By Billy Teo, a freelance writer

ANYONE looking for manual controls, say, shutter speed or aperture size, will not find it here.

Picture quality, for a 12.1-megapixel camera with 4X optical zoom, is decent but not outstanding.

That said, the pocket-friendly Sony Cyber-shot T900 packs in trendy features like the smile shutter that shoots only when someone is smiling and face detection to capture faces only when there is proper exposure and focus.

There are even 10 in-camera photo editing tools that let you crop, sharpen or improve photos without the need for additional software.

Most of the functions in this camera are activated by touching the 3.5-inch touchscreen.

Even switching from the automatic (Intelligent Auto) mode to a scene mode such as Underwater or Sports - even turning off the flash - require pokes on the screen rather than button presses.

Folk with clumsy fingers should just watch that they do not press the wrong icons.

Photos taken in ample light - such as outdoors on a sunny day or a well-lit room - are well-exposed and show true-to-life colours.

The camera's Intelligent Auto mode handles most situations well, particularly when you hold the camera with steady hands.

The kaleidoscope of colours in Clarke Quay's buildings or some toy robots, for example, came out true to life.

I particularly like the Soft Snap mode that gives a good depth-of-field in portraits. A shot of my daughter came out right, with her looking sharp, while the bedroom appeared dreamy for artistic impact.

However, in poor light such as when you shoot indoors, the photo quality often takes a dip even with the flash on. So expect grainy shots.

The camera's high definition (720p or 1,280 x 720 pixels) Mpeg-4 video clips are fairly sharp and detailed when viewed on a 40-inch HDTV.

But again, expect a little graininess when shooting indoors.

Final say

The T900 is best suited for the casual shooter who wants a fashionable general purpose camera and is prepared to pay a premium for it.

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