Impressive!

With summer coming up and my wife wanting to travel a bit we realized that neither of us actually owned a digital camera capable of even a megapixel's resolution (my last digital camera, the Polaroid PDC 700 was purchased back in 2001) and so we decided to look into something a bit more "modern".

After a bit of looking around, we are now the proud owners of the Sony Cybershot DSC-T9.


What it is..

The Sony Cybershot DSC-T9 is a six mega pixel digital camera, meaning that at maximum resolution the camera can take pictures with over six million pixels worth of resolution (2816x2112).

As a comparison, the average 19" LCD computer monitor has a maximum resolution of 1280x1024 or 1.3 million pixels. As such, the Sony Cybershot DSC-T9 is able to take pictures with over 4x the resolution of the monitor you are probably reading this review on.

It is advertised as having "lens shift image stabilization", up to 6x zoom (x3 optical) and 58 megabytes of internal memory.

It comes out of the box with:

- The Sony Cybershot DSC-T9 camera
- NP-FT1 Rechargeable 3.6v Battery
- Battery charger
- Audio+Video/USB/DC-in Multi-connector Cable
- Owner's manual
- Quickstart sheet
- Wriststrap
- and CD-Rom of software

What it does not come with are a spare battery and memory sticks (Sony Duo brand).

Since the resolutions this camera are capable of will fill up the internal memory (56megs) with only a few pictures at maximum resolution, I would recommend purchasing extra memory sticks (256 meg minimum) when you purchase the camera.

The Sony Cybershot DSC-T9 is also capable of capturing video either in a "slideshow" fashion with the "multi burst mode" (7 fast shots at full resolution to 60 fast shots at 320x240 resolution) or as actual video footage at 640 X 480 at 30 or 16.6 fps and 160 x 112 at 8.3fps.


How well does it work?

Overall the Sony Cybershot DSC-T9 does an excellent job.

First off though, you cannot use the Cybershot straight from the box as the instructions require that you charge the battery for several hours before use. So if your kid's birthday party is in an hour and you need a new digital camera, the DSC-T9 is not for you.

Once the battery is charged, you place it in the camera, turn it on and enter the setup menu in the camera to pick which resolution and lighting conditions you will be shooting in.

Image quality is excellent in all resolutions from 1280x960 on up. Color and clarity are simply amazing and even images taken in low light are reasonably clear.

Images taken at 640x480 however tend to look a bit "grainy" to my eye and I would avoid using this setting under most circumstances.

The Cybershot can even take pictures in "letterbox" size (1920x1080) which is an excellent resolution for viewing your photos on a widescreen HD television.

The real gem for me of the Sony Cybershot DSC-T9 is the "lens shift image stabilization" feature which helps correct for motion blur from the camera being moved while the picture is being taken. Sony states that this is accomplished by an "optical image stabilizer, utilizing two imaging gyros". Not being an expert on imaging technology, I'll take their word for it.

While not a substitute for using a tripod, the Cybershot is actually able to compensate for minor movements of the camera while the picture is being taken.

And who among us hasn't taken "the perfect picture" only to find out after printing it that a slight movement of our hand had turned "perfection" into something too fuzzy for display?

While the Cybershot can't compensate for extreme motion (such as violently shaking the camera while snapping a shot.. I tried it and the results weren't pretty) it can help seriously reduce the chance that your "perfect picture" will turn out with a case of the Blurs.

The zoom feature works very well and indicates on the screen just how much you are currently zoomed in as well as if you are in the optical or digital zoom range. This is important to note since digital zooming tends to produce images with more artifacts and of less overall quality which can actually be noticed when taking pictures at the Cybershot's maximum resolution.

Using the Flash with the DSC-T9 was a bit disappointing as "red eye" effects appeared in nearly half of the photos I took of my friends and family when using it. While this can be corrected later in editing programs it is somethng to note if you would like to simply take your pictures and print them out immediately.


Controls

The 2.5" LCD screen on the back of the camera is bright, clear and provides excellent preview shots of your recently taken photos.

The controls to the right of the screen are easily laid out and even though they are a bit touchy at times provide fairly easy navigation of the DSC-T9's menu's and options.


Downloading pictures

The Sony Cybershot DSC-T9 has an option to allow you to link the camera directly to your PC through its USB port. It also allows you to transfer pictures from the internal memory onto a Sony Duo Memory stick.

Images are stored in standard JPEG format and are easily viewed by most computer programs.

Using a new memory stick will require entering the camera's setup menu in order to "format" the memory card prior to use.

While I have used both methods to move files to my computer, I have to admit that it was less of a hassle (for me at least) just to take pictures directly onto the memory stick and then move the stick into the slot on my computer, allowing me to easilly access the card as a separate drive with the images.


Software

While the Sony Cybershot comes with a CD of software and drivers, I didn't load the majority of the programs as I already had Adobe Photoshop on my PC.

Based on this I really cannot comment on the general quality of the bundled software except to say that the drivers installed without a problem and allowed my computer to access the camera as expected.


Batteries and Battery life

This is the only real issue I have with the DSC-T9. Sony requires that you use their proprietary battery packs with the Cybershot (at a cost of about $50 each).

This can add considerably to the cost of the camera over its lifetime due to wanting spares, losing them or the batteries just going bad over time.

However, if Sony had gone with the option of using AA or AAA batteries, the camera would have been much thicker and heavier so at least part of their reason for the proprietary battery is an ergonomic one.

One nice thing is that I have found the "time remaining" indicator on the DSC-T9 to be extremely accurate, letting me know almost to the exact minute when the camera will shut down due to lack of power.

While using the Cybershot, I have noticed that it is capable of taking several dozen pictures on a single charge and has yet to "run out" on me over the course of a day's site seeing after having been charged the night before.


Features

Image sizes
• 2816 x 2112
• 2816 x 1872 (3:2)
• 2048 x 1536
• 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
• 1280 x 960
• 640 x 480
File Formats
• Still: JPEG
• Movie: MPEG
Lens
• 38 - 114 mm (35 mm equiv) 3x optical zoom (Up to 6x digital)
Focus Distance
• Normal: 50cm to infinity
• Macro: 1cm
Flash
• Built-in
• Modes: Auto, on, off, slow-sync, slow-sync twilight portrait
• Adjustment: Auto, low, high
• Range: 0.6' - 16.4'
Shutter Speed
• 1 -1/1000 sec
• 1/6 - 30 sec
Weight
• 5.1 oz (140g) (no batt or card)
• 5.9 oz (160g) (with batt and card)
Dimensions
• 3.5 x 2.1 x 0.8 in


Final Thoughts

Overall the Sony Cybershot DSC-T9 is a great camera for my family and I expect to be using it for a very long time to come.