Sony T-9 & T-10 Cameras

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Camera Tip For Sony T-9 & T-10 Users

Macro Shots With Rich, Saturated Colors Using Program Mode & Flash:

Having used SLR film cameras for more than four decades, we are well aware of the benefits of SLR digital cameras over small point-and-shoot cameras. However, there are some advantages with the Sony T-9, particularly with macrophotography. The Carl Zeiss lens is excellent and takes beautiful images for 300 dpi 5 x 7 inch and even 8 x 10 inch prints. Using the built in flash for extreme close-ups allows for maximum depth of field and rich saturated color without hot spots and shadows. In addition, it stops motion so that the brodiaea flower in the following image is clear and sharp even though it was blowing in the wind. Minute Argentine ants in the following fig image are sharp even though they were scurrying all over the fruit. The camera can be held in one hand at arm's length using the sharp LCD. This method is very handy when it is difficult or impossible to use the ocular viewfinder. T-9 images can be taken quickly and easily on the fly, without the time-consuming setup of bulky SLR accessory equipment. Digital SLRs are preferable for images requiring high ISO settings (800 - 1600+).   W.P. Armstrong & Steven Disparti, September 2006

Optimal Macro Settings For Sony T-9 & T-10

Menu Settings:

Program-Normal, Spot AF, Spot Meter, Auto White Balance, ISO 80, Fine Image Quality, Normal Rec Mode, Low Flash Level, Normal Contrast, Normal Sharpness

Buttons On Camera:

1. Macro Setting (Flower)-Not Magnifying Glass

2. Zoom to 2.4 or 2.5-EV minus 2

Note: These settings may depend on subject.

3. Flash On

Note: The T-10 flash is brighter than the T-9; You may need to tone it down by placing a card in front of the flash. The card can cover all or a portion of the flash. Light still passes through a white card, but reduces the flash significantly. Reducing the flash is very important with the T-10.

For ultimate quality, the JPEG image needs to be tweaked with PhotoShop:

  1. Cropping
  2. Levels (maybe also curves)
  3. Shadow/Highlight
  4. Sharpen
  5. Image Size

Photographing live insects and spiders at night is difficult with most cameras. I have taken some remarkable images with the T-9 by holding a small high intensity flashlight in my left hand and the T-9 in my right. [Preferably a halogen flashlight with multiple bulbs.] Using spot focus, the camera quickly focuses on the illuminated subject and automatically sets the flash. The following link shows a tree cricket photographed on a shrub in the dark. The T-9's flash adjustment compensates for the close distance to the subject, a feature lacking in most cameras, including newer models of T-cameras. Click on the following link to see tree crickets photographed in the dark:

Tree Crickets (Oecanthus) Photographed In The Dark

A new species (Brodiaea santarosae) from the Santa Rosa Plateau of Riverside County. It has long filaments like B. orcuttii, but unlike B. orcuttii, it has filiform staminodes and larger flowers. This picture was taken hand held during gusts of blowing dust and grass debris.

Brodiaea terrestris ssp. kernensis in the Laguna Mts. of San Diego County.

  1. Coastal BTK in San Marcos During Spring 2006
  2. Brodiaeas at Kearny Mesa & Cuyamaca Lake
  3. BTK & Hybrids: Santa Rosa Plateau & Elsinore Pk
  4. Coastal BTK in Santa Barbara County
  5. Index of All Brodiaea Pages On Wayne's Word

This fig beetle was photographed while engorging itself on a ripe Calimyrna fig. The Argentine ants were in motion, scurrying over the fig and attempting to attack the beetle's impervious exoskeleton. The camera was held in one hand with the right arm extended to reach the beetle.

Alpine daisy and syrphid fly photographed on Logan Pass, Glacier National Park.

The following two links show a syrphid fly and sphinx moth hovering in midair. The fly was taken through LCD screen at arm's length on a hand-held Sony T-9 at a distance of 4 inches (10 cm). This fast-moving fly is difficult to get close to while it is in flight. The moth was taken with a T-10 at 1/1000th of a second using built-in flash, a feat that is impossible with most focal plane shutter cameras.
     Syrphid Fly Hovering in Midair        Sphinx Moth Hovering in Midair  

The rare Laguna Mts. aster (Machaeranthera asteroides var. lagunensis).

Orb weaver spider (Araneus gemma) at Huntington Botanical Garden.

More Images Of The Orb Weaver Spider (Araneus gemma)

A black widow (Latrodectus mactans = L. hesperus). It was photographed in a composter with a Sony T-1 digital camera. The camera was held with one hand and extended at arm's length into the spider's web.

Close-up view of eyes, chelicerae and fangs of a male red jumping spider (Phidippus johnsoni). Photographed with a hand-held Sony T-9 digital camera using fluorescent photoflood lamps. This entire image is about 5 mm across.

More Macro Images: Flowers, Spiders & Insects

Cherries photographed at Flathead Lake, Montana.

The North American redbud (Cercis canadensis) is a beautiful cauliflorous legume in the eastern United States. It is replaced in California, Arizona and Utah by the western redbud (C. occidentalis).

Flower of North American devil's claw (Proboscidea louisianica ssp. louisianica). The yellow lines in the corolla throat are nectar guide lines that direct pollinator bees to the nectar source.

Blue daisy (Felicia amelloides) photographed with a T-10. My preliminary investigation indicates that the flash is slightly brighter than the T-9. In this picture I covered the T-10 flash with a narrow strip of lens paper covered by a strip of Scotch® Matte Finish Magic™ Tape. This reduced the flash intensity slightly.

A tiny spider resembling an ant that was running across my table at Starbucks. Image taken with hand-held Sony T-10 on a light box using two 2000 lumen fluorescent lamps. Note the size comparison with U.S. penny.

The following 2 images were taken with a Sony T-10 through glass in a dimly lit display at the San Diego Wild Animal Park. Both images were taken hand-held using the built-in flash on close-up (flower) mode.

Brazilian white-knee tarantula (Acanthoscurria geniculata).

A giant prickly stick insect (Extatosoma tiaratum).

Error Message E.62.10 & What To Do About It

Older, well-used T-9, T-10, T-30 and perhaps other models often go into an annoying vibrating mode and flashing LCD display with the message: Error 62.10. This usually happens after the warranty has expired. In my T-9 and T-10 cameras it happened well after about 100,000 shots. Sony Tech Support suggested that I simply reinitialize the camera (i.e. re-enter all the set-up data); however, this did not solve the problem. Then I went to an excellent on-line forum and read through hundreds of suggestions by people with the exact same camera problem as mine. Here is a summary of the majority of responses:

             1. Don't despair or throw your camera away. Try the following simple steps.

             2. Turn the camera off and remove the battery. Be sure to close the battery access door.

             3. Firmly hit the battery end of the camera in the palm of your hand at least 3 times.

             4. Replace the battery and turn on the camera. If it still vibrates repeat the above process.

I had to repeat the above process several times with varying degrees of force on my T-9 and T-10. I know it sounds funky, but it appears to have solved the problem and has extended the life of these two outstanding cameras. My Nikon digital SLR with 70-200 zoom lens and polarizing filter is better for landscapes. My dedicated macro lense is also superior, but I don't carry this bulkier camera everywhere on my belt like I do with the T-camera. The beauty of these mini cameras is that you don't miss a unique macro shot that you may never see again. In addition, there are situations where holding a mini camera in your outstretched arm into branches of a tree or shrub is the only way of quickly capturing a unique image of a spider or insect. This is especially true when there simply is not enough time to set up a bulky tripod and flash that would most certainly scare away the subject.

I have yet to find a replacement for these excellent mini-cameras, especially considering their lense quality, quick focusing, and macro capability with built-in flash. Steven Disparti and I are constantly reviewing the latest mini point & shoot cameras. When we find a suitable replacement for the T-cameras it will be posted here. Stay tuned. (WPA 14 July 2010)