The Sony Cyber-shot DSC N2 was announced in September 2006 as the successor to the DSC-N1. Like many new compacts this year, the main differences are higher resolution and sensitivity, although by inheriting the N1’s screen and control system, the new N2 remains one of the most unique digital cameras on the market.

Boasting 10.1 Megapixels, the Sony N2 becomes the highest resolution Cyber-shot compact camera to date, although it’s not a great leap from the 8.1 Megapixels of its predecessor. Along with slightly higher resolution, Sony’s also increased the sensitivity range from 80-800 to 100-1600 ISO, and to further differentiate the two models, selected a ‘champagne’ gold finish for the N2.

Beyond this, and support for Sony’s optional GPS unit, the N2 is pretty much the same as its predecessor. The key selling point is its huge 3in screen with touch-sensitive controls – that’s right, there’s few physical buttons or switches on the N2, and instead almost all menu navigation and adjustment of settings are performed by tapping on the screen. Like the N1, there’s also a built-in album which lets you carry around up to 500 of your favourite photos and even play them back with a music track of your choice.

These features are certainly unique and allow the N2 to stand out from the crowd, but are they genuinely useful or just a fun novelty? Find out in our full review, where we’ll also compare the image quality against the N2’s biggest rivals including the 10 Megapixel Canon A640 and the low-light leader Fujifilm F30. For an overview of its headline features, check out our Sony N2 video tour.

Testing notes

Following our convention of using default factory and best quality JPEG settings to test cameras unless otherwise stated, the N2 was set 10M Fine quality, Auto White Balance, Multi Metering and its Normal Colour Mode with the default ‘zero’ settings for Contrast and Sharpness.