The DSC-T1 is the latest addition to the Japanese manufacturer's successful Cyber-shot line. Having had good success with its other stylish cameras, such as the DSC-U50, the DSC-T1 is Sony's strongest drive into the lucrative upmarket crowd. On paper, this ultraslim camera has lots going for it, with specifications that boast both form and function. However, we were slightly disappointed to find out some of that substance turning into insignificance.
Click for more images of the Cyber-shot DSC-T1
Just Slide With It
The DSC-T1 is arguably the sleekest camera to have exited Sony's design lab. It fits easily into your pocket and measures just 91 x 60 x 21mm. This Cyber-shot is definitely the smallest 5-megapixel unit to hit our Labs! Although diminutive, this Sony possesses a very hardy feel from its solid metal construction. The rather substantial weight of 180g (with battery and media card installed) also contributes to that perception.
Despite the size, this little number's controls are well distributed, allowing plenty of room to rest your thumb so you can get a good handle--a notable achievement considering the DSC-T1 also sports a spacious 2.5-inch hybrid display.
To switch the unit on, all you have to do is either press the power button like any other digital camera, or slide the lens cover down. The lens cover slides smoothly and with adequate restrictions on both extremes to prevent accidentally closing or opening. Unlike most sliders, the DSC-T1 does not feature a protruding telescopic lens; hence there's no annoying wait time--for the optics to retract--before you can store your unit away.
Like the DSC-U50 before it, the DSC-T1 achieves the ultra-sleek form factor by using the new Memory Stick Duo memory, reiterating the Japanese manufacturer's intention to move towards this new standard. Announced in 2003, the new Memory Stick Duo is one-third the size of the original and offers speeds of up to 160Mbps.
As with most fashion cameras, the DSC-T1 features a small, metallic eyelet. Like Canon's recent IXUS i, the loop is placed centrally on the left edge of its body. Users will therefore have the choice of attaching a longer lanyard to hang this screamer around your neck. Unfortunately, the company includes only a wrist strap with the standard package.
Style With Substance?
The DSC-T1 is primarily a point-and-shoot unit and has a pretty complete feature set to cover most of the bases for such cameras. The more advanced shutterbugs will appreciate the amount of manual controls offered by the unit. These include two metering modes (multi, spot), exposure compensation, selectable ISO sensitivity options and white balance controls. In addition, an autofocus (AF) assist lamp finds its way into this Cyber-shot to provide excellent low-ambient-light focusing.
Like Konica Minolta's Dimage X series, the 3x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar optics is oriented vertically in the unit and makes use of a prism so it can "see" out in front of the camera--think of it as a periscope. While this inherits all the good points of such a design, such as the slim form factor and fast startup, it also incurs a flaw where a user can easily slide a finger over the lens. Here the exclusion of the optical viewfinder becomes both a plus and minus. Because you have to frame your shots with the LCD display, you'll definitely notice any obstructions of the lens. But since you're using such a large LCD screen to frame, you'll invariably use up more power and consequently reduce battery life.
In terms of menu layout, the DSC-T1 differs slightly from its other siblings and may serve to confuse upgraders from the Sony camp. Even more befuddling is the directional arrow icon which indicates for the user to press the right arrow key to set up the camera. Still, to access the various shooting modes, you really have to press the left arrow key. Sadly, the icons below do little to suggest otherwise.
Similarly confounding is the absence of a tripod mount. Although the DSC-T1 sports a HAD (Hole Accumulation Diode) CCD sensor, which permits more light to enter the CCD, the camera is unable to take credible low-light photos unlike previous HAD-equipped Cyber-shots. The absence of the mount makes this feature useless as you'll have trouble stabilizing the unit, let alone bother with composition and exposure.
Zippy Performer
In our tests, we found the DSC-T1 to be very quick. This Cyber-shot springs to life in just over a second when you hit the power button or slide the lens cover down. Moving along to our shot-to-shot runs, the unit performed commendably with the flash off. The camera was able to hold timings to about 1 to 2 seconds for 12 shots before taking a very short wait for the images to be written to the media card. With the flash switched on the numbers dropped to about 5 to 6 seconds between shots.
The autofocusing (AF) system was also pretty good, often taking about a second for situations with adequate lighting. Under dim or bad lighting, the AF expectedly took slightly longer, averaging around 2 to 3 seconds.
Battery performance was also rather good and we were particularly pleased that Sony decided to stick with its InfoLithium system for the DSC-T1. This gives users a rough gauge of remaining battery charge in minutes.
In terms of image quality, the DSC-T1 delivered average-quality 5-megapixel photos. In our shots outdoors, we found the Cyber-shot had a tendency to blow out highlights in its default multi-pattern metering mode. Changing to spot metering generally gave us decent exposures for such situations. Like most fashion cams, this Sony's optimized for point-and-shoot photography, offering average performance in terms of dynamic range. The colors captured, on the other hand, were pleasing.
To Buy Or Not To Buy
Coming to store shelves with a sticker price of S$999 (US$590), the DSC-T1 is not particularly expensive considering its features. However, we do question the need for that many megapixels for point-and-shoot photographers. This group of shooters typically won't edit their pictures, and generally won't print photos larger than A4 in size. Therefore, it seems like such a waste to pay for something that's not needed. We concede that the DSC-T1 appeals in style and we won't hold anyone back if their wallets permit. However, our dollar goes to the current S$600+ (US$354+) deals for the older Casio Exilim EX-Z3 and Pentax Optio S.
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