Sony CyberShot DSC-T2 Review By Shaun Marin
	Product Details We clicked with: The design The on-board storage The ease of use The fast response times Imaging quality Shots in the dark: Some softness Some barrel distortion

Sony's CyberShot DSC-T2 is a very unusual camera, indeed. Normally, we talk about cameras with a pointless amount of internal memory, kind of like 26mb, which is enough for only a handful of photos from the latest multi-megapixel cameras, such as the eight megapixels on offer here. But, the T2 breaks the mould, offering a whopping dirty great big 4GB of storage space - which is enough for over 1200 pictures shot at the highest quality!

It's also a little odd looking. Our sample was bright green, which is unusual enough, but the box-like rectangular shape is also rather different, with its distinct lack of protrusions giving it the appearance of a pack of slightly under-sized playing cards. Also, the slip down lens cover doubles as an on-switch, which means the Sony DSC-T2 is ready and willing within seconds.

Small and compact the Sony DSC-T2 may be, but Sony has managed to pack it with excellent features, even with all that storage crammed in there! One of the best features immediately catches your eye: a glorious 2.7inch LCD screen that takes up pretty much all of the back panel. It's a touch-sensitive screen as well, cutting down on the number of buttons on the back of unit, which makes things even neater.

The only controls on the back are a rocker switch for the 3x optical zoom lens and some buttons that provide access to the pictures in memory. With this lack of physical controls the touchscreen display needs to be responsive, and the menu systems intuitive: both of these are handled with the usual Sony panache, which makes day-to-day handling a breeze.

So, all the elements are in place for either a cracking camera or a massive disappointment depending on whether you are a glass half full or empty kind of person. Well, it's the optimists that are proved right in this case, because in most respects this classy little Sony lives up to the hype created by its excellent feature set.

The thing we like first off is just how fast it acts. Compared to the likes of the FujiFilm Z100 this is a drug-fueled Olympic sprinter; from the fast start up to the quick response time you are less likely to miss the killer shot with the Sony DSC-T2 in your pocket than with pretty much any other stylish compact we've come across.

And it's not just at the moment of impact that you'll love this beauty, because back in front of your computer the quality of the images it produces will keep you smiling. The way it handles colours is first rate, with deep blues backed up by a whole range natural and realistic hues. The sunset shot of Bournemouth beach shows how good the Sony DSC-T2 is at bringing together the wonderful British climate, with natural greens and a selection of natural, red-tinged blues.

Okay, so there's a hint of barrel distortion when the lens is set at its widest angle, but show us a compact camera that doesn't suffer from a touch of that and we'll show you the only model anybody would ever buy!

The other thing we love about this camera is the way it's capable of taking images in near darkness, and still getting some kind of result. In this picture from row Q of a Neil young concert the detail may be lacking, but at ISO 400 it picked up enough information from the stage to jog our memory while not ending up with unsightly swatches of grain and retaining a real sense of deep dark blacks around the stage.

Elsewhere, there's a slight softness to sharp edges when blown up to full pixel on pixel size, but apart from that the Sony DSC-T2 is spot on in all regards. It offers bags of detail, the face detection technology works, and even the small flash is capable of some decent results - although it's better at providing a little bit of fill rather than lighting up a whole room of smiling partygoers.

While the Sony DSC-T2 could have quite easily been a sad case of style over substance, it proves itself to be a more than capable camera. It's easy to use, fast and responsive, has bags of excellent features and takes a damn fine photo most of the time. What's not to like!

Our Verdict

Sensor	8.1 megapixel CCD chip
LCD monitor	2.7" LCD (230,000 pixels)
Picture Modes	Program Auto, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, Twilight, Twilight portrait, Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, High-speed shutter, High sensitivity, Smile shutter MPEG-1 movie
Stabilisation	Yes (lens-shift)
Sensitivity	ISO80-3200
White balance	Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Incandescent, Fluorescent (x3), Flash
Storage	Memory Stick 4GB internal memory
Battery	Lithium Ion rechargeable (CIPA rated 280 shots)
Other / Key features	Touch-panel LCD screen Face detection with smile shutter Sharemark pubishing to YouTube, Flickr, etc

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