Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX20 ($329.99 direct) is a gorgeous camera. It's slim and its sliding metal faceplate gives it a unique look. It features one of the better touch screens that I've used on any digital camera, and can be used underwater at depths of up to 16 You can drop this 16-megapixel shooter from as high as five feet, but it's not as?rugged as some other tough cameras, and its image quality lags well behind others in its class. If you're looking for a tough-as-nails rugged point-and-shoot that delivers on image quality, our Editors' Choice Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS ($399.99, 4.5 stars) will cost you more, but it's worth it.

Design and Features
The TX20 screams style, and Sony takes advantage of this by offering it in a rainbow of colors. You can opt for a two tone version with a gray body and an orange or green faceplate, or a color-coordinated version in black, blue, or pink. When the camera isn't in use, the metal faceplate covers the lens. Sliding it down turns the camera on and reveals the lens, flash, and stereo mic. Like most tough shooters, the lens is located in the top corner, and doesn't move in or out from the body while zooming. The TX20 is slim for its class, measuring just 2.25 by 3.9 by 0.7 inches and weighing in at 4.7 ounces. You'll be able to slip it into your pocket with ease, especially when compared with the larger, heavier 2.8 by 4.4 by 1.1, 8-ounce?Canon PowerShot D20 ($349.99, 4 stars).?

Physical controls are minimal?there's a standard On/Off button, shutter release, Playback and Movie buttons, and a little nub that serves as a zoom rocker. The touch screen serves as the main control panel, and as such is thankfully quite responsive and customizable. You can select the four shooting controls that are located to the left of the LCD, and there's also an on-board guide that explains all of the camera'a features. The 3-inch display is itself very sharp thanks to a 921k-dot resolution. It's one of the best touch screens that I've seen on a camera?the icons are large enough so that there's no question what you're selecting, and scrolling is smooth and painless.

The 4x zoom lens covers a 25-100mm (35mm equivalent) focal range, which is quite useful in a waterproof camera. When you shoot underwater, objects appear slightly closer to the lens than they actually are, which effectively hurts your wide angle capability?having a lens as wide as 25mm helps to offset that, and gives you a wide field of view for landscape shots when on dry land. Many tough cameras have lenses that start out at 28mm, including the Nikon Coolpix AW100 ($379.95, 4 stars), and although the difference in focal length is only 3mm, the difference in field of view is very noticeable.

The TX20 is rated for use in 16 feet of water, it's dustproof, and can be dropped from heights of up to 5 feet without worry. Despite its high price, the camera is similar to the less-expensive Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS20? ($179.99, 3.5 stars), which matches the toughness ratings of the TX20 and adds the ability to shoot in temperatures as low as 14?F. If you want a tougher camera in this price range, consider the Olympus Tough TG-820 ($299.99, 4 stars)?it can go as deep as 33 feet and is rated to survive drops up to a 6.6 feet.

Performance and Conclusions
Very responsive, the TX20 starts and shoots in about 1.2 seconds, can fire a burst of 10 shots in a second, and records a short 0.2-second shutter lag. It runs circles around the Pentax Optio WG-2 GPS ($399.95, 3.5 stars), which boots and shoots in 2.5 seconds and requires you to wait 0.9-second between photos, but does match the TX20's 0.2-second shutter lag.

I used Imatest to measure the sharpness of the TX20's lens. The results were disappointing; the camera scored 1,346 lines per picture height, well shy of the 1,800 lines that mark a sharp image. What's more concerning is that the camera has excellent center resolution?2,463 lines. Even with a center-weighted testing method, very low performance as you move away from the center of the lens drags down its overall score. It's clear when looking at photos the lens doesn't do well around the edges?objects there look downright blurry. If image quality is high on your list, you won't be pleased?the Canon PowerShot D20 may not be as sleek, but it scores an impressive 1,961 lines on the Imatest sharpness test.

I also tested for image noise, which can sap details from photos and make them appear overly grainy at higher ISO settings. The TX20 kept noise under 1.5 percent through its top ISO setting of 3200, but that's only half the story. Detail starts to disappear as you increase the ISO, which is likely a result of overzealous digital noise reduction coupled with the low sharpness to begin with. I'd recommend keeping the camera set at ISO 400 or below when possible. By the time you hit ISO 800, image detail all but vanishes. The Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS does a much better job here, keeping noise below 1.5 percent through ISO 1600, without sacrificing a lot of detail. It also has a leg up thanks to a fast f/2 lens, which lets in about three times as much light as the TX20's f/3.5 lens?more light coming in makes it easier to keep the ISO set low.

Video is recorded in AVCHD format at 1080i60 resolution. The much lower resolution of the footage is more forgiving than 16-megapixel stills, but softness is still apparent in corners. You can connect the camera directly to an HDTV via a standard mini HDMI port. There's also a micro USB connector which serves double duty; you can use it to connect the camera to your computer, or to plug it directly into a wall using the included AC adapter. As there's no battery charger included, you'll have to recharge the battery via this port. Standard SD, SDHC, and SDXC memory cards are supported, as well as Sony Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo, Memory Stick Duo, and Memory Stick PRO Duo media.

Sony clearly put a lot of care put into the design of the Cyber-shot DSC-TX20. The slim shooter is attractive, the touch-screen interface is top-notch,?and the sliding metal faceplate manages to protect the lens and give the camera a unique look. Unfortunately, the compromises necessary to squeeze a 4x zoom lens into a 0.7-inch body result in images that, while sharp in the center, soften to the point of blurriness as you move towards the edges of the frame. You'll be better off spending your money on a more capable camera like the Olympus Tough TG-820, Canon PowerShot D20, or our Editors' Choice Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS?all of which outperform the TX20 on image quality and toughness.

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