What is quickly becoming one of the newest trends to hit gadgets of all types, the Sony Cybershot DSC-T300 features no hard button controls on the back of their camera. In their place is a larger, sleek touchscreen LCD that allows you to easily and swiftly perform all the functions that used to require hard buttons.
While some complain that they don’t like fingerprints on their screen, there is a very good upside to having no hard button controls – screen size. Because the entire back of the device is free for the screen, you can have twice the viewing real estate without having to increase the camera size.
If you’re looking into the new trend of touchscreens and think the Cybershot DSC-T300 might be the right camera for you, read on. Below is a review of the body, features, and image quality from the new Cybershot, as well as any issues and problems you should be aware of.
Body
Sony is trying hard to make their point and shoot Cybershots the latest in trendy cameras, and the T300 is no exception.
This camera is very thin, and can be slipped into any purchase, pocket, or backpack (though you may want to get a case for it). It weighs hardly anything at all, and features a sleek brushed metal case. The lens cover is mounted horizontally across the front of the camera, and slides up and down to turn the camera on and off. When the camera is off, the cover protects the lens from scratches and dust.
The entire back of the camera is covered with the LCD touchscreen, and it looks quite attractive.
Features
Obviously, the big feature here is the display. It measures in at a whopping 3.5″, and utilizes Sony’s Clear Photo LCD Plus. It is bright and clear and sharp, and will allow you to easily frame and analyze your shots. In addition, it makes utilizing the movie mode much easier.
The T300 is HDTV ready, so you can instantly enjoy your pictures and videos on a large, crisp screen. The camera comes with 15MB of internal memory, which will only be enough for a few pictures at the highest resolution (10-megapixels).
Like most Cybershots, the T300 has Face Detection technology, which means you never have to worry about your subjects face being blurry or the focus being elsewhere in the photo.
Other useful features include in-camera red eye reduction, in-camera retouching (you can add effects, crop, etc), ISO up to 3200, decorative in-camera ‘paint’, multi-resizing functions, Picture Motion Browser, and many, many more useful, fun features.
Image Quality
At 10 megapixels, you can get very nice prints up over 20″ in height. Because of the high resolution, smaller prints will look every sharp, crisp, and saturated, which means any noise present will also appear reduced – in effect, the photo quality will look higher because the detail is being squashed smaller.
With that said, all shots on this camera are very, very nice. It certainly isn’t a DSLR or prosumer, but it is not meant to be. Noise is low, saturation is accurate, and the shots are crisp. The anti-shake functions perfectly, and the in-camera re-touching will clean up any noise or blurs for you, and it does an excellent job.
Cons
The only cons are the learning curve that comes with a touchscreen. It can take a while to get used to flipping through menus and scrolling through photos using only your finger, and it can be a bit irritating at first. This, of course , isn’t Sony’s fault, but is instead the natural by-product of using an unfamiliar design.
Conclusion
This camera is very, very nice. The photos are excellent, the anti-shake will compesate for shaky hands, fast subjects can be photographed without fault, and the noise is very, very low.
Overall, if you’re looking for a small, thin, easy to use camera that does what you need it to when you need it to, you’ll likely be pleased with the Sony Cybershot DSC-T300.
By: Blair Mathis