[Review] Sony DSC-T500
I have bought and gifted 2 T200s and 1 T300 before purchasing this camera. The SonyT500 was launched after the T700 & you thought only Microsoft could have version 6.1 named as 7. Deciding which 1 to buy was quite a tough call. Choosing between 720p HD video recording & 4GB internal memory did make me swing like a pendulum, but in the end the HD factor was something I couldn’t resist. It cost me 20k with a 3 year warranty. Yeah, no gray market stuff.
The Sony T500 is the first HD video recording digital camera as and that is what sets it apart from the rest of it’s predecessors which could only take still images in HD. Here are some images of the camera:
Considering the new feature of taking HD videos, Sony has given a quick access tab to move from still images to videos and the small icons for still & video have a white back-light which looks hot.
Here are the official specs of the camera:
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10.1 Megapixels
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5X Optical Zoom
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Carl Zeiss Lens
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3.5” Touch Screen
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Full HD 1080 Stills
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HD 720p Video Recording with Stereo Sound @30fps
Now, those are some really good specs. The package contents are:
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Camera, duh!
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Battery, double duh!
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Dock
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Charger & Charger Cable
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USB Cable
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A/V Cable
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Strap
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1GB Memory Card, courtesy Sony
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Manuals & CD
There was no surprise that a HDMI cable was not supplied. The package contents were different from the T200 & T300. The T200 & T300 had 1 cable which had the USB, A/V out all at one end and the camera in at the other, which essentially meant that you would have to carry 1 cable only. This wasn’t the case here. The dock provides the output for A/V; HDMI & PC connectivity along with an AC In.
The AC In, in the dock cannot be used as the respective cable has not been provided, which was kind of sad. Also the fact that now I will have to go around with a dock and 2 cables as opposed to just 1 cable. For transferring images over to the computer too you need the dock. Surprise, you cannot use the dock with the T200/T300 and neither can you use their all-in-one cable with the T500 because the camera slot is of a different size.
Setting it up with the TV was pretty simple, insert the cables, power on the camera and press the Play button on the top. The images looked crisp and the sound playback was also really impressive as opposed to the T200/T300 where I was not able to get sound output from the TV.
The software on the camera also differs from that on the T200 & T300. In the T200/T300 you had clip-arts which you add on the images making them funny, the frames for images that were available were something that I personally liked and miss in this model.
In the T500 you have options to remove Red Eye which works in conjunction with the Face Detection technology deployed across most Sony models; cropping of images; Re-touching which allows you to have a black & white effect around a defined colored circular region in the image. Below are screen-shots of the Retouch option; View Images menu & Grid View of the images:
Another notable feature of this camera is that while you are shooting a video you can take 3 still photographs during the video itself. This is a neat and handy feature IMO.
The rest of the features are pretty normal. I love this camera for the fact that it can shoot HD videos with Stereo sound and can take 1080p still images.
The T700 offers 4GB internal memory & a crisper display on the screen. The 1GB supplied in the T500 can shoot only up to ~18 minutes of Fine quality HD video [1. There are 3 modes of video: Fine HD; Standard HD & Fine VGA] which becomes a dampener. The T700 is IMAO not worth spending ‘coz watching HD videos on a HD screen is more awesome than the experience one gets on the small yet powerful 3.5” screen of the camera. The bundled software is pretty decent and gives you a pop-up every time you connect the camera for importing images. Screen shot:
(Click for full view)
The good:
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Looks nice & feels good in the hand.
- Touch screen.
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HD Video recording.
The bad:
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Landscape Night shots won’t be as crisp as those shot with better lighting.
- Cannot record more than 10 minutes of continuous video in any format.
Here are some images that I shot with this camera:
Download the video from here:
Touchscreen cam? No way. In any case, I don’t think point and shoot digicams require any reviews. All of them are pretty much the same.
Did you mention the price? I couldn’t find it in my skimming through.
Ah damn! I knew I forgot something. I bought it for 20k with 3 years warranty.
I love the touch screen! The T500 had almost no reviews on the net when I was searching so decided to write 1.
20k seems to be too costly for a digi cam with 5x zoom and a measley 1GB stick .
The sony H50 for 12k is a better deal with 15x zoom.
Hi Sam, it depends on what kind of camera one is looking for, I liked this 1 particularly for it’s 3.5″ Touch Screen; slim and sleek form factor & HD capability. :)
You mentioned HD video recording everywhere. Can you add a video recorded using that?
Yeah, could you post a video? Maybe a short clip, not more than 15-20MB? (you could even put it on someplace like megaupload.com so you can save bandwidth). I have been really looking for a sample full quality video from this camera! (not downsized and compressed like the clips I saw on Vimeo.com)
Sony cameras rock man! I too have one, a W120 bought about 6 months ago. The touch screen on your’s looks totally awesome.
BTW dude the camera sample pics you provided are really out of focus. I see you have a problem with focussing. :P
Andrew & Gaurav, I have been wanting to shoot a video, but just haven’t been able to. Will do it this weekend and upload it.
@Krazzy, the camera is sweet as far as my focus goes, I don’t know.
Hello!
I found your blog after searching for a review on this camera!
I have to say it does look sweet! Thank you for your review on the camera as there are non on the net.
20k? what may that be? here in england its £260 about $430USD, i was not sure which camera to buy from the Samsung NV100HD, Panasonic Lumix FX150 or LX3 or this Sony T500. I wanted sleek, compact and HD video and wide angle lens.
I think after all i may get this camera though as it seems to be impressive, Could you please upload an image taken with this camera indoors and also a video indoors, want to see if video noise is a problem?
cheers
Stars
Oh and also i am getting a new Mac Book Pro, do you have any idea if its compatible?
hi there, was searching for a review for t500 and came across yours. Can i check with you is there a limit imposed on the video recording? I have read some where that the t500 could only do a 15min recording. Is it possible to do a video recording to fill the ms to the max (it doesn’t have to be in HD format)?
Here are 2 shots, indoor:
Image 01
Image 02
I will upload the video shortly. I don’t think Mac should be a problem.
@Riley: Well, from what I see, you can fill your memory card with video and there is no such limitation.
My 1 GB card shows 18 minutes recording time on the camera screen when set to 720p Std and the manual too shows up to 1 hour 37 minutes recording time with an 8 GB memory card.
Cool, looking forward to the video. Could you also try seeing if it actually lets you record up to 18 minutes in a single file and reporting back with a confirm/deny? (like maybe just start it going and set it down, see if it stops after 10 minutes or not)
What market are you in? In all the USA marketing stuff they claim it is limited to 10 minutes per file, but I’ve read this is an artificially created limit due to some european trade regulations regarding taxation between “still cameras” and “camcorders,” and that if a camera can record more than a certain duration at a certain quality, it would be taxed more as a “camcorder.”
I had been wondering if T500s from some markets are free of this silly limitation.
Looks like it is not. 10 minutes is the max for 1 file whichever format.
The India website page does not mention any such restriction but it is present.
sharks… if that’s the case, tink i hav to giv t500 a miss then. to think that sony put a caps on such great feature camera…
thanks alot for the help, u hav a great review here
… and you didn’t even submit it to digg! Submitted. :)
Thanks. :)
Sample video still pending?
Sorry for the delay. Done. Link.
Sweet, thanks. That will be helpful in deciding to buy or not.
It’s not a great video, took it indoors with very low lighting. Will get a day video of the outdoors and share that too.
Was this the Fine video mode?
Yea, if I remember correctly it is.
I’ve had this camera for 3 weeks myself. I bought it for the HD video capability. I really think Sony capped the video to 10 minutes because honestly, you won’t be able to shoot much more than that before the battery goes out. in HD fine mode, battery drains very quickly. A second battery is a must and Sony doesn’t sell them for cheap. Be warned.
I don’t actually mind the cap myself, 10 minutes is good enough. The battery seems OK. Off course haven’t shot a lot of HD vids with it.
What type hdmi connector is on the dock?? A regular HDMI port or a mini-hdmi port that I hear some of the HD camcorders use.
It has a regular/standard HDMI port on the dock.
manan, did you try a generic battery with yours ? I need a second battery and I could by a genuine Sony for 70$(Yikes!) while some Ebay sellers have generics for less than 20$. I’ve read somewhere that a user had tried generic but it didn’t work with the T500. I’ve had good experiences with generic in all my other digital cameras and I’m wondering if some will work with this model. I’ve even seen some that sell copies with more than 1000 mAh capacity which would make them last much longer than the genuine NP-BD1.
Sorry Mike, but unfortunately i have not yet tried a generic battery with the T500.
Continued my search on user forums and another guy reported that the replacement battery he ordered for the T500 did not work. :( Strange that it works on the T100, T200 and less recent Sony cameras that use the NP-BD1. Me thinks Sony implemented something special in this camera so only Sony genuine batteries can be used. :(
Just another question if you don’t mind: Did you try steady shot on the HD recordings vs no steady shot ? I really can’t tell if there’s a difference when viewing the videos.
Another thing I would like to add: For all those who have slower computers and find the video choppy or slow, I strongly recommend COREAVC as decoder. Much better than any other I have tried to decode H.264 videos.
It might be possible that Sony must have made some changes, I hppe that in due time compatible batteries will come out.
As far as Steady Shot is concerned, I think it is a part gimmick, part technology. So can’t really say that it does what it is supposed to.
Thanks for the decoding tip. :)
What other video resolutions can the camera do?
Vuong, the camera can do HD 720P in either fine or normal mode and VGA (640 X 480). I haven’t tried anything except 720P in fine mode.
Mike
Well, you can always fix videos, and paste many together with Windows Movie Maker or other edit videos program ;)
In response to Patricio: Yes some problems can be fixed but others can’t and that goes for editing photos as well (something I know a lot more about than video).
Regarding the lack of sharpness when there is movement, I find that if I use the sharpen filter in KMPlayer on the edited videos produced by the T500, it does a wonderful job even with slower computers unlike VLC.
Hey Mike thanks for the inputs. Much appreciated.
Cool tip about KMPlayer will try that.
Hi, thanks for sample video, but can you record other sample video from outdoor obout 20second with zoom and sound into original mp4 file? Upload perhaps on rapidshare.com. Thanks
sorry for my English
Yeah, an outdoors video in partial shade (to keep highlights under control) would be nice. I can’t do it as it’s freezing cold outside.
Use glove and camera it few second survive :)
LOL! I’ll get an outdoor video by tomorrow for sure.
Thoroughly satisfying review! :)
If I bought the AC cable, can I run the T500 off the mains, when in the dock? Besides, does it have a provision for a remote trigger?
Yes, apparently, this is the power supply accessory for the camera. No there is remote triggering, would’ve loved to have 1 for browsing images on the LCD.
i have dsc t500 red in color i just used it for 2 days with 1 year wwarranty extra battery and 8gb memory card $300 so its almost a brand new camera so let me know guys if you want it email me at [email protected]
Its a good camera and the image quality is excellent for its size. Spare batteries are essential though. Biggest probelm os there is no dock charger and I can’t find one anywhere to buy. Means I have to keep swapping batteries. This is not good as it’s a fiddly operation.
the battery & the night mode are the only 2 drawbacks.