Review Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX66 This ultracompact offers a rich feature set with handy programmed settings without compromising on style with its sleek and slim, eye-catching design.
The good
Stylish and sleek design; slim and lightweight chassis; OLED display is a joy to view; reliable programmed settings
The bad
Touchscreen interface takes some getting used to; lack of physical video recording button, below average ISO performance
The Sony Cyber-shot TX66 is a svelte shooter that comes with a touchscreen-only user interface and a 3.3-inch OLED display. Packing an 18.2-megapixel backside-illuminated CMOS sensor, the shooter is equipped with a 5x optical zoom lens and records full-HD videos in 1080p. Sony seems to be targeting fashion-conscious snapshooters who want a step-up in image quality without compromising on style and smartphone camera users looking for a step-up in image quality. The TX66 is currently already available and retails at S$649 in Singapore stores.
Design and features
Sony has always been known for churning out compact cameras with stylish designs, and the TX66 is no exception. The camera's front panel is smooth to the touch and casts a metallic sheen under the lighting which really gives it a sleek look. Sliding the panel also powers on the camera which can save time when trying for an impromptu shot, but you'll have to push it down at an angle for a smooth transition. What impressed us was how lightweight(109g) it felt in the hand and its 12.2mm-thin chassis--just slightly thicker than an iPhone--making it easily pocketable and highly portable. However, its diminutive size does come with some drawbacks to accommodate for the size reduction. The snapper only takes a microSD card instead of the regular sized SD card. Also, you can't mount it directly on a tripod unless you've screwed on the bundled tripod adapter.
We enjoyed reviewing and capturing images using the TX66's OLED display. (Credit: Shawn Low/CNET Asia) Occupying most of the rear of the camera is an OLED display which makes framing compositions and reviewing images a joy thanks to its 1,229k-dot resolution screen. Compared with TFT screens, the snapper's OLED screen allowed us to review images with great clarity in sunlight. Unlike conventional compacts, the TX66 comes with full touchscreen controls, where the only physical buttons you'll find--located on the snapper's top panel--switches the camera on and controls its zooming capabilities. The usual options that give you access to frequently used settings appear onscreen, where you'll have the ability to customize the user interface by dragging and dropping options which you tend to use more, such as ISO, the different shooting modes and exposure compensation, to name a few. One aspect of the touchscreen interface which we liked was its touch-to-focus function which made it easy to select and track your subject even while it's moving. We found the touchscreen quite responsive and selections could be made easily. However, one of our gripes was the lack of a physical, dedicated video recording button on top of the camera, which meant we had to press a movie button onscreen to start recording. This was unintuitive and caused some jerkiness during the initial few seconds of the video. From our tests, we find that the TX66 works well in the Intelligent Auto mode for those who prefer fuss-free shooting. In that mode, we could get consistent exposures in most situations. For example, the camera could recognize backlit situations and automatically adjusted exposure without the hassle of us having to tinker with the exposure compensation settings.
The TX66 starts up within 1.2 seconds--we noticed that you could get a slightly faster start-up time if you already have the front cover down before activating the On/Off switch. Without prefocusing, time-to-first-shot (time taken to capture the first shot upon powering on) was clocked at 2.3 seconds while shot-to-shot time (how long it takes to shoot one frame after another) was approximately 1.4 seconds. Shutter lag was pretty minimal and was recorded at approximately 0.2 seconds, which means this Cyber-shot should be capable of capturing fast-moving action.
Image quality
The colors produced in images were punchy and details appeared quite sharp on the whole. But if you're going to be viewing them at 100 percent, especially at higher ISOs, details may appear a little fuzzy. We did notice that the colors appeared oversaturated on the OLED display compared with those viewed on our computer screen. These types of displays tend to be quite consistent at reproducing more vivid colors than their LCD.
ISO comparison from 80 to 400. (Credit: Shawn Low/CNET Asia) Photographers can expect the best image quality between ISO 80 to 100. Noise starts to creep in at ISO 200 but that doesn't take away much detail from the image as a whole. Its ISO performance is its weak spot, considering many compact cameras tend to provide optimum image quality between ISO 100 to 400. Grain becomes quite apparent on the starts to become quite apparent on the TX66 at ISO 400, giving the overall image a fuzzy feel, with softening of image detail.
ISO comparison from 800 to 12,800. (Credit: Shawn Low/CNET Asia) From ISO 800 to 1,600, there is a stark drop in contrast in the image, with details smoothing out. Beyond ISO 3,200, there's just too much smearing and a severe loss of image detail--we wouldn't recommend using this or higher settings unless you really have to.
Video quality
Video performance on the TX66 is average and we experienced some visible judder which can be quite distracting. We like that the autofocus was swift, allowing shutterbugs to easily switch between focal points with a tap of a finger. It even tracks your subject as well. The colors rendered were saturated and punchy and the audio (recorded in stereo) sounded good, too.
Overall, the Cyber-shot TX66 lives up to Sony's reputation creating stylish and highly portable compact cameras. It comes with a good feature set and achieves good images with reliable programmed settings. We think that the new camera would make a worthy purchase for trendy shutterbugs and smartphone camera users looking for a step-up in image quality. Although the shooter has poor ISO performance, we find that its common in competing models such as the Canon Ixus 500 HS which also displays weakness in this area. See more Nikon 1100D...Best buy....
The Sony Cyber-shot TX66 is a svelte shooter that comes with a touchscreen-only user interface and a 3.3-inch OLED display. Packing an 18.2-megapixel backside-illuminated CMOS sensor, the shooter is equipped with a 5x optical zoom lens and records full-HD videos in 1080p. Sony seems to be targeting fashion-conscious snapshooters who want a step-up in image quality without compromising on style and smartphone camera users looking for a step-up in image quality.
Posts
0 comments:
Post a Comment