Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20 Digital Camera Review

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20

Digital Camera Review

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20 falls into a curious mid-range point in the consumer camera market. With a 10X zoom lens, it doesn't have the incredible zoom reach of some cameras. But neither does it have the sleek, thin profile of other compact cameras; it has a practical, blocky design that is more for use than show. But it does have an attractive feature set, shooting 10.1 megapixel images and 720p high definition video.
Advertisement
Recently Viewed Products
$325
$85
$3,995
$138
Top Point & Shoot Cameras
Max Price: $1020
$0 $255 $510 $765 $1020
Filters
All
Canon
Casio
Fuji
Kodak
Nikon
Olympus
Panasonic
Pentax
Sony
All
Compact
High-End
Pocket
Ultra-Zoom
1.Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1
Ultra-Zoom
$400
2.Canon SX1 IS
Ultra-Zoom
$527
3.Panasonic DMC-ZS3
Compact
$318
4.Samsung HZ15W
Ultra-Zoom
$280
5.Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900
Pocket
$325
Cyber-shot DSC-H20 Prices
Latest Camera Reviews
DSLR Point & Shoot
Panasonic
DMC-GF1
Samsung
TL225
Pentax
K10D
Canon
PowerShot S90
Olympus
E-P1
Canon
G11
Canon
EOS 5D
Panasonic
DMC-ZS3
Nikon
D3000
Canon
PowerShot A650 IS
Cyber-shot DSC-H20 Manual

Instruction Manual
Cyber-shot DSC-H20 Official Site
Cyber-shot® Digital Camera DSC-H20/B

Hardware
 
image Product Tour Page 3 of 8 Design & Layout image

Viewfinder


There is no viewfinder on the H20; all photos are framed and displayed on the LCD screen.
 

LCD


The LCD screen of the H20 is a 3-inch model with 230,000 pixels. We found the screen to be clear and bright when we looked at a demo unit at the PMA show, but  we were not able to test it in the bright daylight that can turn many screens into pale shades of their indoor selves.
 

The 3-inch LCD screen of the H20 takes up most of the back

Flash


The H20 has a rather small flash that lives in the hump above the lens. This pops up when required, and can be easily pushed down again when not needed. Sony claims that the flash has a range of 23 feet, but this seems a little optimistic to us; we wouldn't be surprised if it was not much use beyond a few feet.
 

The pop-up flash of the H20

Lens 


The H20 is built around a 10X zoom lens, with a focal length equivalent to a 38 to 380mm lens on a 35mm film camera. While that's plenty at the telephoto end, the wide angle is disappointing, as 38mm won't allow you to get in a large group of people, or an expansive landscape. The aperture of the lens is also on the weak side; it goes from f/3.5 to f/8 at the wide end and f/6.3 to f/8 at the telephoto end.
 

The lens of the H20
 

Jacks, Ports & Plugs


The H20's connection to the outside world is through a single port on the bottom of the camera. The supplied multi connector cable plugs into this and provides video and audio outputs, plus a USB connection.
 

Battery


The battery of the H20 has a claimed battery life of around 290 images, which is decent, if unspectacular.
 

The battery of the H20

Memory


Like most Sony cameras, the H20 uses Sony's own Memory Stick Pro Duo memory cards rather than the more common SDHC cards .
 

 

 

Product Tour Page 3 of 8 Design & Layout Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H20 First Impressions Digital Camera Review Navigation

Advertisement