An upgrade from the Cyber-shot DSC-N1, the Cyber-shot DSC-N2 increases the resolution to 10 megapixels while retaining features such as 3x optical zoom range equivalent to 38mm-to-114mm on a 35mm camera and a large 3-inch touchscreen. At S$799, it isn't the cheapest camera and there are better alternatives around.

Design And Features
Touchscreen cameras are nice to touch and play with, but the problem is they usually aren't as responsive as traditional hard buttons. Good thing is Sony bundles the camera with a stylus--a better-looking one compared with the awkwardly shaped pointer that came with the Cyber-shot N1. The bad news is it hangs off the camera strap. Though it's unlikely the stylus will come off by itself, we'd have preferred a compartment to stow it.

Apart from the slight bump in resolution from 8 to 10 megapixels and sensitivity option from ISO 800 to ISO 1,600, the look and feel of the unit are similar to the N1, including a 3-inch touchscreen panel which is a fingerprint magnet.

In use, the N2 works like any other camera. However, because there are no dedicated buttons, you're forced to navigate the different menu pages in order to change the settings. Interesting? Yes. But frequent trips down the tiered system make it a chore sometimes.

The rest of the features on this Cyber-shot are rather mundane. If you've seen the N1, you'd already know how to use the N2. Unlike some of the recent Sony cameras, the unit doesn't come with an optical image stabilization system. The 3x optical zoom has a 38mm-to-114mm focal length, not as wide as the Canon Digital IXUS 850 IS or the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07, but, hey, you get a large screen to show off.

Though limited, the camera does offer some leeway for setting aperture and shutter speed for those who want to tinkle with the settings. You also get to adjust the contrast, sharpness and color mode in the menus. No custom white balance, though.

Performance
Overall, the Cyber-shot N2 proved to be a responsive shooter. The camera powered up in 1.5 seconds and, in good light, shutter lag was minimal at 0.1 second. We could shoot thereafter every 1.5 seconds without flash, and with forced flash the wait increased marginally to 2 seconds. Burst mode, however, was a tad disappointing with the camera capable of taking only three shots at about 1fps, at maximum resolution in Fine quality setting. Like most digicams, you cannot zoom in during video recording.

Image Quality
We got rather nice-looking pictures with good color, saturation and exposure with this Cyber-shot, although some of our shots turned out slightly warm. Noise at ISO 800 and ISO 1,600 marred image quality, but our shots were still fairly usable at ISO 800. The automatic white balance was accurate on most occasions, failing only under incandescent light and producing a yellow tinge to photos.