Sony DSC-V1 digital Camera information

Today, they market a wide range of popular cameras meant for the consumer market but also for more advanced photographers. Their latest model, the Sony DSC-V1 is clearly aimed at more upmarket shooters, especially if you consider the elaborate range of features it offers.

Over the years Sony's Cybershot range of cameras have distinguished themselves from the competition by a wide selection of sizes and body shapes, which more often than not could be called unconventional. Not so the Sony DSC-V1, which looks very traditional in that it resembles a 35mm rangefinder camera from the past.

The DSC-V1 has a very good bundle. Inside the box, you'll find:

• The 5.1 (effective) Mpixel Cyber-shot DSC-V1 camera


• 32MB Memory Stick


• NP-FC11 InfoLithium battery


• AC adapter / battery charger


• Hand strap


• USB cable


• A/V cable


• CD-ROM featuring Pixela ImageMixer software and USB drivers


• 130 page manual (printed)

Sony gives you a 32MB Memory Stick in the box, which is (barely) enough to start with. You'll want a larger card right away -- I'd say 128MB at the very least. The V1, like all the 2003 Sony models, supports Memory Stick Pro cards, which come as large as 1GB.

A smaller camera like the requires a small battery, so Sony uses their proprietary NP-FC11 here.When it's time to charge the FC11 battery, just plug in the included AC adapter and wait for 150 minutes.

Here are the most interesting features in the setup menu:

• Moving Image (MPEG Movie, Clip Motion, Multi Burst) - explained later


• AF mode (Single, monitor, continuous) - see below


• Smart Zoom (on/off) - see below


• Date/Time (Day & Time, Date, Off) - whether date/time is printed on your photos


• Redeye reduction (on/off)


• Hologram AF (on/off)


• Bracket step (±0.3, ±0.7, ±1.0) - for bracketing feature


• Hot shoe (on/off)


• Zoom lever - choose which way the lens moves when you press the zoom lever up or down


• File numbering (series, reset)


• Create/Change Rec folder - for managing images on a Memory Stick


• LCD brightness (Bright, normal, dark)


• LCD backlight (Bright, normal, dark)


• Language (English, French) - this seems incomplete -- maybe the production model will have more languages


• USB connect (PTP, normal) - you may need to change this depending on the operating system on your computer


• Video out (NTSC, PAL)

Image quality

It is not surprising that with a lens like the Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar, the V-1's images are razor sharp. After all, Zeiss lenses have been around for as long as anyone can remember and they have always been synonymous with quality. All images possess an excellent sharpness from corner to corner, with no vignetting and only a little softening in the extreme corners at maximum telephoto. There is little barrel distortion at the wide angle end of the zoom and only slight pincushion distortion at the tele end. In all distortion is within the average range for digital cameras in this class, also considering the V-1 has a 4x zoom lens. Some colour fringing was visible in bright contrast situations and this seemed a bit more than average. A rather striking phenomenon was that the accuracy of the optical viewfinder actually varied quite a lot depending on the zoom setting. At wide angle it showed much less of the actual image than at the tele setting. The LCD showed a full 100% coverage though.

Conclusion

The Sony DSC-V1 is a very nice little camera with excellent image quality. We think it would be ideally suited to the advanced photographer who likes his photography to be a bit more creative and adventurous. There is the possibility to manually control settings such as aperture and shutter speed, white balance, focusing or flash output. The camera supports add-on lenses and has exposure bracketing with adjustable steps. There are advanced features such as the unique hologram AF laser focusing system or the Nightframing mode which can capture pictures in complete darkness. Add to this the Carl Zeiss 4x zoom lens with Smart (digital) Zoom feature or the hot shoe for mounting an external flash,longer battery life sony NP-FC11 battery and you have the perfect tool for creative photography.