Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500 Review
Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 10M JPEG mode, which gives an average image size of around 3.5Mb.
As we noted back in our reviews of the Cyber-shot T100 and T300, the bugbear of producing a camera like the T500 that has its lens located at the top far right hand side of its front plate means that it's very easy for fingertips to creep into shot when the camera is held in both hands for a steadier shot. When using the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500 over the course of our review period I found myself sometimes overlooking those stray digits, though a quick review on the LCD does at least signal telltale shadows at the edge of the frame. Of course, when viewing in daylight this isn't always that easy to spot and images on screen generally appear sharper at first glance than when eventually downloaded. Even in the dullish conditions of late winter the T500 impresses however with the well-saturated colours we've come to expect from the Cyber-shot range. The combination of its 10 megapixel sensor and Carl Zeiss lens also delivers a pleasingly high degree of sharpness and detail – if both your camera and subject are fairly static. With its auto everything tendency to make every image as bright as possible when conditions are fairly drab there's inevitably some burnt-out highlight detail, while purple pixel fringing makes an appearance with a darkened foreground and a background of featureless skies. But so has it ever been with Sony Cyber-shots, so the above comes as no major shock. Edge-to-edge sharpness is well maintained even at maximum wideangle, though our white wall shots do display a very slight barrel distortion and corner shading. While none of this should necessarily sway your purchase decision either way, ISO performance may prove more of a decider, noise making an appearance from ISO 400, although ISO 800 is still perfectly usable. Quality and detail has noticeably deteriorated by ISO 1600 however, and at ISO 3200 the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500's shots are beginning to resemble a fuzzy grab from a security camera.
Noise
There are 7 ISO settings available on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
ISO 80 (100% Crop) |
ISO 100 (100% Crop) |
ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
ISO 1600 (100% Crop) |
ISO 3200 (100% Crop) |
|
Sharpening
Here are two 100% Crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are a little soft at the default sharpening setting. Unfortunately you can't change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default look, so you will have to edit the images later.
Original (100% Crop) |
Sharpened (100% Crop) |
Chromatic Aberrations
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500 did suffer from chromatic aberrations during the review, but it was generally very well controlled. Limited purple fringing was mainly present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.
Example 1 (100% Crop)
|
Example 2 (100% Crop)
|
Macro
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500 offers a Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is 8cms away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
Macro Shot |
Macro Shot (100% Crop) |
Flash
The flash settings on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500 are Auto, Forced On, Slow Syncro and Forced Off. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
Flash Off - Wide Angle (33mm) |
Auto Flash - Wide Angle (33mm) |
Flash Off - Telephoto (165mm) |
Auto Flash - Telephoto (165mm) |
And here are a couple of portrait shots. As you can see, neither the Auto setting or the Red-eye option caused any amount of red-eye.
Flash On |
Flash On (100% Crop) |
Flash - Red-eye Flash |
Flash - Red-eye Flash (100% Crop) |
Night Shot
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500's maximum shutter speed is 2 seconds in the Twilight scene mode, which isn't good news if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 1/4 second, f3.5 at ISO 800. I've included a 100% crop of the image to show what the quality is like.
Night Shot |
Night Shot (100% Crop) |
Sample Images
This is a selection of sample images from the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500 camera, which were all taken using the 10M JPEG setting. The thumbnails below link to the full-sized versions, which have not been altered in any way.
1/40s · f/3.5 · ISO 125
5.8mm
Download Original
1/40s · f/3.5 · ISO 125
5.8mm
Download Original
1/125s · f/3.5 · ISO 80
5.8mm
Download Original
1/250s · f/3.5 · ISO 80
5.8mm
Download Original
1/100s · f/3.5 · ISO 80
5.8mm
Download Original
1/320s · f/4.5 · ISO 80
15.24mm
Download Original
1/400s · f/5.6 · ISO 80
8.21mm
Download Original
1/400s · f/5.6 · ISO 80
8.21mm
Download Original
1/200s · f/4.5 · ISO 80
5.8mm
Download Original
1/100s · f/3.5 · ISO 80
5.8mm
Download Original
1/40s · f/3.5 · ISO 80
5.8mm
Download Original
1/40s · f/3.5 · ISO 125
5.8mm
Download Original
1/40s · f/3.5 · ISO 250
5.8mm
Download Original
1/4s · f/3.5 · ISO 800
5.8mm
Download Original
1/4s · f/3.5 · ISO 800
5.8mm
Download Original
1/50s · f/3.5 · ISO 400
10.4mm
Download Original
1/60s · f/3.5 · ISO 80
5.8mm
Download Original
1/80s · f/3.5 · ISO 80
11.58mm
Download Original
1/100s · f/4.5 · ISO 80
11.03mm
Download Original
1/40s · f/3.5 · ISO 100
5.8mm
Download Original
1/40s · f/3.5 · ISO 200
5.8mm
Download Original
1/40s · f/3.5 · ISO 250
5.8mm
Download Original
1/125s · f/4 · ISO 125
17.94mm
Download Original
1/125s · f/4 · ISO 400
17.94mm
Download Original
1/40s · f/3.5 · ISO 160
5.8mm
Download Original
1/125s · f/4.4 · ISO 250
29mm
Download Original
1/25s · f/3.5 · ISO 80
5.8mm
Download Original
Sample Movie & Video
This is a sample movie at the quality setting of 1280x720 at 30 frames per second. Please note that this 25 second movie is 29.4Mb in size.
Product Images
Front of the Camera / Turned Off |
Front of the Camera / Turned On |
Isometric View |
Isometric View |
Rear of the Camera |
Rear of the Camera / Turned On |
Top of the Camera |
Bottom of the Camera |
Side of the Camera |
|
Side of the Camera |
Battery Compartment |
Memory Card Slot |
Docking Station |
Conclusion
Given that its suggested list price is below £300, Sony's metal-build Cyber-shot T500 feels fairly priced if not quite an outright bargain buy now you can pick up a 10 megapixel alternative for as little as £100. Still, it is a small object of desire that will in truth tempt more the monied or fashion-conscious snapper than it will the photo enthusiast, or anyone wanting a cheap-as-chips intro to digital photography.
Given that, as with the previous T300 model, 95% of the Sony Cyber-shot functions are accessed via the T500's screen, having a larger than average display proves both a boon initially, and, in the final analysis, a necessity. The 3.5-inch screen is larger than that usually found on a pocket compact and very responsive – as we've noted it can occasionally feel too responsive, and apart from the strange doubling-up of some functions via the Home and Menu options, is intuitive to use for the most part. You will however be constantly wiping it clean of smeared thumb and fingerprints, readily noticeable when the screen is inactive.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500's image quality is perfectly adequate if not quite awe-inspiring, with inevitably the best results achievable when there is plenty of light around. But if what your camera looks like matters to you as much – or probably more – than how its images look, then the Sony T500 represents a fair compromise between output and form factor.
Ratings (out of 5) | |
---|---|
Design | 4 |
Features | 4 |
Ease-of-use | 4 |
Image quality | 3 |
Value for money | 3 |
Review Roundup
Reviews of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T500 from around the web.
digitalcamerareview.com »
The bottom line on the T500 is that it's a solid camera, with quick performance and a high fun factor. Its size is hard to beat, and its movies look great and even sound alright to boot. Even considering its high price point, the T500 delivers an awful lot – probably more that's useful, on balance, than the T700, unless storing lots of images on your camera is your thing. It's certainly not the camera it could have been with a better (probably retractable-design) lens, a more powerful battery, and some manual exposure controls, but respecting its limitations and shortcomings, the T500 works reasonably well as a total package as it is.
Read the full review »
Specifications
Lens
Optical Zoom | 5x |
Precision Digital Zoom | Approx.10x (Total) |
Smart Zoom | up to 28x (with VGA) |
F | 3.5-4.4 |
Focal Length (f= mm) | 5.8-29 |
Focal Length (f=35mm conversion) | 33-165 |
Macro (cm) | Wide: Approx. 8-infinity, Tele: Approx. 80-infinity |
Filter Diameter (mm) | NO |
Conversion Lens compatibility | YES |
NightShot | NO |
NightFraming | NO |
Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens | YES |
Image Sensory
CCD Type | Super HAD CCD |
Size (Inches) | 1/2.3 |
Camera
Effective Pixels (Mega Pixels) | Approx. 10.1M |
Bionz Processor | NO |
Face Detection | YES |
Smile Shutter | NO |
A/D Conversion (DXP) (Bit) | 14 |
Clear RAW NR | YES |
Auto Focus Method (Single) | YES |
Auto Focus Method (Monitoring) | YES |
Auto Focus Method (Continuous) | NO |
Auto Focus Area (Multi Point) | YES |
Auto Focus Area (Centre weighted) | YES |
Auto Focus Area (Spot) | YES |
Auto Focus Area (Flexible Spot) | YES |
Manual Focus | NO |
Focus Preset | YES |
Focus Preset (m) | 1 / 3 / 7 / Unlimited distance |
Aperture Auto Mode | YES |
Aperture Priority Mode | NO |
Aperture Manual Mode | NO |
Shutter Speed Auto Mode (sec) | 1/4-1/1000 |
NR Slow Shutter | YES |
Hand Shake Alert | YES |
Exposure Control | +/- 2.0 EV, 1/ 3 EV step |
White Balance | Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent1, Fluorescent2, Fluorescent3, Incandescent, Flash |
Automatic White Balance | YES |
Light Metering (Multi Pattern) | YES |
Light Metering (Centre weighted) | YES |
Light Metering (Spot) | YES |
Sharpness Setting | NO |
Saturation Setting | NO |
Contrast Setting | NO |
ISO Sensitivity (REI) | YES (Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200) |
Scene Selection | Twilight, Twilight portrait, Soft snap, Landscape, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, High speed shutter, High Sensitivity |
AF Illuminator | YES |
Flash Mode | Auto, Forced Flash, Slow Syncro, No Flash |
Distance limitations using Flash (m) | 0.15-3.5 (wide), 0.8-2.7 (tele) |
Pre-flash | YES |
Red-eye Reduction | YES |
Auto Daylight Synchronized Flash | YES |
Super SteadyShot
Super SteadyShot capability | YES |
Auto Focus System
AF Illuminator | YES |
Built-In-Flash
Flash Mode | Auto, Forced Flash, Slow Syncro, No Flash |
Red-Eye Reduction | YES |
Auto Daylight Synchronized Flash | YES |
LCD/ Viewfinder
LCD Screen Size (inches) | 3.5 |
LCD Total Dots Number | 230.400 |
LCD Monitor Type | TFT |
Auto Bright Monitoring | YES |
LCD Field of View (%) | 100 |
Optical Viewfinder | NO |
Electrical Viewfinder | NO |
LCD screen
LCD Field of View (%) | 100 |
Recording
Recording Media | Memory Stick™ Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo™. Memory Stick PRO Duo™ High Speed, Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo (same speed as PRO Duo). Internal memory (4MB) |
Recording Format | JPEG, MPEG4 AVC/H.264 |
Memory Stick Pro Interface | Parallel |
DCF (Design rule for Camera File System) | YES |
DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) | YES |
Burst Mode (shots) | 100 |
Burst Interval (approximately sec) | 0.74 |
Still Image size (10 Mega 3648 x 2736) | YES |
Still Image size (5.0 Mega, 2592 x 1944) | YES |
Still Image size (3.1 Mega, 2048 x 1536) | YES |
Still Image size (VGA, 640 x 480) | YES |
Still Image size (16:9 mode, 1920 x 1080) | YES |
Still Image size (16:9 mode, 3648 x 2056) | YES |
Still Image size (3:2 mode 3648 x 2432) | YES |
Moving Image Size (1280x720 30fps Fine Approx.9Mbps) | YES |
Moving Image Size (1280x720 30fps Standard Approx.6Mbps) | |
Moving Image Size (640x480 30fps Approx.3Mbps) | YES |
Playback/ Edit
HD (High Definition) Playback | YES |
Slideshow Playback | YES |
Slideshow with Music | YES |
Trimming | YES |
Resize | NO |
Playback Zoom | YES |
Divide (MPEG) | NO |
Cue & Review (MPEG) | YES |
Index Playback | YES |
Image Rotation | YES |
Auto Image Rotation | YES |
General
Battery Remaining Indicator | YES |
Histogram Indicator | YES |
Exposure Warning Indicator | YES |
Disk / Memory Stick remaining indicator | YES |
PTP (Picture Transfer Protocol) | YES |
Print Image Matching | YES |
PictBridge | YES |
Shop Front Mode | YES |
Start up time (approximately sec) | 1.9 |
Menu Language | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish |
Bluetooth® Function | NO |
Jacks
Multi use Terminal with HD | YES |
Multi use Terminal | YES |
AV Out | NO |
Digital I/O (USB) | NO |
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed | YES |
Power/ Others
Battery System | Lithium D |
Supplied Battery | NP-BD1 |
Stamina (battery life) with the supplied battery(s) in normal shooting condition | 180 shots, 90min (CIPA standard with LCD screen on) |
Battery for Clock | Manganese-Silicon (MS614S) |
Weight (g) | 155 |
Weight with Accessories (g) | 180 |
Supplied Software | Windows: Picture Motion Browser Ver.3.1 + USB Driver + Picture Package Music Transfer |
Supplied Accessories | Rechargeble battery pack (NP-BD1), Battery charger, A / V cable, USB cable, Wrist Strap, CD-ROM, Multi-output Stand |
Dimensions
Width (mm) | 97 |
Height (mm) | 59.3 |
Depth (mm) | 21.4 |
Loading comments…