The Sony DSC N2 is a stylish digital camera with ten megapixels and a three times optical zoom. The feature that sets the DSC N2 apart from just about all other digital cameras is its large 3" touch LCD screen. This cuts the number of dials and buttons the camera has to an absolute minimum, helping to accentuate its looks and style.
Another feature that adds to the attraction of the camera is the fact it has a manual exposure mode. This allows you to set the shutter speed and aperture you shoot at.
Image Quality
My series of test photos show the DSC N2 to be a versatile digital camera, at home in the majority of situations. I found the camera acted as well indoors as it did outside.
Starting with the outdoor test shots I noticed a number of common themes. To start with focusing and colours are impressive. The glare of the sun is also handled well in all three photos with plenty of detail showing on the white areas of the boats. There is a slight fall off in focusing levels of each shot as you move towards the edges, but on the whole each photo is sharp.
One downside I noticed was that there is a degree of pixilation showing in the skies. These give the skies a slightly uneven look. This is only likely to cause a problem when you make larger size prints.
The DSC N2 should be able to cope with most scenic type shots, producing good quality photos in the majority of situations.
As I mentioned above I like the colours the camera produces. The balance between the individual colours is just about right and the photos are a fair reflection of each scene when the photo was taken. The dedicated test for colours also shows the colours to be powerful without becoming overbearing.
Although I am quite happy with the outdoor portrait shot I would like the light to have a gentler feel to it as it falls on the face. The photo was taken in the shade, so this is not direct sunlight. The harsher lighting takes away some of the detail and washes away a little of the colour. Perhaps I am being a little picky here!
Indoors the camera works well in lower light. The portrait shot is sharply focused, although there is a degree of red eye showing. The lighting is good and the DSC N2 manages to produce a bright photo considering the conditions.
My next indoor photo is taken in even more difficult conditions, yet the camera still manages to produce a sharply focused shot. The two indoor shots combined suggest the camera should be able to handle most low lighting situations.
The macro shot is sharp and clear. The problem with the shot is that it has a slight blue colour caste. You may be able to get round this problem by adjusting the white balance settings. You can also correct this type of problem fairly easily using a package such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. This problem is only likely to occur when taking photos under artificial lighting.
In my final tests I have increased the ISO levels. These show clear deterioration in the quality of the photos are you step up the ISO setting. At ISO 400 noise is creeping into the shot and affecting the colour. At ISO 1600 the photo becomes quite grey with high noise levels.
Shutter Lag and Recycling Times
An area where the DSC N2 excels is when it comes to shutter lag. Here it is a star performer putting most other digital cameras in the shade. It managed to take a single photo in 0.14 seconds and five photos in 7.62 seconds. The time for a single photo is especially impressive. With the flash on the times increase to 0.32 seconds for a single photo and 8.39 seconds for five photos. These are still fast times.
You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.
Features
The 3x optical zoom lens has a focal length equivalent to 38 - 114 in 35mm format. Further zoom is provide by digital zoom and smart zoom. Smart zoom does not decrease picture quality, but is only available at lower resolutions. Up to 17x smart zoom is available.
For close up shots macro mode can focus from 6cm away from the subject. You can choose between single and monitoring focusing methods and multi point, spot, and centre weighted focusing areas. You can also specify the focusing distance.
To help you improve your photos there are a number of preset scenes you can use. Each time you select a scene the DSC N2 uses what it considers to be the optimum settings for the shot. The scene modes available are: Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Snow, Beach and Fireworks.
The built in flash unit has a maximum range of 4.8m. This falls to 2.5m when the zoom lens is in use. The flash modes you can use are: Auto, Forced Flash, Slow Synchro, No Flash. Red eye reduction can be turned on and off. Flash white balance is available too.
As previously mentioned the LCD screen is three inches in size. It is made up of around 230,000 dots.
The maximum lens aperture is f2.8 (wide) and f5.4 (tele). Shutter speeds work in the range 1/8 seconds to 1/1000 seconds. Other advanced features include exposure compensation (+/-2.0 EV, 1/3 EV step), white balance (Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, Flash), metering (Multi Pattern, Spot, Centre Weighted) and ISO (Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600). You can also adjust levels of sharpness, saturation and contrast.
A burst mode allows you to take up to four shots at a rate of roughly one shot every four seconds. There is also a multi burst mode. This takes 16 simultaneous shots and builds them into a single image in a four by four image square.
All the cables and software you need to link up with a computer, television of PictBridge compatible printer are included in the box.
You can shoot movies at a maximum resolution of 640 x 480 pixels. The top speed for recording is 30 frames per second. You can zoom in before you start filming, but not while recording is in progress.
Ease of Use
You may think that a touch screen makes the camera much easy to use. In many ways it does, but there are also some drawbacks. Finding menu options is quite straightforward. It is also easy to move through the menus. There are very few buttons on the camera, so there is very little to master in this respect.
Where the camera is less easier to use is that the touch screen can slow you down. For example instead of pressing a button to set the flash you have to go into the menu system, select flash and then choose the setting you would like. Although not exactly difficult it can slow the whole process down.
Cost
Comparing the Sony DSC N2 (£235) against other ten megapixel digital cameras you can see the effect the touch screen has on the price. Other models are the Canon IXUS 900 Ti (£235), Casio Exilim EX-Z1000 (£175) and the Olympus MJU 1000 (£190). The manual exposure mode also helps to explain the higher price tag.
Style
The DSC N2 is champagne colour. With so few buttons the camera has a very neat and tidy appearance. With dimensions of 96.7 x 61.1 x 22.7mm it is small enough to slip into a pocket. It weighs 151g.
Batteries
Power is supplied by a lithium ion battery (NP-BG1). Both a battery and a charger are supplied as standard. Sony estimates you should be able to take around 300 shots in between charges.
Memory Cards
Images are recorded either to the internal memory or a memory stick duo or memory stick duo pro card. As Sony have built 25mb of memory into the DSC N2 a memory card is not supplied as standard. I was only able to take six photos before the internal memory was full. This is hardly enough to give the camera a decent test.
Click here to save money on Memory Stick Duo.
Points I like:
Shutter lag
Indoor photos
Design and style
Where it is not so hot:
Small internal memory
Summary
I always like to see a digital camera offering something different to the rest. The Sony DSC N2 does this through its touch screen and also its manual exposure mode. Picture quality is good and the camera is stylish as well. Whether or not the camera offers good value for money will depend on how important these extra features are to you.
Front View
Back View
Top View
Sample Menus
| Sony DSC N2 Summary |
| Description: | 10 megapixels and a 3 times zoom lens |
| Ease of Use: | 8 |
| Features: | 8 |
| Colour: | 8 |
| Macro: | 8 |
| Indoors: | 9 |
| Value for Money: | 8 |
| Style: | 8 |
| Movie Mode: | 8 |
| Image Quality: | 8 |
| Build Quality: | 8 |
| Total: | 81 |
| Verdict: | The Sony DSC N2 is a smart looking digital camera with some smart features. It is one of the very few cameras with a touch response LCD screen. It also has a fully manual mode. Shutter lag times are extremely low and this is a good all round pocket sized digital camera. |
| Review Date: | April 2007 |
| Click for: | Specification Sample Images |
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