In summary
Good imaging performance from a smart, ultra-slim digicam that will suit anyone who wants an easily pocketable camera.Sony’s new Cyber-shot DSC-T10 offers many of the same features as the DSC-T30, including a 7.2-megapixel CCD sensor and Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens, which remains within the camera body throughout the zoom range. It also boasts ‘Double Anti-Blur’ technology, which combines Super SteadyShot Optical Image Stabilisation and High ISO Sensitivity (up to ISO 1000 selectable) to counteract subject motion and camera shake. . . [more]
Full review
Sony’s new Cyber-shot DSC-T10 offers many of the same features as the DSC-T30, including a 7.2-megapixel CCD sensor and Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens, which remains within the camera body throughout the zoom range. It also boasts ‘Double Anti-Blur’ technology, which combines Super SteadyShot Optical Image Stabilisation and High ISO Sensitivity (up to ISO 1000 selectable) to counteract subject motion and camera shake.
Available in black, silver or pink, the camera’s stainless steel body is smart, well-built and ultra-thin. Two thirds of the rear panel is covered by a 2.5-inch screen, with tiny control buttons clustered beside it. The zoom rocker is also diminutive and the image stabiliser button is way too small! No viewfinder is provided.
You power-up the T10 by sliding the lens cover down, thereby kicking in Sony’s Real Imaging Processor circuitry, which claims fast response times for shooting stills and movie clips, and a longer battery life. The supplied Info-Lithium battery should support up to 250 shots per full charge. Unfortunately, the battery/card compartment cover is somewhat flimsy.
Eleven shooting modes are provided: Auto, Program AE and nine Scene modes. Focusing modes include multi, centre and spot AF plus five distance pre-sets. Multi, centre and spot metering are provided, along with five colour modes (Normal, Vivid, Natural, Sepia and B&W). No manual white balance mode is available but there are plenty of pre-sets to cover most lighting types – including flash. Flash output is adjustable by one step – up or down.
A tiny live histogram display supports both shooting and playback modes and automatic noise reduction is provided for long exposures. You can record images in the standard 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9 (widescreen) aspect ratios, but widescreen isn’t available for video clips. A Memory Stick Duo Pro card is required to record VGA movies at 30 fps. The camera has 56MB internal memory, which can hold 16 high-resolution shots.
The test camera produced sharp pictures with accurate colours and negligible coloured fringing in outdoor shots. Low light shooting capabilities weren’t extensive and noise only became visible at ISO 400 and above. The flash required a high ISO setting to illuminate an average-sized room. The auto white balance failed to correct most colour casts and, although the manual setting for incandescent lighting made a fair correction, the fluorescent pre-set failed with standard household fluorescent lights.
Imatest testing showed colour accuracy to be very good and saturation was well controlled. Resolution was also above average for a slimline digicam. The camera powered up in around two seconds and average capture lag was 0.25 seconds, reducing to less than 0.1 second with pre-focusing. It took just under three seconds to process each shot – and roughly 14 seconds to process a burst of seven shots. Multi-burst processing took approximately around one second.
IMATEST GRAPHS:
TEST IMAGES:
The ‘magnifying glass’ mode lets you take great close-ups of very small subjects.
The auto white balance setting failed to correct the orange cast of incandescent lighting.
The ‘tungsten’ pre-set delivered better colour accuracy but slightly over-corrected.
Specifications
Image sensor: 5.76 x 4.29mm CCD with 7.4 million photosites (7.2 megapixels effective)
Lens: 6.33-19mm f3.5-4.3 Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens (38-114mm I n35mm format)
Zoom ratio: 3x optical, up to 6x digital
Image formats: Stills – JPEG (Standard & Fine); Movies – MPEG Movie VX (VGA 16.6/30 fps; QQVGA 8.2 fps
Image Sizes: 3072 x 2304, 2592 x 1944, 2048 x 1536, 1632 x 1224
Shutter speed range: 1 to 1/1000 second
Exposure Compensation: +/- 2.0EV, 1/3EV steps
Focus system/range: Single & monitoring AF; range 50cm to infinity; macro 8-25cm; magnifying glass mode 1-20cm
Exposure metering/control: Auto, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach, Fireworks, High Speed Shutter, Snow, Magnifying Glass (x3.5)
White balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, Flash
Flash modes/range (ISO auto): Auto, Forced-Flash, Slow Synchro, No Flash; range 0.1-2.8m
ISO range: Auto, ISO 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000
Sequence shooting: 9 shots at 1 fps
Storage Media: 56MB internal memory plus Memory Stick Duo expansion slot
Viewfinder: n.a.
LCD monitor: 2.5-inch Hybrid, Clear Photo LCD Plus (230,000 pixels)
Power supply: NP-FT1 rechargeable lithium-ion battery
Dimensions (wxhxd): 89.7 x 54.9 x 20.6mm
Weight: 140g (without battery and card)
Retailers
CamBuy
www.cambuy.com.au
Digital cameras, lenses and accessories with 100% genuine Australian manufacturer’s warranties.
Ph: (02) 9029 2219
Camera House
www.camerahouse.com.au
Ph: 133 686
The largest speciality photographic retail chain in Australia.
Camera Pro
www.camerapro.net.au
CameraPro Pty Ltd
Suite 607, 180 Queen St, Brisbane 4000
Tel: 07 3333 2900
Australian owned and run company based in Brisbane.
Camerasdirect
www.camerasdirect.com.au
Retailer of digital camera equipment and more.
Secure online shopping and delivery across Australia.
Ph: 1300 727 056
Camerastore.com.au
Camerastore.com.au
Ph: 1800 155 067
Camera-Warehouse
www.camera-warehouse.com.au
Comprehensive range of digital cameras and accessories online (www.camera-warehouse.com.au) and an online print service (www.royalexpress.com.au).
Digital Camera Warehouse
www.digitalcamerawarehouse.com.au
174 Canterbury Road 367 High Street
Canterbury Northcote
NSW 2193 VIC 3070
Ph: 1300 365 220
Electronics Warehouse
www.electronicswarehouse.com.au
1300 801 885
Australian retailer of Vapex rechargeable batteries offering factory direct prices and fast, free shipping Australia wide.
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Photographic Equipment & Supplies – Retail & Repairs. Click here for list of stores.
Ted’s Cameras
1800 186 895
Big range of cameras and photographic products with stores in most states and online.
Rating
RRP: $649
Rating (out of 10):
- Build: 8.5
- Ease of use: 8.5
- Image quality: 9
- OVERALL: 8.5