Sony's newest Cyber-shot is bling-bling to the max, but will its looks match it performance? Read the full Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 review to find out.
Review summary of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900:
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 Here is yet another smart looking faceplate slider from Sony, this year with even more style and a shutter button zoom toggle. But is that it? Sadly, it is. Not much has changed under the hood, other than a megapixel boost and 720P high-definition video recording. Image quality was even less impressive than last year's Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T700 and the prodigious touch-screen LCD exhibited the same testy behavior as well. At 380 smackers, its difficult to justify the purchase of this little devil dressed in red, but brand loyalists and fashion-conscious consumers will scoop this slim temptation up without a second thought. Oh, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 will sell, no doubt. But don't go crying on the mountain when you find out its image quality and features don't match the camera's looks. Release: April 2009. Price: $380.
Pros: Sexy design. Massive LCD. Easy to use.
Cons: Mediocre image quality. No onboard connectivity. Limited features.
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Full Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 Review:
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Design – Good
Sony's Next Top Model appears to be an aesthetic fusion of last year's Cyber-shot DSC-T700 and Cyber-shot DSC-T77. Sleek, glossy brushed aluminum with a splash of lipstick red, stately bronze, swanky silver or stealth black is what the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 brings to the catwalk with debonair gusto. We love the sliding faceplate just for its sheer coolness factor, revealing the stereo speakers, flash and lens. Sony also tacked on a shutter button zoom toggle, which decimates the previous micro tab design.
The Cyber-shot DSC-T900 is one of the thinnest compacts on the market and it weighs next to nothing. There are only two buttons on the top of the camera, and the rest is all about the interface. We had to connect a docking station just to access the USB port, so that's a major drawback if you're on the go and only equipped with a USB cable. However, fashion comes at a price, and most shooters will not even notice the Cyber-shot DSC-T900's shallow set of external controls and connectivity options. This is all about looks, baby!
Interface – Mediocre
Sony offers the largest fully touch-screen LCD on the market, and the Cyber-shot DSC-T900 continues the legacy with a massive 3.5-incher. Unfortunately, we were saddled with the same screen quality, which was riddled with noise, moiré patterns and jaggies along edges. Auto Focus was our only hope, since the screen quality was so poor. We would have expected Sony to pour a little more love into this department, being that the touch-screen LCD constitutes a sizeable chunk of the camera's reason for existing on this planet. The included stylus helped with sensitivity, but we had to really mash the screen at times to get a particular option to snap into action.
The menu system also remained unchanged for 2009, but that's okay. We had no major gripes with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T700 or Cyber-shot DSC-T77's menus. Options were easy to access once we got the hang of the setup, though we still think Canon's x-axis/y-axis configuration is the best navigational framework on the market. Ease of use is the centerpiece on the Cyber-shot DSC-T900's table, and we had no problem shifting between modes or selecting options. The Camera/Video mode dial was too finicky, and every time we pulled the camera out of our bag, it was not in the mode we had originally set. So, there were many three-second HD clips to wade through while we were analyzing the still images.
Playback was not the best we've seen on a compact, though it had its bonuses. Viewing vertically oriented images on the 3.5-inch LCD was awesome, almost like viewing a miniature photo frame. We could view small micro icons embedded within a calendar, in addition to micro-sized thumbnails in a scrolling list. Zooming in and out was fairly quick, but Canon still wins in the Playback arena.
Features - Good
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 is an Auto machine, and we recommend shooting that way. Think like a mechanically inept tourist or a model that has only touched a camera as part of a photo shoot. The Program AE mode just couldn't ante up to the competition in this class, and we had to abandon the hope that the camera was capable of producing high-quality images right off the bat. So, with ISO, White Balance and Exposure in the lithe hands of the Cyber-shot DSC-T900, we were still able to attain a decent showing. Auto Focus was never a problem, as long as we engaged the right setting, and the Auto White Balance was surprisingly spot on most of the time. Sony tends to run cool as far as colors go, but most images exhibited impressive color temperatures. Shooting at the lowest ISO was necessary in order to attain even a mediocre level of detail, however, so Auto mode will produce a hefty amount of noise in less than ideal lighting.
Sony has also tossed 720p 30fps high-definition video recording into the mix for 2009, and it's not bad at all. Indoor shooting quality exhibited minimal noise, but colors seemed flat across the board. In very bright light, the HD video quality dwindled due to blown highlights and washed out color. In low light, we were more impressed with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900's ability to maintain a decent exposure with minimal noise levels. Though the HD video performance was impressive, Canon's PowerShots still rock the best HD quality in the consumer ocean. Our favorite feature was the Dynamic Range Optimizer, which actually reduced highlights and accentuated shadows for a more neutral exposure. A slew of consumer-friendly attributes are jam packed into the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900, consisting of Face Detection, Smile Shutter, Blink Detection and Double Anti-Blur features. Playback mode allowed us to view images in a cheesy musical slideshow and add borders and text to images. For beginners and technophobes, the Cyber-shot DSC-T900 will do the job.
Hardware - Good
For 2009, Sony has leapt to a 12-megapixel 1/2.3-inch CCD with BIONZ processing, though we really didn't see the effects when it came to image quality. This basic imaging setup is becoming the standard this year as nearly every manufacturer attempts to match or transcend one another. However, Canon's Digic 4 processing has been a formidable force this year, cranking out the best image quality we've seen out of compacts in this price range.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 has a 4x optical zoom, which is fairly impressive for such a diminutive camera. The Optical Image Stabilization was hit or miss, due to the difficulty was had bracing the camera's tiny chassis. Two seconds was the official time it took the Cyber-shot DSC-T900 to snap a shot from initial power on, and that's not bad at all.
The camera records JPEG images and MPEG4 videos to Memory Stick PRO Duo cards and is powered by a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. Unfortunately, the MPEG4 files take up a lot of space. A one minute clip cost us 100MB, so if you plan on shooting a lot of HD video, be prepared to have a lot of backup cards waiting in the wings.
Image Quality - Mediocre
Sadly, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 fell into the fashion cam pit of doom when it came to image quality. The forecast was grim from the get go, rife with dark clouds that pelted us with noise, fringing, weak colors and images that were slightly out of focus. The Cyber-shot DSC-T900's tiny size is to blame for most shots that lacked a proper focus, but we were left with an empty feeling after viewing all sample images. In fact, image performance was not as impressive as the previous generation Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T700, so there's no reason why last year's model isn't worth saving a few bucks with. Low light was rough with the Cyber-shot DSC-T900, and a flash was required in most dim shooting environments. To its credit, the camera's Dynamic Range adjustment was one of the few successes, but on the whole this fashion cam is nothing special behind the lens.
Outdoor Lighting Test – Rexes in the Sun
Outdoor Contrast Test – Times Square
Although the first image was shot at the lowest ISO setting, it's still attacked by fine noise. Colors bleed and edges are taken over by fuzzy borders. On top of all this, the first image exhibits a sizeable amount of fringing, especially along the exhaust pipe, brake lever and rear passenger peg of Big Green. Sized down, this image is fine for Facebook, but no serious photography can be achieved with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900. We engaged the DRO Plus dynamic range control for the second image and the results were very impressive. Although the overall exposure is low, the balance between shadows and highlights is quite admirable. We do get a nice dosage of highlight fringing shadow noise, but this image is an indication that heavy contrasts are short work for this camera.
Indoor Test – Rednecks in the Snake Pit
Indoor Flash Test – Caught in the Act
Under tamer lighting, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 displayed a great exposure level, but the pole-toting redneck to the left of the frame is a bit washed out. The DRO Plus control would amend this, but we have a few more flat tires to toss into the Snake Pit. Noise is causing a ruckus, fringing is going hog-wild and focus is lost wherever there is motion. Yet another mediocre performance. The second image is a nice representation of the Cyber-shot DSC-T900's flash quality. In fact, we recommend using the flash whenever the chance arises. The image is still noisy and lacks a significant amount of detail, but there are fewer image viruses plaguing the overall composition.
Color Test – Carpet Book
First off, we lost a smidgeon of focus in this image, despite the fact that Image Stabilization was engaged. Colors are not terrible, but they lack the vibrancy of Canon's palette. We were not blown away by the hues produced by the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900, and color filter options were highly limited. Our only hope was White Balance and Vivid, which are miles behind the Canon PowerShot A480, Canon's entry-level compact that offers color filters and the option to customize a palette.
Macro Test – Three Headed Beast
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 proved itself a sub par macro compact, though detail up close was not very impressive. The beast dragon appears to have a translucent film over its beastly heads, lacking that crisp macro detail we were hoping for.
Low Light Test – Rexes in the Dark
In the dark, it was especially difficult to steady the little Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900, even when we set it on the ground and braced tightly. The flash is the way to go when the lights dwindle, but this performance is not too shabby, aside from the minute loss of focus and patches of noise. Colors actually look impressive here, but we still think a flash is necessary in any questionable environments. Most shooters will just keep this thing in Easy or Auto mode, so there's really nothing to worry about. Unless you care about image quality.
Price and availability
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900 is currently available for $380.
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