Sony MVC-CD1000 Review: Digital Photography Review

Top of camera controls

Top of the camera is a fairly simple setup, front of the hand grip is the zoom control which is a lovely proportional system, the zoom changes at a speed graduated by the amount you move the control. Top of the grip is a fairly standard shutter release. Directly behind this is the main mode switch: MOVIE (shoot short move clips), STILL (shoot still images), PLAY (play back / review images).

Rear of camera controls

Controls on the rear of the camera are a bit easier to see if we first open the door, all option controls are positioned above the LCD, the four-way rocker being the main navigation tool. The only other control on the rear is the power switch just to the right of the CD-R compartment.

Button	Action
Button	Action
	Flash Select flash mode (only when flash is popped up): • Auto • Anti Redeye • Flash Fill • Flash Cancel (same has leaving flash down)
	Macro Focus mode In Auto Focus, change focusing system to focus on very near objects (macro distances). Toggles on and off, icon displayed on LCD.
SPOT METER	Spot Metering mode Toggles between Spot Metering (metering is carried out only a small circular area in the center of the frame) or Center-Weighted average (metering is carried out as an average of all light in the frame with a certain extra weight given to a circular area in the center of the frame). A small cross (+) on the LCD screen indicates Spot Metering mode.
	4-way rocker • Record & Play: Up/Down - bring up/navigate menu system • Record only: Left/Right - (Still: quick review / leave quick review) • Play only: navigate through images
DISPLAY	Display Toggles status information overlay on LCD preview
VOLUME + / -	Volume • Movie mode: Controls volume
LCD	LCD On/Off Toggle main LCD on or off

Side of camera controls

Just when you've mastered the controls on the rear of the camera you'll find a whole range on the left side. This isn't a bad thing, it's certainly quicker than wading through menus, but it will take a while for you to remember where each control is and access it quickly.

Button	Action
Button	Action
FOCUS	Focus mode Switch between Auto Focus and Manual Focus modes. In Manual Focus the "fly-by-wire" focus ring on the front of the lens, an update on the F505V is a display of current focus distance (roughly) on the LCD as you focus.
STEADY SHOT	Steady shot image stabilisation Enable or disable steady shot image stabilisation. Not sure when you'd want to disable it other than to show off about just how good it is or if you're a complete purist and prefer your lens completely fixed.
WHITE BALANCE	White Balance mode Enables the quick selection of white balance mode (shame it's limited to the few white balance presets below). • Auto • Preset • Indoor (Incandescent) • Outdoor
	White Balance preset This button is used to take a new white balance preset from the object at which the camera is currently aimed (typically a white card or white wall). Having this white balance preset available as a button on the case is an excellent feature (lets hope lots of other manufacturers decide to copy it).
SPOT METER	Metering mode Toggles between Spot Metering (metering is carried out only a small circular area in the center of the frame) or Center-Weighted average (metering is carried out as an average of all light in the frame with a certain extra weight given to a circular area in the center of the frame). A small cross (+) on the LCD screen indicates Spot Metering mode.
PROGRAM AE	Program AE Select AE mode, icon representing current mode is displayed on LCD, change values using the +/- buttons next to the Program AE button. • Auto • Aperture Priority Auto (shows effect of aperture setting immediately) • F2.8, 3.4, 4.0, 4.8, 5.6, 6.8, 8.0, 9.6, 11 (Wide & Tele) • Shutter Priority Auto • (8s, 4s, 2s, 1s, 1/2s, 1/4s, 1/8s, 1/15s, 1/30s, 1/60s, 1/90s, 1/100s, 1/125s, 1/180s, 1/250s, 1/350s, 1/500s). • Twilight Mode • Twilight+ Mode (exposures less than 1/30s) • Landscape Mode • Portrait Mode