Sony CyberShot DSC-T30

Auto Mode (7.0)
The Auto mode limits access to most features in the recording menu, but does allow users to activate the burst and multi-burst modes. All of the on-camera buttons are fully functional too: flash, macro, exposure compensation, and image size are selectable. The easy Auto mode is found with the other recording modes in the menu.

Movie Mode (6.5)
The camera’s movie mode is more easily found with the mode switch above the LCD screen. The switch moves from playback on the left side to still image recording in the middle to video capture on the right side. The movie mode can record 640 x 480 pixels at 16.6 or 30 fps, while the video mail option records 160 x 112 pixels at 8.3 fps. The top resolution’s 30 fps rate only works when the camera is fitted with a Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo card, so a fast frame rate is not possible with the internal memory. This is an unfortunate fact of all Sony digital cameras: they require more Sony-branded stuff to get full functionality. The fast frame rate looks great though, and the audio capture sounds great. Movie recording is only limited by the card’s capacity, and the T30 has been tested with Pro Duo media up to 2 GB.

The T30 has Sony’s Super SteadyShot image stabilization system, which goes well with the movie mode because the 3x optical zoom lens is functional while recording. The zoom stayed quiet, and the stabilization system kept the picture looking stable. The system can be turned on and off with a designated button atop the camera, and it can be set to work continuously or to only activate when recording via the setup menu. The image stabilization system makes movies noticeably less bumpy.

There are plenty of recording options available when shooting video. The color mode can be switched to black & white or sepia. The exposure compensation, focus, metering mode, and white balance host full functionality too. These are relatively extensive options compared to other cameras’ movie modes. Most only allow for users to change the resolution and frame rate. When movies are played back, they can be stopped, played, rewound, fast-forwarded, and divided into two files.

Overall, the Sony T30’s movie mode performed well with its proper exposure, manual controls, image stabilization, and functional optical zoom.

Drive / Burst Mode (4.5)
There is a burst mode on this digital camera, but it’s disappointingly slow. It takes 5 frames at about a frame per second, and then it takes almost 10 seconds to write the information to the memory card. Yikes. There is a multi-burst option that shoots at much faster intervals of 1/30, 1/15, or 1/7.5th of a second, but its 16 tiny images stitch together into a single frame that makes it look like an action patchwork quilt. The resolution of each of the 16 shots is good enough to view individually on the LCD screen or a normal television screen, but isn’t good enough for a print larger than a credit card. The burst and multi-burst modes are available from the Auto mode, but the exposure bracketing is only accessible from the Program setting. The bracketing mode snaps three consecutive shots, with different exposure value intervals (see Exposure section). Of note is the self-timer on the T30, which allows the photographer to jump in the shot with its 2 and 10-second delay options.

Playback Mode (7.0)
The playback mode has fairly basic features, with the exception of its slide shows. Reviewing photos is enjoyable on the enormous 3-inch LCD screen. Pictures can be viewed one at a time with various amounts of file info. The display button above the multi-selector can be pushed to show simple shooting info, full info including shutter speed and aperture and histogram, and a blank screen. Individual pictures can be magnified with the ‘T’ portion of the zoom toggle. The ‘W’ side of the toggle activates the index viewing mode that shows 9 thumbnails per screen. A scrollbar appears on the left to show how many more pages of thumbnails there are to scroll through.

In the playback menu, users can organize pictures into folders. Users can also protect, rotate, and trim pictures. Movies can be divided into two separate files. Print orders can be created and changed from the menu as well. There are no fancy options to fix red-eye or lighting, but there is a fancy slide show mode activated either through the menu or with the on-camera slide show button.

The slide show’s settings can be changed within the playback menu. Users can select all pictures or a folder of pictures, put the show on a loop or not, and use the following transitions: Simple, Nostalgic, Stylish, Active, and Normal. The Normal mode disables the music altogether, while the other four transition effects allow access to the background music. The Simple transition is the traditional fade. The Nostalgic turns all the pictures to black and white images. The Stylish setting uses random transitions, while the Active setting zooms and slides and otherwise moves pictures similar to the Pictmotion mode on the Nikon Coolpix S5 and S6 cameras.

The Sony T30 comes loaded with four soundtracks, which are generically named. Music 1 has a country feel to it with twangy guitars; it sounds like something that would be played at a dentist office. Music 2 has piano and synthesized strings that have the new age style of Enya. Music 3 is much more intense; it’s techno that would be played at a kickboxing gym. Music 4 has more techno beats, but isn’t as intense as the previous track. If users want to add their own flare, they can with the included Picture Package Music Transfer software. Users can add up to 4 tracks of up to 180 seconds each.

Custom Image Presets (7.0)
This digital camera doesn’t have a huge number of scene modes, but it seems to cover the basics nonetheless: Beach, Snow, Fireworks, High Sensitivity, High Speed Shutter, Landscape, Soft Snap (Portrait), Twilight, and Twilight Portrait. All of these are available from the recording menu and when scrolled through, there is a live view. The High Sensitivity mode is fairly versatile and allows users to snap shots in low light without activating the flash. It does this with ISO sensitivities up to 1000. The Sony T30 doesn’t have modes for online auctions or snapping pictures of food, but it does have basic modes with vague names and broad uses.