Controls are convenient, including an easily-accessible button to switch between various light metering modes, allowing even silhouetted subjects to be correctly exposed. About the only notable downside with the Cyber-Shot is Sony's insistence on its own peculiar Stick memory cards. That's a minor point indeed, given this camera's all-round excellence in every other area. Zoom has a very different character. For starters, it's tall and angular, where the Sony is low and rounded.
Controls are just as extensive but are laid out quite differently.
The unique upright styling includes a knob at the upper right, selecting still photo, video and audio modes. Below this, a four-way button pad controls functions such as zooming and panning during review of your pictures. A round monochrome LCD display in the middle shows the changing functions of this pad. The lower half of the camera back is mostly devoted to a very clear, bright LCD viewfinder display. Menus appearing here are extensive, detailed and easy to figure out when you're in a hurry.