Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T9

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Features
At a glance, the T9's 6-megapixel CCD and 3x (38mm-to-114mm, 35mm equivalent) optical zoom lens is the usual fare on other cameras. However, its maximum aperture of F3.5-to-F4.3 seems to be lacking--we found this to be neither good for confined or landscape shots. What we really like on the T9 over its siblings is without doubt the optical image stabilization. The Steady Shot system uses gyro sensors to detect the angles and speed of camera shake and moves the internal shift lens to compensate for the movement. If you recall, Panasonic's Lumix range of digicams sport similar mechanisms.

58MB of internal memory may sound like a measly bit to most, but it's actually a sizeable amount of space allowing you to take 19 full-resolution pictures in Fine quality or approximately 160 seconds of video. Bear in mind that there are a lot of other cameras out there with 8MB or 16MB of built-in memory and you'll appreciate what the T9 has.

On the technical side, the Cyber-shot T9 is built on the company's Real Imaging Processor LSI (Large Scale Integrated) circuit which is supposed to, according to Sony, decrease shutter lag, increase battery stamina, and at the same time, improve picture quality and clarity. We'll see more of that on the performance section below.

The slideshow with music playback is one of those features we adore on Sony's digicams (read Cyber-shot DSC-N1 and M2). Other than making picture review a lot more pleasurable as a pastime activity, its animated photo-to-photo transitions add a professional touch to the whole experience. There are a total of five different transitions and four different soundtracks. You can replace the soundtracks with your own MP3 files via the supplied software for the camera. Just remember to rotate your pictures to the correct orientation. Otherwise you will have to either turn your head, or the camera, to look at the photo the right way up.

You won't get a lot of scene modes on the T9. The shooter comes with 10 selections (Magnifying glass, Twilight, Twilight portrait, Candle, Soft snap, Landscape, High-speed shutter, Beach, Snow and Fireworks) for general photography. For the self-timer, there's only one selection which snaps a picture 10 seconds after you press the shutter. While that may not be a problem to some, it's an awful wait if you are shooting an inanimate subject on a tripod where all you need is just a 2-second timer to minimize chances of camera shake.

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