|
S$699
Product Summary
7
out of 10View score
The bad: Limited manual options; full resolution burst mode restricted to a maximum of nine shots; no optical viewfinder.
The bottom line: This ultracompact is a fuss-free option for those who don't require a lot in their camera but want something chic to carry around.
Read full review of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T5 »
Average User Rating
CNET Asia Review
Our first impression of the T5 is its overall similarity in design to the T7. However, the T5 is a standalone model targeted at a different group of consumers--presumably the trigger-happy and younger individuals. This ultracompact comes in four colors and provide a fuss-free solution for general photography. It is retailing for S$699 (US$493.47) but you may have to fork out a bit more for a high-capacity Memory Stick.
Design
The part-oval part-rectangular DSC-T5 has a very sleek design with clean lines. Weighing 136g (with battery and Memory Stick Duo) and measuring 93.5 x 60 x 20.3mm, this ultracompact is just slightly larger than a credit card and is light enough to hang around the neck.
 Hidden behind the slide-down cover are the Carl Zeiss lens, flash unit and autofocus lamp. |
 All the key functions are to the right of the 2.5-inch LCD monitor. |
Being so flat, our fingers naturally tend to curl around the edge over the Carl Zeiss lens which has an internal 3x optical zoom function. Sliding down the metallic cover which snaps into place reveals the flash unit, autofocus lamp and CCD lens. The same motion powers up the camera. Otherwise there is a power button on the top edge of the unit, lined together with the speaker to its left, shutter release and a three-way selector (playback, auto, movie) to the right. The tripod receptacle is found at bottom centre of the shooter with the cable connector to its right.
Sharing the same compartment on the right are the Lithium-ion battery and the Memory Stick Duo. All other key functions are bunched to the right of the 2.5-inch TFT LCD (230k pixels) on the back of the T5, including the zoom lever, display option, Menu, Delete/resolution and four-directional buttons. Selecting left on the directional control allows the user to preview the last shot taken, while right turns on the macro function. You press up to choose the different flash modes (forced on, SL, forced off), and down to activate the timer which snaps 6 seconds after the button is depressed.
 More customizable options are accessed using the Right button. The Up button is used to navigate the menu under each individual option. |
 The camera setup menu occupies the whole LCD screen. Selecting up or down brings you to different pages. Pressing Right will then access each individual option. |
Pressing the Menu will open up scene options and manual settings for the camera. Navigating through the menu requires the user to select right to access different menus followed by up or down to configure individual modes. The T5 allows for a range of programmable functions including setting the EV (2EV in 0.3 steps), focus area, metering, white balance, ISO (64 to 400), picture quality, record mode, flash level, and picture effects.
Features
A growing standard in consumer cameras, the T5 is also capable of shooting videos in VGA at 30fps. Users are able to select various resolutions denoted by the number of megapixels (5-, 3-, 1-megapixel, a 3:2 ratio picture and VGA for email) with the Delete/resolution button.
If you need assistance with your photography, pressing the Menu button will also bring up 10 scene modes including Magnifying glass, Night, Night portrait, Candle, Backlight, Landscape, Sports, Beach, Snow and Fireworks. For initiators, it may be tough at the beginning to understand what each icon represents without an accompanying text information on the menu.
Built with the trigger-happy in mind, the T5 does not come with functions to select aperture nor shutter speed settings which is a little disappointing. On the bright side, Sony claims the flash unit of the T5 is able to reach distances of up to 2.5m which will make night photography easier.
Video is recorded in MPEG-VX format at a resolution of 640 x 480 with 30fps. Users can trim and divide the clips as the unit has movie-editing capabilities. The T5 comes with an onboard memory of 32MB for the scatter-brain who forgets to bring the Memory Stick out or when the storage card runs out of space.
For those with a habit of printing out pictures, the camera is PictBridge-compatible so they can print direct to a photo printer. A cable which wraps the AV and USB connections together reduces the need to hassle around with different wires. Chances of losing them all at one go, however, are also higher.
Rate It Now
