Labs

The DSC-T20 shares its design with the T100, but its specifications are more modest, with a 3x zoom and 2.5in screen, and it also costs around £50 less.

The menus and options are largely identical to those on the W90, but the T20 lacks the mode dial, so you have to select scene presets via the menu. Even so, the camera

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was quick and easy to use. The lightning-fast performance helps and pictures were captured every 1.3 seconds and at 2fps in continuous mode.

Sony's face-detection system quickly detects and tracks up to eight faces, including profiles and heads that are tilted at an angle. This helped with focusing, but the benefits it gave to exposure weren't as dramatic. The camera decided the flash was necessary when shooting people in direct sunlight. This did get rid of heavy shadows, but we didn't find that it improved image quality.

Otherwise, image quality was decent, but below average compared to the other cameras here. The 1cm macro focus produced amazing close-ups, but in other shots, focus was a little soft and skin textures weren't that detailed. Low-light photography displayed little noise, though, with acceptable results at ISO 1600, and image stabilisation helped avoid blur with reasonable success.