Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 Easy Digital Camera Review

Heading up Sony’s “enthusiast” line, the H1 has a body inspired by SLR design, but without the size or weight that accompanies true SLRs. The body is constructed with metal, plastic, and rubber pads, with an overall steel-gray metallic finish. With physical measurements of 3.2 x 4.2 x 3.2 inches and weighing 16.1 ounces, the H1 will definitely demand an extra carrying case. Using the neck strap will be uncomfortable since the H1s eyelets aren’t in-line with each other. The LCD screen is an expansive 2.5 inches, but this doesn’t mean quality viewing – not with its 115,000 pixels. The electronic color viewfinder however frames fairly accurately and has a functional resolution.

The H1 has seven preset shooting modes. There is a full auto mode which works well, although if the settings are altered during shooting, the camera won’t return to any defaults when next used. Manually, the H1 has preset distances for focal settings, EV Compensation with a scale of +/-2 EV, three metering modes, white balance custom and presets, an ISO range of 64-400, adjustable shutter speeds from 1/1000th of a second to 30 seconds, and manual aperture control as well.

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 had far better color scores when compared to prior Sony models; expect an accurately plush and vibrant color palette to work from. Resolution turned in a good score with a hint of oversharpening, and although the noise results in manual ISO were better than the FZ5’s and many competing 12x models, the H1 still struggled with heavy noise when using the ISO 400 setting.

The H1 has a movie mode capable of a 30 fps recording speed, but only with the purchase of an additional memory card. Otherwise, expect a sluggish 16 fps rate when recording in a 640 x 480 resolution. The setting of 160 x 112 has an even slower 8 fps recording speed. Both settings record simultaneous audio.

Speed and shooting times were impressive with the fastest burst mode for a 12x camera to date, though in terms of raw numbers the Canon PowerShot S2 IS was superior. The H1 has a start-up time of 2.23 seconds, and shoots consecutive burst shots with a delay of only 0.745 seconds for five shots prior to saving them to memory—though the S2 IS takes 0.5 seconds between shots. The H1 has a mere 0.38 seconds between activation of the shutter button and shutter release.

The H1 isn’t a digital SLR, but for under $500 (USD) it shouldn’t be expected to behave like one. It may only record in JPEG format, but it has an impressive burst mode for the compact market, along with good color reproduction and an impressive Image Stabilization system. Weigh this against the low LCD pixel count, noise at ISO 400, and a movie mode that only performs well with additional memory. Essentially, this is a solid compact that reacts quickly and provides manual control options on top of preset scene and full auto modes. If you’re looking for a versatile compact camera with a long optically stabilized zoom lens that will provide more shooting potential than a pure point-and-shoot without sacrificing automatic assistance, the H1 is a strong contender.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 327.31

Likes

- Fast start-up speed for “ultra zoom” camera, with minimal shutter lag - Produces sharp, defined images with low noise compared to other 12x zoom models - Excellent image stabilization system - 2.5 inch LCD screen - Easy to use - Nice 12x optical zoom lens - Image Stabilization

Dislikes

- Marketing to “enthusiasts” is a bit misleading if pertaining to SLR or SLR comfortable users - Zoom isn’t very smooth - Sucks the life out of the batteries - Poor resolution on LCD - Truncated ISO scale, without settings of ISO 800 or 1600

Canon Powershot S2 IS Rating:320.89	Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 Rating:324.48	Fujifilm FinePix S5200 Rating:	Konica- Minolta DiMAGE Z6 Rating:	Kodak EasyShare Z7590 Rating:
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- Faster burst mode - Stereo audio recording - Slightly ligher weight - Pivoting and protectable LCD - Movie mode 30 fps is standard - Zoom in movie mode (is audible on recordings) -Flash Compensation - Separate movie record control -Manual audio level controls -"My Color" image manipulation in camera	- Color reproduction accuracy - 130,000 pixels on the smaller 1.8 inch LCD - Slightly smaller body (for portability) - lighter weight - 30 fps movie mode option - 9 area AF system -Flip animation mode	- CCD-RAW or JPEG format - 64-1600 ISO range - 640x480 or 320x240 movie res at 30 frames per second -Even with larger body, the S5200 is a slightly lighter weight	- Lighter weight camera body - 5 point AF system - 6.0 effective  MP CCD - Add on Flash options - 30 fps video capture -Exposure Bracketing options	- Exposure bracketing - Overtly simple menus and large controls - ImageLink printing system compatibility - Smaller camera body - 153 K resolution LCD screen - 16 preset scene modes - Lighter camera body - ISO 800 setting (only with reduced quality resolution)
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
-MSRP - 12x optical zoom - Image stabilization - Electronic Color Viewfinder - Similar body size - Manual Focus - Metering mode parameters - EV Comp scale - Custom White Balance - Manaul ISO (poor results) -No RAW format -Wide angle and tele conversion lens options -Direct Printing	- Three metering modes - Preset shooting modes - Electronic color viewfinder - Image stabilization - 12x optical zoom - 5 MP CCD - MSRP - EV Comp scale - Custom white balance - Manual ISO scale - Manual Aperture control -Direct Printing	- 5.1 MP CCD - Manual Focus control - Wide conversion lens - Aperture manual control - Electronic color viewfinder - 3 Metering modes - Manual Shutter control - Direct Print - Manual White Balance - Audio recording capabiities -Burst Mode - Manual Exposure	- Manual Focus options - 12x optical zoom - Manual Aperture control - 3 metering settings - Manual ISO control - Manual shutter speed control - Direct Print Options - Burst modes - Wide Angle conversion lens - Electronic color viewfinder - Anti Shake system -EV Compensation scale	- Burst mode - Movie mode with audio recording - JPEG format for still images - Direct Printing - Manual Shutter speed control - Manual Aperture control - Electronic color viewfinder - EV Compensation control - 32 MB internal memory included - 5 MP CCD - 640 x 480 movie record resolution
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- Less color accuracy - 68% use of 5 MP CCD means poor resolution - Higher noise levels - Slightly slower start speed - Slower shutter to shot speeds - 1.8 inch LCD with 115K pixel - Smaller shutter speed range - 16 MB memory card - Poor quality on viewfinder -Potentially confusing dual menu setup	- 1.8 inch LCD screen - Manual and auto ISO noise scores - Lower resolution score - Start-up time lags - Slower shutter to shot time - max res. in movie mode is only 320 x 240 - Shutter speed range - No Manual Focus - 16 MB memory card - loud and slow focus - No accessory lens options	- 1.8 inch, 115 K res, LCD screen - 10x optical zoom lens - 15-1/2000th second shutter speed range - Larger camera body means less portabilitiy for some - 16 MB xD-memory card - 1.8 inch LCD	- 2 inch LCD screen - 16 MB memory card - 1/1000th to 4 second shutter speed range - 50-320 ISO range - 320 x 240 resolution for video - Larger camera body	- 16 seconds to 1/1000th second manual shutter control - 2.2 inch LCD screen - 10x optical zoom - Slower 12 frame per second movie speed