Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T33 5.1-Megapixel Digital Camera - The Sony T7 Alternative or Less?
Written: Aug 10 '05 (Updated Sep 01 '05)
Product Rating:
Ease of Use:
Durability:
Battery Life:
Photo Quality:
Shutter Lag
Pros: Fast operation, good image quality, battery status indication, features
Cons: No tripod mount on camera (uses dock), weak flash, looks, Memory Stick
The Bottom Line: I recommend Sony DSC-T33 if you want a ultra-compact, cool yet capable camera with 5.1-megapixels and huge LCD screen that produces excellent...
dkozin's Full Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T33 Digital Camera
After positive experience with the last year's Sony DSC-T1, I decided to check out the new super-compact models from Sony. I bought both the Sony DSC-T33 and the Sony DSC-T7 to see how they compare to the T1 and to each other.
This review is about the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T33 digital camera. It sells for less than $400 (in fact, I bought mine for less than $300, but it was a promotion that involved a use of several coupons that expired).
Photos
The photos of the camera as well as the sample photos taken with it are available at the address below (copy and paste it into your browser's address window):
The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T33 is a 5.1-Megapixel ultra-compact stylish digital camera with metal case, a 3x optical zoom, a large 2.5-inch LCD screen, Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar optics, powered by a small rechargeable battery.
The camera stores pictures on a proprietary Sony Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick Duo Pro and features fast USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection to PC and Mac computers.
Two Reviews
I will provide two reviews below. The first one (short version) will be targeted to people who don't want to read through multiple pages of text to figure out if the camera has what they want and if it performs well. It is targeted to a casual user rather than somebody who cares about the small details.
The second version will contain the description of the more advanced aspects for those who are interested in them. By separating this information, I hope to avoid boring casual shooters to death with information about things they might not need.
Short Review
The T33 looks pretty cool, albeit not as cool as Canon SD400 that I reviewed recently and even not as cool as its slightly more expensive brother, Sony DSC-T7. The T33 is compact, but feels less compact than it could be - it seems that its case was artificially made larger and puffier. It looks and feels rather durable, but its black buttons and overall design make it look less hi-tech and more cheap than the T33 (or the SD400 for that matter).
The camera has a fixed lens that does not extend from the body and does zooming and focusing internally. The lens cover that opens when the camera is powered on. When the camera is powered off, the lens cover closes. Because there is no need for the camera to extend the lens, the startup time is minimal - less than 1 second.
The camera has an on/off button on the top deck as well as a larger shutter release button. The bottom of the camera has a battery and Memory Stick Duo card compartment lid as well as a dock connection. The rear houses a huge bright 2.5-inch LCD monitor, control buttons and a zoom buttons.
There is also a sliding switch between review, movie and still picture taking modes on the side of the camera.
The connectivity to the power, video and USB is by means of a supplied camera dock. The camera has a small proprietary multi-contact connector on the bottom, which corresponds to the jack on the supplied docking station. The station has a USB port (the cable is supplied), A/V out (A/V cable supplied) and the DC power jack (AC/DC adaptor and cables supplied).
You can also connect the DC power from the adaptor directly into the camera, bypassing the docking station.
The camera comes with InfoLithium-type compact battery, which is charged in the camera. You cannot charge the battery outside the camera. The battery came almost fully depleted and the initial charge took 2 hours!
The camera is very easy to use. I have not read the manual (I have not even opened it), but was able to use the camera and all its features in no time. The camera can be used by any member of the family and by photographers of all levels of expertise from novices to advanced ones (albeit it will not give you much control over the shutter speed or aperture).
The T33 comes pre-set to Auto mode. You do not have to do anything other than point and shoot - the camera takes care of the rest. The camera uses 5-area smart autofocus (in non-manual modes, you can also select spot autofocus, continuous autofocus or preset manual focus to 0.5m, 1m, 3m, 7m or infinity). You press the shutter release button halfway to make camera focus (the camera shows you that it focused and beeps to confirm focus) and then you take the picture by pressing the shutter release button all the way.
You zoom in and out by using zoom buttons in the upper part of the back panel. The camera has no viewfinder but has a huge, 2.5-inch LCD screen that is accurate, fluid (slightly less fluid in the dark) and has a backlight that can be turned off. The screen has good visibility in sunlight.
If you want more control, you can select one of the scene modes (Portrait, Landscape, etc.). And for even more control, you can select Program mode, in which you can select ISO (100-400), white balance (no custom setting), exposure compensation, flash output adjustment (normal, low, high), metering mode (multi, spot), sharpness adjustment, contrast adjustment, saturation adjustment, color and picture effects, etc.
The flash mode can be selected by pushing the arrow up button on the rear panel, the macro mode can be selected by using the arrow left, the timer by arrow down and the review of the last picture by arrow left.
The camera is very fast in operation. The camera takes less than a second to power itself on in either review or shooting mode. It feels almost instantaneous.
The T33 can capture images at about 1-1.5 per second in burst mode. In single-frame mode, the camera could snap pictures as fast as I could push the shutter release button - about one a second. The focusing takes much less than a second and the shutter lag, when pre-focused, is almost unnoticeable. The zooming is pretty slow, but smooth and lets you fine-tune your composition.
The camera lets you select the resolution for your images between 5M (5 Megapixels, 2592x1944), 3:2 (about 4.4 MP, perfect fit for 6x4 prints), 3M (2048x1536), 1M (1280x960) and Email (640x480). You also get a choice between Standard and Fine quality. The Fine mode uses about 6:1 compression and the Standard uses about 12:1. Obviously, the Standard file size is half that of the Fine: about 1.3 MB vs. 2.5 MB at the highest resolution.
The supplied 32 MB memory card can fit about 12 photos at the highest resolution and best quality or 24 photos with Standard quality.
The battery shows its remaining power in minutes on the screen. The fully charged battery lasted about 110-150 minutes, which is pretty good for its size. You can turn the LCD backlight off to conserve the battery power.
The flash is rather weak. It illuminates the center of the frame more than the corners and has an effective range of less than 8 feet. It has a recycle time of only about 5 seconds. Rather fast for the camera size but the flash is pretty weak.
In its red-eye reduction mode, the camera emits a series of bright annoying flashes before the actual flash.
The camera produces very good photo with well-exposed, sharp, contrasty and richly-colored images (see the samples at http://www.review-shop.com/Sony_DSC_T33/Sony_DSC_T33_Samples_1.html). The camera sometimes overcorrects the white balance and most pictures have warm cast. The photos are sharp with only very small amount of softening in the corners of the frame - a non-issue as at most print sizes the corners are usually cut off. Again, this will not be noticeable in printed pictures however since corners normally don't make it to the print due to the aspect ratio difference and other factors. Plus, the blurriness is so small, you have to enlarge the image to 100% on the computer screen to notice it.
Usually, the smaller the camera and the higher the optical zoom it can provide, the softer the image becomes, especially at the corners of the frame as it is difficult to produce compact optics with high zoom levels. Surprisingly, the Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens on the T33 is so good, there is only a small amount of blurring in corners. Overall, the lens produces sharp results at all zoom levels and has impressive 3x optical zoom range.
The camera has no ISO 50 setting. The image noise is slight at the ISO 100 in the shadows, gets more pronounced at ISO 200 and gets rather bothersome at ISO 400. Still, if you are printing 6x4 or 5x7 pictures, the noise should not be visible at all and will only be slightly visible at ISO 400 with larger prints. With 5.1-megapixel shots it produces, you can print your photos at up to 11x14 inches with good detail (ISO 100 or 200).
Recommendation: I recommend Sony DSC-T33 if you want a ultra-compact, cool yet capable camera with 5.1-megapixels and huge LCD screen that produces excellent photos with print sizes of up 11x14 inches. It is extremely fast and easy to use.
If you want a better-looking Sony, check out the Sony T7. And if you want a cooler-looking camera with conventional lens, take a look at Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital ELPH.
Full Review
Features and Specifications
- 5.1-megapixel CCD
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens
- 35mm equivalent lens focal length: 38-114mm
- 2x digital zoom / 6x total zoom
- Real Imaging Processor - for high-quality images and faster camera response
- 2.5" color LCD
- Resolution: 2592 x 1944; 2592 x 1728; 2048 x 1536; 1280 x 960; 640 x 480
- MPEG Movie VX with audio
- 14-bit DXP A/D conversion
- five-area multipoint autofocus and continuous autofocus
- shutter speed: (1 - 1/1000 seconds)
- 9 scene modes, including Beach, Fireworks, and Candle
- slow shutter noise reduction
- variable ISO sensitivity and selectable ISO 100, 200 and 400
- macro mode (as close as 3.1" from subject) and Magnifying Glass mode (0.4" from subject)
- built-in flash
- built-in mono microphone and speaker
- USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface (backward-compatible with older USB 1.1 interface)
- compatible with Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo (32MB Memory Stick Duo supplied)
- audio/video output for connection to a TV
- 4"W x 2-7/16"H x 7/8"D
- weight (with battery and media): 5.3 oz.
- warranty: 1 year
Supplied Accessories
- 32MB Memory Stick® Duo (with adapter)
- rechargeable InfoLithium® battery (NP-FT1)
- AC adapter/charger
- USB cradle and cable
- A/V cable
- wrist strap
- camera holder for use with tripod
- software CD-ROM (for Windows® and Mac)
More on Features and Controls
The camera uses a very small rechargeable battery that looks like a cell phone battery. The camera has a bright low-light focus assist illuminator that helps it focus in low light.
The camera also has a Macro mode, but the flash produces shadows in the corners and the tripod mount can only be obtained by using the camera dock - there is no tripod mount in the camera itself. To mount the camera on the tripod, you have to place it on the dock and put a supplied plastic brace over the camera and insert it into the holes in the dock. The dock has a metal tripod mount molded into the plastic.
It seems that the camera uses a two-step type aperture with no fine control over aperture. The camera doesn't let you control the aperture or the shutter speed directly, but even if you select landscape mode or try shooting in different lighting conditions, you will soon discover that your resultant photos have only one of two aperture values at any given focal length, which is typical for a compact camera.
You can use the exposure compensation in the Program mode and it comes in handy in some situations.
There are a bunch of scene modes as well, which help the camera tweak the focusing and exposure settings according to the type of scene.
Manual Focusing
The camera lets you select among 0.5m, 1m, 3m, 7m or infinity.
More on Image Quality
The camera produces contrasty photos that have a pleasing color with slight oversaturation (by default) and a slight warm cast. The dynamic range of the photos seems to be slightly limited, especially in highlights (as in other consumer-level digicams). In harsh lighting conditions, the highlights can be blown out. Overall, the dynamic range is decent, comparing to other compact camera of similar price.
I was not able to find much chromatic aberration (purple fringing) in the areas of high contrast. See sample photos.
White Balance
The camera's automatic white balance varied widely within once scene. Just by using different compositions, I was able to experience a range of white balance settings from too cool to too warm. Normally, the camera favors warmer color casts. Overall, it is OK.
The white balance presets were good, but the flash white balance setting produced WB that was a bit too warm. The camera has no custom white balance setting.
Camera Sounds
The camera itself is rather quiet in operation. You can customize the sounds it makes through its speaker and their volume.
Macro
The T33 can take decent macro pictures. It can capture (with no flash) a minimum area of about 2.5x2-inch and features a sharp image. You need light to illuminate the shooting area and/or a tripod, however: the flash when engaged leaves shadows in the corners of the frame.
Build Quality and Ergonomics
The camera has a solid feel and good build quality. But it does not feel as well designed and built as the Canon SD400 or even the Sony T7. The major controls are within easy reach and but the tactile response could be a little better. And some buttons are too small.
Tripod Mount
The camera has no tripod mount of its own and has to be attached to the supplied camera dock with a supplied plastic bracket. The dock has a tripod socket. What a clumsy arrangement. The camera has a timer, which you should use to avoid blurry images when the camera is on the tripod.
Menu System
I have not read the manual, yet was able to use the camera in all modes. I like Sony's menus less than recent Canon menus or Panasonic ones. But they are certainly usable.
LCD
The T33 has a large 2.5-inch non-articulated (fixed) LCD screen and no viewfinder. The LCD coverage as about 100% - you can see exactly what will be recorded. The LCD is bright, fluid (unless it is dark), has good visibility in sunlight or darkness and very good resolution.
Computer Connectivity
The camera uses USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection to transfer pictures to a computer. You can also remove the Memory Stick Duo memory card and use a memory card reader (if you have one). The camera comes with an adapter for Memory Stick Duo to be used with a regular Memory Stick devices.
I used the camera with the USB cable supplied (through the dock). The file transfer is very fast at about 1,500-2,000 KB/s. The annoying part is that you have to install a driver to be able to use the camera with your computer before you connect the camera for the first time (I never had to install a driver for Panasonic or Olympus cameras I used). I do not use the software that was provided with the camera since I have Adobe Photoshop CS2.
Histogram
The camera can display a live histogram in the shooting mode as well as in the review mode to show you if you have overexposed the highlights or underexposed the shadows. I useful feature when you don't trust the LCD.
Comparison to Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T7
The Sony DSC-T7 looks better, seems to be better built and features better tactile response (but I dislike its zoom lever). The T7 does away with the camera dock. It charges its battery outside the camera in a cord-less charger that plugs directly into the AC outlet (100-240V). It has a sliding lens cover a-la Sony T1, but smaller. It has a small adaptor that converts the camera's proprietary connector to A/V, USB and DC power. And it comes with a translucent adaptor for tripods.
The T7 has ISO 64 in addition to the 100-400 range. Its picture quality is comparable to the T33 and it has similar specs and Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar optics.
Comparison to Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital ELPH
The Canon SD400 looks cooler, seems to be better made, uses more widespread and cheaper SD memory cards. It charges its battery outside the camera in a cord-less charger that plugs directly into the AC outlet. I find its menus easier to use. I find the colors it produces slightly more pleasing. It is about as fast as the T33 in operation. It has smaller (but still large) 2-inch LCD and an optical zooming viewfinder. It has a real metal tripod mount and a more powerful flash.
Bottom Line
I recommend Sony DSC-T33 if you want a ultra-compact, cool yet capable camera with 5.1-megapixels and huge LCD screen that produces excellent photos with print sizes of up 11x14 inches. It is extremely fast and easy to use.
If you want a better-looking Sony, check out the Sony T7. And if you want a cooler-looking camera with conventional lens, take a look at Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital ELPH.
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