Sony CyberShot T7 review

Sony's wafer-thin CyberShot T7 is encased in a metal jacket so, despite its fragile appearance, it's actually pretty robust.

Its modern design makes it a little uncomfortable to hold despite a moulded grip on the right edge, and it always feels a little precarious in your hands.

The minute, non-protruding 3x zoom lens is well protected behind a sliding cover that doubles as the camera's power switch. Behind the lens lies a 5-megapixel sensor, which records pictures at a maximum resolution of 2,592x1,944. The 2.5" LCD screen's slow refresh rate means it's not the best for framing shots. However, its high resolution is great for reviewing your photos.

Shooting controls are a little cramped on the back, but the menu system is easy to navigate and always makes sense. A slider switches through movie, still and playback modes, while the zoom is operated at geriatric speed using a tiny slider on the top edge. Considering the small size of the T7, it offers a wealth of shooting options, including auto bracketing for exposure and five-step manual focus.

The CyberShot T7 performs well outdoors. Photos are bright, sharp and correctly exposed with generally accurate colour balance. Its on-camera processing will be a little rigorous for some people, but you can tune this down to some extent using the saturation, contrast and sharpness settings.

Once you're inside or in low light, the T7 is less impressive. It struggles to capture fine detail, and even with the flash at its brightest setting the sensor still operates at the highest ISO setting. This produces a high level of noise even in bright portions of your photographs.

Like the less expensive FujiFilm FinePix F10, the CyberShot T7 looks great and takes rich, clear photos outdoors. However, once the light disappears you're better off using your own memory rather than the camera's.