Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H1

July 18th, 2005 | by David Elrich

Features and Design

The DSC-H1 is a very compact camera, given its 12x optical zoom.  It's about the size of the new Canon PowerShot S2 IS, another new mega zoom digicam with optical image stabilization for about the same price.  We won't go into an HC1-versus-S2 riff, but the most obvious difference is Sony's large, 2.5-inch LCD screen compared to the Canon's variable angle 1.8-inch monitor. 

The DSC-H1, made of metal and plastic, has a comfortable form factor with an angled shutter button nicely placed on the grip.  A jog wheel on the grip helps you to speed through the menus and make adjustments when you're in manual, aperture- and shutter-priority modes.  The top of the camera has the power button, the often-used mode dial and the pop-open flash.  The dial is easy to read and clicks nicely into the desired shooting position.  You'll also find a focus key for choosing the type of focusing you'd like as well as a key for taking a burst of images (9 maximum in 5MP fine mode) and for exposure bracketing, which takes three shots of a subject.  You can then pick the best and delete the others.

The rear of the camera has a minimum number of controls, since most of the real estate is taken up by the large, 2.5-inch LCD screen (rated 115K pixels).  We're big fans of large LCD monitors since they make it easy to frame your shots and to show just-taken images with friends and family.  Along with the LCD, there's an electronic viewfinder with diopter adjustment.  To switch between the EVF and LCD, you simply press a key next to the viewfinder.

To the right of the screen is a wide/tele zoom toggle switch, a control pad with arrow keys and a set button to adjust camera parameters, a button for a histogram display, another for adjusting resolution and a menu button.  This is a typical digicam setup, but it would be better if Sony highlighted the menu subjects on the arrow keys rather than using etched icons (for flash, macro, self timer and review), functions photographers use often.

We left one of the rear keys for last, since it controls the very important optical image stabilization circuitry Sony calls SteadyShot.  "On" is the default position but you can turn it off to save power.  We suggest it be kept on at all times.

Image Courtesy of Sony