Sony DSC-N1 Review

The N1 features a 3x Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar 7.9 - 23.7mm optical zoom with 38 - 114mm coverage (as compared to a 35mm camera) and a maximum aperture of f2.8-f5.4   This is a high quality, all-glass lens that retracts safely inside the camera when powered down.

Focusing is handled by a 5-point Multipoint AF system with selectable center or spot AF modes and a low-light focus assist illuminator. The working focus range is from 50 cm (19.7") to infinity in normal mode and in Macro the coverage is from 6 cm (2.4") to infinity. You can also manually select one of 5 focus distance presets from 0.5m to infinity.

The built-in flash has modes for Auto flash, Red-Eye Reduction, Fill-in, Slow Synchro and Flash Cancel. The flash has a working range of: 0.2m to 5m (0.6 to 16.4 feet) (W) at ISO Auto.

On the top is the shutter release, power button and the microphone.

The huge 3-inch color touchscreen LCD monitor with 230,000 pixels of resolution dominates the back of the camera. It's the viewfinder and it's also used for image review, accessing the menu system and for sharing your photos with friends and family. This is a hybrid display for use in any lighting conditions. Sony's "Clear Photo LCD" technology provides higher resolution, contrast ratio and brightness as well as a wider viewing angle.

Controls on the back:  At the top is the zoom lens controls buttons, they serve as the Enlarged and Index buttons in playback mode. On the side is the Mode switch with positions for Review, Record and Movie. The MENU button calls up or dismisses the touch-screen menus. The Monitor button controls the amount of data overlayed on the LCD screen.

All camera settings are accessed via onscreen "virtual" buttons as shown above. It is quick and rather intuitive to change settings this way versus many button pushes and navigating onscreen menus. (More details about this on the next page).

The touch screen can even be used to control the autofocus point during capture.

The I/O connector is on the bottom and also serves as the docking cradle connector when the camera is used with the optional Cyber-shot Station (see below). The included cable adapter has outputs for USB 2.0 high-speed transfer to the computer or connection to a PictBridge printer, Audio-Video for display on a TV (NTSC or PAL), Audio is monoraul and a jack for the optional AC power adapter.

Located on the side in the battery compartment is the Memory Stick Duo card slot. The DSC-N1 comes with a 26MB of internal memory and can use any capacity Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick Pro Duo card up to 2GB.

The higher performance MS PRO Duo cards are required for recording movies in the 640-Fine VX mode. This mode captures VGA video at 30 frames per second.

Power is supplied by a proprietary Sony NP-BG1 3.6v 3.4WH Lithium-ion rechargeable battery pack. Sony quotes a battery life of approx. 270 images or a viewing time of approx. 200 minutes. The battery is replenished out of the camera with the included AC battery charger or whenever the camera is placed in the optional Cyber-shot Station cradle.

The optional Sony CSS-TNA Cyber-shot Station makes transferring images from your compatible digital camera easier than ever before. Simply place your camera in the base and it instantly starts charging while providing a quick connection to your personal computer and television.

The CSS-TNA includes a USB cable for computer transfers and an audio/video cable so you can view your pictures and videos on your television. It also includes a wireless Remote Commander for easy control of your digital camera anywhere in the room. The CSS-TNA is compatable with Sony digital camera models: DSC-N1, DSC-T5 and DSC-T9.