A Baby Camera with all the Muscles

Look what came in the mail!

I cannot be more excited! The Sony DSC-V1 has arrived!

I've thought long and hard on the right camera to purchase.
I was thinking of a full SLR - A Canon Digital Rebel XTi?
I was thinking of a rugged water proof camera - An Olympus Stylus 770SW?

I wanted something small enough, with all the manual features I would want and yet produces great pictures. I wanted a small prosumer camera.
I didn't really want to lug around a fat ass SLR camera, though I would still love to have one if I had the extra cash.

Some years back, Sony have stopped their production of prosumer (meaning "professional" and "consumer") equipment as the demand for such demanding customers are few.



The Sony's DSC-V1 Cyber-shot combines the control you prefer with extraordinary performance and a uniquely-compact design; giving you true-to-life resolution, definitive control and stunning output.

The DSC-V1 is designed to deliver a huge array of impressive features. Its Super HAD CCD image sensor delivers an effective 5.0 megapixel resolution. The 4X optical/4X Smart Zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens gives you exceptional control.

Put a host of built-in, automatic features to use, or take your pictures the old-fashioned way. Other features include 5-Area Multi-Point AF (Auto-Focus), NightShot/NightFraming IR Assist (which is virtually extincted), and Multi-Pattern and Program Shift, which lets you conveniently select Aperture/Shutter combinations while in the Program AE mode.

I made a decision to pick a refurbished piece in excellent condition (as good as new). Returned from Sony Direct for a complete check. Sony has given the camera a 100 percent factory spec report and updated the CCD sensor block.

The outfit has all the accessories starting with the camera LCS-VHA field case, twin battery charger BC-VC10, 2 - Sony NP-FC11 InfoLithium 3.6V battery packs, AC adapter/in-camera charger AC-LS5, VCL-DEH17V 1.7x Tele End Conversion lens with 45.5-58mm adapter tube including lens case and lens caps, VCL-DEH07V 0.7x Wide End Conversion lens with 45.5-52mm adapter tube including lens case and lens caps, Sony Memory Card Case with 1 each of 32MB, 64MB and 128MB memory sticks, USB cable, AV cable, instruction book and Sony system case.

It's just like a baby camera with all the muscles!

The camera is about 3 years old, but in actual fact, there is nothing I could find in the market now with it's size and feature range. I love the fact that the lenses are detachable.

As good as it can be, there are a few aspect I have to live with
1) Maximum Memory Stick capacity size - 2GB
2) Compared to today's cameras - it's still on the bulky side
3) No RAW format
4) Maximum 5 Mega Pixels
5) Add on lenses are screw type, making it hard to attach and remove quickly
6) Lenses cannot attach filters
7) No zooming in Video Mode
8) Smaller 1.5" LCD Monitor
9) Recharge speed after flash shots can be faster

For the mint condition of the camera. I'm really happy with the buy.
The SONY lenses alone would have set me back a good SGD$300.
The camera's original retail price was around SGD$1,000.


Features I wouldn't trade the world for

* 1/1.8" 5.0 Megapixel Effective Super HAD CCD
Super HAD (Hole Accumulation Diode) CCD s provide excellent image
quality by allowing more light to pass to each pixel, increasing
sensitivity and reducing noise.

* Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar Lens
Famous for sharpness & color accuracy, the Vario-Sonnar 4x Optical Zoom
lens features 8 elements in 7 groups with aspheric elements.

* 0 ~ 4.0 Smart Zoom (at VGA Size)
Smart Zoom intelligently uses the full CCD to let you zoom into the
portion of interest by cropping the image size-thus avoiding the image
degradation of Digital Zooms.

* 5 Area Multi-Point Auto Focus
Evaluating 5 separate focus areas of the frame, Multi-Point AF can
intelligently focus on the subject, and displays the selected focus
point. Alternately, choose any of the 5 points for manual control.

* Hologram AF (Auto Focus) Illuminator
Projecting a Class 1 laser pattern, Hologram AF reads the contrast
between the pattern's edge and the subject for precise focus, even in
low or no light.

* Continuous Auto Focus
To maintain accurate focus lock with fast moving subjects, Continuous
AF keeps focusing until the moment of exposure.

* Multi-Pattern Measuring
Independently light-metering 49 points of the frame, Multi-Pattern
Measuring establishes the optimum exposure value, even in scenes where
pronounced highlight and shadow are not centered in the frame.

* Slow Shutter Noise Reduction
During long Twilight mode exposures, Slow Shutter NR captures the scene,
and then the CCD noise pattern with a dark frame exposure. By
subtracting the two, even long exposures can be clear.

* 14-Bit DXP A/D Conversion
Sony's 14-bit Digital EXtended Processor captures the range between
highlight and shadow with up to 16,384 values, for extended dynamic
contrast and detail.

* Manual Exposure Controls
Flexible Exposure control is provided with Aperture Priority, Shutter
Priority and Manual Exposure modes. Program Shift lets you select
aperture/shutter speed combinations for direct control of motion and
depth of field, while still in Program AE mode.

* Pre-Flash Metering
With a momentary pre-flash, the camera illuminates the subject and sets
exposure through the lens for accurate flash metering. Adjustable flash
level and red-eye reduction insure great flash shots.

* Auto Daylight Synchro Fill Flash
If the Multi-Pattern Measuring system determines the subject is backlit
or in shadow, fill flash automatically fires to provide optimum
exposure.

* Dynamic Flash White Balance
By evaluating the Pre-flash, white balance can be set to the color
temperature of the flash for greater color accuracy.

* Live Histogram Display
Available for capture and playback, the live histogram displays number
of pixels at each luminosity making it easy to evaluate correct
exposure.

* View Finder
Need I say more!

* NightShot Infrared System
Capture infrared digital images in total darkness at up to 15 feet. By
illuminating the subject with infrared light and removing the CCD's IR
cut filter, the NightShot system makes infrared digital imaging a
reality.

* NightFraming System
To capture beautiful color images in low or no light, NightFraming
illuminates the subject with the NightShot system for proper framing,
focuses with Hologram AF and lights the scene with flash.

* Multi-Burst Mode
Captures (16) 320 x 240 frames as part of a single 1280 x 960 image
which plays back sequentially in the camera. Selectable 1/7.5, 1/15,
1/30 second frame intervals provide convenient motion analysis.

* MPEG Movie VX Mode
Captures VGA (640 x 480) high frame rate (16 frames per second) audio/
video clips with length limited only by the capacity of the media. Video
Mail mode captures smaller file sizes suitable for email.

* Hot Shoe and ACC Terminal
Connect Sony's HVL-F32X flash or Remote Controls with ACC terminal, or
synchronize other flash units or studio lighting with the Hot Shoe
terminal.


* 3 Shot Burst Mode
* 3 Shot Auto Exposure Bracketing
* Spot Auto Focus
* Adjustable Color Saturation/Contrast
* Clear Color/Clear Luminance NR
* MPEG1 Cue, Review and Divide
* 3:2 Aspect Ratio Mode
* Video Output (PAL/NTSC Selectable)
* 4 Mode In-Camera Picture Effects
* 13 Step Manual Preset Focus


Technical Details

* Imaging Device: 1/1.8" 5.0 Megapixel Effective Super HAD CCD
* Recording Media: Memory Stick Media, Memory Stick PRO Media
* Zoom: 4X Optical, 4X Smart Zoom (at VGA size), 16X Total
* Filter Diameter: 52mm w/Adaptor
* Focal Length: 7 - 28mm
* 35mm Equivalent: 34 - 136mm
* Aperture: f2.8 - 4.0
* Focus: 5 Area Multi-Point AF with Manual select, 13-step Manual Preset
* Minimum Focus Distance: 15.7" (40 cm)
* Macro Focus Distance: 3.9" (10 cm)
* Shutter Speed: Auto, 1/8 - 1/2000 sec, Manual 30 sec - 1/1000
* Manual Exposure: ±2.0 EV, 1/3 EV Steps
* Color LCD: 1.5" 123K Pixels Low Temperature Polysilicon TFT
* Flash Modes: Auto/Forced On/Forced Off/Slow Synchro
* Red-Eye Reduction: On/Off
* Flash Effective Range: 1.6 - 11.5 ft (0.5 - 3.5m)
* White Balance: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, One-push Manual
* Picture Effects: Solarize, Sepia, Negative Art
* ISO: Auto, 100, 200, 400, 800
* Scene Modes: Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Portrait, Landscape, Beach, Snow, Fast Shutter, Fireworks
* Self Timer: Yes, 10 Seconds
* Video Output: Yes NTSC/PAL Selectable
* Still Image Modes: JPEG (Fine/Std.), TIFF, Burst, Auto Bracketing, Email, Voice Memo
* MPEG Movie Modes: MPEG VX (640x480, 16fps, with audio), MPEG Video Mail (160x112, 8 fps with audio)
* Clip Motion: Normal (160x120), Mobile (80x72)
* Microphone/Speaker: Yes/Yes
* USB Terminal: Yes, Supports USB 2.0
* Memory Stick PRO Media Compatibility: Tested to support up to 1GB media capacity; does not support high speed transfer function; does not support Access Control security function
* Battery Type/Capacity: InfoLithium NP-FC11 780 mAh Rated
* Dimensions (W/H/D): 3 15/16" x 2 9/16" x 2 1/5" (99 x 65.2 x 56.9 mm)
* Weight: 10.9 oz (298g) (w/Battery, Memory Stick Media, Strap)