
Lens
The DSC-V1 uses a new lens carrying the 'Carl Zeiss'
brand (which at least should mean it was designed by Carl Zeiss). The
lens provides an equivalent zoom range of 34 to 136 mm (4x) with a maximum
aperture of F2.8 at wide angle and F4.0 at telephoto. This is interesting
because that makes it less impressive (certainly from a spec point of
view) than both the Nikon lens on the 5400 (which has a wide bottom end)
and the Canon lens on the G5 (which has a fast F2.0 - F3.0 max. aperture
range). The lens extends 16 mm (0.6 in) at wide angle and 27 mm (1.1 in)
at telephoto.
Lenses compared (all Prosumer, 5 mp, 4x zoom)
| Camera |
Wide angle
focal length
(equiv.) |
Telephoto
focal length
(equiv.) |
Wide angle
max aperture |
Telephoto
max aperture |
| Sony DSC-V1 |
34 mm |
136 mm |
F2.8 |
F4.0 |
| Canon PowerShot G5 |
35 mm |
140 mm |
F2.0 |
F3.0 |
| Nikon Coolpix 5400 |
28 mm |
116 mm |
F2.8 |
F4.6 |

Base / Tripod Mount
 |
On the DSC-V1's base you will find a metal tripod mount which is
located a little close to the front of the camera for my taste,
it runs the risk of the camera tipping forward slightly on tight
tripod mounting plates.
|

Pop-up Flash
 |
The DSC-V1's flash unit pops up from the right edge of the camera
(from the front). It has a quoted range of 3.5 m (11.5 ft) at ISO
100. It pops up automatically if the camera decides it is required
(Auto flash) or when requested (Manual flash on).
|

Hologram AF Assist
 |
The DSC-V1 is Sony's first compact digital camera to use the laser
based Hologram AF assist system seen on the DSC-F707 and DSC-F717.
A weave pattern is produced by a small laser mounted above the lens.
This pattern is used to assist the contrast detect AF system to
lock AF in low light situations. The pattern appears for approximately
one second, as per our previous experience this system works best
on large subjects which are covered by virtually the entire pattern.
|

Flash Hot-shoe
 |
The DSC-V1 is the first Sony digital camera to have a hot-shoe
with full two way communication between the camera and flash unit.
To take advantage of this Sony has also launched a new advanced
external flash, the HVL-F32X (see below). The manual notes that
Sony flash units HVL-F1000 (requires additional connection to ACC
terminal) or HVL-F32X can be used in any exposure mode, third party
flash units must be configured manually and used in exposure modes
Manual or Aperture Priority.
|

Sony HVL-F32X Flash (optional)
The HVL-F32X flash is the first Sony external flash unit
not to require connection via a cable to the camera's ACC terminal, this
is because it now has a full set of connections through its shoe. As you
can see from the images below the flash head can be tilted to any position
between 90 degree vertical and straight ahead. There is also a drop-down
diffuser (see third image). The flash is powered by four AA batteries,
it provides a secondary AF assist beam (two brightness levels), modeling
light ability, red-eye reduction and manual flash exposures (6 levels).
The unit has a guide no. of 32 (i.e. 11.4 m @ F2.8).
As you can see this flash really is far to big to be
used (sensibly) on the DSC-V1, it's a shame Sony didn't also introduce
an ultra-compact external flash unit for digital cameras of this size.

Box Contents
 |
Supplied in the box are:

Sony DSC-V1 digital camera
32 MB Memory Stick
Battery Pack NP-FC11 (777 mAh)
AC adapter / charger AC-LS5
Neck strap
USB Cable
Video Cable (A/V)
CD-ROM
Manual
|

Sony Accessories
 |
 |
 |
Memory Stick Media
(up to 128 MB) |
Memory Stick Pro Media
(up to 1 GB) |
Battery Pack
NP-FC11 |
 |
 |
|
Tele conversion lens *
VCL-DEH17V (1.7x) |
Wide conversion lens *
VCL-DEH07V (0.7x) |
|
 |
 |
 |
Flash Unit
HVL-F1000 |
Flash Unit
HVL-F32X |
Soft Carrying Case
LCS-VHB |
 |
 |
|
Tripod with Remote
VCT-D680RM |
Remote Control
RM-VD1 |
|
* Includes lens thread adapter
** Partial list
|

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