Early smartphones such as the Palm Treo and Blackberry devices had digital cameras on them, but digital phone photography was not really considered a valid thing till 2007 when the iPhone was released, and this forced pocket camera mfg to re-think their strategy of how they would build and market their devices as still being better or more valid then an iPhone.
The iPhone original was the first "Smartphone with a camera" that really grabbed the attention of the public who wanted to have an "all in one" device for everything in their daily lives. Prior to this one wouldn't leave the house without a pocket camera if they wanted to take photos.
However, Phone Cameras in the late 2000s and early 2010s were still very low quality in compared to what pocket cameras could get. Phone camera sensors maxed out around 5-8mp and had extremely low color bit depth. On top of this early camera phones had crude primitive lenses by today's smartphone standards and made very soft images with blurring distortion as if someone was shooting through a layer of tape, vasoline or plastic wrap.
Because of this quality difference the masses were not fully absorbed into the smartphone photography world at this time. However some companies such as Sony saw that Smartphone photography was the future and where the casual digital photography market was headed, and they made some cameras that were in essence a "between step between a phone and a pocket camera".
As such pocket cameras would hold on for a little bit longer until the mid 2010s when Smartphone cameras became "good enough" for most people and Smartphone MFG saw this trend and spent billions of dollars in marketing aimed at getting the average consumer to ditch their pocket camera in favor of the newest and greatest smartphone. But this has already been covered by me in another rant so let's just continue with focusing on the review of this El Camino of pocket cameras.
During this transition era Sony and a few other camera mfg made "Easy to use pocket cameras that felt like using a phone" and they are very strange cameras indeed.
Sony designated these cameras as their T and TX series; thin and compact pocket cameras with an extremely large rear Touchscreen LCD, no extending lens and a lack of physical buttons other then the shutter and power button and in some cases a zoom rocker. I happen to own one of these (albeit mine is in really rough condition) the Sony DSC-T300:
Released just a year after the iPhone in 2008 it's pretty clear that Sony was making a pocket camera to compete with the iPhone and other Camera capable phones at the time. The DSC-T300 was a dedicated camera that operated like a phone but produced higher quality images with a 10mp 1/2.3" CCD sensor as opposed to the 1/3.2" 2mp sensor on the iPhone.
My particular T300 has been dropped a number of times by a previous owner. Much like my a37 and a99 it has "issues" but I could still use it well enough for this review. The IBIS on my particular camera is broken, but unlike the a99 it still tries to engage at times on startup it which will shake the whole camera and cause un-useable photos when it kicks on (even when I have it set to off). After a few power cycles it will no longer try and use IBIS for awhile and I can shoot it and get useable photos.
Eventually I'll get a replacement for this camera or a similar T series camera; but its not a high priority considering my thoughts on it which I will get into shortly.
The T300 has a slide cover over the lens which is probably the best thing this camera has going for it. Slide the cover down, take the shot, slide it back up and the camera turns off ready to be stashed in a pocket. This slide cover is more durable then the mechanism used on earlier cameras with this concept such as the Canon Powershot S40 which were a lot more prone to breaking.
Battery life was slightly above average for a camera of this type, and as such I was able to use it for my weekly review on a single charge, casual useage for a full week without having a spare battery or recharging the battery.
It takes the proprietary Sony Memory Stick DUO as did most Sony pocket cameras made before 2011. This is a slight irritation but I do have a card reader that does Sony Memory Stick so its not a huge deal. However if I was buying this camera in 2008 I likely would have opted for something that took the much more common SD memory card format instead.
It's quick and responsive enough with shooting that I am not frustrated with it; there is no noticeable shutter delay and the shut down and startup times are quick. This makes the T300 certainly fast enough to take a shot and quickly stow in a pocket or camera pouch.
In terms of controls and ergonomics however hands down this is the absolute worst camera I own. It was the most frustrating camera I have in my collection to shoot not because its slow or unresponsive when taking a shot or takes terrible quality photos like the GE camera for example; but the lack of physical buttons and a non-responsive touchscreen that drives everything has even someone like me asking "Why don't I just take out my phone instead" in 2023 which says something.
On top of this the lens of is at a very strange place off to the upper corner of the camera rather then the center (just like a few of my waterproof cameras which I have not reviewed yet but will likely run into the same frustration).
This means that when shooting this camera two handed to help support and better frame the photo a finger on my left hand was often blocking part of the lens, showing up on the photo taken with it. It's meant for one handed shooting but with the lack of a front grip its often awkard to shoot it one handed.
So for ergonomics this camera scores a 1 out of 10. Responsiveness is fine and the Picture Quality is actually really good. It has a sharp, crisp high contrast CCD sensor which got me some really nice photos in spite of having to throw out a lot because of my finger or the IBIS throwing a tantrum.
As such I can't rate it the worst camera in my collection, not even close. I have plenty of cameras I haven't reviewed yet that I am really dreading (such as the Coleman waterproof camera and Kodak easyshare 5mp that will be saved for a week I'm feeling extremely patient).
Since the DSC-T300 was frustrating to hold and control from a usability and ergonomics perspective I don't expect myself shooting it that much at all and it will not be chosen for a re-review next year (though a different T series camera may be tested/reviewed later this year should I come across one for a reasonable price)
This said, the photos that did turn out off of this camera are really nice with wild almost dreamy colors even for a CCD sensor. As such I could see where this camera is a great alternative to an early smartphone and even to this day would produce some different colors and contrast a modern smartphone isn't going to get without applying a filter to the image in Post:
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