Photo Review Reviews section

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N1

9 Rating

A superb touch-screen monitor and built-in photo storage give this pocketable camera wide appeal. Imaging performance is above average and colours are accurately recorded.Sony’s recently-released Cyber-shot DSC-N1 camera breaks new ground in the slimline digicam market because it allows users to shoot and display pictures in a totally new – and remarkably engaging – way. As well as boasting a high-resolution CCD sensor, the N1 has a huge, touch-sensitive LCD screen that is used for adjusting camera settings, composing shots and viewing both just-captured and previously-stored pictures.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P100

Available in red, blue or silver, Sony’s DSC-P100 sports a 5-megapixel sensor and Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar 3x zoom lens. Full auto Program AE and manual settings accompany nine pre-set scene modes. Flash levels are adjustable in P, M and scene modes and exposure compensation of +/- 2 EV in 0.3 EV steps is provided. A live histogram display is available but exposure adjustments can only be made in the P and scene modes.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H3

8.5 Rating

A compact – and competent – long-zoom digicam with 8-megapixel resolution and Full HD 1080 widescreen still picture recording.Sony has packed an optically-stabilised Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 10x optical zoom lens and 8-megapixel imager into a compact body in its new DSC-H3 Cyber-shot camera. Small and light for a long-zoom camera, the H3 is well designed. Neither optical nor electronic viewfinder is provided and the 2.5-inch, 115,000-pixel LCD takes up most of the rear panel, leaving little space for control buttons, although most are large enough and adequately spaced.

Sony SAL75300 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 Zoom Lens

9 Rating

A lightweight tele-zoom lens with an excellent price/performance ratio.Sony’s SAL75300 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6 lens partners the 18-70mm kit lens in some twin-lens kits. Compatible with both APS-C and 35mm ‘full frame’ Alphas, on the A55 body we used for our tests it provided focal lengths equivalent to 112.5-450mm in 35mm format. This range is useful for portraiture and shots of wildlife and also handy for close-ups of flowers and other small objects, where the lens will focus down to 1.5 metres.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F88

The DSC-F88 has the highest resolution of Sony’s rotating lens digicams but its 5-megapixel sensor is smaller than that on the DSC-W1, P100 and P93 models, and the lens isn’t as fast. However, it’s small enough to slip in a purse or jacket pocket. Four still shooting modes are provided – auto, program AE, manual and scene – plus a movie setting that captures VGA clips at 16.6 frames per second or ‘video mail’ at 160 x 112 pixels and 8.3fps. While the auto setting provides few adjustments, the P mode lets you access exposure compensation, focusing, metering, white balance, ISO, quality, burst, picture effect, saturation, contrast and sharpness settings. M mode adds the ability to adjust apertures and shutter speeds independently.

Sony SAL135F18Z 135mm F1.8 Sonnar T* Lens

9 Rating

A fast, high-performance telephoto prime lens with above-average close-up capabilities.One of the first Carl Zeiss lenses to go on sale for the Sony DSLRA100 camera, the 135mm F1.8 Sonnar T* is relatively large and heavy, with a massive front element. It’s also extremely well-built, as you’d expect from a high-quality prime lens with a longish focal length. The T* designation indicates special multi-layer coatings on the lens elements to maximise light transmission and contrast. Claimed as the brightest telephoto lens in its class, it has nine aperture blades which close on a circular aperture, providing outstanding bokeh (out-of-focus blur).

Sony DT 50mm f/1.8 SAM Lens

8.5 Rating

A fast 50mm prime lens designed for Sony’s Alpha DSLRs with APS-C sized sensors.The DT 50mm f/1.8 SAM lens was introduced as one of four lenses announced with the A230, A330 and A380 DSLR cameras in early May 2009. The DT 50mm f/1.8 SAM lens is the first DT prime lens Sony has introduced and it’s being promoted as a ‘portrait’ lens. This is logical because it provides a focal length equivalent to 75mm (in 35mm format) when mounted on ‘APS-C’ camera bodies.

Sony DT 35mm f/1.8 SAM Lens

8.5 Rating

A new prime lens for general photography makes a welcome addition to Sony’s ‘Easy Choice’ lens range.The DT 35mm f/1.8 SAM (SAL35F18) was one of three new lenses announced by Sony in July, 2010. Designed to provide an affordable, compact and lightweight prime lens with a popular focal length for both entry-level and advanced photographers it’s less than one fifth of the price of Sony’s other 35mm prime lens, the SAL35F14G, which retails for $2,699 and is the only in line-up.

Sony DT 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens

8.8 Rating

An extended-range zoom lens that covers a useful focal length range and provides above-average optical performance.Scheduled for release in October, at around the same time as the new Sony DSLR-A700 camera, the DT 18-250mm F3.5-6.3 zoom lens covers a 14x zoom range that is equivalent to 27-375mm on a 35mm camera. This well-built optic weighs only 440 grams and is reasonably compact. It can focus down to 45 cm to give a close-up magnification of 0.29 times.

Sony DT 11-18mm f4.5-5.6 Lens

8 Rating

A capable wide-angle zoom lens for Sony’s Alpha DSLR-A100 camera.Sony’s DT 11-18mm super wide zoom lens represents a minor evolution of the 11-18mm lens released by Konica Minolta in mid-2005 for the Dynax 5D and 7D cameras. Its DT design is ideally suited for the APS-sized CCD imager of these now defunct models – and also for the Sony Alpha A100 camera. Used on the A100 it provides angles of view between 104 and 76 degrees, which is equivalent to 16.5mm to 27mm on a 35mm camera. This is quite wide for the smaller sensor.