Front
The view of the front reveals features that are characteristic of a digital SLR camera. There is a large right-hand grip that protrudes on the left side (when viewing from the front) and a large lens on the right side. The dark gray lens barrel extends in two segments from the body. The main panels of the camera are a lighter brushed silver tone. The front of the camera has three colors: light brushed silver, dark gray on the lens, and a black rubber surface that covers the right-hand grip. The rubber wraps around the entire right side and bleeds onto the front of the camera all the way to the lens. At the top tip of the grip is the shutter release button, placed for easy access to the index finger. Just below it is a black jog dial with a notched surface for easy turning and precise selections. Above and to the left of the lens is the AF assist illuminator. Centered directly above the lens is the pop-up flash, which has “Sony” visibly lettered across the front when closed.
Back
The left side of the back is dominated by the large, flat 2.5-inch LCD screen. Above the screen and a bit to the left is the electronic viewfinder, which is surrounded by a black rubber eyepiece. Directly to its right is a small circular button labeled “Finder/ LCD” that switches the display from the LCD screen to the smaller viewfinder. Further right is a small LED with a flash icon next to it; this indicates when the flash is on and ready to fire. To the right of the LED is a button that engages the image stabilization system.
On the right side of the back, the zoom controls sit at the top where the thumb naturally rests. The camera body has some slight curves in this area to enhance comfort while shooting. Below the zoom control is a cluster of buttons, with the Menu button at the top left of them. The main cluster consists of the four-way navigational dial, which is made of five buttons — four separate directional buttons and one in the center for selections. Like most digital cameras, each directional button doubles as a quick button to access specific features. The top button selects flash settings, the right button quickly puts the camera into macro mode, the bottom enables the 10-second self-timer, and the left button is the “back” button. The four-way dial is circular in shape, even with the separate buttons. The separate buttons are a nice feature; it is more difficult to accidentally hit a feature with this setup. Below these buttons are two more circular raised controls: the one on the left is for holding the previous image on the LCD screen, while the one on the right is for deleting pictures.
Left Side
The left side shows the slightly bulky profile of the Sony H1, but attempts to mask its awkward shape and make it somewhat attractive by applying the Cyber-shot logo to the black panel. The top of the left side has a wide loop for a neck strap, which will be necessary with this 16.2-ounce digital camera. Towards the rear of the left side is a plastic port door to the A/V out and USB jacks. The door feels quite sturdy and even has a raised portion for the thumb to pry it open.
Right Side
The right side is quite wide because of the right-hand grip. Half of it is covered in a rubbery surface that extends to the front of the camera. The other half is the light brushed silver color. At the top of the right side is a loop for the neck strap. This loop looks different from the one on the left side, resembling the nose ring of a bull, though the bottom of the ring is flattened.
Top
From the top, the pop-up flash takes up the entire left side of the H1. Behind the flash is the extended electronic viewfinder with its black rubber eyepiece. To the right of these features are several controls; the Power button is directly to the right of the flash. It is labeled and flush with the camera body, so it won’t be accidentally turned on while in a camera bag. Above the power button and slightly to the right is the built-in microphone, which appears as three lines. To the direct right of the power button is the main mode dial, with a small LED to identify the mode that is currently selected. The following modes are available on the dial: Automatic, Playback, Movie, Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Beach, Candle, Twilight Portrait, Twilight, Manual, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, and Programmed AE. All of the modes are represented by simple and intuitive graphics except for the M, A, S, and P modes. The large, circular mode dial contains notches all around, so it can be twisted easily and will lock into place.
Above the mode dial are two small circular buttons. The one on the left is labeled “Focus” and is used to choose between the Macro, Automatic, and Manual focus settings. The button on the right is used for selecting shooting modes, such as the burst mode. Above these buttons on the tip of the right-hand grip is the large polished shutter release button.
