The Sony Cybershot DSC-N2 may appeal to some with its large 3" LCD and simple design. It is also capable of producing some nice images outdoors. Like most ultra-compact digital cameras, the optics are far from perfect with noticeable vignetting and corner softness. However, the most significant problem with this camera is that it is incapable of producing accurately colored images under artificial lighting. First, the automatic white-balance leaves a warm color-cast. Secondly, the preset white-balance leaves a reddish cast. Thirdly, there is no custom white-balance function on the Sony N2. Combine these three facts and you get a camera with an insurmountable problem.

 

One of the most important features of the Sony N2 is its touch-screen interface which takes the place of traditional camera buttons. The touch-screen can either be used directly using fingers or using a stylus. Both usages are quite problematic. The former leaves fingerprints all over the LCD which makes it hard to see in bright light, plus there is no optical viewfinder. The latter makes using the camera already more unwieldy than it is. The N2's rectangular body is free of any protrusion to get a grip on, so try holding it with your right hand and holding the stylus with your left, unless you happen to be ambidextrous! If you hold the camera with your left hand and the stylus with your right, try reaching the shutter which is on the camera's right. The result of using this camera with the stylus, to avoid getting fingerprints all over the screen, is that you end up shuffling it between hands. This is clearly a poor design.

 

There are much better high resolution ultra-compact digital cameras than this one. Among those, the 10 megapixels HP Photosmart R967, the Canon Powershot SD900 and Casio Exilim EX-Z1000. Particularly, the HP R967 also has a 3" LCD with 230K pixels plus full manual-controls including custom white-balance and the most accurate automatic white-balance system to date. For more information see the HP Photosmart R967's in-depth review here.