Bellefield
Leading Member
I'm sad to say that I'm very disappointed with this camera.
I was hoping it would be a step up from my old T7 and something that would go someway towards meeting the functionality and performance of the Panasonic FX series and the Nikon P series but with with less bulk.
I was hoping it would be a party camera that I could also use as general purpose camera.
In many ways it is a step up from the T7, it is 8mp, it has an absolutely amazing super macro system. It can focus as close as 1cm, which is outstanding, and adds to the versatility of the camera.
Its also got a 5x zoom, which again is great for general photography, and adds further to its functionality.
It has image stabilisation, which again is a step up from the T7.
It even has the latest "must have" face detection technology.... but I guess its this feature most of all that reveals its key weakness.... whats the point of having face detection technology, when the camera captures such a poor, low definition image of a face in night / low light situations?
You see the big problem with this camera is that it tries, on paper to be bigger and better than than the competition in all areas, but fails miserably in the one area that should be its one big objective - it can't take indoor photography so its useless for evening out with friends..
Perhaps "can't" is a bit too strong - it obviously can, but the performance when compared to the Panasonic FX or Nikon P series is woeful - its even worse than the old T7, which doesn't have all its fancy image enhancement technology.
It automatically swithes to high ISO, 400 or more, which instantly bleeds definition from the shot. It has the same flash as the T7, but it seems less powerful on the shot, and the T7 doesn't switch to such a high ISO in flash mode, so even though it has less pixels it gives a better image.
Sony have sold this camera on false pretences. Its meant to be a good Party camera than you can also use as a General Purpose camera. Its not - its an ok General Purpose camera, that is a poor Party camera.
In daylight its a good all round camera, still not as good as the Panasonic FX (which has less pixels) and nowhere as good as the Nikon P series (which is now less than half the price of the Sony).
At dusk approaches, its failings become startlingly apparent, when compared to the other two. Noise and NR imagery come in at an increasing rate, while the other two seem to handle it in their stride.
And this is why the Sony is such a disappointment. While is tries to be a General Purpose camera, it doesn't do it as well as the Panasonic or the Nikon, so its main "reason to be" is as an ultra-compact you can carry with you at all times, especially when you want it to be descrete, such as at parties, or in the pub.
Its not that much smaller than the either the Nikon or the Panasonic, but its still twice the thickness of the old T7. So in party situations its loses a lot of its size advantage over the others, and far worse, it significantly loses its performance over the others in these situations too.
UPDATE: Learning to live (and maybe like?) the T100? Had it for a while now and while I still don't like the automatic settings which even in bright sunshine still try to push up the ISO as far as it can go, I've found that performance can be vastly improved if you manually set the ISO under the programming mode. For flash photography, I'd suggest ISO200 at most, and lower if you can get away with it.
Its still a point and shoot, so you can't chose the shutter speed or aperture, but you can affect the performance of the camera by playing with it, and I do like the zoom and the super macro close up (right down to 1cm).
One thing that has astounded me for such a small camera is the shutter lag, which is vitually non-existant - once you press the shutter the picture is taken, with no noticable lag, so you capture those shots dead centre, and not as the bird / motorcyclist / dancer is leaving the frame!
Whilst the boffins at Sony appear to have screwed up the automatic selection, they have got most everything else right (although still think the flash is too weak and could be further from the lens). This camera is definitely a grower, and I've decided to keep it.
Problems:
If you want a camera for capturing those fun evenings out with your friends, forget this one, there are far better and far cheaper alternatives out there.
If you want a good all round camera - there are also far better and cheaper alternatives available.
I was hoping it would be a step up from my old T7 and something that would go someway towards meeting the functionality and performance of the Panasonic FX series and the Nikon P series but with with less bulk.
I was hoping it would be a party camera that I could also use as general purpose camera.
In many ways it is a step up from the T7, it is 8mp, it has an absolutely amazing super macro system. It can focus as close as 1cm, which is outstanding, and adds to the versatility of the camera.
Its also got a 5x zoom, which again is great for general photography, and adds further to its functionality.
It has image stabilisation, which again is a step up from the T7.
It even has the latest "must have" face detection technology.... but I guess its this feature most of all that reveals its key weakness.... whats the point of having face detection technology, when the camera captures such a poor, low definition image of a face in night / low light situations?
You see the big problem with this camera is that it tries, on paper to be bigger and better than than the competition in all areas, but fails miserably in the one area that should be its one big objective - it can't take indoor photography so its useless for evening out with friends..
Perhaps "can't" is a bit too strong - it obviously can, but the performance when compared to the Panasonic FX or Nikon P series is woeful - its even worse than the old T7, which doesn't have all its fancy image enhancement technology.
It automatically swithes to high ISO, 400 or more, which instantly bleeds definition from the shot. It has the same flash as the T7, but it seems less powerful on the shot, and the T7 doesn't switch to such a high ISO in flash mode, so even though it has less pixels it gives a better image.
Sony have sold this camera on false pretences. Its meant to be a good Party camera than you can also use as a General Purpose camera. Its not - its an ok General Purpose camera, that is a poor Party camera.
In daylight its a good all round camera, still not as good as the Panasonic FX (which has less pixels) and nowhere as good as the Nikon P series (which is now less than half the price of the Sony).
At dusk approaches, its failings become startlingly apparent, when compared to the other two. Noise and NR imagery come in at an increasing rate, while the other two seem to handle it in their stride.
And this is why the Sony is such a disappointment. While is tries to be a General Purpose camera, it doesn't do it as well as the Panasonic or the Nikon, so its main "reason to be" is as an ultra-compact you can carry with you at all times, especially when you want it to be descrete, such as at parties, or in the pub.
Its not that much smaller than the either the Nikon or the Panasonic, but its still twice the thickness of the old T7. So in party situations its loses a lot of its size advantage over the others, and far worse, it significantly loses its performance over the others in these situations too.
UPDATE: Learning to live (and maybe like?) the T100? Had it for a while now and while I still don't like the automatic settings which even in bright sunshine still try to push up the ISO as far as it can go, I've found that performance can be vastly improved if you manually set the ISO under the programming mode. For flash photography, I'd suggest ISO200 at most, and lower if you can get away with it.
Its still a point and shoot, so you can't chose the shutter speed or aperture, but you can affect the performance of the camera by playing with it, and I do like the zoom and the super macro close up (right down to 1cm).
One thing that has astounded me for such a small camera is the shutter lag, which is vitually non-existant - once you press the shutter the picture is taken, with no noticable lag, so you capture those shots dead centre, and not as the bird / motorcyclist / dancer is leaving the frame!
Whilst the boffins at Sony appear to have screwed up the automatic selection, they have got most everything else right (although still think the flash is too weak and could be further from the lens). This camera is definitely a grower, and I've decided to keep it.
Problems:
If you want a camera for capturing those fun evenings out with your friends, forget this one, there are far better and far cheaper alternatives out there.
If you want a good all round camera - there are also far better and cheaper alternatives available.
