User Reviews: Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 Digital Camera
$1,800.00
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4.5 out of 5.0 stars 85 Ratings (12 Reviews)
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    great

    By __A_YAHOO_USER__  Jul 1, 2006 | 19 out of 20 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 review helpful

    Pros: the quality is awesome. great for outdoors.

    Cons: too heavy.

    This camera is awesome. I've had this for a couple of months now and so far I don't see any problems, aside from being heavy, but still ok. I'm not a photographer nor had any photography classes, but I definitely see the difference in its... quality from any of my other digi cams and slrs. It's worth every dime. Read more Less

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    REVIEW ON SONY R1-ON 12-06

    By jefferyv  Dec 30, 2006 | 4 out of 4 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 review helpful

    Pros: GREAT COLORS, AMAZING IMAGES.

    Cons: battery charges in camera, no OIS.

    well, i finally bought the sony r1, after along wait for the price to drop, and read all reviews on it..i got it for 565$. what i like about r1: build quality, good zeiss lens, 24mm wide angle, iso change on cam just a botton..great colors balance, l...ow noise and high iso, big cmos sensor, great dynamic range, sharp and good details, use both pro stick and cf card, long battery life , displays batt life in mins, useable high iso at 400, top view and swivel lcd, manual tele zoomring, good raw files, has auto feature to use both lcd viewing and thru viewfinder, if you want the best images on a point and shoot this is it!, eventhough its the most expensive point and shoot camera out there. not cheap.. what i dont like: battery charges in camera is a big draw back, while you charge the batt, you cant use the camera to shoot, bad feature, hope sony improves it on next camera. the camera design is so weird, the grip is over size, off balance on hand, view finder housing is over size, to use external flash you have to go to menu and change it everytime, and change back to use pop up flash, cant use both flashes, missing OIS(opical image stabilizer), its heavy and big, tele at 120mm is at f4.8, AF is not that fast, its kinda slow, especially in dark, sony should learn from this cam and improves it on next camera, im sure they will.The price is abit too high for a point and shoot, no video mode, macro is not that good at 15inches away from subject. other than that i love to use it, its my main camera to walk around with, i love the image result quality, thats why i bought it, i know no camera is perfect yet, for the price i paid im not complainning, its a dslr wanna be, very close to dslr results. i strongly suggest to any one who wants a back up to dslr.. Read more Less

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    Great for candid photography

    By Alan  Nov 23, 2006 | 4 out of 4 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 review helpful

    Pros: Amazing, versatile lens, tilting viewfinder

    Cons: Gives you plenty of wrist exercise

    I like taking spontaneous pictures in the city, and this camera is perfect for me. I can't be dealing with interchangeable lenses, and the amazing lens on this camera lets me go from a fairly wide angle to a decent zoom just by twisting the ring.... I like the feel and responsiveness of the ring instead of a "Tight/Zoom" button. Macro shots are great, too. Since this is not an SLR, I can shoot silently, and with the swivelying viewfinder, I can shoot from waist level. This allows me to avoid fake grins and dear-in-the-headlights looks from my subjects. The camera fits nicely in my hand--I need to avoid the "tourist with camera around neck" look in some neighborhoods--but after a couple of hours I can feel the weight in my wrist. For low light, the camera goes to ASA 3200. But at 800 or above, count on noise and "grain" as part of the charm of your shot. The controls are well-designed. I love this camera. Read more Less

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    i like it

    By chris t  Nov 23, 2006 | 3 out of 3 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 review helpful

    Pros: large sensor, great picture quality

    Cons: calibrating the lcd view finder

    The reason I bought this camera in the first place is because of the performance of its older brother the sony f828. I was working on a long and interesting assignment in the middle east and part of my responsibilty there was to provide stills on da...ily basis to the organisation's website. The sony f828 we bought at the time was fantastic. This camera went through countless dust storms, extreme heat, we kept it in it's case in the back of our truck for at least 6 months, people treading on it, spilling water on it, it was bullet proof. Abused and exposed to some of the planets wildest weather, the sony f828 produced some really nice shots and we loved it's awsome battery life. The day I returned home from that assigment I went out to look for an f828 to buy for myself but sony had stopped producing them. So the guy at the sony shop showed me the dsc-r1. I bought one, I love it. I have a few minor complaints about the overall design like the infared censor for the af being blocked by the wide angle adaptor.......but once you get your head around the manual focus settings all those small things you forget about pretty quick. I use a canon 350d also, but I have used the r1 in the studio a bit and its a quality camera, nice pics and quiet. Read more Less

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    Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1

    By Surya Prakash  Nov 5, 2006 | 3 out of 3 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 review helpful

    Pros: This is a feature rich camera.

    Cons: Lack of suppot

    I purchased this camera in India 3 months ago and I have been very satisfied so far. I have been an amateur so far. This camera is taking me to the professional zone. I cannot believe the awesome picture clarity that the lens produced. The lens a...re the best in its range. The controls are just like any DSLR. The jog is the best feature in the control section. The battery life is amazing. I get 200 minutes on a single charge and that’s 400 10megs fine jpeg’s with a flash when required. (As far as I know, there is no camera in the market with such an amazing battery backup) I am satisfied with the shutter speed not impressed though. The flash is really good. No complaints here either. I am not happy with the software that tags along and the support guide. The software lacks advanced editing features. The support guide is truly a support guide. You can never get good pictures using the support guide. You will have to figure out the techniques yourself. The camera is worth all the money. Especially with a 24-120mm lens. I think I purchased the lens with a free body (Not to forget the large CMOS Sensor). One thing to note is that you are stuck with this lens (You do have telephoto and Wide angle 67mm’s for this but you will have to purchase it from Sony only, which can be bit expensive). Apart from the above, this camera is the best prosumer camera, and I recommend it. Read more Less

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    DSC R1 for the Artist

    By lek  Jun 15, 2007 | 2 out of 2 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 review helpful

    Pros: color/contrast/sharpness, build quality

    Cons: large, needs optical image stabilization

    I have had this for a yer and a half. I got it early, paid around 750. I a very skilled user, making my living in Visual Efects since 1979, with some pro training in photography. This camer impresses even beofre the shutter opens. A friend likene...d it to "A Porche" in the hand. Solid, great ergonomics, sensible efficient layout etc. I agree for the most part. I have a degree in Product Design and so I am critical of poor design. There is little to critique here. The focus selector switch is a goofy rotary switch around the focus button, and the tiny buttons on the back all feel the same. The ISO button is a great touch, as well as the display control. I love how there is often more than one way do do anyting on this camera, like review shots, etc. The display can swing and pivot, making for some fantastic opportunities like overhead, shooting upside down, candids at 90 degrees (right or left, vertical OR horizontal), ultra-low POV's, and waist level shooting. The lens is classic Zeiss. FABULOUS color (I know, it's the algorythms. But not entirely!) and the sharpness is impressive. Only thing they left off is an image stabilizer! It SORELY needs it. I am a sharpness addict and I miss it often. A better manual focus image checking method would be nice too, but I rarely need that. The flash is powerful, but the lens-shade interferes with it's coverage... OOPS. I carry 10 GIGS of memory in it allowing for over 2000 JPEG 10MP pics! I will NEVER run out of space. The battery lasts over 450 minutes on a charge. Incredible! I bought a battery out of Hong Kong and it must be fake, because it only yields half that. There IS a separate charger available for charging outside the camera. It is super compact and light, and great for travel. I have taken very long night shots (maximum exposure time I think is 36 seconds) and painted light into the scene with astounding results. LOW noise, HOT color, rich range. I have taken shots on a tripod and enlarged and cropped 10x with good sharpness. 10MP is all I'll ever need until a more stable lens comes along. Kodak has just announced a way to double or quadruple the speed of an image sensor, and that could be a great improvement to the blur issue (far shorter shutter speeds): SONY, TAKE NOTE! BOTTOM LINE: If you are semi pro, serious about photography, or want the best non-slr out there BUY IT NOW! It is a modern classic. People see my ordinary snaps and always say "WOW!" Imagine how my GOOD ones come across! Yours will too! Hope this helps. Read more Less

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    Just Great

    By Javier  Apr 5, 2007 | 1 out of 1 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 review helpful

    Pros: Great Features, quality, incredible sensor

    Cons: Weight

    I've owned this camera for a few months now and it is so great that the results inspire me to keep taking pictures. I'm happy with the resolution; even at a lower Mega pixel setting it does an awesome job. Tilting viewfinder makes possible t...o take otherwise impossible shots. Read more Less

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    A Great Machine

    By Key2  Oct 9, 2006 | 1 out of 1 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 review helpful

    Pros: Great body, excellent lens, gr8 image quality, flash is very good, full manual controls

    Cons: Lack of details in the manual to operate the camera properly.

    Opinion: Its overall a really good camera, but the price is way to high, Can easily buy a sony A100 DSLR in a 100$ more, However if u dont wana spend a lot on lenses and just do the regular photo shots, This is the best prosumer fixed lens camera in ...the market for the time . The LCD swiveable which makes its controversial some people like it some dont, for me LCD is good as u can turn it around in diffrent angles while taking shots in odd positions. the images are crisp and clear, it takes some time to get used to it, not very easy to get familiar with, but with little time one can use it properly, I loved the manual zoom and controls. Night shots are pretty good, if u have to compare it with a dslr, then u will rate it 8 out of 10 where dslr remains at 10. Here u got a camera that has alot to offer, but in direct comparison with DSLR , dslr wins by a point or two, so if u dont like to carry heavy lenses and to be carefull in dusty conditions, u can choose this camera as an alternative to DSLR. This is the camera every amatuer professional can carry and be proud of. Over all very good performer. Read more Less

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    Best Bang for the Buck

    By Chipper  Aug 12, 2006 | 1 out of 2 found this Sony Cyber-shot DSC-R1 review helpful

    Pros: Zeiss Lens, CMOS sensor, Balance, Control, Features

    Cons: Too much software to work through

    I have been shooting medium format and 35 mmm weddings since I was 16 and the time came to keep up I had to go digital or at least offer it. I chose the R-1 for the APS class CMOS and the Zeiss lens. Mostly the Zeiss lens I think. I have been very ha...ppy with the performance of the camera when shooting with an 8GB CF card and shooting on RAW, and Adobe RGB. I love the ability to switch ISO's and the push of a button but often find that I dont really need to. The Zoom while "limited" for some people is perfect for me. and the accessories available also while limited serve me well. My only gripes are that, here in New Zealand their technology so so behind the times, I have all out blown up a few photofinishers computers after plugging in the CF card to download and many cannot accept the width of the CF Card. Also, the software bundle is very confusing. most of it is a utter waste. Read more Less

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    An unforgetable experience

    By Claudio  Jul 6, 2008

    Pros: Pure design, Image quality, features, viewer, and all.

    Cons: be uncontinued

    Sony R1 was the first great digital camera model in this category(no SLR). Realy, like no other. I know wath I say: I have one!

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