Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 First Impressions Review

by Richard Baguley
Published on March 10, 2007

Navigation
Intro	Physical Tour
Components	Design/Layout
Modes	Control Options
Image Parameters	Connectivity / Extras
Overall Impressions	Conclusion
Specs

 

The G1 has an interesting design, with an unusual wedge-shaped aluminum case. It’s certainly a break from the more angular design of other Cyber-shots, and the overall design works well.

 

The G1 is on the bulky side. The body is too thick to easily fit into a shirt pocket, but it isn’t overly large. Tthe case is not much bigger than the screen, thanks to the interesting way it hides most of the controls when the camera is closed. Sony claims a weight with the battery of 8.2 ounces, and we don’t see any reason to doubt this. For the size of the camera, it feels pretty light.

 

The G1 feels surprisingly comfortable in the hands. Typically, cameras with large screens don't have much room left for the hands. But that doesn’t seem to be a problem with the G1. The left hand fits around the screen, while the right hand has plenty to hold onto around the controls and the front of the camera. But this isn’t a camera that can be easily used with one hand, and it really requires two hands to be comfortably used.

 

 

Most of the controls on the back of the G1 are large enough to be comfortably used, although you do need both hands. The shutter button falls naturally under the index finger, and the zoom control lands under the thumb. The controls on the side of the camera are a bit more awkward, though: I found myself turning the camera while trying to work out which button is which. Most likely this will improve with time and familiarity, but it’s a bit of a pain. The joystick is the exception; it is used for navigating the on-screen menus and is easy to use while keeping an eye on the screen.

 

The menu system is accessed through the home button on the right hand side of the camera body and will immediately be familiar to owners of Sony’s PlayStation 3 and PSP gaming consoles. It’s the same crossbar style menu that both of the popular game consoles use. In fact, Sony is adopting the same menu style for most of their products, so you can expect to see more of this if you buy Sony products in future. That’s a good thing, as the menu is quick and easy to use, providing speedy access to the features of the camera such as the camera mode (photo or movie), playback, music and video playback, and the wireless features.

 

To access the camera specific controls, you hit the menu button, which brings up a scrolling menu with the following options:

 

Mode	Auto, Program, Scene
EV	+ or – 2 stops in 1/3 stop steps
AF Mode	Multi, center, spot, 0.5m, 1m, 3m, 7m infinity
Metering Mode	Multi, Center weighted, Spot
White Balance	Auto, Sunlight, Cloudy, Florescent, Tungsten, Flash
ISO	Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000
Rec Mode	Normal, Burst, Bracket -+0.3, Bracket -+0.7, Bracket, -+1 stop
Flash Level	Low, Normal, High.

 

 

Image Size	6M, 3:2, 3M, 2M, VGA, 16:9
AF Mode	Single, Monitor
Digital Zoom	On, Off
Red Eye Reduction	On, Off
AF Illuminator	On, Off
SteadyShot	Shooting, Continuous, Off
Auto Orientation	On, Off

 

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