The latest in a long line of stylish cameras, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 shares the same slim, metallic profile and signature sliding lens cover/power switch as the rest of the Cyber-shot T-series. Don't let the DSC-T100's pretty face fool you, though; this handy shooter proves that you can have plenty of substance with your style.
Design
The camera's easily pocketable, all-metal body measures just 22.3mm thick and weighs 141 grams. It comes in silver, black, and red, so you can have your choice of colours. Despite its sensibly laid out controls, the DSC-T100 still sacrifices some of its function for form; the camera's buttons feel smaller and more shallow than we would like and can be a bit tricky for large thumbs.
Features
A surprisingly strong heart beats beneath the DSC-T100's slim, shiny exterior. The 8-megapixel camera features a 35mm-to-175mm-equivalent 5x zoom Zeiss lens, a notable upgrade over previous T-series cameras' 3x zoom lenses. Its 3-inch screen supplies an extremely wide view; the display stays clear and colourful, even when looking at it from a near-90-degree angle in any direction. The T100 uses Sony's Super SteadyShot optical image stabilisation and can boost its sensitivity to as high as ISO 3,200 for low-light and high-speed shooting. The camera also features a 9-point autofocus mode, an extremely useful feature normally found on much higher-end cameras such as digital SLRs.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100's firmware offers almost as many useful features as its hardware does. Its face-detection mode automatically adjusts exposures when shooting family photos. You can also tweak colour, correct red-eye, and even apply different effects such as fish-eye and cross filter, all within the camera. The T100 can also output MP3-playing slide shows to standard definition TVs with the included RCA video cable, or to high-definition TVs with an optional component-video cable. It also works with Sony's CSS-HD1 Cyber-shot Station, a dock with a remote and HD component output support. If you plan on viewing your photos on an HDTV, we highly recommend the component cable or dock option.
Performance
In CNET Labs' tests, the DSC-T100 performed exceptionally well. After a quick 1.1-second start-up time, the camera rattled off a new shot every 1.4 seconds. With the flash enabled, however, that time ballooned to almost 3 seconds; the tiny 3.4 watt-hour battery simply can't recycle faster. The shutter responded quickly, lagging just 0.4 second with our high-contrast target and 1.2 seconds with the low-contrast one. The camera's burst mode also worked admirably, snapping 15 shots in 6.6 seconds for a frame rate of 2.3 shots per second.
Image quality
The DSC-T100 takes great-looking photos with plenty of detail. Pictures stay sharp and free of noise as high as ISO 400. ISO 800 and ISO 1,600 produce a notable amount of detail-softening, speckled noise but are still useable. The T100's macro and super-macro modes really impress me; it took some beautiful close-up shots of flowers at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden.
The camera's pictures aren't perfect, however. Like most snapshot cameras, shots taken at ISO 3,200 look more like expressionist paintings than photos. We recommend you stick to shooting at ISO 800 or lower to avoid extreme noise.
Movies captured in Fine mode (640x480 30fps MPEG-4) look very good, as long as the motion doesn't get too complex. A couple of flowers waving in the breeze works, but an entire tree full of fluttering leaves taxes the compression algorithm too much, leaving the video rife with blocky MPEG artifacts. Unfortunately, the trade-off leaves the video file size rather large: at about 1.3MB/sec, a minute of video takes about 77MB of disk space. That's more efficient than the MJPEG used by the Canon Digital IXUS 75, but overall still fairly large. The optical zoom operates in Movie mode, another plus.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 demonstrates exactly what a good snapshot camera should be. Its slim form looks good and fits easily in the pocket, it includes some very useful features, and it shoots great photos at a fast clip. Its price may seem a bit steep, but you'll get a lot of camera in a very small package.
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shutterbug
11/11/2008, 11:49 AM
rating
10/10
I really cant fault this camera. Its my favourite 21st century device.
Pros: brilliant design, great screen, takes great pictures and movies
Cons: none.
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sony camera
24/05/2008, 11:37 PM
rating
7/10
Gets great quality results in digital photography with Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100. Stylish and sleek body. Fast and reliable camera. Great zoom.
Pros: Stylish body.
Great zoom.
Fast featured camera.
Cons: Nothing.
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Jean&Andre
12/01/2008, 12:42 PM
rating
9/10
Fortunately, we have friends who live in Hong Kong and they picked up this model for us at almost half the Australian price!! Our Canon IXUS just doesn't deliver the quality of still and moving images which this camera can. We don't mind there being no viewfinder as the large screen is so much easier to work with, especially for spectacle wearers. Our shots are really helped by using the grids and face detection facilities and reading the on-screen prompts. This camera has given us a lot of confidence in getting that picture just right.
Pros: Very user friendly, sleek design (draws a lot of attention and comments) and a host of options we will enjoy working our way through.
Cons: As with most Sony products - price and availability of optional equipment (eg) longer lasting battery which is needed when using it as a movie camera and the burst option.
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RED
15/11/2007, 10:02 PM
rating
9/10
Excellent SMALL camera, with great results.
Pros: Picture quality and ease of use.
Cons: No view finder.
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dutchie
15/09/2007, 08:56 PM
rating
9/10
Better then my old Canon IXUS 50 and better then any others I've tested. Finally no more Red Eye either
Pros: After a month totally happy with the camera. Easy to use whilst still having some manual inputs available.
Cons: None to date
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blazeberg
24/08/2007, 06:03 AM
rating
9/10
Great camera! Very sleek. I personally like the black one the best.
Pros: Huge screen, east menus, clear pictures
Cons: No view finder
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keithinmelbourne
12/06/2007, 01:07 PM
rating
8/10
I use a DSLR normally, but this is a handy camera to carry around everyday. It's neat and ready use at any time. The resolution is good and the images I have got, so far, have been pretty good for a camera of its type.
Pros: Good, clean images up to ISO 400
Quick start, fast response
Easy to follow menu
Cons: Ergonomics take some getting use to (fiddly buttons)
No optical view finder
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Martino
24/05/2007, 10:09 PM
rating
9/10
Love it! Huge screen, Steady shot is good and feels solid and weighty in the hand
Pros: Covered internal lens means no damaged zooms or scratched lens. Massive screen. Feels strong & rugged.
Cons: no view finder, buttons too small for big thumbs
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cyberkid
22/05/2007, 08:24 PM
rating
9/10
Excellent tiny camera with higher than average internal optical zoom (5x). Versatile and easy to use, with high quality results.
Pros: Tiny size, large 3" screen, very easy to use.
Cons: A bit too easy to cover lens with finger when taking pictures.
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