At ISO 400, Sony manages to blur away noise in solid-coloured areas, but loses some shadow detail, thereby decreasing the overall dynamic range, and much of the fine detail is lost. At ISO 800, noise becomes more pronounced, taking on a tight, fine-grained look. More of the shadow detail and fine detail is lost, and images take on the look of a pointillist painting. This effect -- and the associated losses in detail and dynamic range -- continue to amplify as you step up to ISO 1,600 and ISO 3,200. We recommend staying below ISO 800 whenever possible and avoiding ISO 1,600 and ISO 3,200 completely.
Conclusion
The Cyber-shot DSC-T20 is a nice ultracompact, with most of the features that consumers are looking for in a point-and-shoot camera. Sony could do better at keeping noise under control at higher ISOs though, or just not include and tout those higher sensitivity settings in the first place.
Ultimately, the T20 is a stylish, solidly built camera, which is a good choice in its price range as long as you look beyond the hype, remember to prefocus and stick to the lower ISO settings.
(Shorter bars indicate faster performance)
 |
Typical shot-to-shot time | |
|
Time to first shot | |
|
Shutter lag (typical) | |
(Longer bars indicate faster performance)
Additional editing by Kate Macefield
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters