Sony Cyber shot DSC TX1 10MP Exmor R CMOS Digital Camera with 3 inch Touch Screen LCD Silver
Sporting an ultra-thin body, a 3″ touch screen and phenomenal imaging technology, the Cyber-shot DCS-TX1 digital camera delivers high-quality photos (and 720p HD video) in high-fashion style. A Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens and the “Exmor R” CMOS sensor works in combination with the BIONZ image processor for super-fast processing to make it easy to get the best shot. You can now shoot 10 frames per second at an incredible 10.2 megapixels per shot – perfect for those hard-to-get moments. You can even shoot beautiful landscape shots with ease and capture clear photos when you’re in dark environments. Not sure which mode to use in challenging lighting conditions? Let the Intelligent Auto (iAuto) mode choose the setting for you.
User Ratings and Reviews
2 Stars Slightly better at low light but terrible with good light
As an owner of a smattering of point and shoot cameras and high end DSLR’s, I can be more picky than most about cameras.
I own an old 6MP Sony T9 slim camera from 4 years or so back and this looked like a promising upgrade for a slim pocketable camera. HD MP4 video, 4x zoom, almost twice the MP, touch screen and this new touted Exmor R sensor.
The T9 isn’t a great camera, in fact it’s one of the worst at image quality of all of my cameras, and it’s memory stick duo format is constantly a hassle.
Unfortunately this new TX1 still uses Memory Stick Duo, and is somehow just as bad in terms of image quality as the old T9. It’s better in low light but still very grainy, however it’s worse in good bright light. Set manually to the lowest ISO (125) and placed on a tripod, the T9 produces shots with more detail and dynamic range while the TX1 has a grainy soft and blown highlight look to everything. This is with the best possible conditions, and in my opinion the shots from this camera are completely unacceptable. That means it only gets worse from there. Handheld shots in the automatic modes have much more noise and grain in them, even in full daylight. Trees in the distance look like water paintings. Neither camera is good with contrasty scenes, but all I want out of a small pocket camera is acceptable images to resize and post on facebook and so on.
The TX1 will do, but for the price the quality is terrible. Cut the price in half and I might think about keeping it but this is all about style over design.
It does have some neat features like a high speed burst mode, an anti shake mode that takes multiple exposures and combines and aligns in camera, face detection and so on. It also has one of the best touchscreen interfaces I’ve used on a camera, it’s not in the way and it’s easy and quick to use. Just double tapping on where you want the camera to focus is very nice as well. The zoom slider is probably the worst physical part on this camera, not very sensitive, and then when you finally get it to zoom, it shoots quickly from the wide end to the telephoto end which means you are always overzooming and having to back off, which is frustrating when all you want is to frame the image.
If this is going to be your only small camera I would choose something else probably from Canon or Panasonic, it will be a slightly larger camera but the jump in quality will be very noticeable.
I’m going to return it and keep the T9 for the pocket slim camera that I don’t care about, and use the SD870is and LX-3 as my other smaller cameras. Unless the price on this really drops, or you just have to have this for the style and don’t care about camera-phone quality pictures from a dedicated camera I would stay away from this model.
4 Stars Quick and once you get use to the touch screen easy to use!
Just took this pocket rocket to San Diego on a trip and it turned out some very good shots in low light and regular day time lighting. I shoot mostly SLRs D90 and D700 Nikon, so I am not going to compare those
cameras to this one. Wife wanted the camera equipment to stay home so it did. This fits right into a pants pocket and or shirt pocket with easy, it powers up fast and takes some great shots when adjustments are made
to the environment you shooting in.
Pros:
Easy too use, learning curve low once you get use to the touch screen.
Low light shots very good, and outside shots very good as well.
small and compact easy to take anywhere.
Excellent sensor used in some SLRs and works very well in this compact camera.
Consistently of the shots are very good.
Very good HD 720p Video footage.
Image stab. excellent.
Cons:
Audio not so good when recording HD video, but most compact cameras are horrible at this task.
Colors some times a tad off, but for the most part very good.
Battery could be better.
Rocker where you zoom in could be on the side of the camera instead of the top and a tad small to use.
Over all if you can find this camera for under $300 now, it is a steal at that price.
Other camers used in the pocket area… Canon 880/Casio Z750/Nikon S52
I been waiting for the best pocket rocket camera to use, and I still have not come close to finding it, so far this one
isn’t bad, better than most and I would call it a tie between my Canon 880, but the Sony wins out on compact.
5 Stars Amazing little camera
I would strongly diasgree with the previous review that was just written. I too have owned several cameras, including 2 DSLRs, so I can comment on the capabilities of the camera in a broader context. This is a technological tour-de-force. Its picture quality during daylight shooting is definitely good. The images are generally well exposed and have noise that I find average for its class (ultracompact). However, this camera rocks at low light shooting. Using the twilight mode, I get amazingly bright and smooth photos for dark environments. I’ve never seen such a small camera have such detailed low-light photos. The touch-screen interface is slick, but does have a bit of a learning curve. Plus, the camera camera has 720p recording capability. Other unique features such as smile detection and a panoramic mode both work surprisingly well. Last, I cannot help but be amazed at the size and design of this camera. It is truly pocketable. Perfect… no. But a true step forward for ultracompact cameras.
4 Stars Great little shooter
I had a bought a Sony DSC-T3 a few years ago, wanting it so bad I imported one from Japan! If its zoom hadn’t given out after many active years, I’d still shoot with it. The TX1 seemed to be the latest and greatest successor in Sony’s ultracompact line, and it hasn’t disappointed.
I thought I’d hate the touchscreen, but it’s actually very convenient, and responds smoothly. About all it can’t do is pinch-zoom, and I’m guessing that’s more of a patent issue than anything else. Controls are laid out sensibly, and it’s easy to switch from automated settings to finer image control.
One of the coolest new features is Panorama mode, which makes ultra-wide photos quickly and easily. It absolutely works as advertised – it’s also fun to mess with, such as when I took a panorama of my friend as he followed the camera, making a crazy hall-of-mirrors effect.
The much-touted low-light settings are great, as well, addressing an issue pretty much all compact cameras have. It can do a shockingly good job finding light and eliminating blur in dark situations, letting you avoid using the tiny, intrusive flash.
The 720p video is pretty nice, largely free of the dreaded wobbly effect many still cameras produce. As a bonus, you can zoom while recording video.
There’s drawbacks, of course – Sony’s continued, stubborn insistence on Memory Stick is irksome, but honestly, I don’t move memory cards around much. The zoom’s a bit unresponsive, not allowing very fine adjustment. You’re going to have to wipe off the touchscreen a lot. Also, I find it easy to hit the power button when the camera’s in a crowded pocket. Shots are going to be grainier than when you shoot with your D300 – such is life.
No camera’s perfect, but when you hold this thing, you can’t help but think of what a miracle it would look like to someone from even ten years ago. I’m happy I waited for the TX1 to come out, and it’s going to be in my pocket for years to come, ready for when life happens.
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