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| Reviewed by Nicole Morrow - July 2004 |
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Whether you decide to buy the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1, or take photos with another digital camera, be sure to share your digital photos with your own online photo album on Photobird.com. Your photo albums on Photobird.com are easy to make, easy to use, attractive, and fun!
If you're shopping online, consider buying the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 at B&H, the sponsor of this review on Photobird.com. B&H is celebrating over 30 years of quality, service, selection, and price.
Camera Introduction
I was very excited when Photobird.com asked me to review the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 digital camera. I've seen the television commercials for the camera featuring Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and I'm really into cool, tiny electronics -- especially digital cameras! I'm not a photographer, but I love to take pictures and the camera looked easy to use, easy to hold, and small enough to fit in my hand bag.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 box includes the following items:
The 5.1 megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 digital camera -
On the left, Image 2 shows the camera with the lens cover open, showing the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens. Image 3 shows the lens cover closed. You can see the back of the camera and its large LCD screen in Image 4, the sides of the camera in Images 5 and 6, and the top in Image 7.
One 32MB Memory Stick Duo -
You will need to buy a larger Memory Stick Duo for more photo storage. 32MB will only let you take about 12 high-resolution photos with this camera, before you'll need to transfer the photos to your computer to make room for more photos. You should purchase as large a Memory Stick Duo as you can afford, but at least 256MB. Image 9 shows the Memory Stick Duo and the InfoLithium battery next to the camera.
One Memory Stick Duo adapter -
The Memory Stick Duo adapter allows the physically smaller Memory Stick Duo, which the Sony DSC-T1 digital camera uses, to work with devices that require the physically larger Memory Stick, such as computers, mobile devices, and other digital cameras.
One InfoLithium battery -
One battery is probably enough for most uses. If you shoot photos all day with the camera, you should charge the camera at night, so the camera is ready the next day -- especially if you take enough photos to fill up the Memory Stick. One of the clever things about the USB Cradle design is that when you are done transferring photos to your computer, you will probably leave the camera in the USB Cradle until you need it again (such as the next day); the camera battery will be charged as long as the camera is in the cradle and the AC adapter is connected to the cradle and plugged in to the wall for electricity. Image 10 shows the Memory Stick Duo, InfoLithium battery, and where they're stored in bottom of the camera.
USB Cradle -
The USB Cradle is the camera's method for connecting to other devices and cables. For example, you rest the camera in the USB Cradle to charge the battery, to transfer photos to your computer, and to view photos on your television. The AC adapter cable for charging the battery, the USB cable for transferring photos to your computer, and the A/V cable for viewing photos on your television all connect to the USB Cradle, not the camera itself. This keeps the camera size small by minimizing the amount of surface area on the camera needed for connecting these cables, which are seldom used. The USB Cradle is shown in Images 11 and 12.
USB cable -
The USB cable connects the USB Cradle to your computer, to allow you to transfer photos to your computer from the camera. Be sure your computer has a USB port so that you can transfer your photos to your computer. The USB cable connects to the USB Cradle shown in Image 12.
AC Adapter -
The AC Adapter connects to the USB Cradle to charge the camera battery when the camera is in the USB Cradle.
Wrist strap -
Sony includes a good quality wrist strap to make carrying the camera easier.
A/V cable -
The A/V cable connects the USB Cradle to standard RCA jacks so you can view your photos on your television. The camera needs to be in the USB Cradle and have photos stored on its Memory Stick to view the photos on your television.
CD-ROM
containing Pixela ImageMixer software and USB drivers - The USB drivers enable you to transfer photos to your Windows or Mac computer as if the camera was another hard drive or storage device. In other words, you don't need to use the included Pixela ImageMixer software to view photos on your computer, which is a good thing because the software isn't that good. If you need software for organizing your photos on your computer, there's plenty of better choices out there.
119-page printed manual -
The manual offers very basic instructions and has a lot of fine print making it somewhat hard to read. You really don't need the manual though, because the camera is very easy to use out of the box. Novice digital camera users might need a little help to get started, but you're better off asking for help from the salesperson you bought the camera from or asking for help from any technology-savvy person. Otherwise, you can use the manual to determine what features are included with the camera. If you're looking for tips on how to take better photos, peruse the how-to articles in the Photobird Learning Center and elsewhere on the Internet.
Review criteria
My favorite feature of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 is the lens cover "slide door", which exposes the lens of the camera and turns on the camera at the same time. It's easy -- just like the television commercial. You just pull the camera out of your bag, slide down the lens cover, and snap! You have your photo!
I also like the large LCD screen on the back of the camera. It's big enough so I don't need to squint to see the photo I'm taking, and it's big enough so that I can easily share my photos with my friends huddled around the camera.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 is extremely easy to use to take photos. It's very self-explanatory. I didn't even need to read the instructions. I did need some help getting the photos out of the camera and onto my Windows computer though. Sony should make that step easier, perhaps with a quick start guide.
The size of the camera is just right! It is very small and light. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 is great for vacations as you can just toss it in your day bag and it's not cumbersome. The T1 is about 3.5 inches wide by 2.5 inches tall and about 3/4 inches thick.
I like the way the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 is built. It's very solid. However, I felt like the LCD screen kept getting scratched as there isn't a covering for it. It would be nice if Sony included a small case with the camera or made the LCD screen so that it was more scratch-proof.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 is very cool. It definitely gets noticed by other people when you're using it. It also feels good in the hands, and you want to constantly pull the camera out and use it. I really didn't want to give it back after I was finished with my review!
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 is extremely fast. I was able to shoot a frisky chipmunk in a standing up position. He was only there about 5 seconds, but I got him before he ran off, and my photo came out great! (See Image 13. Image 14 is a cropped version to see the chipmunk better.) I was with my friend who has a three-year-old, larger, mid-size digital camera, and by the time his camera was ready to take the shot, the chipmunk was sprinting out of the scene! (See Image 15. Image 16 is a cropped version to see the chipmunk better.)
The battery in the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 lasts a pretty long time. I used the T1 for a long weekend scenic vacation and had plenty of time left with one charge. I probably could have kept taking photos for another couple of days without the battery running out.
Color and sharpness of the photos is acceptable. The Sony DSC-T1 perhaps doesn't have the same color and sharpness of more sophisticated digital cameras, but I was pleased with the photo quality.
The indoor photos, with the flash, also look pretty good. (See the vase in Image 21.) It sometimes takes a few shots at slightly different angles of the same subject to get a good shot that's not blurred and shaken, so keep on shooting!
For the average consumer, who has $500 burning a hole in her hand bag and who is not an avid photographer, I think $500 for the Sony DSC-T1 is worth the price. Otherwise, $500 is about $200 more than I would consider for this camera, even though it really is a nice camera and fun to use. If $500 is too high for you, try shopping around for another camera with a similar size and features, and fewer megapixels, for example.
If you're shopping online, consider buying the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 at B&H, the sponsor of this review on Photobird.com. B&H is celebrating over 30 years of quality, service, selection, and price.
My Favorite Features:
Small size
Ease of use
Cuteness
Battery capacity
Picture capacity
Solid construction
Speed
Large LCD screen
Areas of Improvement:
Better protection for the LCD screen
Include a carrying case
Price
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 is one hot digital camera. With its ease of use, and compact size, it's the perfect companion for the person who likes to take photos, does not like to read 100-page long instructions, and thinks big, heavy digital cameras are a burden to carry around. The Sony DSC-T1 is just right for the cool, sophisticated person who's on the go!
Whether you decide to buy the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1, or take photos with another digital camera, be sure to share your digital photos with your own online photo album on Photobird.com. Your photo albums on Photobird.com are easy to make, easy to use, attractive, and fun!
Related Links
Photos of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1
Sample photos from the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1
Sample photos in their original sizes from the Sony DSC-T1
Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-T1 website
Review of the Sony DSC-T1 from Rich Goldberg on Photobird.com
Review of the Sony DSC-T1 at Luminous Landscape
Review of the Sony DSC-T1 at Digital Camera Resource Page
Review of the Sony DSC-T1 at Steve's Digicams
Photobird's Top 10 Tips for Buying a Digital Camera
Find out more about Photobird.com
Take a tour of Photobird.com to share your photos the easy way
See a list of features for Photobird.com
See what people are saying about Photobird.com
Read About Photobird.com
Read Using Photobird.com
Read Ordering Subscriptions
Read How to Use Photobird.com
Go to the Photobird.com home page and Look at Pictures
Back to Photobird Learning Center
Back to Photobird.com home page
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Nicole Morrow lives in New York City, and loves to take quick, easy photos of her celebrity friends while shopping on 5th Avenue. Unless she has the Sony DSC-T1, she won't be ready when Steven Tyler of Aerosmith walks into the room.
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