Sony Cyber Shot DSC-T9
Cameras Buying Guide
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December 28, 2005 01:50
4.5/5
Pros:Great image detail and color rendition - small high quality footprint
Cons:Being picky - would like a bit more power with the flash
Full user opinion
This camera is one of the best I have tested in the last 6 years.
As an adjunct faculty member at FAU a south Florida +25,000 student university, teaching Principles of Digital Photography and authored/published a book with the same name, with Pearson Education, Inc., 2003, I have tested hundreds digital cameras that have been offered to the public in recent years, and this one is truly unbelievable.
One must understand that all cameras cannot do all things regardless of price and size. Digital SLRs, like Canons 1DsMk2, which I proudly own and consider the very best digital SLR on planet Earth, can execute most imaging tasks beautifully; however you cannot place it in your pocket, does not have built-in flash, and cannot make a video!! Comparing the image quality and color to other similarly priced cameras, both seem better than on previous SONY T series units (the T1, T11, T3, T33, T5, T7) in their 6-step progression to the T9. The brightness on the LCD panel is also better and has two brightness levels; The LCD also seems to have a protective covering on its surface. The flash also seems a bit stronger, and the imager noise is significantly lower. Understand that the tiny built-in flash is effective for groups of 3-6 people placed within 8 or less of the camera, period; any further, other than fill-in flash and the results will be disappointing. It is hard to imagine than so much technology can be contained within this truly thin package. This version has an OPTICAL IMAGE STABILIZER that really works in both Still image and Movie Modes. The large and bright LCD panel is great for sharing images with friends after the picture is taken; a suggestion for SONY is that the automated viewing (post image) is too short, internally set to about 2 seconds, and not adjustable; this should be an adjustable feature, which can be corrected by a simple SONY firmware upgrade.
Most critics do not make mention of the Software; Be it known SONY has one of the best (included) software packages available; Install the software one time; then plug in the camera into an available USB post, turn on the camera, and in 5,4,3,2,1 seconds the images and movies, begin their migration into a unique folder in the hard-drive, in a subdirectory in "My Pictures" with todays date as the folder name. Could not be a simpler process.
If you want to see some T9 sample images you can go to http://www.416-1100.com/Test%20Images%20-%20Digital%20Equipment%20Testing/73537 Images will be added periodically so check back often; and while youre there look around at other images posted at your pleasure. JimWilson 28/Dec/2005/5pm -
January 16, 2006 02:31
5.0/5
I have owned serval Canon, Nikon, and Sony cameras and have never been as excited about any of them as I am with this one. The first time I tested the new image stabilization by taking a photo in dim light- I knew that I would love this camera. The image turned out very sharp and slightly brighter than my eyes had appreciated it! Nothing like the simple shadows that my other cameras would have produced.
Let's face it, you can't take pictures for Sports Illustrated (besides the swimsuit issue) with any camera smaller than full-size. But if you want a small camera, and you can afford it, the T9 is without peer.
PS The close-up option is excellent!Updated
Some people have complained they don't like the sliding lens cover and I can't understand why. The sliding cover not only adds to the safety of the lens but it offers a satisfying and unmistakable on/off switch to the camera. I certainly would not like it as much as I do were there not a sliding cover.
As for the absence of a view finder- I imagine this has to do with the engineering of the camera lens and the battery- but I don't miss it at all. I would probably never use it and there is no space for it on back. All it would do is take away from the overall ascetic. -
January 1, 2006 12:59
5.0/5
I'm a part time digital pro photographer. i've been buying and selling ultra small digital camera so many time .. because i haven't find any thing i like.. mainly picture quality and camera size -easy to carry,also camera design. this sony DSC-T9 is the ONE i've been looking for... this one made me smile when i saw the first result... you will experience amazing picture quality like SLR camera pictures. crisp and bright. beautiful design and small size.. it just perfect. i'm very very picky and this one satisfies me big time. i only use lastest electronic. -design and quality and style. just like i love my powermac G5 and powerbook G4 thsi silver DSC-T9 is perfect for my home office. sleek and tiny and.. come on it takes amazing picture.. not like T7.. this T9 takes breataking pictures.. almost same quality as from my SLR nikon D70s camera. believe me i'm very picky... silver is better than black i think because it goes with my other electronics and doesn't see scratches .. black one looks pretty at first but i worried it would get scratches big time. -
March 24, 2006 10:11
Excellent
2.0/5
Since I used the user comments at CNET as my reason to purchase this camera, I felt the need to use this forum to register my utter disappointment in this $400+ investment. Since the positives have been (over) documented here, I'll just talk about the negatives:
1) RED-EYE DELUXE. I've never seen anything like it. Using the very time-consuming red-eye reduction flash (takes so long most people come out of their pose), one would expect little or no red-eye. NOPE. I hope you are a PAINTER, because you'll be fixing red-eyes on about 75% of your flash subjects.
2) IMAGE QUALITY. This is 6 megapixels??? You could have fooled me. The quality is "slightly" better than my 2.2 megapixel FujiFilm, but nowhere near what I had expected.
3) SLOW. Not horribly slow shutter, but slower than I'd like. It's more like "point-shoot-wait a sec-snap"
4) FOCUS. My older Fuji-film gave me about 85% great focus, this one is about 55% at best. Again, very disappointing.
In fact, after reading all the raves here, and being a very pro-Sony guy, maybe I expected too much. But I wish I'd have bought a different camera. Buyer beware! -
April 1, 2006 01:36
Spectacular
2.5/5
I just bought my T9 and in the middle of my trip to Greece last month, and after only 185 shots or so...the screen turned black with streaks. I knew something was seriously wrong. I sent the camera in for warranty repair and the Sony repair vendor said the camera had sustained impact damage so repairs would not be covered. They quoted $181 to replace the LCD screen. The camera was never dropped, bumped, or anywhere but in use or in it's protective leather case hooked onto my belt. All I can say is....watch out...it's a great product but apparently very fragile and Sony apparently does not want to support it's warranty servicing. Let the Buyer Beware! -
February 18, 2006 05:03
4.5/5
I bought the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T9 at Best Buy for $429 to take to Cancun for a mini-vacation. Charged up the battery, inserted a 512 MB Memory Stick Duo, and off we went. Four days later we had excellent photos to remember our trip, and we didn't have to lug around my Canon EOS 10D.
The camera worked fantastic in all lighting conditions, I hardly took it out of "auto".
I have read some reviews where the reviewer did not like the "lens protector". I thought that was excellent. Slide it down to expose the lens, the camera turns on and you are ready to shoot. In my opinion I think it is a great idea.
Overall I really enjoy this camera, and I am very happy with my purchase. Sorry Canon I think my EOS 10D will be going on sale... -
February 11, 2006 10:38
4.5/5
This is the camera I have been looking for. Its very small and compact which in my perspective is a PLUS in any situation simply because you slip it in your pocket for spur of the moment pictures. The moment I received this camera I was instantly pleased with everything literally. The main reason however I purchased this camera was to take on trips to capture some priceless photo-memories, and although I have not left yet on trips, it is already capturing some amazing pictures.
I did my homework online before purchasing this camera. I read all the bad reviews how it is terrible in dark conditions or on the flip side how it is great with Image Stabilization. I have had this camera for awhile now and I personally can say it works very well actually in low light conditions (example: going to a club, out to dinner at night, house party, etc). The picture quality is very satisfying for this ultra compact camera. Besides the Sony T9, I am also a proud owner of Canon Digital Rebel XT and I can say the picture quality is pretty close together when compared.
My friends and I very oddly enough bought compact cameras all at the same time without even knowing it. Their cameras (Casio Exilim EX-S500, Canon PowerShot SD550 and Kodak EasyShare V570) stood no chance against this Sony T9 and the Sony even received some style points from them also. However we noticed the Canon dose have a better flash, it is not as compact as the Sony. And the Casio Exilim S500 in my perspective is very thin and small but the picture quality is not worth it and some of the pictures we took turned out to be blurry as opposed to the Sony T9 amazing picture quality
"All That Glitters Is Not Gold"
This camera however dose has some minor flaws but not any major ones to consider not buying. The main flaw Ive realized is some of the pictures produced are soft pictures. Something thats annoying is the sliding door, it can open in your pocket sometime although the lens has not been damaged, Im keeping anything out of my pocket when the camera is in there to avoid scratches. And alas, Image Stabilization dose work very very well but dose not do miracles (example: falling down trying to take a still picture, doesnt work obviously).
In general I can not express how happy and satisfied I am with this camera. It is everything I wanted literally in a camera and it works just perfectly. I consider myself lucky considering I took a major chance with my money and buying this Sony with the half and half reviews. I strongly recommend this camera or at least worth considering. -
December 6, 2005 01:37
4.5/5
Got this yesterday. Image stabiliser really does work - you can shake the camera around forcefully (within reason) and still get great, crystal-clear shots. And the unit is extremely stylish with a miniature form factor, and a relatively ergonomic grip. -
January 30, 2006 07:49
4.5/5
Been using camera for a few months now.
First thing you notice is how quick it is, handy for kodak moments.
Super macro mode works really well, you can get up really close. I've taken pics of insects with amazing detail. Fireworks mode also works well.
Really simple to use, good quality pics for an ultra compact. Only complaint, I got a black one and the paints flaked a little already even though I take good care. -
February 20, 2006 04:53
4.5/5
I bought T5 a week ago, brought it back home and wasn't very impressed with picture quality indoors, then i discovered that T9 became availiable in Canada, so I bought it, and was trully impressed how much better it is than T5.
Indoor picture quality is so much better since pictures aren't noisy at higher ISO, the lens cover has a "tougher" feel to it, since in t5, a slight movement would open the lens cover, in T9 they made it more sturdy. Autofocus under low light conditions is better and with image stability feature, the low light pictures come out non-blurred.
Menu buttons on the back have been redesigned, and are easier to use now. LCD screen has optional backlight now, so its a lot easier to see at night. Battery and charger are same as on T5, and these cameras never have a problem with battery life.
The only thing is that they use a cable that is a bit bulky, since it is a usb and tv out all-in-one cable, id preffer if they just used universal usb cable, but it's not that of a big deal.
If you want to get a compact camera, go for this one, and if deciding between t5 and t9, no doubt, go for t9, picture quality is so much better, t9 is worth every penny.
