Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T30

Features
Features-wise, it's nothing spectacular: A 7.2-megapixel CCD, SteadyShot with high sensitivity (maximum ISO 1,000) setting and a large 3-inch LCD monitor. Depending on individual preferences, fashion aficionados may prefer the slimmer T7 and T9, while users looking to share pictures would inch toward the larger screen on the T30 instead.

With the T30, Sony claims that minimized power consumption from the image stabilization system and LCD monitor allow the camera to take up to 420 shots on a single charge. That's slightly twice as many compared with the Cyber-shot T9 which has a battery lifespan of 240 images. As a comparison, the T30 uses a 1,220mAh (4.4Wh) battery while the earlier T9 runs on a 680mAh (2.4Wh) cell.

Like the T9 before it, we find the maximum aperture of F3.5 to F4.3 to be lacking, especially for confined or landscape shots. Optical zoom (3x) is the usual fare between 38mm-to-114mm (35mm equivalent). In addition, the 58MB of built-in memory allows you to take about 16 full-resolution shots or 2 minutes 39 seconds of video.

If you have shaky hands, Sony's 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. Even then, without using proper photo-taking techniques, chances are you'll still end up with a bunch of discarded shots taken in low-light situations.

What's new, however, is a bunch of interface enhancements which we feel are nice to have, but not exceptional. The same features were also introduced on the Cyber-shot H5 and these include a Menu Guide that advises the user on the number of pictures that can be shot on a selected image size based on the available memory; a one-touch display button to increase the brightness of the screen for viewing under strong light and; a dedicated button for the slideshow with music playback which we like. We also found two additional color modes on the T30: Natural and Vivid.

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