Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100

The Sony T100 spices up the ultra-slim digital camera market. It comes with 8.1 megapixels, a 5x optically stabilized zoom lens, face detection, and even high-definition output. The trendy and glittery T100 has an enormous 3-inch LCD screen and automatic exposure modes with a smattering of manual controls that makes it appealing to point-and-shooters. It costs $399 and stands at the top of the Cyber-shot T-series lineup.

Physical Tour

Front (8.0)
When the metal sliding door is closed, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T100 looks like a cell phone or other electronic device. When the door is shut, there is a Sony logo on the right and a chrome vertical rectangle on the left with the Cyber-shot logo engraved into it. When the door slides down about a half-inch, the camera turns on and a few more features are revealed. At the right is the 5x optical zoom lens that looks like a squashed circle. The specs curve around the right edge of the tiny barrel: '3.5-4.4/ 5.8-29.0.' The lens brand, Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar, is printed to the left of the lens. Above the branding is a circular auto focus assist lamp with a skinny flash unit to its left. Even further left are three holes that make up the camera’s microphone, and there is a "5x optical zoom" label below it.

Back (8.5)
The 3-inch LCD screen takes up almost the entire back side. Above the LCD is a diagonal edge with the Sony logo printed at left and two buttons closer to the right: Power and Playback. The power button has a small LED built into it that lights up when turned on. Less than a half-inch of space on the right side of the back hosts a bunch of controls. The zoom control is at the top with a divot in its center for a thumb and another bowl-shaped divot in the camera body itself just below the zoom lever. The tiny Menu button sits almost centered in this space, and the multi-selector is below it. The multi-selector consists of a central unlabeled selection button and an outer ring with engraved icons on each direction. The left and right sides of the ring are squashed, so it’s not a perfect circle. At the bottom of this skinny space is the Home button.

Left Side (8.0)
The left side of the camera is completely featureless. Users can see only the contours of the camera and the profile of the sliding metal door on the front.

Right Side (8.0)
The right side has a tiny strap eyelet at the top and a compartment door that takes up nearly the rest of the space. The compartment houses the battery and memory card and has a small "doggy door" for an optional power adaptor. The chrome Cyber-shot finger grip is located on the front edge of this side.

Top (7.5)
The top of the camera is covered with branding titles: '8.1 Megapixels, Super SteadyShot, DSC-T100.' The chrome shutter release button is located on the right side. The back edge of the top slants downward, but the power and playback buttons can be seen from here.

Bottom (6.5)
Among the bolts and seams is the open multi-connector port on the left side and the metal tripod mount located just right of center. Directly in the center is the built-in speaker, which will be muffled when the camera is attached to a tripod.