Sony Cybershot DSC-H2 Review

Review Date: September 11th 2006
Author: Gavin Stoker

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Conclusion

Ratings (out of 5)
Design	4
Features	4.5
Ease-of-Use	4.5
Image Quality	4
Value for Money	4.5

Enthusiasts who either don't want, or can't afford, to stretch to a DSLR will get the most from the Sony Cybershot DSC-H2, along with beginners who eventually will want to do more than point and shoot without having to upgrade. It manages to satisfy both camps with amazingly few compromises. Plastic build and chunky Fisher Price looks aside, it's responsive, takes decent images and is keenly priced. That 12x optical zoom, equivalent to 36-432mm in 35mm terms, is great for lifestyle photography – by which I mean candid portraiture – and the Super SteadyShot image stabiliser works more often that not, with only really the lack of TIFF or RAW capture finding the H2 seriously lacking when compared against a budget DSLR. Those unable to blackmail the bank manager for an Alpha 100 DSLR can instead take comfort in the fact that the H2's handling of image noise is certainly no worse than the Alpha with kit lens (light sensitivity also capped at ISO 1000). Overall the H2 is not quite a '5 out of 5' but it is a camera deserving of strong recommendation nonetheless.

PhotographyBLOG is a member of the DIWA organisation. Our test results for the Sony Cybershot DSC-H2 have been submitted to DIWA for comparison with test results for different samples of the same camera model supplied by other DIWA member sites.

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