Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M2 First Impressions Review

Front
The front of the Sony M2 is rather plain looking yet very odd indeed. The lens is stacked atop the unadorned vertically rectangular body. The circular lens barrel has a thick rim around it that is big enough for the tiny rectangular flash to sit within it, directly above the lens. The Sony logo sits directly below the lens and the orange AF illuminator and self-timer indicator LED sit to the left of the lens. At the bottom of the digital camera is a centered divot. This is supposed to aid in handling somehow, but it doesn’t really do all that much.

Back
This digital camera definitely does not look like its competitors. Most compact cameras have a horizontal design; the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-M2 has a distinctly vertical look. The top of the back flips sideways for better LCD screen viewing. The back of the LCD screen has the usual gamut of slogans: “5.1 Megapixels and MPEG Movie 4TV.” In between the left and right speakers is the word “Stereo.” All of these words and features are neatly placed in the center of the LCD screen.

The joint between the LCD screen and the main portion of the body isn’t as nicely organized. There are three circular buttons: the top one lets users view pictures as thumbnails in the playback mode. The bottom two buttons are for deleting files and bringing up the menu. To the right of these buttons (when the LCD is flipped outward) is the large, circular multi-selector. There is a large outer rim that surrounds the four navigational buttons and the central selection button. The navigational buttons all have separate functions when they are not scrolling through menu options. The top button accesses the self-timer. The button on the left calls up the macro and landscape focus modes. The bottom button changes flash settings. The right button selects different focus modes. Centered directly below the multi-selector is the zoom toggle, which is reminiscent of a teeter-totter with the ‘W’ on the left to access the wide angle of the lens and the ‘T’ on the right to zoom in closely to subjects. To the right of the zoom toggle are three LED lights that are all properly labeled. The top one indicates when the flash is ready to go and when the battery is charging. The middle light blinks when recording. The bottom LED indicates when users are in the playback mode.

Directly below the zoom toggle is a V-shaped light-colored panel with three circular silver buttons at each point in the ‘V’. The left button is for the Photo mode that takes still images. The middle button is labeled Mode but is used to enter the playback mode. The button on the right enters the Movie mode and begins recording when pressed. Below the outer buttons are tiny switches that adjust the time recording before and after the snapshot in the hybrid recording mode.

Left Side
The left side is completely void of features.

Right Side
There is a power button at the top of the right side, although this is hardly used since the power automatically turns on when the LCD screen is flipped out. Below the power button is the built-in microphone, which is strangely placed. Fingers can easily cover it up, garbling the audio. Below the mic is a rubber rectangle that covers the DC in port. If the camera is viewed very closely, you can see a tiny wrist strap eyelet below the rubber door.

Top
There aren’t many features on the top of the Sony M2 because there simply isn’t much room. Atop the little lens are a few words hailing the camera’s 3x optical zoom lens, but that’s about it.

Bottom
The underside of the M2 reveals a tripod mount on the left side and a plastic hinged door on the right side. The door houses the lithium-ion battery and the Sony MemoryStick Duo or Duo Pro. Below the door is a jack that connects to the Cyber-shot Station cradle.