The Sony Cybershot DSC H20 gives you plenty of zoom in a compact body. It has 10 megapixels and a 10x optical zoom lens. It can shoot High Definition movies with stereo sound. It is also one of the few cameras that allow the zoom to be used while recording a movie.

If you are looking for extra zoom in a compact body the Cybershot DSC H20 does a solid, all round job. The movie mode is very advanced and I also like the design.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
We are off to a good start. There is plenty of contrast in this shot, but the camera handles it well. It is able to show a lot of detail in the lighter areas of the boats. This suggests the camera is able to cope with occasional sun glare. Focusing is sharp too.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
One of the biggest differences between the Cybershot DSC H20 and a number of other cameras I have reviewed recently are the colours this camera produces. In my outdoor scenes the colours have been softer with a subtler feel. This shot highlights this point. The levels of colour are a matter of personal taste, so it really does depend on how you like your photos to look. I am happy with the sharpness of this shot.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
You will almost always see a level of purple fringing with a digital camera with a longer lens. This will show at its most extreme when the lens is fully extended as for this test shot. The amount showing here is negligible and is unlikely to cause much of a problem to you.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
When you blow up this picture to a larger size you have no problems making out the individual bricks. I am happy with the crispness of my outdoor test shots and the levels of sharpness this camera delivers should satisfy most people.

Outdoor Portrait
This photo was taken at the end of a warm day in the shade. The type of light available at the time has produced a picture with a slight orange glow. As most of your portrait shots are likely to be taken using different lighting conditions this is unlikely to prove to be an issue. You can also adjust white balance to fine tune how your photos will look.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
The Cybershot DSC H20 does well to produce natural looking colours despite the use of the flash. The photo is evenly lit, but the light does bounce back off the face to produce some shiny areas. It is difficult for a camera to get the amount of light emitted by the flash to be exactly right and the light bouncing back is often a problem when flash is directed straight at the subject.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
I prefer the indoor photo taken using flash. Despite the light being good I can detect noise starting to creep in and there are signs colours may break down once the light starts to fall.

Colours
As I mentioned above the colours tend to have a gentler feel than most cameras produce. This means the outdoor scenes look more like they did when the photos were taken.

Macro
I have commented a few times recently that cameras like the Cybershot DSC H20 take good close up shots. I believe the reason for this is related to the larger physical size of the lens. This picture shows a good deal of detail and definition. The only problem is a hint of purple fringing. This is something I have noticed with other Sony digital cameras from time to time. This is only likely to crop up when photography bright, shiny objects.

ISO 400 and ISO 1600
There is not a lot to report when it comes to using higher ISO settings. As you would expect noise is noticeable in photos at around ISO 400. In darker areas of a shot you may notice it below this point too.

Overall
Overall the Cybershot DSC H20 has performed well in my tests. There are no major flaws.

I timed a single shot at 0.34 seconds and five at 10.35 seconds. With flash my times were 0.41 seconds for a single shot and 12.25 seconds for five. These are all good times.

To turn the camera on and take the first shot took 2.6 seconds. Again this is inline with expectations.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The design is simple, yet effective. I like the matt black finish the camera has and considering the length of lens the size of the camera is very compact..

107.3 x 68.7 x 47.1mm

250g

Lithium ion (NP-BG1). Sony estimate it should be able to take in the region of 250 shots before it needs to be recharged.

Sony has only built 11 megabytes of memory into the camera. This is enough for just two test shots. The Cybershot DSC H20 is compatible with Memory Stick™ Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo™. Memory Stick PRO Duo™ High Speed, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo™ (same speed as PRO Duo), memory cards.

Click here to save money on SD cards..

Good. As is typical of this type of digital camera there are extra features to get to grips with. On the whole Sony has done a good job with ease of use.

Extra zoom at lower resolutions - HD movies with zoom and stereo sound - compact design - 3 inch LCD screen

Not much memory to get you started.

The Panasonic Lumix DMC TZ7 is built along similar lines. This is a camera that produces more vivid colour than the Cybershot DSC H20 and is worth taking a look at to measure this camera against.

The Sony Cybershot DSC H20 gets most things right. There is plenty of competition, but this camera provides a reliable alternative to models from Panasonic and Canon.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

Description:	10 megapixels and a 10x optical zoom
Ease of Use:	8
Features:	8
Colour:	8
Macro:	8
Indoors:	8
Value for Money:	8
Style:	8
Movie Mode:	9
Image Quality:	8
Build Quality:	8
Total:	81
Verdict:	This is a neat, compact digital camera offering extra zoom. Picture quality is good and the movie mode is advanced too. I like the design of the camera and there is a manual exposure mode as well.
Review Date:	June 2009
Related Pages:	Sony DSC H20 Specification Sony DSC H20 Sample Images Sony DSC H20 Features

	GBP 212.33
	GBP 219
	GBP 219.99
	GBP 219.99
	GBP 229
	GBP 240.00
	GBP 246.52
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Camera	Rating
Fuji Finepix F70EXR	85
Canon Powershot SX120 IS	85
Panasonic DMC TZ7	85
Canon Powershot SX200 IS	85
Samsung WB500	84
Sony DSC H20	81
Fuji Finepix S1500	81
Olympus MJU 9000	79

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Sony DSC H20