Sony DSC-T9 Review

The DSC-T9 features a 3x Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar "folded" 6.33 - 19.0mm optical zoom with 38 - 114mm coverage (as compared to a 35mm camera.)   The lens operates completely inside of the body. This is a high quality, all-glass lens constructed of 11 elements in 8 groups with 3 aspheric elements.

The DSC-T9 is equipped with a newly-developed Super SteadyShot lens-shift system with two gyro-sensors that detects hand movement, and automatically calculates the compensation needed to provide a clear, crisp image. Sony is the first manufacturer to incorporate an advanced lens-shift optical image stabilizer into a camera with a folded-path lens system. This is what allows for a compact form; the lens does not have to extend from the body of the camera.

The DSC-T9 employs a 5-point Multipoint auto focus system with a low-light focus assist illuminator. The working focus range is from 50 cm (19.7") to infinity in normal mode and in Macro the coverage is from 8 cm (3.1") to infinity. Using the Magnifying Glass Mode it can focus from 1 - 20 cm (0.4 - 8 in.) for incredible closeups. You can also manually select one of 5 focus distance presets from 0.5m to infinity.

The built-in flash has modes for Auto flash, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill-in, Slow Synchro and Flash Cancel. The flash has a working range of: approx. 0.1m to 2.8m (0.3 to 9.2 feet) in Wide angle when ISO is set to Auto.

The lens is protected by the sliding front cover when it's not powered up. Sliding the cover down turns the camera on, sliding it up turns it off.

On the top is the shutter release, the on/off power switch, Super SteadyShot button, Play/Still/Movie mode switch and the microphone.

The back is dominated by a huge 2.5-inch color TFT LCD monitor with 230,000 pixels of resolution. It's the viewfinder and is also used for image review, sharing and accessing the menu system. This is a transmissive / reflective hybrid display that's visible even in the direct sunlight. Sony's "Clear Photo LCD" technology provides higher resolution, contrast ratio and brightness.

Controls on the back:

On the top is the zoom lens control, the Wide button acts as the Index button and the Telephoto button acts as the Enlarged button in playback. Just below the zoom control is the Monitor button, it turns the LCD backlight on and off and controls the amount of information that is displayed. The MENU button calls up or dismisses the onscreen menus. The 4-way selector lets you navigate through the menus or select images during playback. Pressing it in the center accepts selections. In record it lets you select the flash mode, macro focus, self-timer and Quick Review mode. The button below and to the left of the 4-way selector lets you quickly change the image size in record mode and acts as the image delete button in playback. The button to the right starts a slideshow playback of your pictures.

The I/O and docking cradle connector is on the bottom. If not using the optional CSS-TNA Cyber-shot Station cradle, the included cable has outputs for USB 2.0 high-speed transfer to the computer or connection to a PictBridge printer, Audio-Video for display on a TV (video signal can be set for NTSC or PAL standard), Audio is monoraul and there's also a jack for an optional AC power adapter.

Located on the side with the battery is the Memory Stick Duo card slot. The DSC-T9 has 58 megabytes of internal memory and supports any capacity Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick Pro Duo card up to 2GB. Data can be easily copied back and forth between the internal memory and flash cards.

The higher performance MS PRO Duo cards are required for recording movies in the 640-Fine VX mode. This mode captures VGA size video at 30 frames per second.

Approx. Storage Capacities

The top line is FINE, the bottom line is STANDARD quality

Power is supplied by a Sony NP-FT1 3.6v 2.4WH (680mAh) InfoLITHIUM rechargeable battery pack. Sony quotes a battery life of approx. 240 images or a viewing time is approx. 160 minutes. The battery is replenished out of the camera with the included BC-CS3 AC battery charger.

The optional Sony CSS-TNA Cyber-shot Station (US$79.95) makes transferring images from your compatible digital camera easier than ever before. Simply place your camera in the base and it instantly starts charging while providing a quick connection to your personal computer and your television set.

The CSS-TNA includes a USB cable for computer transfers and an audio/video cable so you can view your pictures and videos on your television. It also includes a wireless Remote Commander for easy control of your digital camera anywhere in the room. The CSS-TNA is compatable with Sony digital camera models: DSC-N1, DSC-T5 and DSC-T9.