Editorial Review:Product Description:It's not an SLR, in asense, because you can't change lenses though it's shaped somewhat like an abbreviated SLR. It isn't compact either. What the Sony DSC-R1 Cybershot Digital-Camera is...is a professional camera that anyone can use. It has a 5x Carl Zeiss lens that has a (35mm equiv focal length) from 24mm to 120mm - which suits most photographic applications. A 67mm filter thread allows the addition of filters and lens conversion accessories. Make it yours. Pop-Up ElectronicFlash - Distance limitations using Flash - Wide - 0.5m - 8.5m, Tele - 0.4m - 5.0m (ISO Auto) Compatible Recording media - Memory Stick(R) media, Memory Stick(R) PRO media, Memory Stick(R) PRO High Speed media, Memory Stick(R) Duo media, Memory Stick(R) PRO Duo media, Memory Stick(R) PRO Duo High Speed media, Compact Flash Type I, Compact Flash Type II, Microdrive Lens accepts 67mm size filters AF Method - Single AF, Monitoring AF, Continuous AF / AF Area - Multi-Point (5-points), Center Weighted, Flexible Spot / Focus Mode - Auto Focus / Macro / Manual Aperture - Auto (F2.8 - F16) / Program Auto (F2.8 - F16) / Aperture Priority (F2.8 - F16) / Shutter Priority (F2.8 - F16) / Manual (F2.8 - F16) / Shutter Speed - Auto (1/8-1/2000) / Program Auto (1-1/2000) / Aperture Priority (8-1/2000) / Shutter Priority (30-1/2000) / Manual (Time, 30 seconds to 1/2000) Hand Shake Alert ISO Sensitivity Setting - Auto, 160, 200, 400, 800, 1600, 3200 Still Image Recording - Modes - Normal (JPEG), High-Speed Burst (JPEG), Auto-Bracketing (JPEG), RAW (SR2); Sizes - 10M - 3,888 x 2,592, 7M - 3,264 x 2,176, 5M - 2,784 x 1,859, 3M - 2,160 x 1,440, 1M - 1,296 x 864 , 3 - 2 Mode Burst Shot Compatible with all PictBridge equipment High-Speed USB 2.0 connectivity for data-transfer to a Windows PC or Macintosh computer Video Output is NTSC and PAL selectable for viewing photos on TV Unit Dimensions WHD - 5.5 x 3.87 x 6.125
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
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Just a Mom who wants to take good photo's..
This camera is the best thing i've ever invested in..Crystal clear photo's easy to operate and fun to shoot..I even bought an extra battery and fast action soccer photo's are fantastic..buy it..you will love this camera..video's are awsome too..oh yea the disk that organizes you film is supurb..enjoy..
Rating: -
Two years with the D1
I have had mine for over 2 years and I LOVE this thing. In my opinion it is a classic digital camera. I have taken so many stunning shots with it, and when I hand it to others, less skilled than I, they take them too. It's true, that a camera can't make you a better photographer, unless it has a superb noise reduction algorhythm, a spectacular lens, a big CMOS chip and a fast response time. It turns on so quickly that I can leave it off and turn it on for a grab-shot, and extend the spectacularly long (530 minutes plus!) battery time indefinitely. The only down side is that I end up keeping so many shots, well over 5000 now, that my poor drive is full! I really love this thing. It's been all over the world with me, contributed to high-end visual effects jobs, created truly memorable shots and therefore gifts, web content, commemorations, art pieces etc. that I will never part with it. Find it for sub-$500 and you will never look back. I also recommend the instructional DVD they sell here. Moderate production value, but high instructional value. This camera is not a simple snap-shooter if you want to make art, so the DVD is the fastest way to learn the features and refresh memory. VERY helpful indeed. The added feature that it uses two different memory media if nice too. I am currently carrying 12 gigs of memory!!! That translates to something over 2,700 10mp JPEG pictures! I will never max out. Impressive, huh? Well, I think so!
Enjoy it! I love mine so much.
Lekfx
Rating: -
Marvelous Piece of Photographic Equipment
I have owned my R1 for nearly a year now and I must say that I am confident that I made a wise decision. I debated going the dslr route and decided against it after exploring the R1 option. I found this camera loaded with the features that I wanted and I didn't feel hampered by the fixed lens. The picture quality is outstanding! The lens is sharp and wonderfully bright! There is no fringing or wide angle distorting. The digital crop is very impressive and the live preview (one of the reasons I went with the camera) is a wonderful feature.
The bang for the buck that is available with the R1 is quite impressive. I am a very satisfied customer.
Rating: 
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Excellent quality, poor performance
1. I've had the R1 essentially since it came out (2yrs?).
2. As has been documented in many reviews--> this is a camera that can produce excellent results, IF you shoot in RAW.
3. With the above being said, this camera will or will not work for you mainly depending on the type of photography you normally do.
a. Poor macro: the in camera macro ability is a joke--> if macro is important, you'll need to get the screw on close up filter.
b. Obviously fixed lens 24-120mm. I think that 24mm is going to be wide enough for most folks (including me... most of the time). However, I would think that most folks may want to shoot more than 120mm episodically. There is a wide angle convertor lens (which is good) and a tele convertor lens which is terrible (read my review on that).
c. Burst rate: terrible--> only 3 shots in JPEG. Thus, if you're into sport, shooting action shots, taking shots of the kids--> forget it. And by the way--> fast focusing is not a strong suit with the R1 either.
d. RAW write times: slow and subpar for this caliber of camera. And as noted above, if you want to get the highest quality image, you really need to shoot in RAW.
4. Translation: if you're mainly into landscape photography--> this might be a very good camera for you. However, like me--> you'll find that the lack of the ability to shoot beyond 120mm, the lack of true macro capabilities, the slow RAW write times (when you really want to capture a fleeting scene)... can all be very frustrating--> which then brings the realization upon oneself of "perhaps this is why most (all) professionals use DSLRs." It's a great camera which is capable of excellent images, but the poor performance is a significant limiting factor which becomes more and more apparent over time and in different shooting situations.
Rating: 
-
After a year and a half, still good...
I pre-ordered this camera from Sony way back in November of 2005. It was shipped to me before Christmas that year. Ever since, I have used the camera as a stock photographer and a family photographer. The personal photos have been excellent and print very sharp to at least 8.5x11 (though in Photoshop the linear dimensions are poster size).
Unfortunately, the main failing has been in the color noise and artifacting for stock photography. Because I do not use a tripod for on-the-fly outdoor shots, I have gotten used to either spending hours with Photoshop fixing the "purple fringes" (also cyan and red shifts) or just submitting the full-sun shots and hope the inspector will tolerate a bit of color noise for the shadier areas.
The lack of any image stabilizing process (as the newer Sony/Minolta cameras have) is the major problem. Because my acceptance rate is less than 50%, and the most common reason given for rejection is color noise and artifacting, I'm waiting for the release of Canon's new DSLR (the 40D?), which might or might not have the same MP resolution as the Sony DSC R1, but it's a true SLR with image stabilization. For prosumer use, therefore, the R1 is not adequate because of its lack of in-camera image stabilization.
Nonetheless, the built-in flash is bright enough for most medium- and close-range use (especially since it's positioned right above the lens, minimizing the outline shadows where the flash is offset), the focal range goes from wide angle to medium telephoto, the Sony tripod with remote control works fine with this camera (if you can tolerate using a tripod), the memory cards in 2 formats (MS and CF) allow for great utility (e.g., in-camera backup), the interfaces are handy (I back up in the field on an iPod 80GB), iPhoto runs fine with the R1 connected, and the camera's fake shutter sound can be turned off for absolutely silent candid photos (especially since people don't realize that you're focusing using the top-mounted LCD viewfinder). The diopter adjustment of the optical viewfinder can be set precisely.
Not so nice is the placement of the hot shoe for the external flash to the right, above the grip/battery compartment. The shadows cast are dense and distracting, although the Sony smart flash works extremely well. Also, I have lost 2 Memory Sticks and 1 Compact Flash card--all 2 GB--until I read on the web the recommendation that memory cards should be formatted by the camera rather than by a computer. I did that with one card which I eventually filled with pictures of our first grandchild (a couple of hundred photos), when the camera suddenly showed "Format Error." I couldn't get a professional recovery company to rescue anything, even when I said they could open up the card to get inside, voiding the money-back guarantee. So...I've been deleting pictures one by one, using the camera itself (very tedious), rather than having the R1 or my iMac do the re-formatting. (A couple of e-mails to Sony resulted in polite replies, but no action.)
Another limitation of the R1 is that it is hard to protect it. The Sony hard-leather case is so strangely shaped that putting the cover on and taking it off take too much time for field use. So I use the camera without the rather costly leather case I bought from Sony.
The LCD viewfinder, being on top of the camera, puts off subjects who are in groups waiting for their souvenir photo because they think you're adjusting the camera instead of composing the picture. So I find I use the optical viewfinder most of the time, especially with the superimposed grid to help me align vertical and horizontal planes. I do wish that Sony had provided some kind of bellows hood for the optical viewfinder. In bright sunlight, the LCD viewfinder is hard to see, and the bright reflections in the optical viewfinder requires me to wear a baseball cap or use my hand to shade it.
The self-timer (with camera on a tripod) is excellent--people can be warned that the amber light will flash slowly when the self-timer is on, and will flash rapidly just before the shutter trips. Still, if I have forgotten to turn on the audio shutter sound, people stand there for a few seconds, not realizing the photo has been taken.
After a year and a half of using this camera, I am very glad I had it as my starter camera for semi-pro photography. And I still have another year and a half to go on the service/repair extended warranty I bought and have not needed. But I'm saving money to take a step up, perhaps to a true SLR from Canon or Nikon.
