One of the worst things that could probably happen to a photo enthusiast during an out of town trip is finding out that his shutterbug’s memory capacity is full. Good thing that nowadays, many compact cameras feature massive internal memory capacity.
Leading the way for this type of camera, with 4GB internal memory, is the Sony Cybershot DSC-T2. There’s really no need for a removable storage for it can load up to 40,000 VGA-quality photos or 1,000 8-megapixel pictures. Other available image sizes include 3:2 widescreen, 5-megapixel, 3-megapixel and 16:9 HDTV aspect ratio.
Shoot All You Want. The T2 is a practical compact camera. It saves you the cost of buying an external memory card (which nowadays costs about P1,000 or more, depending on the storage capacity). Also, forgetting your memory stick at home won’t bother you anymore in case of unplanned out of town trips. The internal memory may not last though if you’re planning on a weeklong vacation. In this case, the T2’s slot for memory stick proves to be useful. The memory stick will be written once the built-in memory is full.
Direct Cable Connection. Transferring photos requires the camera to be directly connected to the computer. When going out of town, make sure to bring your charger or an extra battery since direct transfer from the device to a compatible PC shortens the camera’s battery life. Also, be careful not to lose the supplied multi-connector mini socket that connects the camera to the USB cable or else your photos won’t go anywhere.
Designed to Impress. You can get the T2 in five colors—metallic blue, lime green, bright pink, pearl white or polished black. The body, of compact silver matched with a black LCD frame, is about as tall as a credit card and slightly thicker than a deck of cards. Since there are no protruding buttons, it easily slips into your pocket. Only six small, slim and shallow buttons can be seen—power on, shutter, telephoto, wide zoom, playback and scrapbook. The rest of the keys are integrated on the touch screen.
There are three ways to turn on the camera—use the playback (if you don’t want to take pictures and just want to view the images), open the shutter, or use the power button (which will prompt you to open the lens in case the lens is closed).
When turned on, what’s noticeable about the display is the assortment of options found around the screen—home, menu, display, image size indicator, self timer option, mode selector, flash option, and macro mode); quite a clutter for a 2.7 inch screen size. You can change the display settings to simple or image only to remove the icons. Finding these options, however, could be quite confusing for a first timer.
Since the T2 is touch screen, you only need your fingers to activate the buttons. However, you need to tap your fingers firmly to activate the onscreen buttons. Or simply use the Paint Pen or stylus provided to avoid leaving your fingerprints on the LCD.
Picture Perfect. It shoots fast, focuses quickly, and takes good pictures. Images appear colorful, vibrant and vivid, even when exposed under direct sunlight. For indoor shots, image quality is not as impressive. Some images appear to be oversaturated on the red side, but it’s forgivable. A few adjustments on the lighting will do.
Taking a picture requires you to push the cover down and press the shutter button, that easy. Or you can opt to activate the smile shutter, a feature that automatically detects and captures a smiling person without the need to press the shutter. Just remember to show your widest grin so the camera can recognize your smiling face.
For the creative ones, the scrap booking feature offers 16 colorful designs from which you can choose. It is also equipped with photo editing functions like paint and draw, and artistic effects like filter and blur.
Meanwhile, the preloaded program called PMB Portable makes it easier to publish your photos and videos directly in different websites like Flicker. You just have to connect your device to a computer and the program will automatically launch.
You won’t spend much time looking for pictures in this camera. Its intelligent album organization groups the images by date. Images can also be viewed using the calendar mode or by displaying the list of albums. You can also mark your photos as favorites or view them in chronological order.
Verdict. Compact, stylish and functional, the T2 is indeed one of the best among its kind. The generous amount of built-in memory bundled with a range of interesting and innovative features makes it worth its price tag.
