Sony DSC-N1 Review Completion?

[Dark Cobra]

Jeff . . . was just wondering when the N1 review might be completed. I realize there was a delay when the first camera malfunctioned, but the early preview look began in Oct. and we're coming up on Jan.

[scargo]

For some reason, the N1 keeps getting overlooked by everyone. It looks like a very promising camera, and I'd love to see a decent review done by a trusted source like dcresource.com. To my knowledge, the T9 isn't even out yet and it has a review. The N1 has been out for a few weeks.

Hopefully, we'll see something soon.

scargo

[Jeff Keller]

I can't review it unless Sony sends it to me.... that has not happened yet.

[scargo]

Thanks for the update! I hope they get one in your hands soon.

scargo

[Dark Cobra]

Ok . . . Jeff's off the hook. Come on Sony! If you can sell these, you can sure get "one" to Jeff so he can help you possibly sell more. Duh!

[Rex914]

Either this is sheer coincidence, or Sony actually peeked into these forums because Jeff has now received his N1 for review, and he'll be publishing it sometime this month. :)

[Dark Cobra]

Cool !!!

Well since I gave Sony the nudge, how about a free one Sony! Yeah I know . . . I won't hold my breath. LOL !!!

[Boogieman]

After comparing the N1 pictures from different forums with e.g. Panasonic FX9, Sony T9, CANON S80 (superb pictures), FujiFilm F10 (great dark shooting) i have reached a conclusion.

Even though the SanDisk pro duo Ultra2 cards are a bit more expensive and less versatile than e.g. SD cards the picture quality more than makes up for it.

I rate the picture quality of above cameras as follows (after a close up inspection of the full rez pictures taken at different forums):

4th place Sony T9
3rd place Pana FX9
2nd place........Canon S80
1st place Sony DCS-N1

The pictures are ULTRA sharp and has so much detail it is insane (single strands of hair are easily spotted in the picture and small numbers on clocks are vercy clear. Colours are great (pulling somewhat to red but not disturbingly so).

I have tested the camera in a shop and I must say its blazing fast when it comes to picture display. You flip through an album at an immense speed (somewhat like the Ixus cameras that are also very fast).

The screen is very accurate and simple to navigate and the touch functions works super.
The screen is really clear and has very accurate colours (i compare it with a Pana FX8 and the FX8 screen has a yellow tone to it. The FX9 is a lot better both in resolution and in colours but the 3" Sony takes the first spot).

One really cool function is that when you turn to spot meter mode you just touch the focus point on the screen and that point will stay sharp. I like that a lot since it will be very easy to get good spot metering shots.

The corner sharpness is 100% (where e.g. Canon S80 has very soft lower corners and quite soft upper corners) - amazing sharpness once again.

The only thing I am worried about that means a lot to me is the video function ( I do not remember sign any video captures on this one)
I dont think it will stand a chance towards the Panasonic FX9.
The FX9 is just amazing when it comes to video - the image stabilizer probably makes wonders here because vide is allmost DV-cam quality on the FX9.

It would be neat if they included a image stabilizer on the N1 as they will do on the ultra thin T9 (or the great kind that sits on the Pana FX9)

So pros
+ Picture quality
+ Fast album flipping
+ Touch screen at point to spot focus
+ Quite compact (a bit larger than FX9 and T9 but smaller than S80)
+ Huge and wonderful touch screen - 3" of 230 Mpixel. A new record i think
+ USB 2 High speed
+ Some manual functions that are rare on ultra compacts (but with limited selections from)
+ CCD sensor Super HAD 1/1.8" (seems to work GREAT)
+ 8,3 Megapixels (enough for both today and tomorrow)
+ 16:9 HDTV picture mode (1920*1080 only - I would also like 1280*720 that is supported on most mid section projectors today)
+ Sharp corners all around

Cons:
- Price (quite high)
- Sony memory cards (pricey and hard to find SanDisk Ultra2 2Gb in stock at retailers)
- Video - I am unsure but quality doesnt seem as great as the FX9 from what i have seen but have seen very few clips.
- Video - no good compression algorithm - takes a lot of memory
- Video - no widescreen video like Pana LX1 - 848*480 would be super for widescreen viewing
- Few zoom steps - counted to 10 total from wide to tele (FX9 has 19 i beleive)
- No optic image stabilizer

For another useful review of the N1 please look at Steves digicams http://www.steves-digicams.com/2005_reviews/n1.html
Amazingly he had the firt peak allready in october and review finsihed in early november so i think that also his specimen must have been a pre production model. It seems like he has some complaints of screen in low light not gaining up but that seems to be fixed on DCR´s review so I hope that mpre improvements have been made to the final product that is available now.

I am ordering one - I just cant wait fir the review to finish. I really should order a FX9 for video too though :-D
If the pictures on N1 are as great as in this DCR pre-review then i will be satisfied.
And how often is a pre-production sample better than final camera - no time i hope :-)

Regards
Boogieman
[/edit/]
Mixed up video with T9 - the boat clip is from the T9
Dont think I have seen any clips now that I think of it.
[edit/]

[Dark Cobra]

I have to agree that the early images posted on this site of the Standford University area are indeed excellent for such a diminuitive pocketable camera. However, we'll have to see how the detailed breakdown of the test images look through full testing.

I also agree that some kind of image stabalization would be nice. Pany has been doing it for some time. Casio has models out with it and others are following suit in their pocket cams as well. I think the N1 has a more superior feature set than the soon-to-be-released SonyT9 and I don't understand why Sony didn't incorporate some kind of stabalization in the N1.

A 16X9 sensor (like the Pany LX1) would be great but would mean this would have to be a larger camera, as the LX1 (as fine a camera as it is) probably would benefit from a larger sensor than what it has. However, in any event the N1 should be an excellent pocket digicam.

[Boogieman]

Have been playing around some with the camera INDOORS.
I really must say that the camera is great in a lot of aspects but it sure has some flaws where the serious ones are:

- If you shoot indoors even in a somewhat lit up room and use the zoom the picture goes allmost pitch black = the screen / picture on the screen does not gain up / artificially brighten the picture so that you can see what you are shooting. But when the flash goes of the pictre gest great so it would be nice to "fake" a good low light picture but maybe that is not possible?
First now I understand when they say the screen does not gain up and its DAMN annoying since you cant see the subject.
SONY MUST ADRESS this problem with a firmware update or this cam will go to history as nothing

- It doesnt seem to handle low light without flash very well - but I have no reference so I dont know if its ok compared to other cams but if I try to shoot manually and set F-stop and so on manually the pciture gets really noisy. Maybe since i do not have a tripod but even if I place it on a table and use the self timer it gets bad (and it also warns for camera shake - how can it shake when placed on a table?)

- I havent tried outdoors yet but taken from the DC review it shoulndt be a problem.

- The internal memory do NOT support fine movies only 640*480 @16fps so one better get a memory stick.
And the 16fps movies is not only choppy it has A LOT of edge artefacts at least when shooting indoors (as I guesses the FX9 is MILES ahead at this aspect).

- Its a lot of mess to delete pcitures - menu - menu - arrow up or down depedning on where you are in the menu- choose delete - delete again - confirm

- I think it hunts a lot when focusing in low light. Often it does not lock on focus directly but maybe at 2nd 3rd attempt. Taken in regard that I am a total newbie to cameras this advanced. Previously I have only used point and shoot digi cameras.
Also i thought that the focus points should be seen in the picture when focus is locked but they just disappear and you see the "green dot" that tells you everything is ok.

- You cant zoom while filming (whats new under the sun ;) )

Good things:
- Screen is marverlous - super sharp and super huge.
- Very quick startup - lens allmost pops out and in of the cam
- Lens also retracts auto when you connect usb (it works as mass storage device under XP without drivers).
- When you disconnect USB the lens pops out againg and the cam is ready for shooting.
- The manual modes are quite usefull. If nothing less to learn what aperture and so on really does to the picture.
- When in manual mode the F min and max changes as you zoom

I beleieve the review said that the screen gains up so maybe the thing i think about is not what the review means?
Anyway - its quite annoying not seeing what you shoot indoors especially if you zoom.

I am thinking of going back and exchanging it for a Pana FX9 but I am not sure. The MEGA OIS most likely will suite me fine since i get the camera shake symbol quite often when shooting indoors (due to low light conditions and long exposures probably).

Regards
Boogie

[Boogieman]

I am gonna check out and compare towards Panasonic FX9 in next week.
I must say I am very displeased with the N1 in "semi-lowlight" conditions = indoor lightning.
My old DV-cam Sony DC-110 works great showing exactly what you want on the screen even at max zoom. Allthough it has only 1.3 Mpixels its an old integrated digicam so the N1 should be a lot better.

The N1 goes totally black in auto mode in semi-lowlight with ful zoom.
In Program mode i can manage to see the picture (allthough very dark) but gets really noisy.
I really cant imaginge my camera is ok - must check with the store also and their test-camera. it just cant be this bad with a camera costing 500 Euro +

Regards
Boogieman

[Stefan_N1]

Hi Boogieman,

I have a N1 for 2 weeks now, and I'm very satisfied with it. However, I have the same problem with the screen: in low light conditions it is almost totally dark and I can't see anything on it.
Did you find out wether this is a problem with single cameras or common to the N1-model? Could you do a check in your store?

Regards, Stefan

[KathyB]

Anything new with the dark screen issue under low-light? It is better in Program mode but still unacceptable when zoomed in. I contacted the Sony chat line and they were very nice, but I got no real assistance.

[Dan.Carter]

I was concerned by reports of a dark LCD in low-light conditions. However, it is not as bad as some indicate. Auto mode is unacceptably dark, especially when zooming, but as Kathy mentioned it is much better in Program mode. It is no better or worse than my Optura 600 camcorder or Canon S230 digital camera. AF illuminator can be used to add some light for focusing and framing. For me, it is not a fatal flaw even though I'll use it in low-light situations.

[Morphiend]

can anyone speculate whether you can see a picture in the lcd in low light conditions better or worse than the t-9??? this is the main decision point between the two and i'm leaning towards the t9 because itll most likely be very dark where i want to take pictures (clubs). not that i have much faith in the t9 but it still seems like it would be better. if someone can suggest a camera that's about as thin and can easily see in the dark i'd take it under consideration as well.

how long do you think before they give the t series the touchscreen treatment?

[iakonafuji]

I'd advise against getting this camera....My friend purchased one, and after light use and carries in his pocket, the LCD screen broke and he was forced to return it.

[roy1]

i Just sold my t2 last week and im in the market for one of the above camara's but im not sure which one is better when it comes to pic quality can anyone help thanks

[ewerybody]

Hey guys! I got myself a lovely N1 too and its real cool. But of course there are a few things that you already pointed out that I see too:

- Image gets darker the more you zoom
- images at low/medium light are taken very slow thus blury
- snow-mode is actually very blue (tested in the alps ;])

but there are a few usability things that I don't understand why they are not implemented:

- a touchscreen is a enormous interface-device, why can't I do a square to zoom when watching images?
- why do I have to use those lame arrows when watching zoomed images? Why not just move to the position I tipped at?
- why are the GUI-elements so dominating when watching images? Is there a way to set the transparency? Or why didn't they just use tip on the left to go the the previous / tip on the right to go to the next image without any visible UI?
- why I can't name the folders?
- why is the album or the simple image-display not restricted to folders and is always some kind of global? Only the slideshow operates in folders.

this and more is all kinda software stuff, I hope they do an upgrade soon. its still a great piece of hardware and I never had so much fun with a camera before... This cam could be a lot more cool than it is already.:)

+ amazing fast browsing through pictures
+ fast configurable via touchpad

[Jan_NL]

Hi everybody!

I was pretty sure that I should buy the N1... until I read about all the negative aspects in this forum. So you really see hardly anything on the display when you are in a relatively dark room? That would be a reason for me not to buy the camera. I didn`t read anything in Jeff`s review about these (major) flaws. So Jeff (if you read this), could you maybe give your point of view on these issues? Thanks a lot in advance!

By the way, is it possible to make make nice shots in a darker surrounding, though (e.g. pictures of people)?

I am very impressed by the N1`s nightshot in Jeff`s review (with the river and the skyline). Is it easy to make such a shot with the N1? It really is of excellent quality.

A lot of questions :) ... So thanks for your help!

Greetings from Holland