Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T90 review

Is Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-T90 worth its high price?

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T90
Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-T90 hides some impressive tech behind that sliding lens cover

TechRadar Verdict

An excellent and innovative camera, but you pay for it

Pros

  • +

    Touchscreen menus

  • +

    Very compact

  • +

    1080 HD recording

Cons

  • -

    Expensive

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The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T90 is one of the most compact and innovative digital cameras on the market. It also happens to be the most expensive, but it's well worth checking out if you have the budget.

At just 15mm thick, it's one of the slimmest and most compact units around. Two thirds of the front of the camera acts as a lens cover that you pull down to reveal the lens and also switches the camera on.

On top of the body you'll find power and shoot buttons, along with a zoom toggle, which is rather small and proved awkward to use.

One of the more unique features of the DSC range is the use of a 3-inch touchscreen display. This means you won't find any function buttons on the back of the device. Instead, it's taken up fully by the screen.

Icons running down either side of the screen quickly allow you to get the best possible settings for the shot. We weren't expecting the screen to be as responsive as it turned out to be, proving highly effective and an intuitive way to set up any shot.

On the downside, using touchscreen technology does mean the image quality on the screen isn't as sharp as that found on some other cameras, with images looking particularly grainy onscreen when used indoors.

When setting up the camera to take still images there are a number of neat little features, such as the menu informing you that the 12.1-megapixel rating is ideal for prints up to A3 in size. Then there is the Intelligent Auto setting that takes control of settings to let you simply take photos.

When it comes to getting more from this camera, you'll be able to record movies in full HD mode. However, you'll need to have a high-capacity memory card fitted before you can take advantage of this function.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T90 is definitely one of the most innovative cameras on offer. If you can find it for less than the quoted price, then you'll have found a true bargain.

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