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Sony DSCN2 Cyber-shot Digital Camera 10.1 MP Megapixel Cheapest Price |
10MP Megapixels 3x Digital zoom 3.0" inch LCD |
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N2 Digital Cameras Product DescriptionShoot, save, search and share up to 500 VGA photos with the 10.1 megapixel Cyber-shot® DSC-N2 digital camera. Screen your photos as slide shows set to music with family and friends on the huge 3.0" LCD screen with touch-screen operation. The DSC-N2 captures gorgeous shots without a flash where flash is not permitted or might disrupt the mood. You can even shoot high resolution, full-frame video. Equipped with precision Carl Zeiss® 3X optical/2X digital zoom lens and 25MB internal memory, the DSC-N2 is perfect for capturing images without a flash memory card.The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N2 ($450) is an update to the compact DSC-N1 from last year. From the outside, the only difference between the N1 and N2 is the body color. Inside the N2 you'll find a new 10.1 Megapixel CCD, up from 8 Megapixel on the N1. Along with the new sensor comes higher ISO sensitivities, with the N2 now able to go all the way up to ISO 1600. Everything else is unchanged. That means that the N2 has a compact, all-metal body, a 3X optical zoom lens, a huge 3-inch touchscreen LCD, limited manual controls, a built-in photo album, and a VGA movie mode. Heck, you can even "paint" over your images. |
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| The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-N2 is an upgrade of the existing DSC-N1 model. The Sony N2 derives its higher ten megapixel resolution from a 1/1.7" CCD imager, rather than the eight megapixel 1/1.8" imager used in the previous camera. This is coupled with the same popup Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar zoom lens, which offers a 3x optical zoom range equivalent to 38-114mm on a 35mm camera. Also retained for the Sony DSC-N2 is is the N1's whopping 3.0" LCD display - ideal for showing off photos immediately that they're captured, or using the camera itself as a portable photo album. Given the size of the display, there's little room for buttons on the rear of the Sony N-series cameras, so the company opted for a touch screen on the display, useable either with a fingertip, or with an included stylus. As with the DSC-N1, Sony has taken advantage of the LCD in the Sony N2 to let the camera function as a digital photo "wallet" of sorts. As you capture each image, it is saved twice. One copy is saved at your chosen resolution on the camera's flash card, or in 26MB of memory reserved for image storage. The other copy is stored at VGA resolution in a further 26MB of memory that is reserved for a photo album. The user can then select favorite photos from the album for protection, or delete images they don't like. As you continue to capture images and eventually the 26MB of album space (enough for 500 VGA images) runs out, the oldest non-protected image is automatically discarded whenever a newer photo is captured. This simple method should ensure that owners of the Cybershot N2 always have a good selection of photos on-hand to show off, with a minimum of fuss. |
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| Also retained in the Sony N2 is a slideshow mode with a range of transitions including pans, zooms, wipes, and fades, all selected automatically by the camera, and accompanied by music stored in the camera. The user can replace the music with their own selections using the accompanying software, which will transcode the user's personal music to MPEG1 format to replace the existing four background music selections that are built into the camera. 6MB of memory is reserved for the music to be stored in. As with the T50 model it is announced alongside, the Sony N2 adds a "normal" slideshow mode to the N1's functionality, however.
The Sony N2 draws power from an InfoLithium NP-BG1 battery, with the useful ability to give an indication of remaining battery life in minutes. It includes both video and USB connectivity, offers some manual control over images (including both Aperture- and Shutter-priority modes), and also provides a selection of eight scene modes to offer an easier way for beginners to get the results they're looking for. Other changes from the N1 include a slightly stronger "smart zoom" mode, a minimum shutter speed of 1/2000 second, tweaks to the shutter speeds at which noise reduction is applied, and slightly reduced burst capture rate / depth. As with the T50, the Sony N2 also includes Sony's Picture Motion Browser v1.1 software package. Sony's newest Cyber-shot, the DSC-N2, is quite a departure in interface design for digital cameras. In this day of Blackberries and Treos, a stylus and touchscreen aren't really that revolutionary in themselves. We use touchscreens everywhere: at the ATM, ticketing kiosks, even when we vote. But the last place I thought about using touch-screen technology was on a digital camera. (But I still carry a paper date-book, if that says anything.) So when I pulled the Sony N2 out of the box, I was thrilled to see its minimal controls and maximized LCD screen. Now granted, Sony has been using touchscreens on their video cameras for a while, so it's a natural to put one on a digital still camera. The use of the touchscreen on the Sony N2 and N1 is genius, as it greatly simplifies the interface and keeps the camera body nice and clean. With most of the controls accessed through that bright 3.0-inch color LCD display, there's really no need for a mess of buttons cluttering up the camera body. |
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| The Sony N2 is quite attractive, with a brushed metal finish on the front panel and a super sleek body that isn't trapped by a myriad of buttons, dials, and switches. Dominating the rear panel is the huge 3.0-inch LCD monitor, with only three tiny control buttons lining its right side. Those with larger hands may find the Sony N2 a little difficult to keep a good grip on, but the camera fit my own hand well. You'll definitely want to keep the wrist strap on when you're shooting, though, as the camera's smooth surface can be a bit slippery at times. The included stylus is attached to the wrist strap, so it's always at the ready for making changes via the LCD interface, but I found a fingernail or fingertip just as useful.
Though strongly backlit, fill flash preserved this shot; it will require some adjustment to fully recover the shadows, but the detail is there. The ability to make menu changes literally by touching the screen saves quite a bit of time in camera operation once you get used to it. Sony set up the menus logically, with large virtual buttons to accommodate fingertips as well as the stylus. My only minor complaint is that the Sony N2's LCD monitor does end up with a few smudges on it if you do choose to use your fingertips, but they wipe off easily with a soft cloth. What's interesting about the DSC-N2's touchscreen is its Paint function, found in the camera's Playback menu. Paint mode offers a mini image editing interface, with options for painting lines, stamping, cloning, and rotating. While any serious retouching is better left to a more complete software package and a larger display, it is fun to be able to alter images in the camera and then print them directly to a PictBridge device. However, take note, the Sony N2 automatically saves any altered file at 640 x 480 pixels, which is really only best for printing snapshots and sending as email attachments. I don't know if the Paint utility will be useful for serious photographers, but some consumers may get a kick out of imprinting graphics on a photograph, or circling an area of interest with the paintbrush tool. |
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