I bought the DSC T1 nearly a year ago. Firstly it is a beautifully made camera, metal, very slim and sexy. The large screen on the back is excellent and is viewable even in direct sunlight. The image quality when shooting outdoors in good light is excellent and its small/ thin size encourages you to take it everywhere.
Unfortuately there is a downside. The lens is small which of course means less light into it and as you would expect poor performance in low light. I would say all indoor photos are grainy and poor quality (even with twilight mode). If you use the flash because of its very close position to the lens, red eye is a serious problem. The flash is also too weak to use for anything other than portrait shots. Even on dark days outdoors the image quality suffers. In addition in bright light you sometimes get streaking effects on the image (despite cleaning the lens).
Finally my screen stopped working (I suspect through damage. As there is no view finder the camera is now useless, despite it still taking photos. A replacement screen is of course not covered in the warrantry against damage and will cost over £150 making it not worth replacing.
I would buy another sony camera but this time make sure it has a reasonable size lens and flash in addition to being small (if that is possible).;
[Rating: 3 Stars]
This has to be one of the easiest cameras with fantastic features. The picture and sound quality for such a small camera is absolutely amazing. Thoroughly recommended to even the most humble of digital beginners!;
[Rating: 5 Stars]
I have had the Sony DSC-T1 just two days. I wanted something really small as my previous camera was a Nikon SLR 35mm, that was just too bulky to really do anything with. I love walking and hauling the Nikon on hikes became a pain. It was taking over the holiday! The other reason for finally splashing out and getting rid of the Nikon was issues I had with low light. The Nikon was never used in the winter.I am amazed at the comments regarding low light and the DSC-T1. The DCS-T1 allows you manually choose "Twilight Mode" with Flash disabled, or you can choose the "Twilight Portrait" then the flash is enabled. I expect the camera to be spending all of it's winter life here in the UK in Twilight mode - but it works beautifully, and the pictures are fantastic.
The first photos I took were of my house at dusk, with the street lamps just coming on. The lights turned on in the house come up wonderfully, and colour was retained. The following day I visited friends for a lunch date, and was able to take photos of them in the restaurant without flash. Sure, I have to hold the camera steady, as the shutter speed slows down, but the camera warns you with a little "steady hand" in the middle of the display. You can instantly review the last photo taken with a one touch button; if it's bad delete it. People moving will be blurred - tell your subjects to hold steady in a portrait!
I also took some christmassy shop windows, and they came out superb also - vivid and real.
I am absolutely thrilled and delighted with the functions, and the form of the camera, slipping away neatly into a pocket, and being forgotten about; and suddenly coming into mind when you think, "that'll be a good shot!" The case is metal, and it has a wonderful feeling of weighty quality about it - and to me the way the camera has handled the difficult lighting is an extension of that quality.
I took pictures of a friends new kitchen in twilight mode with the under unit lights on, and it looked superb. The camera handled it beautifully. The halogen lamps looking clear and real. However, elsewhere in the house energy saving lights do appear yellow, (the only negative aspect) but I'm just learning to move them a little out of shot.
My advice - turn off auto on the DSC-T1 in the winter and leave it on Twilight. Watch the steady hand on the display, and have some fun on darker days. For indoors, choose Twilight Portrait with flash - the photos will be fantastic. When the sun shines in the summer, change to "Auto". Note it has other settings too - Beach, Snow, Fireworks, Macro. So the camera does need to be explored!
I'm thrilled with it. All the best - thanks for reading this.;
[Rating: 5 Stars]