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5 Easy Digital Camera Review

The T5 comes in four stylish colors, some of which are only available through the Sony website, and all of which highlight the style emphasized design of this model. The camera is a mere 3.69 x 2.36 x 0.8 inches thick, and the non-extending Carl Zeiss lens is masked by a rectangular, vertically sliding polished silver lens cover, which is far more durable than delicate little automatic lens covers. The lack of extending features and harsh corners will assure this camera’s portability, but the flip side is that the T5 lacks any sort of grip. Also, the zoom toggle and overall control design feels cramped and not conducive to easy control, even if the controls themselves are basic and uncomplicated. There is no viewfinder, but the clear and massive LCD is more than adequate.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5 comes with a number of preset scene modes like Landscape, Beach, and Fireworks, but there’s not nearly the plethora of options found on the Nikon Coolpix S2 or within the "My Colors" image effects settings on the Canon PowerShot SD500. The user expecting overt manual controls should look elsewhere since the DSC-T5 only provides access to EV Compensation, a truncated preset Manual Focus, 3 Metering modes, and ISO settings between 64 and 400. However, those looking for a portable snapshoot alternative will be well served with the camera’s fully automatic controls, which include shutter speed, aperture, and white balance.

The T5 has strong color reproduction accuracy with only slight over-saturation of colors throughout the spectrum and an exceptionally high score of "very good" with an 84% usage of the 5.1 effective MP CCD. The noise levels were better in auto mode and turned in lower scores for manual mode, although in general this camera performed surprisingly well.

The Cyber-shot T5’s movie mode allows for the user to record video at a frame rate of 16.6 fps and at 30 fps if the user is willing to put up the cash for an additional Sony brand memory card. It records at frame resolutions of 640 x 480 and 160 x 120, although the 160 x 120 resolution records at a laughable and ignorable 8.3 fps. Nothing like video with 2/3 of the information missing.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5 produced speed and timing results that were impressive for its class. The start to first shot times were a quick 1.33 seconds while the shot to shot time was 0.699 seconds which while not astounding, isn't prohibitively slow. And finally the shutter to shot time of 0.29 seconds is fast enough to faithfully capture most scenes without detrimental lag.

The T5 ultimately promises a stylish physical aesthetic, accurate color reproduction, and low noise images when not shooting low light conditions. However, the manual controls are minimal and exterior controls are undersized and hardly easy to activate. If you’re looking for a portable point-and-shoot camera that can fit in your pocket and yield nice looking snapshots, the T5 is just the camera. Just be prepared to but a bigger memory card to get a decent movie mode.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5 - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 303.86

Likes

- Slim and sleek metal body - Long lasting battery - 2.5-inch, 230K pixel anti-glare LCD looks amazing - Easy to use

Dislikes

- Weak specular flash creates unflattering shadows - Flash not on lens axis - Lens is slow and poorly placed - Limited aperture and shutter speed options in low light (even when controlled by camera) - Tiny buttons - In-camera metering and exposure communication is not optimal – often resulting in blurry or furry pictures

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5 Compared to...

Nikon Coolpix S2 Rating:275.20	Sony Cybershot DSC-T33 Rating:	Fujifilm Finepix Z1 Rating:266.95	Konica Minolta DiMAGE X1 Rating:	Canon Powershot SD450 Rating:
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
-Shot to shot and burst mode times are marginally faster  -Manual White Balance control  - Larger overall automatic shutter speed range -Many more custom preset scene mode options	- Larger shutter speed range - No sliding lens cover to catch dirt and smudge	- A manual ISO scale of 64-800 ISO - Durable monocoque design - Slightly more slender frame - 4 second to 1/1000th of a second shutter speed - 30 fps at 640x480 res. in movie mode - Lower noise levels in manual ISO mode -Faster start up to first shot times - Faster shutter to shot time	- Anti shake technology - 8 MP CCD - Larger shutter speed range - 20 fps at 640x480 movie mode (standard) - Larger maximum image size	- Maximum Aperture of f/2.8 - My colors/digital effects mode - 15 preset shooting modes - 30 fps at 640x480 res in movie mode - 60 fps fast mode at 320x240 res - Larger and manually controllable Shutter speed range -Manual White Balance - Photo effect options
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
-Sliding lens cover hatch -EV Compensation scale and steps  -Audio recording -Direct Print capabilities -5 MP CCD  -Comparable  frame size  -Lack of viewfinder  -Struggling with low light conditions  -3x optical zoom lens  -2.5 inch LCD screen	-5.1 MP CCD - 32 MB of included memory - Direct Print Capabilities -3x optical zoom lens - 5 area AF and a 5 step manual focus structure - White balance preset options - 2.5 inch/230K pixel LCD screen -Picture effects -Mono audio recording  -Exposure comp scale  - Auto aperture range -Price (MSRP)	-5.1 MP CCD - Non extending lens - White balance presets/no manual controls - Exposure Compensation scale - Maximum aperture of f/3.5 -No viewfinder  -Direct Printing options - Capable of recording audio -3x optical zoom lens	- Frame size - 4.8 ounces - No viewfinder -Max aperture of f/3.5 - +/-2 EV scale with 1/3 EV steps - Color modes - Audio recording capabilities - No manual white balance - 3x optical zoom lens is non-protruding - Direct Print capabilities	- ISO scale is slightly more expansive at 50-400 ISO - Three metering mode options - 5 MP CCD - Self timer - Exposure compensation scale - Direct Print capabilities - Comparable body size - 3x optical zoom lens - Audio recording capabilities
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
-lower pixel count on LCD -Higher MSRP  -Shutter to shot lag time -More inaccuracy with color reproduction -Only 12 MB of internal memory -Slower start up to first shot times -Res and sharpness problems -Frame rate in movie mode is slightly slower  -No manual focus options  -Only multi-meter setting	-Not available in eye catching colors  - less protection of delicate and small lens -Fewer ISO scale steps and a more truncated scale  - One less preset mode - Smaller (and this is small) flash range -Slightly larger camera body	-Higher MSRP  - Only one frame color -Slightly heavier  - 64 section metering mode and no other settings - No manual focus settings -2.5 inch, 115 K pixel LCD screen - Worse color reproduction accuracy - Fewer custom image presets - Res/Sharpness is weaker -Higher noise levels in auto ISO mode - Slower burst mode - Camera shows fingerprints and smudges	- Smaller ISO scale - Only multi segment and spot metering - 2.5 inch/118 K pixel LCD screen - Flash is way off axis from lens -Slighty higher price	-Blockier frame is less "style" more "function" - Pointless viewfinder (unless out of batteries) - Slightly heavier camera body - 2.5 inch, 115 K pixel LCD screen