Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-R1 represents an intriguing bridge between the world of user-friendly all-in-one prosumer cameras and the more complicated world of high-quality digital SLRs. It has an easily rotated LCD screen, plenty of manual bells and whistles, a sharp and versatile Carl Zeiss lens, and a 10-megapixel CMOS sensor nearly as large as those found in typical dSLRs.
The resulting images are impressive, and the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 is relatively easy to operate once you've navigated through the slightly awkward interface a few times. It can take a while to sort through the features spread out among more than a dozen buttons and dials, but even relative newcomers to digital photography should be able to take decent photos right out of the box.
Design
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 is a hulk among all-in-one prosumer cameras: with a weight of 929g, it's the heaviest we've seen, and its 139-by-98-by-156mm dimensions mean you can forget about stuffing it in your pocket. Due to its large zoom lens, the camera body is heavily weighted toward its left side, but the right-hand grip is sturdy enough to allow for an easy one-handed hold.
The DSC-R1 has a somewhat unusual design. For instance, you pull up and swivel the 51mm (2-inch) LCD screen mounted on top. This allows you to view the screen from almost any angle -- you can even hold it near your waist and shoot from the hip like a medium-format photographer. The drawback is that you have to take the time to adjust the screen each time you use the camera, unless you choose not to fold it down when you switch it off.
The DSC-R1 can be boggling at first grasp. But as you handle it more, a sort of logic comes through -- the features you'll use most frequently are easy to manipulate while you're looking through the viewfinder or at the LCD. A few other functions -- bracketing, contrast, the self-timer and playback magnification -- are more awkwardly located under the protruding viewfinder, but you're unlikely to adjust them with every shot.
Features
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 offers a broad range of automatic and manual features, but its highlights are the wide-angle zoom lens, which runs from 24mm to 120mm (35mm equivalent), and the large, almost APS-size 10-megapixel CMOS sensor. Macro photographers will be disappointed by the camera's inability to focus closer than 350mm, however, and the lens isn't very fast -- its maximum aperture lies in the fairly ho-hum f/2.8-to-f/4.8 range. It has a manual focus ring, which triggers a zoomed view of your subject for more precision, as well as a manual zoom ring.
The camera also supplies a useful range of colour modes. Like portrait film, the standard (sRGB) mode provides relatively natural and true-to-life colours; it's best for realistic skin tones. The Vivid mode performs more like highly saturated slide film, with an emphasis on reds, blues and greens -- it's best for landscapes and botanical photography. Finally, there's Adobe RGB, which has the widest colour range and is ideal for images you intend to adjust further in programs such as Photoshop. In addition to using white-balance presets for bright sun, clouds, incandescent lights, fluorescent lamps and flash, you can adjust the white balance by up to 3 steps.
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harrappeter 26 November 2007
Good: silent, sharp, good zoom range, RAW 10MP quality, nice to use-very, very fast
Bad: RAW write time is slow, no continuous RAW option, not strong
Comment: The first step forward since the Leica, the R1 has a good EVF and a good LCD on top that angles around and lets you take shots at waist-level, and if you do nature etc, you can put it on the ground and still see what you are doing without having to lie on the ground as well to see through the viewfinder. Having either the SLR or the Hasselblad/Rollei waist-level option is infinitely preferable to being stuck with only one. In use the camera is slow at locking onto your subject. It is. But holding the subject in foxcus with a half-press , you have total control of the exact moment of exposure at a delay of only 0.007 seconds!!!!. The fastest Canon on the planet is more than 5 times as slow. So though you get tired and your finger aches, its worth it because you are the deciding factor in image making choices, at last. The machine is also light and easy to carry all day, but it is not tough-knock that Zeiss zoom and, well, just dont. The problem due to packaging is getting a good one-I'm on my fourth, or is it fifth?, but I treasure this camera. Imagine a Leica M, but quieter with that zoom lens, and you get the picture. Its just not a knockabout family machine for happy snaps or news. Its for ART!!!!
George Pappas 8 July 2006
Good: Very fast start-up. The CMOS sensor size - excellent images, low power consumption, typically 60-80mins more shooting on same charge than F828, excellent lens.
Bad: Focus can sometimes miss subject. Cannot shoot in RAW only, must save a JPEG also-wastes memoy card space. Slow lens at telephoto end. Tends to some barrel distortion at the lower scale and some pincussion distortion is evident in some building shots at tele end.
Comment: Here is a camera that is an outstanding package wrapped in a nice handling black plastic body. To get the best out of it one must shoot RAW and process in Photoshop. The Sony supplied software (RAW converter) is rather average. JPEGs out of the camera tend to be over sharp and a bit contrasty, so you may want to experiment with these settings. I have found that in RAW you can extract detail that the in-camera processor loses.
Sometimes the autofocus does not get the subject focussed well. In fact Sony should do what Canon does and have an option to prevent shooting if not focused.
The white balance is generally good except under fluoro lights.
The top-mounted screen takes some getting used to but works well. The EVF is excellent with plenty of shooting info below the image.
ISO button well placed next to the shutter button.
Lens is generally excellent. Some distortion is evident at extremes of either end. I compared this lens to the Canon-L 28-70 and 70-200-L. Of course the L lenses were better but I have to say in print you would hardly tell the difference. All in all the price of the camera more than pays for the Zeiss lens. Chromatic aberration is virtually non-existent to those worried from the F828 saga.
Shooting in RAW takes time to save and the buffer is rather limited. Two RAW images locks camera up for around 3-8 secs. Not impressive but bearable.
I could go on but overall it's great for travelling and the images will promise detail and happiness.
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