Sony Cybershot DSC-J10 camera

The first thing that's likely to strike buyers of the Sony Cybershot DSC-J10 is its unusual design.

The camera is distinctively modern, eschewing the traditional look almost entirely in favour of a slim, curvy slab-like appearance. The 4x optical zoom lens is flush with the unit and sits to one side rather than in the middle.

It's available in three different two-tone colour schemes: a dark blue and black model, a pink and white one or the silver and turquoise unit pictured.

Further innovations can be found in the shape of a built-in USB connection and storage. No cable is required: users simply plug the camera directly into a PC to transfer images.

4GB of internal memory is supplied, although it is not possible to supplement this, as there is no memory card slot. This will be restrictive for some users, especially those who make use the camera's ability to record video clips, which eat up lots of memory.

That said, video recording is only available in standard definition, which is a shame, since many similarly priced cameras now offer filming in high definition.

The DSC-J10 was reasonably simple to use. Many of its most prominent features are aimed at making it easy to take good snaps. For an almost entirely hands-off experience, it's possible to rely on the Intelligent Auto mode to recognise shooting conditions and make adjustments accordingly.

In most normal situations that worked fairly well. Face and smile-detection are also available and there's even an Easy Shooting mode, which provides on-screen help. A simple panorama mode is supplied but we couldn't get this to work well.

Ease-of-use continues when the camera is connected to a computer – a program stored on the internal memory allows users to manage their photos and share them on social networks.

As for picture quality, the DSC-J10 wasn't bad. The 16.1-megapixel sensor did well in bright daylight situations, soaking up detail and providing a pleasantly bright, crisp image with strong, natural-looking colours and flesh tones.

Interior and low-light performance was not as good, however, with shots susceptible to noise and blur unless we used the flash.