Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T30 - Easy Camera Review

The Sony T30 is in Sony’s line of ultra-compact point-and-shoot digital cameras, and at just under an inch thick, it offers 7.2 megapixels and a host of trendy features. It has an optical image stabilization system, a 3-inch LCD screen, and a one-touch slide show button that plays pictures with background music.

The T30 takes a different approach to the lens design than other cameras: while most have telescoping lenses that come out of the camera body when in use, the T30’s lens is all inside the thin body. The lens cover is different too: it is in the form of a large panel that covers most of the front of the camera. Sliding this down exposes the lens and turns the camera on. This combination of lens and cover design would make it a good pick for klutzes; you are much less likely to damage the lens if you drop the T30 than a camera with a telescoping lens.

The back of the camera is dominated by the large, bright 3-inch LCD screen, which has 230,000 pixels and looks great with still images. It has a good angle of view and has a brightness control, but it looks less appealing when showing a live preview or playing back a movie: the motion is noticeably jerky, with the screen only being updated a handful of times per second, which could lead to lost shots.

The Sony Cyber-shot T30 takes decent movies at a resolution of up to 640 x 480 pixels, but to use this mode to its full advantage you’ll need to make sure you get a Memory Stick Pro Duo card: the cheaper Memory Stick Duo cards limit the frame rate to 16.6 frames per second.

Despite its thin profile, the T30 fits well into the hand, with the shutter and zoom controls falling under the index fingers. There are only a handful of controls on the back of the camera, so many options are only accessible through the rather complex on-screen menu. You have to go into the on-screen menu to change shooting mode, for instance, which takes a lot longer than twisting a dial. There are nine shooting modes available, including a high sensitivity mode which bumps the ISO sensitivity up to 1000 and works well when photographing in low light without the flash.

The shots taken by the T30 looked good, with reasonably accurate color and plenty of detail captured by the 7.2-megapixel sensor. Low light images showed a fair amount of noise (and the colors quickly faded as the light level diminished), but they were acceptable; this camera could be used to shoot images at an indoor party without using flash.

The Cyber-shot T30 is an attractive camera that shoots decent images. It has a slim design and is easy to use, but it comes at a big price. It originally retailed for $499, but can be found for a hundred dollars less online right now (which is still a lot!). There are cheaper cameras available that are only slightly larger, but the Sony T30 is still an attractive option if you’ve got the money.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T30 - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 349.73

Likes

- Large, bright 3 inch LCD screen - Optical image stabilization - Sleek, pocketable design - Sliding lens cover - Long battery life

Dislikes

- LCD preview is jerky - Limited manual controls - $499 retail price

Kodak EasyShare V603 Rating: N/A	Nikon Coolpix S5 Rating: 299.19	Olympus Stylus 720SW Rating: 290.11	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T9 Rating: N/A	Casio Exilim EX-Z70 Rating: N/A
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- 30 frames per second movie mode does not require expensive memory card - Kodak Perfect Touch image enhancement - Cheaper $299 retail price - 22 scene modes	- Pictmotion slideshows with 5 in-camera soundtracks can be saved to memory card - Cheaper $349 retail - One-touch portrait button activates face priority auto focus, red-eye reduction, and lighting compensation technology - 15 scene modes	- Waterproof to 10 ft - Shockproof from 5 ft - ISO goes up to 1600 - Cheaper $399 retail price - 23 scene modes including 3 underwater modes - Built-in help guide - Very sturdy metal body - Lots of in-camera editing effects	- Cheaper $399 retail price	- $249 retail price almost half the price of Sony! - Tons of scene modes - 0.78 inches thick
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- 3x zoom lens - Functional optical zoom while shooting movies - Video editing function - Same 230k LCD screen resolution	- Exposure compensation options - 3x non-extending zoom lens - Similar white balance presets - Same 230k LCD resolution	- 7.1-megapixel image sensor - 3x zoom lens - Slide show with music	- Same body design with sliding lens cover - Same recording modes - 58 MB internal memory - Carl Zeiss 3x lens - optical image stabilization - Slide shows with music - Same 230k screen resolution	- 7.2 megapixels - 3x lens
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- 6.1-megapixel image sensor - Smaller ISO range only to 400 at full resolution - Fewer white balance options - Digital image stabilization isn’t as effective - 32 MB internal memory - Smaller 2.5-inch LCD screen - Weak flash reaches only 8.5 ft	- 6.1-megpaixel image sensor - 2.5-inch LCD screen - Small flash produces uneven lighting - Manual ISO 50-400 options - Movie mode disables optical zoom - Electronic vibration reduction isn’t as effective as T30’s - 21 MB internal memory	- 2.5-inch low resolution LCD screen - Movies only record a choppy 15 fps - 19.1 MB of internal memory - Only one soundtrack with slide show, and it’s worse than any elevator music you’ve ever heard	- Manual ISO only to 640 - 6 megapixels - 2.5-inch LCD screen - Less efficient battery gets 240 shots per charge - Flash extends only to 9 ft	- Manual ISO limited to 400 - 2.5-inch LCD screen with 115k - 8.3 MB of internal memory - 200-shot battery life