Where
to buy the Sony DSC-T1:
The Sony DSC-T1 is only available in Japan right now. Dynamism.com,
the experts in importing Japanese Gadgets and Computers to the USA,
are offering the Sony
DSC-T1 for their true price of $549. Call them directly at 1-800-711-6277 and
mention that you saw the Sony DSC-T1 on I4U to receive special
treatment. |
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REVIEW SECTIONS: Introduction :: Features
:: Sample Photos
:: Specs &
Conclusions
Introduction:
On December 2nd we received the Sony DSC-T1 from Dynamism.com
and I immediately posted a First
Look Review about this hot Camera. Back then I promised to
follow-up with a more in-depth review of the world's thinnest 5MP
Camera in a couple of days. We are sorry that it took almost 3
weeks, the Christmas season was just to busy. Now things are a bit
more quite and I had time to lay down a full review.
I decided to incorporate the text from the Sony
DSC-T1 First Look Review into this full review, so there will be
some overlap, but it also creates one coherent review.
I am still very much taken with the Sony DSC-T1. Showing it to
friends they just are amazed how small it is and that it packs 5MP
and 3x optical zoom. The 2.5" big screen is great to show
photos on the spot.
The handling is excellent and I very quickly got used to the
on-screen menu. In most cases the automatic mode gives great
pictures. Switching on the Camera by shifting down the lens-cover is
just plain cool, like playing with a Zippo Lighter. The DSC-T1 is
pretty much immediately ready for taking a picture. Must be less
than a second.
The Sony DSC-T1 is only on sale in Japan right now. It is supposed
to be in stores in the US early 2004. I am sure it will be a huge
seller when it is in stores in the US and Europe. Other companies
announced new digital cameras with similar specs, but the Sony is
the first and it sets the bar pretty high.
We reported about this new Sony
Camera the first time in October. I see a lot of Gadgets, but
honestly when I opened the box of the Sony DSC-T1 removed the
handbooks and CD and was looking at the tiny Digital Camera I got a
really big smile on my face. This Camera is not only thin but it is
actually looks very small to. And this big screen (2.5") is out
of this world.
The nice people at Dynamism
shipped it to I4U for review. There are two reviews (dcresource,
LetsGoDigital)
that take a look at a pre-production model of the Sony
DSC-T1. Those reviewers were not allowed to post sample photos yet.
The DSC-T1 that we got is an official Japanese market release, and
we did not get it from Sony directly so we can say and write what we
want about it.
This is the first review available still on the web that looks at
the Sony DSC-T1 production model. In this review you will find
details on handling, features, on-screen menus and sample photos.
Overview:
I really got excited when I put
this cool looking camera the first time into my hands. It fits
nicely in my hand. The big screen is very eye-catching. The
Camera is only 91 x
60 x 21mm and weighs 180g with battery. Compare it to other small digital
cameras in our small
camera comparison sheet.
The package includes:
a cradle
power cable
USB cable
Lithium-ION Battery
Sony ImageMixer
and ImageTransfer Software on CD
Video Cable to connect Camera to a TV
32MB DUO Memory Stick
Memory Stick Adapter
Wrist Strap
2 manuals
After being able to put it out of my hands, first thing was to slide
in the small lithium-ion battery into the camera. On the bottom of
the camera is a little sliding door that covers the battery slot and
also provides access to the DUO PRO Memory stick slot. The Sony
Memory Stick DUO PRO are the new small sized Memory Sticks. I just
ordered a 256MB
DUO PRO on Amazon.com.
They are quite new and I did not see them at the Brick-and-Mortar
Electronics Chains yet. Important is the word DUO. There are also Sony
Memory Stick PRO models. The DUO PRO come with a little plastic
adapter, so they can be used also in other Devices that take the
normal sized Memory Sticks.
I placed the DSC-T1
on the cradle and connected the power-cable to it. After about 2 hours the little yellow charging light on the
camera went off and the Camera was ready to use.
Pressing the little power button on top of the camera and it takes
maybe a second and the big screen comes to life. If you forget to
slide down the lens-cover on the front it will display a message
telling you so. The lens-cover design is great, because it has no
loose parts. It is mounted directly on the camera casing.
I put the function button on the side to the green icon, which puts
it into the still image mode. It was dark when I got the Camera so
the first amazement came, that the DSC-T1 has a little red light
lamp (so called AF-assist lamp), that lights up the dark room enough
that I can see on the screen what I am going to shoot. The light
comes on when start pressing the Shutter button. This feature is
great, it always annoyed me with other cheaper digital cameras that
I cannot see on the display anything when it is dark.
The Sony DSC-T1 is a 5 Mega Pixel Camera. By default it takes photos
in that resolution.
Pushing the left button on the touch pad next to the screen, I can
preview my last shoot. There is also a setting in the menu to have
it auto preview after taking a picture. I like that setting. Using the zoom buttons I can zoom in and out
on the screen and also pane around the photo. The big (2.5")
high resolution (211,000pixel) screen just pays off right here. I
can get a real good feel if the photo was good and with the zoom I
can see any detail. The image processing is very fast. there is no
wait time between moving in and out of the photo or moving around on
it. The only delay is after taking a photo and the second or
two it takes till the preview is available. A little red light in
the right lower corner is blinking till the photo is available for
viewing. Small resolution photos are available much fast than the
high ones.
The flash works pretty good. I am not a flash expert, but it lights
up the surrounding quite good. Its not a big flash so it does not
reach very far.
The zoom works very well too. The DSC-T1 features a Vario-Tessar®
lens from Carl Zeiss (see Zeiss
Press-Release). A prism deflects the beam path inside the camera
housing by 90°. The movement of the lens element group permitting
the 3x zoom range therefore takes place inside the camera. That's
one of the secrets behind the small size of the Sony DSC-T1 (Sony
US DSC-T1 Press-Release).
Depending on the resolution the digital zoom adds to the optical
capability. At 5MP only 3x from the optical zoom is available. Going
down to VGA resolution 12x zoom is available.
To transfer photos to my Notebook, I first
just connected the USB cable from the cradle to my Windows XP
Notebook. The Camera is immediately recognized as a drive and I can
drag and drop the photos. When installing the Sony ImageTransfer and
Sony USB drivers, the image transfer gets a bit cooler. During
transfer a window displays previews of the photos flying in. The
Sony ImageTransfer software comes with most Sony Cameras. The
ImageTransfer software also has a thumbnail view and a photo viewer
with rotate and zoom features amongst others. The ImageTransfer
software stores the photos by default under the My Documents/ImageTransfer
folder.
Note a 5MP Photo takes about 2MB of space and has a resolution of
2592x1944 pixels. Those photos are huge and not necessary for
snapshots. Resolution can be switched very quickly via one button
access to the resolution menu.
Below some shots of the DSC-T1 to show the size.
Sony DSC-T1 Shots:
update: 05/14/04: Finally I made a movie with the Sony DSC-T1 and put it online. Movie shows Asimo at the Nextfest 2004. Resolution 640x480 size 2.5MB. Watch DSC-T1 Movie.
 Read on to see the Features and On-Screen Menus of the Sony
DSC-T1.
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Review Sections:
Introduction
Features
Sample Photos
Specs
/ Conclusion
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