Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 Digital Camera [5MP 3xOptical]

I bought this camera whilst in Japan. I got chance to play with a few different cameras, the Canon ixus for example but it was the 2.5" screen on the Sony which sold it to me. It really is very good.

The camera is very easy to get use to, the menus are fairly intuitive and there is a wide range of settings once you know where to look. There really is no shortage of options and this is where the patience is required.

On fully automatic settings the pictures aren't the best in some light conditions. This tends to be more with objects rather than people so for point and shoot snaps at a party for example this shouldn't be an issue.

However, if you have a play around, particularly with the exposure settings and you start to get some stunning photo's from something so small. You soon get a feel for whats required and there is a setting that will automatically take 3 shits at slightly different exposures if you don't want to go in and manually alter things.

As for the 32mb memory card, yes its stingy but if you look at all cameras in this sector they all come with 32 mb and the bigger cards aren't hugely expensive.

Build quality is superb, beautifully weighted and the lense is fantastic and as mentioned before that 2.5" lcd screen is class leading.

I love this camera but be aware that you made need to play with the settings to get the best reults. Because of this it was nearly 4 stars instead of 5 but the screen and build give it that edge.

I'm not going to repeat the spec of this camera, the manufacturers description will tell you that-I want to point out some issues I have had with this camera, they will not matter to all users, but I think they are something to consider. So do keep in mind that I am not mentioning the good things here as I fear that it would take up too much room, and all the good points show up in the spec sheet of the camera anyway, with the amount of info you have to take in about cameras the less I repeat-the better!

Sony have produced an exceptional camera, and anyone who has been looking at digital will have seen the price of this camera tumble as the market changes, you can get a lot more quality for your money now than even a few months ago, but this is the first bad point- the quality is higher than most people would need for simple snapshots, that doesn't sound bad until you take into account that you will most likely need to buy extra memory cards to store pictures on while your out and before you can download/print or whatever you decide to do with them. The higher the quality you take your pictures at, the more space they take up on your memory card, therefore discover what you'll need to spend on memory as well as the camera, unfortunatly Sony products are not the cheapest.This will effect your battery too, as although it is a fully rechargable lithium-ion battery, in time that will loose capacity and an expensive replacement will be needed.

My next bad point is matched with a good, that beautiful 2.5" screen is brilliant, but its cost is that there is no viewfinder, you must use the screen to take and review your photographs. This will not matter to all but no matter what Sony say I have had trouble using the screen in direct sunlight, don't get me wrong, this was abroad in strong sunlight, I have not had such a problem in this country, (especially not this Summer), but I do think it is something worth considering.

My final negative point is that the lens is small, not that you notice on the vast majority of your pictures, it preforms well until you get to dark conditions where either your flash is not strong enough, or you simply can't use it, (I experienced the trouble in museums where flash photography is not allowed), the photos look grainy and lack the quality you get in better lighting conditions. If you think this type of photography is you there are other cameras out there that will match this cameras quality, and cope with these type of conditions much better, (think Canon and the Olympus Camedia range).

I would like to finish in apoligising for concentrating on the negatives here, this camera has loads going for it, if you haven't already, read the spec sheet, but these are things that I think may be important to SOME users, not all. Generally this camera is excellent, and would easily be five star to me if it wasn't for those small issues above. Most people will take photos that will exceed their expectations with this camera, and everyone will be amazed at the size of it, stylish isn't a strong enough word to express its size, sleekness and the overall high quality metal body it has.

This is a great looking camera, the flip down front and internal refraction zoom lens thingamajiggy will have your mates ooh-ing and aah-ing. Great design aside though, this isn't a great camera.

My main gripe is that picture quality is poor in anything other than really bright sunlight. Taking indoor pictures with the flash, everything comes out grainy, often unfocused and with poor colour saturation. Not what you'd expect from a camera of this price.

The camera does have a really big screen which is a useful thing to review your photo's after you've taken them - you get a much better idea of what you've taken. The UI is also very easy to use and well designed and lives up to the Sony standard.

The overall lack of features on this camera quickly had me wishing I'd made the compromise of getting a larger camera, like the Sony DSC-V1 which is about the same price but has infitely more control. But if it's a quality compact digital camera you need then I've seen much better results from an Ixus.

I have extensive experience of super compact digicams, especially the Dimage Xs. I fell for this camera due to its elegant blend of form and function.
This is quite an advanced camera; there are many features to help a technically advanced photographer get the best from it. I must say, first, that reports of poor image quality in the dark are IME a bit off the mark. What you have to understand is that it takes some doing to hold steady a camera, particularly one this small, for exposures of anything less that about 30th second. Get your settings right, though, and the camera will do much of the hard work for you - i mean there's a mode that has native noise reduction, for example... you can adjust sharpness within the settings; the camera tells you how long the exposure will be etc etc.
Image quality is quite remarkable if you know what you're doing, and 5MP very useful.
Screen is excellent - the best I've seen, but they're never perfect in all lights, although this one being adjustable does help.
Build quality and design are a pleasure to behold - this ia very sexy little camera.
There are many user-adjustable settings to help you get the shot just right and any photographers who use this as their second (backup or candid) camera will be able to get the most of its features and take remarkable images. WRT night shooting, the IR lamp is fantastic - focus and metering are quick and easy -a welcome addition :)
I was disappointed to see all sorts of strange photo effects included, such as solarize but no B&W! There is Sepia, which gives you a rough idea but i miss the mono mode greatly :(
USB docking is fast and stylish. Onboard 32MB card is small and slow (does 11 full-quality shots) I upgraded to a 512 Pro version and it is so much quicker for reviewing the images (video res is also increased) I recommend shopping around and buying a big, and more importantly, fast card.
The menus and buttons are dead easy but not as perfectly intuitive as the Dimages Xt that i have been using lately.
Full AUTO settings make this work as a real point and shoot holiday camera but experienced users wil be able to do much much better than that with use of the incredible list of features and settings this camera offers.

i bought this camera with a worry that the teeny tiny lens might result in compromised picture quality in anything other than bright sunshine. it does... the video is great, the size is highly "pocketable" and it takes a fast photo. but i am annoyed that you cannot really try a product before you buy & now wish i had either bought an Ixus or a bigger Sony. i was persauded by reading the review in "What Digital Camera" which said the image quality was great, it isnt.