Rating: 
Summary: This is a great camera
Review: I have two film SLRs that I use when I want to take serious pictures. This is my first digital camera. I wasn't going to buy one until I thought they approached SLR quality.For the most part this camera takes better pictures than my Canon AE program. The features are great. You can keep total control of every feature or let the camera do it for you. Particularly nice is the nightframing shot which lets you set up your shot in infrared and then flash it in normal light. The hologram mode which paints your subject in a laser graph before shooting to control focus and flash also works flawlessly. I was worried about picture quality, but at 5 megapixels features remain crisp and clear even when blown up by several degrees. I'd read online about some color saturation isues, but I've experienced none whatsoever. On full automatic mode the Sony engineers seemed to have programmed the camera to create a true to life portrait. A lot of photophiles like higher saturation, and you can get whatever degree of color saturation, crispness, et al by taking control manually. The camera is compact and portable. You get about 1 1/2 hours of battery life during daytime use, and about half that if you're using the flash. There's a feature that lets you know to the minute how much battery time you have left. This looks to have all the features of the 717 without the lensocentric style. Originally I was not planning on buying the telephoto lens, leaving that kind of work to my SLRs, but after seeing the image quality, fun, and ease of use of this camera, I'm getting it. Another great feature is that the camera plugs easily into any tv set to review pictures, movies, and even make a slideshow. I was at a family gathering and this feature proved to be a big hit. As far as I'm concerned, the camera is flawless. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Camera!
Review: Aloha,This is a fantastic camera. I did months of research and was all set to buy the highly rated Canon G3. Caught wind that the G5 was soon to be released, thus delayed the purchase to see what the G5 offered. The day came, went to dpreview.com to read the G5 review. Stumbled across the Sony DSC-V1 review and knew right away, the Sony was the way to go for me.Why? One central reason. The Sony DSC-V1 takes just as good photographs, yet does it with an auto focus lag and shutter lag that is *twice* as fast as the G3/G5. The DSC-V1 is just like using a film camera, you hit the button, it takes the picture, with almost no lag.The DSC-V1 isn't perfect. Battery life is ho-hum, a second battery is a must. At first it wasn't comfortable in the hand because of the small size, yet I've since gotten used to it and it doesn't bother me anymore.All in all, I'm very very pleased with the Sony DSC-V1. It takes great photos and is plug and play on my PowerMac running 10.2.6.Highly Recommended!
Rating:
Summary: JUST AMAZING!!!!!!
Review: I bought the sony dscv1 about 3 weeks ago and I already taken more than 600 photos with it. I have to say it is almost perfect... It's difficult to believe how this tiny little camera take superb photos with extremely true-live colors. This camera can work in fully automatic mode; scene mode where you tell the camera if you are shooting a beach, lake, landscape, snow scene, night scene or portrait night scene. If you want to you can work fully manual changing the aperture from f2.8 to f8.0, shutter speed from 30 sec to 1/1000 sec, and ISO (the image sensor's sensitivity to light) from ISO100 to ISO800. Other modes like shutter speed or aperture priority are available too. The nightframing function let you see through the LCD screen in completly darkness, so you see all with a green tone but when you press the shutter the flash pop up and record the image with natural color... if you want to you can also record images without the flash using the nightshot function. The hologram AF works pretty well, you just press the shutter half-way down and the camera produces a lasser pattern that "paint" the subject helping the camera's foccusing system and showing you what portion of the scene are you pointing. Another great function is the live histogram, this is a graphic where the camera tells you if the picture you're about to take will be under-exposed or over-exposed, so this is continiously changing as you focus on a different subject or as you change the shutter speed or aperture. You can get interesting effects changing the white balance from the factory pressets light sources or telling the camera what is white just framing a white subject under the lighting condition you are working. Other functions include:
- changing the focus operation from single focusing (you press the shutter halfway down to focus) to monigoring aF (you don't have to press the shutter to focus) and continuos focusing. - AE lock function. To measure the exposure of any portion of the image so after that you can recompose the picture and shoot with the exposure fixed to that especific portion of the picture. - You can record tv size video only limited by the memory stick capacity. - Can record pictures with sound. (Pretty cool function) - The camera can take 16 pictures in succesion each time you press the shutter with the multiburst function or If you want to you can record 3 pictures continuosly with the burst 3 function. You can also make animated gif putting together consective images. - You can record your images in tiff mode or as a jpg file. Tiff images are not compressed so the image quality does not deteriorate. The only bad thing about this camera is the 32 mb that come with it, since each 5 MP picture in fine quality will be at least 2.0 MB, so you will have to purchase another memory stick. I recommend the sony 128x2 (256 total) Well this is a great camera and it can work as a point and shoot camera, as a fully manual camera or even as a video camera. Thanks SONY!!
Rating:
Summary: sony has a topnotch 5MP camera in the DSC-V1
Review: the sony dsc-v1 is a top-notch camera that is more portable than its competition. it offers full manual control, 5MP resolution, and 4x optical zoom. i do have a few nits though... pros:
- 5MP, 4x optical zoom.
- great image quality.
- above average resolution, good tonal balance, good color response.
- full manual control.
- images exhibit very low noise, even at higher ISO.
- image processing parameter control (contrast, saturation and sharpening).
- very fast auto focus!
- quick startup, fast shot-to-shot times (except when shooting TIFF).
- fast write times to memory stick.
- has NightFraming which allows you to focus and compose your scene in total darkness with the aid of the infrared emitter, then shoot a full-color shot using the built-in flash. very cool.
- better than average movie mode.
- compared to the competition (canon g5 and nikon 5400), the dsc-v1 is more compact: dimensions are 4.0"W x 2.6"H x 2.3"D weighing 10.9 oz.
- solid build quality.
- bright, high resolution LCD monitor with anti-reflective coating that works.
- battery charges in-camera, charger doubles as AC adapter.
- hot shoe for external flash (limited to specific sony flashes, though).
- many optional accessory lenses (telephoto, wide angle, filter lenses) available.
- histogram in Live view, Record review and Playback modes
- USB 2.0 means faster downloads. cons:
- colors a bit washed out.
- noise levels higher than expected
- some purple fringing.
- mild chromatic aberrations visible.
- higher redeye occurrence.
- RAW format not supported.
- saving a TIFF file locks up the camera.
- continuous shooting capability limited to 3 frames.
- minimum ISO setting at 100.
- zoom control is oriented differently so it will take a few tries to get used to it.
- ergonomic issues: tiny menu and resolution keys, very easy to block the flash and optical viewfinder with fingers, left index finger falls right on top of the pop-up flash, suppressing it.
- lots of key functions are buried in menus.
- below average battery performance.
- no separate user settings.
- like most sony products, you pay a premium, pushing up the price.
- expensive memory stick pro cards.
- uses a proprietary battery so add a few bucks to buy a spare (or maybe two given the battery performance).
- the supplied 32MB memory stick is inadequate - again, more $$ for more memory.
- you'll need to remove from tripod to get to the battery or memory stick. sony has succeeded in delivering a camera that has virtually the same feature set as canon's g5 and nikon's 5400 but in a more compact package. it's not perfect though. RAW format is not supported and writing a TIFF file still takes way too much time. and there are some ergonomic nits that is uncharacteristic of sony. still, this is a great package and worthy of consideration. i hope this helps your buying decision. peace.
Rating:
Summary: Great Camera
Review: I had a hard time deciding between this camera and the new Canon Digital Elph 500
I am upgrading from 2 previous digital elphs Pros:
Excellent digital photos (better than my last Elph S400)
Excellent night shots
More features for advanced photographers
Faster shutter speeds
Better flash Cons:
Price for media very expensive
No battery recharger included (have to charge inside camera or buy a separate charger)
Larger size
Flash in awkward place
Software very bad....Canon's software better
Rating:
Summary: Good Camera for average photographer
Review: This camera takes THE BEST pictures for a crisp and colorful picture. I would recommend this camera over ANY camera on the market. This works well with the Sony Digital Photo Printer DPP-EX7. Prints great Pictures.
Rating:
Summary: This camera is the most amazing camera i have ever seen
Review: Hi there After my very bad experience with a casio camera, I bought this camera for just about 150 dollars more than the casio had cost me. this camera however, was about a thousand times better than the casio camera. the nightshot is excellent. movies are great. the carl zeiss lens is something I worship every time I use this wonder machine. the display is fantastic. the menu toggling is extremely fast. the pictures are high quality and taken with 5.0 pixels. the shutter is awesome (just the other day I took a picture of a friend playing baseball, and it showed the ball coming at her in the air without any trails. the picture was crystal clear and awesomely sharp). the camera is only about 700-800 dollars (plus or minus), but it is just like the professional journalist cameras (except its small enough to fit in your pocket). you can put on all these effects like negative, sepia, and solarization which are all really cool. the camera is very light and nice to carry around. and lastly, all my friends remark on the cool design. this camera is really worth getting. I have not at all been disappointed.
the camera is all sony's years of expertese put into something barely 9cm big. If you want a camera which is affordable, takes extremely high-definition pictures, has amazing mindblowing features, and can fit into your pocket.... then the sony dsc-v1 is what you have always wanted. I promise you its the best on the market, and will be for some years to come. Good luck to you on your purchase. joel rosen
Rating:
Summary: My 4th digital camera and love it best
Review: I don't bring this camera with me everyday, it's a bit bulky for a carry with me everyday camera. But I love it, the quality the build, the exterior design. I especially love the nightframing and the 4x zoom with good sharp image. I have my Minolta xt with me everyday but it works poorly on low light condition. V1 has a very good autofocusing, a bit slow in recharging the flash thou. You won't regret having this camera around. This one goes with me on travels.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful, but not perfect
Review: This Camera is excellent. It has lots of advantages over other cameras.
I also own a Sony DSC S-85, and a Canon S-400.
Both of them excellent Cameras too, but with a different consumer target.
Sony took some of the best features from the S-85, which is a "Prosumer" camera, and made it much smaller, like a compact "point and shoot" camera.
These characteristics give several advantages to the DSC-V1.
If you are the average photographer, you will probably just use the camera to point, shoot, and enjoy! And of course, you will want it to be handy and small.
The DSC V1 will do that without a problem, using the Automatic setting, but you will have to learn some basics, (as with all other cameras). If you are learning photography, you are an amateur, or a Pro photographer that wants an small and excellent camera for hanging around, you will truly enjoy the Manual settings, as you can learn and experiment playing with the aperture, the speed of the shutter, the EV, the scenes, the effects, etc.
Another great thing is that is not an expensive camera. Comparing the camera with other 5MP cameras, for example, the also beautiful (point and shoot only), Canon S-500, we will see that the prices of both cameras are almost the same. The Canon S-500 is smaller, takes beautiful pictures, and, of course, is a Canon. But the DSC-V1 has a lot of more features, and the best: it offers the manual modes...
Fortunately, there is a way to be better camera shoppers, and to learn everything about some of the best selling cameras in the market: http://www.dpreview.com/ is an excellent internet site, that offers professional reviews for lots of cameras, comparisons, lessons, etc. and features of most of the cameras from the top brands.
Also, this site contains an excellent review about the Sony DSC-V1, in: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonydscv1/
As the great photographer Phil Askey tells us in his review, there's an ugly error in the DSC-V1: The Automatic White Balance. For some strange reason Sony simply didn't put the correct temperature settings in the sensor. So, either if you are a "point and shoot photographer", or an amateur, you will have to learn and dominate the use of the Manual White Balance feature. No questions asked. That's why I'm giving this camera four stars, even though I love it and I would give it 6 if I could and if the White Balance was at least Average. Good luck on your search
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER EXCELLENT SONY CAMERA
Review: Before you buy DSC-V1, here are some tips about it:
The camera is excellent, considering image quality and features. You can manually set the functions or set the automatic mode (helps beginners but provide features for more advanced photographers - get the manual in Sony Website). The image is better than P92, for V1 has bigger Carl Zeiss lens. P92 is very very easy to use, but V1 has a range of features not available in P92.
1) it requires extra memory stick (which, as you might now is more expensive than compact flash). 256Mb is recommended. 128Mb provides 80 photos full-quality. (any 5.0 Camera, whatever the brand, needs extra memory though.)
2) Spare battery would be useful. The NP-FC11 lasts about 80 minutes and take 2hrs to recharge.
3) Unlike old Sony cameras, you can take pictures faster (whether P32, P92 or V1), but when using V1 with flash, you need to wait few seconds to energy recharge (a bad thing if you need the flash and don't want to miss a thing) - but it's like 3 seconds.
4) A very nice feature is the nightframing and nightshots - it has infrared visor for very dark places.
Comparing to P92, the improvements are amazing. I used them both and found P92 easy to use, but V1 has many useful features, better for those who want to make creative or art photos.
| 
