Sony T9 & T10 Cameras

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   Error Message 62.10   
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Camera Tips For Sony T9 (DSC-T9) & Sony T10 (DSC-T10) Users

Can A 6 Megapixel Sony T-9 Image Be Enlarged To Resolution Of Newer Cameras?
Try The Stand Alone Program (Or Photoshop Plugin) Called Perfect Resize     Click Here  

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 T9, 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. T9 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, September 2006

Optimal Macro Settings For Sony T9 & T10

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 T10 flash is brighter than the T9; 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 T10.

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 T9 by holding a small high intensity flashlight in my left hand and the T9 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 T9'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 T9 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 T10 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 T9 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 T10. My preliminary investigation indicates that the flash is slightly brighter than the T9. In this picture I covered the T10 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 T10 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 T10 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 Sony T9 (DSC-T9), Sony T10 (DSC-T10), Sony T-30 (DSC-T30) and perhaps other models often go into an annoying vibrating mode and flashing LCD display with the message: Error 62.10. In fact, this problem is so common that it will eventually affect all similar camera models, such as T50 and T70. This usually happens after the warranty has expired. In my T9 and T10 cameras it happened after about 75,000 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.

Note: The above suggestions might work in an emergency for a quick fix when you are out in the field; however, they are a bad long term solution. Ideally, you should pack your camera in a box with bubble wrap and send it to a reliable repair shop (see below) that can correct this defective steady shot gyro. In fact, hitting the camera may permanently disable this vital and delicate camera function. Beware of buying used T-cameras on the Internet because they may develop this problem, or already have it! Not only must the steady shot unit be replaced, but there are critical allignments that must be performed. Also the movement of the new mechanical assembly must be calibrated electronically. Very few places have the necessary test jig and proprietary software to perform these critical allignments and return your camera to factory specs. The following repair service is aware of this Sony problem and can repair the steady shot mechanism. They charge $127 for this service, which is well worth it to have this amazing camera working like new again.

AV Repair.Com   Click On The Repair Service Tab At The Top Of Their Page

Another solution is to buy another T-camera. I have had no trouble finding new and used T9s and T10s on E-Bay and Amazon. As stated above, the used cameras may develop the same steady state problem, or already have it. These marvelous little cameras will undoubtedly be available on the Internet for many years to come. 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.

Silver argiope (Argiope argentata) on Owens Peak (28 October 2010). To get this shot of the dorsal side of spider against the sky I had to crawl under the bush with my arm extended, and direct my camera upward under the spider. I seriously doubt that I could have used my bulky SLR and flash without disturbing the spider.

Landscape Images With T-9

The Sony T-9 and T-10 really shine in macro mode. Landscape images are pretty good, but tend to be a little noisy when enlarged. See the following two images of thunderheads (cumulonimbus clouds) over San Diego County on 2 August 2011.


Conclusion

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.

When I was first introduced to the DSC-TX5 in 2010, I had reservations about this touchscreen camera, although I gave it a brief favorable review and uploaded a page of images for it (see link below). The newer TX30 has some improved features and may be a suitable T-9 & T-10 replacement if you are OK with touch screens on a camera. For extreme closeups one cm from subject using Magnifying Glass Plus mode, two LED lights on either side of lens will automatically turn on and illuminate the subject without using the overpowering flash. The downside to Magnifying Glass Plus Mode is that the shutter speed is way too slow. If you can't steady the camera the image will be blurred. (W.P. Armstrong, Jan 2016)

Sony DSC-TX5 Touch Screen Mini-Camera