Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX1/H 10MP "Exmor R" CMOS Digital Camera with 3-inch Touch-Screen LCD (Grey)
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The TX1 features a 10.2 megapixel 1/2.4-Inch Exmor R CMOS image sensor that delivers fast speed, high resolution, and twice the low-light sensitivity of traditional CMOS sensors, resulting in outstanding image clarity and drastically reduced noise. Get up close to your subject with the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens featuring a 4x telescopic zoom for distant subjects and Close Focus mode for close-ups up to just under ½-Inch from the subject.
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Technical Details
- 10.2-megapixel "Exmor R" CMOS sensor for stunning low-light performance- 3-inch touch-screen LCD display for easy operation
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 4x optical zoom; Optical SteadyShot image stabilization
- Wide zoom display allows resizing images to 16:9 aspect ratio
- Capture your videos in HD Movie mode (720p); PhotoTV HD Mode with compatible BRAVIA HDTVs
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By B. A Reichle (Calabasas, CA)
I have said a million times say that I love my DSC-T500
It films amazing HD video, takes great photos, and overall is just a perfect pocket cam. I then got a Kodak Zi8, which also takes great videos (better quality then the T500), decent photos, but the low light video quality suffers from being darker then the T500.
So my journey continues to find a better low light pocket cam, since I mostly work from dark comedy clubs and situations. Well Sony later released the T900 a sequel to the T500, and its lower light quality was no better and it got a downgrade from a 5X optical zoom to a 4X. But.. the T900 was slimmer and had a few tiny software upgrades that still made it a great camera.
Now just months after the release of the T900, Sony surprisingly pulled the T900 from the shelves and released a new camera called the DSC-TX1. While this camera is stated as the new version of the T500/T900 series on many websites (including Amazon), I dont believe it.
It has a smaller LCD (3" down from 3.5") a mono mic (instead of the stereo mic of the t500/t900) and familiar 4X optical zoom. So why am I reviewing a camera that seems like a downgrade?
Well Sony is using a new lens system called the "Exmor R". It's been said that these new optics have TWICE the low light quality as the previous cameras. The touchscreen also got an upgrade even if it's smaller and has more of a iphone'isk menu system. With finger swipes you can view new photos, even draw on photos using your finger or the included stylus. The hardware is slimmer, tiny in fact.. and the photo quality (especially during low light) is way better then the t500/t900.
This camera is packed with new features and shooting modes, like my favorite, "Hand-Held Twilight" which take 7 photos in a second of a subject with no flash, combines the photos using software and makes the perfect single photo. Its cool how it works, it detects things like walls, and removes the static. It does an amazing job.
So why am I returning this camera?
Well for most people I would say buy this camera now.. its a great photo camera for it's size, and has some really neat features. But as a owner of the previous model i'm spoiled. The TX1 doesn't have a "movie mode" button like the t500/t900, you have to use the menu system to turn it on. The MONO mic sounds fine, but its no where close to being as good as the STEREO mic of the past. The LCD screen is bright, and high quality.. but its smaller.. and the menu system seems cluttered and annoyingly thought out. The zoom is now buttons on top of the camera, so its clumsy to use, compared to the t500's rocker which you slide your finger on to zoom.
But here is the main reason... The video, while has amazingly richer colors, and blacker blacks.. is no brighter in low light situations. How is that possible? When comparing the videos of the T500 to the TX1 the T500 actually had better low light! While the video had more static, it was alot better. So it might be a little more washed out on the T500, and have more of a grainy look to it, at least I could see things that the TX1 couldn't even pick up. It's not a HUGE difference, but it was noticeable when shooting.
So for whatever reason the video does NOT benefit from the new low light lens system. So now I have a camera with better colors, but mono sound and poorer low light.
So for my purposes, I will return and wait. I have a feeling sony is prepping a true sequel to the T500/T900. My guess is they are adding 1080P. So I will wait, and see what happens in the next few months. I just don't see them replacing a camera with one that is missing some key features of the previous. I honestly think this camera is a T700 or T90 replacement. As for the rest of you, I DO recommend this camera.. it great for what it is, just not for me.
Hopefully since they pulled the recently released T900 off their website, something better will replace it soon.
PROS:
-New Exmor R lens system does reduce grain and increase low light photo quality
-Great low light features and options for photos (only)
-The Auto modes work well (photos)
-720p video is great for it's size, and the colors are rich, and blacks are black
-Video can record up to 32 min or 2GB at a time, then it stops and you have to hit record again, compared to the T500's 10 min limit. (T900 also had the 32 min limit)
-Great Slim Design, better battery door lock then DSC-t500
-Panoramic mode is quick and painless with stunning results
-10 FPS mode for action shots is great
-Touchscreen works well, and looks great
-It's fast to take photos
-You can zoom during video!
CONS:
-Mono Microphone
-3" screen instead of the previous 3.5"
-Amazing Low light quality doesn't seem to work in Video mode.
-No actual video mode button (touchscreen based)
-Zoom buttons seems awkward to use during filming
-Battery/memory card is squeezed in camera's tiny body
-4X optical zoom instead of 5X of DSC-T500
If you search the internet for "redban and dsc-tx1" I have numerous videos and photo samples available from my full review.
By S. Good
Our last camera was a canon Powershot S2 IS. The Canon stopped working, suffering from "the black screen of death". Having faith and loyalty in the Canon brand (this was our 4th Canon Camera purchase, two of which were Canon AE-1s given as gifts) I contacted Canon and was sorely disappointed. Even though many other models with the same faulty CCD had been recalled they refused to stand behind this product.
After a year of research and looking at many cameras, I came across the Sony DSC-TX1. It got me thinking about all of the Sony products we have had in the past. Which included at least 2 Sony camcorders, a very early digital camera; Sony Mavica MVC-FD75, various other electronics and most recently a Sony Bravia V-Series KDL-40V3000 40-Inch 1080p LCD HDTV. We have been very pleased with every one of those products. As a matter of fact, the MVC-FD75 took amazing pictures even though the megapixels were only 0.3 and used a 3.5 floppy to store images. My husband still uses that camera.
So, mostly on a whim, I thought to h*** with reviews and purchased the TX-1. I LOVED it from day one! It is very intuitive, and easy to use. I used it as soon as I got the battery charged - and that, the battery, is the only thing I can say is a slight negative. I prefer a camera that uses off the shelf AA batteries, to the inconvenience of having to charge a battery. However I am more than willing to suffer that inconvenience for a quality, sleek, sexy, fun to use camera.
I flipped through the manual while the battery charged. As soon as the battery charged, I started using the camera. I found it amazingly easy to use with just that little bit of reading. I took panoramas, photos with the foreground in focus and the background unfocused and vice versa, and very clear macros (the canon could do all of these things, but it was a pain, and the macros were almost impossible). The low light pictures were much better then any other camera I have owned. The size is another thing I love...it's about the same size as my cell phone.
I suspect that a professional photographer may disagree with my assessment. That being said, if you are a casual user looking for a point and shoot that is easy and fun to use and small in size, this is the camera for you.
By Aurelio Rivera (Miami, FL)
For a long time I was nervous about leaving canon elphs! Normally I stay away from sony as if it were the plague. Every sony electronic I've ever bought has had complications or broken down on me in 1-2 years (video camera, laptop, desktop, etc.).
However, I wanted a true pocket-size camera that was good in low lights, had HD video for quick memory capture, and took overall really good pics. I've had elphs, including the new SD780, since they were first releast. Great little cameras - always top not pictures, very portable, and extremely durable (I'm kind-of clumsy). Unfortunately, the last SD780 did not live to longgg (black sand at the beach). Long story short, outdoor pics were great, the camera size was excellent, and battery life was out of this world. However, indoor shots were almost always really fuzzy, the screen is tiny, and the overall camera was simply boring.
So, after some research I decided to give the sony a try...I have to say that I love it. The camera is amazing...the panorama tool and the touch screen are so intuitive and easy. The pictures it takes are AMAZING - low light and normal. I've done tons of pics in bowling allies at night, at parties, at plays, you name it, with and mostly without flash - and pics are amazing! Outdoor pics are eqaully fantastic. The camera is also really small and fits easily into my front pocket with minimal notice, the play mode touch screen options are pretty incredible, and the advance dual shot mode is pretty incredible --- e.g. sometimes for night shots it will automatically do two shots, one with flash and one without or simply alternate settings and do two shots really fast so you can choose which one to keep.
Things I really don't like:
- proprietary cable
- sony memory card (kind-of pricey, albeit a little bit faster than SDHC - definitely not a big hinderance)
- Battery life is decent (it's really not bad at all - it will last a day with tons of shooting - but i wish it was better)
Things I really like:
- size and overall design
- picture quality
- touch screen
- video recording quality
- intelligent auto mode - much better than most other cameras auto mode (for when you're in a rush)
- low light capabilities are out-of-hand...simply amazing! not kidding...
- camera slideshow and editing capabilities
- touch screen focus selection
Would I recommend: yes! Especially, if form factor, low light picture taking, and overall fun factor is important to you. This camera runs circles around the Canon SD780 and SD940 - which I'm surprised to acknowledge....
By Jorge Alberto Reza
Hi everyone and thanks for reading my review
If you are reading this chances are that you are in the market for a good point and shoot camera...
In my opinion, you have to look no further.
Most complaints about this camera basically tell you that the new image sensor that sony uses is not "that great" or that night images are good but day images are not...
These complaints would ALL go away if they read the manual. Even though the camera is really simple to use, there are small tweaks that you have to adjust in order to create a perfect picture.
I got this camera and its sibling (wx1) for 2 main reasons:
1.- portability and ease to use
2.- PARTY SHOT. if you have not heard about this you are just missing out. its this little dock that rotates, pan and tilts to automatically shoot pictures... its a great neat addition to a compatible sony camera and I would highly recommend this gadget also.
so here's the things I love about the camera:
1.- Easy to use
2.- Takes great panoramic photos
3.- Captures great indoor pictures
4.-good battery life
5.-touch screen with a lot of great add ons (like basic picture editing features built into the camera) it even comes with a stylus pen.
Now the not so great features are:
1.- NO DOCK. you have to take the battery out of the camera to charge it... there is no way of charging the camera's battery without removing it.
2.- proprietary cable: I guess this is the most annoying and irritating feature (or non feature) of the camera: Sony created this weird looking dongle that is supposed to make life easier... you plug in the camera one end (again, proprietary port, not the standard mini usb port you would find in other cameras) and on the other end you have a standard video and audio jacks that you would plug into your TV and a USB port for downloading pictures. I really dont like this, but I can live with it.. just be sure to never forget your cable.
There you have it, I hope this review was helpful
best regards
By Brian R
What makes this camera unique is its promises of excellent low-light performance. Compared to my old Nikon Coolpix S1, the TX1 only requires half the exposure time. However, the TX1 is limited to a maximum shutter of only 1 second! This kills an otherwise great night-time camera. You can jack up the ISO to compensate, but this feature is buried in a menu (as is EV compensation). As with most compact cameras, image noise is a significant problem. Even in daytime scenes at ISO 125 there was enough noise to make me change into 5 megapixel mode. What the camera does have going for it is a very slim profile.
So to summarize: It's a great camera for the push-just-one-button crowd but will drive more advanced users crazy. I'll probably return mine for a Lumix TS1
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