Sony Cyber-shot DSC N2 gallery

The following images were taken with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC N2. The Sony N2 was set 10M Fine quality, Auto White Balance, Multi Metering and its Normal Colour Mode with the default ‘zero’ settings for Contrast and Sharpness. The individual exposure mode, file sizes, shutter speeds, aperture, ISO and lens focal length are listed for each image.

The crops are taken from the original files, reproduced at 100% and saved in Adobe Photoshop CS2 as JPEGs with the default Very High quality preset, while the resized images were made in Photoshop CS2 and saved with the default High quality preset. The three crops are typically taken from far left, central and far right portions of each image.

Landscape: 4.31MB, Program, 1/640, f4, ISO 100, 7.9-23.7mm at 7.9mm (equivalent to 38mm)

						This landscape shot was taken under bright conditions with the N2 zoomed-out to it’s widest equivalent focal length of 38mm. This isn’t particularly wide, but still allows for general landscape use. The crops are detailed and there’s no evidence of noise (as you’d expect at 100 ISO), but the sharpening is a little high. If it’s not to your taste though, you can turn it down a notch in a menu.

Portrait: 4.01MB, Program, 1/200, f8, ISO 100, 7.9-23.7mm at 23.7mm (equivalent to 114mm)

						This portrait was taken with the N2 zoomed-into its longest equivalent focal length of 114mm. Even in Program mode with an automatically selected aperture of f8, this has still allowed the background to thrown nicely out of focus. The exposure is well-judged and the subject crops are again sharp and detailed.

Still life: 4.39MB, Program, 1/250, f4.5, ISO 100, 7.9-23.7mm at 10mm (equivalent to 48mm)

						This shot was taken under very bright conditions, but like the Canon A640, the N2 has selected a quick shutter and relatively open aperture in its Program mode. As seen on our results pages though, f4.5 is close to the sweetspot for the N2’s lens, so it’s good to see it automatically performing at its best. As you’d hope, there’s no noise at the N2’s lowest sensitivity. The crops from the edges and corner are also very well-corrected, although again some may prefer to reduce the sharpening level in the menus. We have a similar shot taken with the Canon A640 for comparison.

Macro: 4.06MB, Program, 1/30, f2.8, ISO 200, 7.9-23.7mm at 7.9mm (equivalent to 38mm)

						The Sony N2 has a closest focusing distance of 6cm, which while not as impressive as the 1cm of the Canon A640, still allows for some good macro results. This shot of a sunflower was taken at its closest focusing distance under dim conditions with a sensitivity of 200 ISO. There’s a little noise in the crops when viewed at 100%, but nothing you’d see on a print.

Indoor: 4.53MB, Program, 1/50, f2.8, ISO 400, 7.9-23.7mm at 7.9mm (equivalent to 38mm)

						To test the N2’s indoor performance we took this shot with the sensitivity set to 400 ISO. Auto white balance resulted in an orange cast, so we manually adjusted it to Tungsten. The crops reveal evidence of smearing through noise reduction, although it’s quite modest and wouldn’t be noticed on smaller prints. It’s interesting to compare this with a similar shot taken with the Canon A640 at 400 ISO.

Indoor: 3.97MB, Program, 1/100, f3.5, ISO 800, 7.9-23.7mm at 12mm (equivalent to 58mm)

				Here we’ve increased the N2’s sensitivity to 800 ISO and the crops reveal considerable loss of detail to noise reduction. There’s quite a posterised effect when viewed at 100%, so 800 ISO is best reserved for small prints. The situation is worse at the N2’s maximum 1600 ISO which is really for emergency use only. Again it’s interesting to compare this result with a similar shot taken at 800 ISO using the Canon A640.