Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H1 Digital Camera - Large and Slow Mega-Zoom
Written: Aug 26 '05 (Updated Dec 12 '05)
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Pros: Uses 2 AA batteries (included with charger), good image quality, 12x stabilized zoom, large LCD
Cons: Slow low light focusing, slow burst and bracketing, ISO 400 noisy, batteries charge slow, weight
The Bottom Line: I only recommend Sony DSC-H1 if you want a 5MP camera with good optics, 12x optical zoom and image stabilization that has a large...
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| dkozin's Full Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H1 Digital Camera |
Having been using my Panasonic DMC-FZ5 and having used the Canon PowerShot S2 IS (both with 5 Megapixels, 12x optical zoom and optical image stabilization), I was eager to try the Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H1. It has the same kind of major features (12x optical zoom and optical image stabilization, 5.1 Megapixels) and sells for about $370-450.
I bought my Sony H1 for $380, but had to wait three weeks for it to arrive. Once it arrived, I was rather surprised by what I found in the box. And after using the camera for several days, I was surprised even more at some aspects of its performance. But we should probably start at the beginning.
What Is Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H1?
The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H1 is a 5.1-Megapixel digital camera with a 12x optical zoom, optical image stabilization, a large 2.5-inch LCD screen, powered by 2 AA batteries. Two rechargeable batteries and charger are included.
The camera stores pictures on a proprietary Sony Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick Duo Pro and features fast USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection to PC and Mac computers. It has 32 MB of built-in memory to get you started.
The camera has advanced manual control options, including manual focus, manual exposure, exposure bracketing and macro mode.
Photos
The photos of the camera as well as the sample photos taken with it are available at the address below (copy and paste it into your browser's address window):
http://www.review-shop.com/Sony_DSC_H1/Sony_DSC_H1_Samples_1.html
Getting Started
The camera comes with two AA 2100 mAh NiMH batteries, charger, lens cap, lens filter adaptor, lens hood, strap, cables, software and manuals.
The charger is the kind that has a separate detachable power cord. The charger works in any country (110-240 V, 50-60 Hz) and you can get a different cord for different power outlets.
The charger can charge 2 AA or 4 AAA batteries at the time. It differs only slightly from a charger supplied with Sony DSC-W7 that I tested earlier. I placed the supplied batteries into the charger and plugged it into the outlet. After I made and had dinner the batteries were still charging. I watched a couple of episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circuis. The batteries were still charging.
I looked at the back side of the charger. It stated that the charger supplies 1.4V 400 mA x 2, which means even disregarding heat losses, it takes more than 5 hours to charge a fully depleted 2100 mAh battery. After 3 hours, my patience ran out. I pulled batteries out (they were charged enough to shoot a lot of pictures).
The Camera Itself
The camera itself was a surprise. After using Panasonic FZ5 and Canon S2 IS, I expected something similar in size and weight. On paper, the Sony H1 looks only marginally larger than the FZ5 and only 60% or so heavier. But once I pulled it out the box, it became evident that even without batteries it is subjectively much heavier (and much larger too).
The camera looks like a SLR with a pronounced handgrip, an adjustment wheel in front part of the handgrip and a shiny mode selector wheel on the top deck. It feels sturdy and generally well-made.
The camera has a two-segmented lid on the bottom. The outer segment can be opened separately to load/eject the Memory Stick or Memory Stick Pro card. Or you can open it together with the second section of the lid to load/unload the tow AA batteries. The bottom also has a tripod mount.
The back has a large 2.5-inch LCD, an electronic viewfinder (EVF) with diopter adjustment, buttons for menu control and other functions, zoom buttons that provide 2-speed zooming. The top deck has a mode selection wheel (Auto, Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual, several scene modes, Review, Movie Mode), shutter release button, buttons for focus mode selection and burst/bracketing button.
The front of the handgrip has a slit, which houses a wheel that serves to adjust shooting parameters (e.g. aperture or shutter speed). The wheel can be clicked as well as rotated. The side of the camera has a rubber-like lid that covers the USB and A/V ports.
The controls have generally good tactile feel with only slightly too much effort required.
The camera has an on/off button on the top deck, which powers the camera on/off when depressed and held. Once powered, the camera extends its lens forward relatively fast and you are ready to shoot in about a two seconds after you turn the camera on.
Make sure you removed the lens cap before turning the camera on in any of the shooting modes. But if you forget (which happened to me at least once), the camera will sense it and the LCD showed something like Remove Lens Cap. The lens cap is very sturdy and is attached to the camera well, unlike the flimsy lens cap of the Canon S2 IS.
The shutdown takes about 2-2.5 seconds.
Ease of Use
The camera is very easy to use. I have not read the manual (I have not even opened it), but was able to use the camera and all its features in no time. The camera can be used by any member of the family and by photographers of all levels of expertise from novices to advanced ones (albeit it will not give you much control over the shutter speed or aperture).
The camera comes pre-set to Auto mode (green camera pictogram on the mode wheel). You do not have to do anything other than point and shoot - the camera takes care of the rest. The camera uses 5-area smart autofocus (in non-manual modes, you can also select spot autofocus, continuous autofocus, preset manual focus to 0.5m, 1m, 3m, 7m or infinity and even manual focus with fine control).
You press the shutter release button halfway to make camera focus (the camera shows you that it focused and beeps to confirm focus) and then you take the picture by pressing the shutter release button all the way.
You zoom in and out by using the zoom buttons on the rear of the camera. The camera has an electronic viewfinder (EVF) and a huge, 2.5-inch LCD screen that is accurate, fluid (slightly less fluid in the dark) and works well in the sun.
If you want more control, you can select one of the scene modes (Portrait, Landscape, Show, etc.). For even more control, you can select Program mode, in which you can select ISO (100-400), white balance (albeit with no custom setting), exposure compensation, flash output adjustment (normal, low, high), metering mode (multi, spot), sharpness adjustment, contrast adjustment, saturation adjustment, color and picture effects, etc.
And if you want even more control, you can switch to the Aperture or Shutter Priority or full Manual mode, where you get to control aperture and shutter speed directly. The parameters (shutter speed and aperture) are adjusted by clicking (pushing in) the adjustment wheel in the front part of the handgrip to select the item you want to adjust and then rotating it.
I find this method of setting adjustment less precise and slower than the use of buttons in my Panasonic FZ5. The wheel clicks when rotated (has detents), but it doesn't mean that every click changes the setting selected one step.
The flash mode can be selected by pushing the arrow up button on the rear panel, the macro mode can be selected by using the arrow right, the timer by arrow down and the review of the last picture by arrow left.
The flash pops up automatically if the selected flash mode requires it to. It pops up rather high and generally works well.
Performance
The 12x optical zoom is smooth and has two speeds of zooming, depending on how much effort you apply to the zoom buttons. The camera can zoom fully in about 2-3 seconds at full speed.
The camera has optical image stabilization called Super Steady Shot. You can select (using the setup menu) to have it engaged when the camera takes a picture only (default) or have it work continuously to eliminate shake when composing the shot as well. The second approach is more energy-consuming and I do not use it.
The image stabilization work well, letting me shoot handheld a couple of stops slower than I would normally dare using the 1/focal length rule. For example, at wide angle (36 mm equivalent focal length), I normally would have to shoot at a shutter speed faster than 1/36 s. And at full telephoto, it would have to be faster than 1/432 s. But I was able to use much slower speeds with no blur, including 1/100 s at telephoto.
The problem however is the fact that the camera is so heavy, I am not sure if the good results were caused by the efficient image stabilization or by the weight of the camera. But in any case, the bottom line is you can shoot handheld at higher zoom levels and in darker conditions than you would ever dare with a non-stabilized camera (e.g. Kodak EasyShare Z740).
The stabilization can be turned on and off by a dedicated button next to the EVF.
Now the sad part. The camera is slower than competition in dark conditions and in burst mode. It has no problem focusing in under a second in bright daylight at both wide angle or telephoto. But indoors, even using its bright focus assist light, the camera struggled to focus. It occasionally took 3 seconds for it to obtain focus at wide angle and 5 seconds at full telephoto (12x optical zoom).
My Panasonic FZ5 focuses much faster. Furthermore, a cheap Fuji FinePix A345 that I will be reviewing soon focused much faster in the same lighting conditions without focus assist light!
Additionally, the H1 has a burst and bracketing modes that are a joke comparing to Canon S2 IS or Panasonic FZ5. My FZ5 is rated at 4 fps and can truly take 3-4 pictures a second in burst or bracketing mode. The Sony H1 is rated at 0.7 fps and really only takes 2 pictures in 3 seconds, which is 5-6 times slower than my FZ5. In fact, calling this a burst mode is a joke!
At least it can take pictures in normal mode at about one every 1.5 seconds or so. But the flash takes up to 9 seconds to recycle!
Fully charged batteries last about for 250-300 photos, which is reasonably good.
Picture Quality
The camera has a 12x optical zoom (36-432 mm equivalent focal length) with f/2.8 maximum aperture at wide angle, f/3.7 at telephoto, which is rather good.
The camera lets you select the resolution for your images between 5M (2592x1944), 3:2 (about 4.4 MP, perfect fit for 6x4 prints), 3M (2048x1536), 1M (1280x960) and VGA (E-mail) mode (640x480). You also get a choice between Standard and Fine quality. The Fine mode uses about 6:1 compression and the Standard uses about 11:1. Obviously, the Standard file size is half that of the Fine: about 1.3 MB vs. 2.5 MB at the highest resolution.
The built-in 32 MB memory can fit about 12 photos at the highest resolution and best quality or 23 photos with Standard quality. You will definitely need to get a memory card.
The camera produces very good photos with well-exposed, sharp, contrasty and richly-colored images (see the samples at http://www.review-shop.com/Sony_DSC_H1/Sony_DSC_H1_Samples_1.html). Feel free to download the sample photos I took and look at the EXIF data (if you have any EXIF-compatible viewer, e.g. ACDSee or Photoshop).
The camera has good auto white balance. The photos are sharp throughout the frame. There is some chromatic aberration noticeable, especially at telephoto (you can see it in samples I provided).
I have taken two photos from the same position. One is at full wide angle, another one is at full telephoto (12x optical zoom). Here are the addresses for both of them:
http://www.review-shop.com/Sony_DSC_H1/Sony_DSC_H1_Sample_1_1.html
http://www.review-shop.com/Sony_DSC_H1/Sony_DSC_H1_Sample_2_1.html
The camera lets you select automatic ISO or select ISO 64, 100, 200 or 400. The image noise is slight at the ISO 64 or 100 in the shadows, gets more pronounced at ISO 200 and gets rather bad at ISO 400 (and some fine detail get softer to diminish noise). Still, if you are printing 6x4 pictures, the noise should not be visible at all and will only be slightly visible at ISO 200 with larger prints. With 5.1-megapixel shots it produces, you can print your photos at up to 11x14 inches with good detail (ISO 64 or 100). The ISO 400 is unusable for anything larger than 6x4.
Lens Hood and Adaptor
The camera comes with a lens filter adaptor and lens hood. They are rather sturdy and easy to attach. The lens hood is small an is no round. It seems to be less effective than the one that comes with my Panasonic FZ5. But Canon S2 IS comes with neither filter adaptor nor lens hood.
More on Features and Controls
The camera has a low-light focus assist illuminator that helps it focus in low light. It is very bright, but the camera still sometimes takes 3-5 seconds to focus in low light, even if the light reaches the area.
You can use the exposure compensation in the Program mode and it comes in handy in some situations. There are a bunch of scene modes as well, which help the camera tweak the focusing and exposure settings according to the type of scene.
The aperture is adjustable from f/2.8 to f/8 at wode angle and f/3.7 to f/8 at telephoto.
Manual Focusing
The camera lets you select among 0.5m, 1m, 3m, 7m or infinity. At also has a focus button on the top deck that cycles through the camera's focusing area and lets you focus manually. In manual focus mode, the camera displays a scale and enlarges the central part of the screen to help you confirm focus. Unfortunately, the focusing itself is by pushing arrow left and arrow right and not by rotating the wheel in front of the handgrip. I wish it was the opposite - adjust parameters using buttons, but focus using the wheel.
You can also select a spot focus mode and move the spot around within the frame using arrow buttons.
Camera Sounds
The camera itself is rather quiet in operation, even the zooming. You can customize the sounds it makes through its speaker and their volume.
Menu System
I have not read the manual, yet was able to use the camera in all modes. I like Sony's menus less than recent Canon menus or Panasonic ones. But they are certainly usable, it just takes more time to do the same thing with Sony menus than it does with Canon or Panasonic.
LCD
The H1 has a large 2.5-inch non-articulated (fixed) LCD screen and an electronic viewfinder. Both the LCD and EVF coverage as about 100% - you can see exactly what will be recorded. The LCD is bright, fluid (unless it is dark), has good visibility in sunlight or darkness and decent, which helps you confirm the focus. Both the LCD and EVF can be set to Normal or High brightness.
Computer Connectivity
The camera uses USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection to transfer pictures to a computer. You can also remove the Memory Stick memory card (if you use it) and use a memory card reader (if you have one).
I used the camera with the USB cable. I was too lazy to use the cable supplied and used the USB cable that came with my Philips HDD077 MP3 player instead and it worked. I did not need to install any USB drivers on my Windows 2000 SP4 computer. The file transfer is was very fast at about 2,500 KB/s. I read that the camera supposedly can go as fast as 5,000 KB/s with a fast Memory Stick Pro, but in my tests using built-in memory and my AMD Athlon 2800 computer I only got 2,500 KB/s. Which is still very good and much faster than my Panasonic (4-5 times faster).
I have not used the software that was provided with the camera since I have Adobe Photoshop CS2.
Histogram
The camera can display a live histogram in the shooting mode as well as in the review mode to show you if you have overexposed the highlights or underexposed the shadows. I useful feature when you don't trust the LCD.
Reservations
I am unhappy with several aspects of the Sony H1. If I never experienced Panasonic FZ5 or Canon S2 IS, I would be very happy. The Sony H1 is a much better camera than likes of Kodak Z740. And it seems to be a good value if you look at its price, specifications and what it comes with.
Pricewise, the H1 slots in between Canon S2 IS and Panasonic FZ5. It uses only 2 AA batteries, unlike the S2 that needs 4 of them. The H1 includes charger and batteries, whereas Canon S2 IS does not. But Panasonic FZ5 includes a faster-charging compact battery.
The H1 also includes the lens filter adaptor and lens hood, which Canon does not include, but Panasonic does.
The major problem with the H1 is its speed. It is slow to focus in the dark, slow in burst and bracketing mode. And it is large and heavy, unlike the FZ5.
And I wish the camera has less noise an ISO 200-400. What is the use of having 5.1 megapixels (aside from bragging rights) when you cannot print anything larger than 6x4 at ISO 400 with no noise? At least ISO 64-100 are decent.
And I dislike the fact that the camera uses expensive (and Sony-exclusive) Memory Stick media. SD cards would be a much better choice for us, consumers. But Memory Stick is much better choice for Sony. That way they can make more money.
I have to admit that the camera is sturdy, has good image quality overall and is frugal with its batteries.
Bottom Line
I only recommend Sony DSC-H1 if you want a 5MP camera with good optics, 12x optical zoom and image stabilization that has a large 2.5-inch screen and uses 2 AA batteries and can deal with its size, weight and slow low-light focusing. But if you want a compact and fast alternative, check out Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5.
My Reviews of Other Digital Cameras
Canon:
Canon Digital Rebel XT with Lens Kit
Canon Powershot S2 IS Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot A620 7.1-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot A610 5-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot A520 4-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot A510 3.2-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot A410 3.2-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot A95 5-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot S70 7.1-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot SD200 3.2-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot SD300 4-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot SD30 5-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot SD400 5-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot SD450 5-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot SD500 7.1-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Canon PowerShot SD550 7.1-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Panasonic:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ5 5-Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ20 5-Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ1 4-Megapixel Digital Camera with 6x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-LZ2 5-Megapixel Digital Camera with 6x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ4 4-Megapixel Digital Camera with 12x Optical Stabilized Zoom Review
Olympus:
Olympus Camedia C-765 4.0-Megapixel Digital Camera with USB and ED Lens Review
Olympus D-595 Zoom Digital Camera Review
Olympus SP-350 8-Megapixel Digital Camera Review
Olympus Stylus 500 Digital Camera Review
Olympus Stylus 600 Digital Camera Review
Olympus Stylus 800 Digital Camera Review
Olympus EVOLT E-500 Digital SLR Camera Review
Sony:
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H1 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-M1 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P200 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S40 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S60 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-S90 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T33 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T5 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T7 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W5 Digital Camera Review
Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W7 Digital Camera Review
Fuji:
Fuji FinePix A345 Digital Camera Review
Fuji FinePix A350 Digital Camera Review
Fuji FinePix E500 Digital Camera Review
Fuji FinePix E510 Digital Camera Review
Fuji FinePix E550 Digital Camera Review
Fuji FinePix E900 Digital Camera Review
Fuji FinePix F10 Digital Camera Review
Fuji FinePix F450 Digital Camera Review
Fuji FinePix S5200 Digital Camera Review
Kodak:
Kodak EasyShare C340 Digital Camera Review
Kodak EasyShare P850 Digital Camera Review
Kodak EasyShare V550 Digital Camera Review
Kodak EasyShare Z700 Digital Camera Review
Kodak EasyShare Z740 Digital Camera Review
Kodak EasyShare Z760 Digital Camera Review
Kodak EasyShare Z7590 Digital Camera Review
Konica Minolta:
Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5 Digital Camera Review
Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z6 Digital Camera Review
Nikon:
Nikon D50 Digital SLR Camera Review
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 380
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Flexible Enough for Enthusiasts
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Epinions.com ID:
dkozin
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Location: California
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About Me:
I love to push buttons on electronic (audio and video) equipment. It makes me happy.
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