Sony Cyber-shot DSC-V1A no-excuses "enthusiast" camera from Sony: 5 megapixels, 4x zoom, fast AF, and features galore<<Viewfinder :(Previous) | (Next): Exposure & Flash>> Page 5:OpticsReview First Posted: 04/18/2003, Updated: 7/1/2003 |
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Focus options include both manual and automatic control, with a Macro mode for shooting close-up subjects. The manual option offers a range of distances from 0.1 meters to infinity, and is adjusted by rotating the Command dial on the back panel. The V1 also features an adjustable AF area, with three selection points available (one at dead center and the other two on either side of the center point). In straight autofocus mode, the focus area target flashes green in the LCD display once focus is locked. Three AF modes control how often the camera adjusts focus, including Single, Monitor, and Continuous. Single AF mode adjusts focus only when the Shutter button is half-pressed, while Continuous AF mode adjusts focus continuously as the subject moves, both before and after the shutter button is half-pressed. (Continuous mode is thus helpful for shooting moving subjects, although the V1's AF speed probably isn't up to the demands of full-on sports shooting. New on the DSC-V1 is "Monitor" AF mode. Monitor mode is probably most similar to the Continuous AF modes of most other manufacturers: It continuously adjusts focus until the user half-presses the shutter button, at which time the focus is locked. Monitor mode slightly improves shutter lag for stationary subjects.
In any capture mode, the AF point can be controlled via the Command dial. A small icon in the upper right-hand corner of the viewfinder display shows the current AF area selection, as do a set of four corner bracket marks in the main viewing area itself. With the control cursor pointing to the AF area icon in the upper corner of the screen, rotating the Command dial steps through the three area options plus the auto-area option (the one with the wider set of brackets shown) in sequence. The screenshot at right (borrowed from my review of the F717, which shares this feature) shows the relative positions of the available AF areas. Not shown in the screenshot though, is a "spot AF" option that's unique to the V1. Spot AF restricts focus determination to a very small spot in the center of the frame.
One of the truly unique Sony features on the V1 is the "Hologram AF"
system for low-light focusing. This is basically an AF-assist illuminator system
on steroids, using a laser diode and tiny holographic diffraction grating to project
a crosshatched pattern of bright red lines on the subject. The nifty thing about
the hologram is that the projected pattern stays more or less "in focus"
almost irrespective of subject distance, so there's always a sharp pattern for
the camera to focus on. Hologram AF isn't only for low light, you'll see the camera
use it in fairly normal lighting as well, if there's not enough contrast in the
subject to use the normal contrast-detect AF system. Try pointing the camera at
a blank wall in normal home / office lighting, and you'll see the pattern. The
screen shot at right shows a camera's eye view of the Hologram AF pattern, as
the lens zooms from wide to telephoto. (This shot duplicated from my F717 review
- Astute readers will note minor differences in the onscreen information display,
but the Hologram AF function works identically.)In actual use, I found the Hologram AF system made low-light and low-contrast focusing practically foolproof. In fact, it literally was hard to get an out-of-focus photo with the DSC-V1, in almost any situation. - This is a significant innovation in AF-assist lighting. I'd say that I wish other manufacturers would adopt this technology for their own AF-assist systems, but I suspect Sony has a patent on the approach.
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