Lets get to the bottom line:The Good:
This camera takes excellent pictures as a response to CNET and other reviewers who note that the DSC-T300's pictures are soft/noisy/high contrast/ et cetera are reviewing this from a professional photography point of view. Comparing this to an SLR or any other non-subcompact isn't reasonable. Just like we wouldn't compare a Chevy Pickup with a BMW sedan. Photos taken with this camera are intended for "everyday shooting." I will use this for vacations, parties, or tours. I would not use this to photograph my own wedding. For everyday shots, the quality is superb. If you are looking for a professional camera in a subcompact chassis, then this is about as close as you will come.
The optical zoom is fantastic, as is the image stabilization -I do not have a very steady hand. Of the first few test shots that I took with this camera, one was of a license plate from a car parked about 100 meters away. I zoomed in with full optical and digital zoom, and snapped a photo of what looked like a very grainy and pixelated white blob jerking quickly around the screen. To my surprise, when I viewed this shot, the camera had cleaned it up so that not only was there no motion blur, the license number was perfectly visible. I could even see the county name on the bottom! Needless to say, I won't be taking many pictures from this far away, but still it is good to know that the feature is there if I ever need it.
The smile shutter works surprisingly well, and I use it all the time. What not many of the other reviews that I read talked about was the functionality of the smile shutter. When the feature is enabled, the camera is not in normal photo mode. You will have to take it out of Smile Shutter mode if you want to resume taking pictures. Once enabled, the smile shutter constantly looks for faces, and puts an orange box around each one. It will identify up to 9 faces. Once a face is ID'd, it judges how much the person is smiling, and if they are smiling enough, then a picture is taken. It will take pictures of smiles until you take it out of smile mode. In fact at a party of mine, I put the camera on a tripod, set it up for smile mode, and told people to go smile in front of it. By the end of the night, every single person had a smiling portrait in my camera. Excellent feature. The funny thing is, no one believes that the camera actually can determine who is an isn't smiling so when they finally see the red-eye flash go off, 90% of people cant help but smile a real, and perfectly captured, smile of pleasant surprise. When in this mode, this camera only captures happiness.
The Add-A-Smile Feature is completely useless, but because of it, your camera will be a hit. I have tried the add-a-smile feature on 20+ people and more often than not, they end up looking creepy. However, this is hilarious. You will never seriously use this feature, but its a joy to have all the same.
Video is surprisingly good. When in "fine video" mode, I would be hard pressed to tell the difference between this and broadcast quality. "Fine video" does take lots of memory though 1 hour ~ 4 GB. To fit more video on the card, you can switch to "standard" but unless you are using this ONLY for youtube, don't bother with standard.
Touch Screen Once you learn it, it is a very intuitive interface.
The Bad:
There is a learning curve on the touch screen Most people will be turned off initially by the touch screen. I have found that the learning curve has put people off from borrowing my camera to take pictures. I always have to explain how to use it. Not a huge deal, I bought the camera for me, not for people who want to take pictures of me.
Fingerprints collect on the screen well, its a touch screen, what do you expect?
Bottom Line: This is a great camera for everyday shots. For shots that you do not intend on editing professionally, this is a great camera. For shots that are for viewing pleasure, this is a great camera. If perchance you do want to edit professionally photos taken by this camera, the resolution gives extreme detail.
All in all, I have never considered returning this camera.
My biggest problem on the new design (it's a thinner and has less physical buttons than a T-30 or 50) is the relative design flaw of not having a good way to open and close the lens cover. This was a lot better on previous models.
It definetely takes getting used to.
Another issue is with Sony it's so apparent they are getting ever so stingy, in that they are including less and less in the box. The biggest insult to consumers in my opinion is the MISSING smart battery! Until now, Sony supplied batteries that would tell you the exact amount of minutes left on the charge; and they were quite accurate. In the 300 no more. But, 'don't despair' it can still do it, only Sony didn't want to spring for the cash to include said battery in the box. If you want the 'feature' of telling time left on the battery there is an insert in the box, pointing you to Sony's website and how to spring another $50 to buy said battery (Amazon carries it too).
It's just too bad I don't even mind the extra charge so much as I don't see the point of Sony offering less features on their new top end DSC camera and then charge extra to get back 'up to spec'. Charge $20 more from the get go and include the darn thing....I'm a big fan of the Sony's T series, I've already own the very first DSC-T1, the discontinued T-33 and now T-300.
I sticked to Sony after the DSC-T1 because I wanted to keep using my MS Pro Duos; but soon after I realized that Sony makes cameras that are not only great for pics, but also their designs make an statement (bring this baby to a party and you should be aware because 99% of the party would like to take it to their homes).
So, now that I shared my reasons for buying this camera, here comes my review, quick, simple an concise.
The automatic mode is not flawless, especially in indoor night pictures, you should adjust the scenes mode so the camera really uses the flash automatically. The program mode haven't change since the T-33, basically the same options, and if you know how to use it, you get good pics.
The remarkable "new" setting is the Smile Shutter, once you have configured (personally i prefer it in high sensitivity) is a really fun tool. And the face detection is Amazing. Sony has really improved himself in this issue.
But as I mentioned in the title of my review, more MPs is not equal better quality. Once you start zooming the pics you can notice some rugged edges, distortion and a little bit of inaccuracy in the colors; but you would never notice that in a printed A3 pic. Once again, this is a amateur camera, and you are not paying over $1000 like in the 10 MPs pro cameras, so complaining is not that fair.
Once you can get used to the touch screen controls, using it is a breeze... I might complain that ask for confirmation for almost everything, but I guess the worst OS ever aka Windows Vista has already got me used to that....
Finally a few recommendations: Buy the camera together with the LCD screen protector and the Sony LCJTHC/B Genuine Leather Jacket Case with Stylus for the DSC-T70 & DSC-T200 (Black); if you want to keep it with scratches from the very beginning. And a large MS Pro Duo 8GB and up I recommend.This camera had a lot of features that I wanted:
* good size of LCD screen
* cover for lens
* internal zoom so no mechanical lens in/out
BUT I forgot to check on these things that it DOESN'T have
* Ability to connect to PC via mini-USB (uses a Sony proprietary USB connection)
* Ability to charge the battery inside the camera (uses a separate charger)
* Ability to use a "standard" SAN disk (uses a Sony memory stick)
* A view-finder, so that I don't have to try to use the LCD screen outdoors
It's a good camera, but I probably would not have purchased it if I had done a better job of my research up front.I researched cameras for over 2 months, but could never find one that was right for me. I went to BestBuy, Walmart, Target, and other stores looking and trying out their various cameras. One day I came along the T300.
It is extremely user friendly, has a long battery life, and an excellent zoom (wonderful for novices and professionals). The camera has many options including environmental settings, flash, image size, timer, and macro settings.
The video has wonderful quality, with the option to sync your camera to an HDTV.
The only negative part of the camera is that I had to buy a new memory stick (Sony Memory Stick PRO Duo), because the camera only accepts these types of sticks--it does not accept the conventional SD memory sticks.
The touch screen is very easy to use, and can be used with your finger or the provided stylus!
I had been planning to buy the Panasonic DSCW170, however, after trying both out and comparing it the the Canon and Casio cameras--the Sony T300 was the best. I know that you will be satisfied!
****UPDATE****
I have been using the video alot on the camera, it is excellent! You have many choices, such as the quality, and the aspects of where it will be viewed (email attachment, HDTV, Computer...).
Also, the provided component cable/USB cable, give you easy connection to your compatible TV, it is beautiful on my Panasonic HDTV!
Defiantly recommended!
Enjoy! :)
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