Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H2

The Cyber-shot DSC-H1 was Sony's first foray into the increasingly crowded compact, image stabilized 'super zoom' market, and it was a very successful one too. The DSC-H2 (along with big brother the DSC-H5) arrived almost exactly a year later in February 2006. In truth the H2 isn't a major upgrade - a bit of a re-style, a few new features and an extra megapixel - but some of the refinements, though small, are significant. Let's find out if the H2 has what it takes to compete with the likes of Canon's PowerShot S3 IS, starting with the headline specifications:

Sample Photos All images taken at 6M/Fine quality, ISO 80, AWB, Program Auto, Steady Shot Shooting mode unless otherwise noted. DSC00001.JPG2816x21122,501.16 Kb, flash DSC00003.JPG2816x2112, ISO 802,631.03 Kb DSC00005.JPG2816x2112, ISO 1002,635.38 Kb DSC00007.JPG2816x2112,

Sony Cybershot DSC H2 6 to 7 Megapixel user reviews : 2.6 out of 5 - 16 reviews - photographyreview.com

May be overshadowed by first Alpha DSLR

Review posted 11/9/2006 Click on the H2 for a 360° QTVR tour The Cyber-shot DSC-H2 is a compact and stylish 6-megapixel camera with a two-inch LCD screen, a powerful Carl Zeiss 12x optical zoom lens (36-432mm in 35mm equivalence). The H2 incorporates Sony's Super SteadyShot optical image stabilization

Sony DSC-H2 review, find out how the DSC-H2 stacks up against the competition in our real-world review with in-depth image quality comparisons.

The megazoom Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H2's long, image-stabilised lens should have casual photographers drooling -- as long as they stick to the lower ISO speeds.

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If you desperately need an advanced model with a 12X optical zoom then maybe the H2 is for you, but the poor sharpness level and strange design mean there are probably better choices elsewhere.