Digital Trends

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-R1 December 28th, 2005 | by David Elrich

Features and Design

Forget about putting this one in your pocket. Like its D-SLR competitors it's big and bulky, tipping the scales at 2.3 pounds with battery and memory card. The stealthy, black-bodied DSC-R1 looks like a refugee from the set of Battlestar Gallactica rather than a cute silver-bodied Canon Digital ELPH.

The Sony DSC-R1 is a bit of a weird duck since it does not have interchangeable lenses like all D-SLRs even with its hefty price. It does have a built-in 5x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar T* zoom that equals 24-120mm in 35mm terms. The 24mm option is much wider than other point-and-shoots that typically start at 35mm. This opens the door to more creative options and is most welcome. And just to compare apples-to-apples, most D-SLR kits come with 18-55mm zooms that translate to 29-88mm due to the digital factor. You'd have to buy another lens to get the range of the R1 such as a Canon EF 24-70mm for $1,100—but you won't get the wide angle option. And as much as I like D-SLR options, there's something to be said for a single lens that handles most shooting situations and eliminates the need to swap out glass. I learned photography with older Pentax and Nikon film SLRs (including the legendary F2) and loved playing with different lenses. Yet it took one long European trip and I switched to a point-and-shoot with a built-in zoom. Who needs to carry all this stuff? This might be considered sacrilegious by photo aficionados but what the heck it's the Internet and I'm entitled to my opinions.

Overall ergonomics are good with a pistol grip for your right hand while your left wraps around the lens barrel. It's very D-SLR-ish something that can be said about the entire camera even though you can't change lenses. The front of the DSC-R1 is dominated by the lens and an auto pop-up flash. The pistol grip has the power and ISO keys (160-3200) as well as a hot shoe. The grip also holds the proprietary lithium ion battery rated 500 shots and a compartment for the memory card slots. Yes, there are two slots for Memory Stick as well as Compact Flash, a welcome option in this day of fire-sale CF prices. Since this uses Sony's infoLithium battery, there's a great readout to the minute of how much power you have left.

Image Courtesy of Sony America

The top of the camera has the flash as well as a moveable 2-inch LCD screen that can used to frame your shots in a nice variety of positions. The LCD turns off once you put your eye to the viewfinder which has a diopter adjustment. As noted in the introduction, one of the things that really sets this apart from D-SLRs is its ability to give you a live preview on the LCD screen, something no digital single lens reflex camera do. If you're a big fan of using large LCD screens for framing your photos, this is a winning feature. I really enjoyed it, especially shooting over people's heads. The LCD is rated 134K pixels, a good but not great spec. 

Image Courtesy of Sony America

The back of the camera has enough dials and buttons to keep photo bugs as happy as a politician at a photo op. There's a mode dial that simply can be set to Auto as well as aperture- and shutter-priority, full manual and program shift. You make adjustments using the main command dial on the back of the pistol grip and the subcommand dial with a joystick control slightly to the right of the viewfinder. The mode dial also has four common Program AE settings (portrait, landscape, twilight portrait and twilight). You can also adjust the type of metering (multi-pattern, center weighted, spot) and play with an Auto Exposure Lock button, Burst/Exposure Bracketing, self-timer, zoom (for viewing) and menu keys. The camera is rated 3 fps in burst mode at full resolution (JPEG). Although there is a RAW setting, you can't shoot a burst. By comparison, the 8.2MP Canon EOS 20D D-SLR ($1,300 body only) can shoot 5 fps in JPEG and RAW settings. This lack of speed is one of this camera's biggest drawbacks. Tucked on the side of the viewfinder is the review key. On the left hand side you'll find a flash adjustment key as well as white balance. There's also a focus button for choosing between auto, macro and manual. You also can choose between Multipoint AF, Center AF and Flexible Spot in case you need to focus on a subject that's not dead center in the viewfinder. All of the connections are safely tucked in one area including DC power, USB Hi-Speed 2.0, video out for your TV and an accessory jack for a flash.

Image Courtesy of Sony America

Once you become familiar with these buttons and bells, it's time to get into the menus that also have plenty to play with including those RAW and JPEG settings. Surprisingly, the new Sony does not take video clips. Like D-SLRs such as the Nikon D70s, the DSC-R1 lets you choose between three color spaces: Adobe RGB and two sRGB settings. Without going feature crazy, you'll find almost everything you'll will on a D-SLR. What you won't get is a flapping sound since the DSC-R1 does not have a D-SLR's mirror/prism setup so the camera is fairly quiet. The camera comes with a rechargeable battery rated 500 shots with the LCD on, AC adaptor, USB and video cables, shoulder strap and software CD ROM as well as a program to handle RAW file transfers. The main photo editing software is a variation of the PicturePackage we've complained about for years. Why Sony continues with this junk is beyond me. On a much better note is the Image Data Converter SR software that “develops” the RAW files and lets you adjust color parameters; this makes working with RAW files so much fun. The DSC-R1 is also supplied with a thorough 136-page owner's manual. The camera doesn't come with a Quick Start guide but I can't really knock the company because anyone spending a grand on a camera will know most of the basics. The camera also comes with a lens hood; although it looks cool don't bother using it since it causes vignettes with flash photos.