Sony Cybershot DSC-V1 Review: Digital Photography Review

Rear of camera controls

On the rear of the camera the control layout is fairly logical, three settings buttons at the top left, the zoom controller at the top right, the jog dial located 'under your thumb' and three more buttons and the 4-way controller beside the LCD monitor. The DSC-V1 has a fairly unique zoom controller, the direction for wide / tele can be swapped via the Setup menu.

Buttons / Controls

	Exposure Compensation / Thumbnail view In record mode pressing this button selects the exposure compensation value on the LCD monitor allowing you to modify it by rolling the jog dial. In playback mode this button switches to between single image view, thumbnail view and picture information view.
FOCUS	Auto / Manual Focus Switches between automatic or manual focus. When in the Manual position you use the focus ring on the front of the lens to focus-by-wire. There's an on-screen ruler indicating focus distance as well as a magnified central 'loupe' to check the exact focus position.
AE LOCK	Auto-Exposure Lock Locks the metered exposure at the current setting, useful for aiming the camera at the subject to use for metering then realigning the scene for the final shot. AE Lock is canceled after the shot is taken unless you continue to hold it.
ZOOM	Zoom / Magnify In record mode this lever zooms the lens between wide angle and telephoto, you can change the direction of zoom in the Setup menu. In play mode pushing the lever upwards magnifies the image up to 5.0x.
	Display Toggles display mode for the LCD monitor: • On with overlaid information • On with overlaid information and histogram (live view or playback) • On with simple or no information • Off
	Flash Selects flash mode: • Auto • On • On Slow-Sync • Off Red-eye reduction can be enabled or disabled in the Setup menu.
	Image review Instantly reviews the last image / movie, in this mode you can zoom into the image but not browse images on the Memory Stick, you'll have to switch to playback mode for that.
	Macro Focus Selects auto focus range: • Normal: 40 cm (15.7") - Infinity • Macro: 10 cm (3.0") - 40 cm (15.7")
	Self-timer Engages / Disengages the self-timer. Self-timer is canceled after the next shot is taken.
MENU	Record Menu Enters record menu (detailed later).
	Image Size / Erase In record mode pressing this button displays an image size selection 'pop-up' box. In play mode pressing this button displays a display confirmation box and puts the camera into a browse & delete mode.