Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 Review
Review Date: July 16th 2007
Author: Mark Goldstein
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Image Quality
All of the sample images in this Review were taken using the 6M Fine JPEG mode, which gives an average image size of around 2.5Mb.
Noise
There are 6 ISO settings available on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 which you can select at any time if the camera is in the normal shooting mode. There is no discernible noise at the slowest settings of ISO 80 and 100, as you would expect, but noise is already starting to appear at ISO 200. There is quite obvious noise at ISO 400, along with blurring of detail, and by ISO 800 it is very obvious. ISO 1000 is virtually unusable, looking good on the spec sheet, but terrible in reality. Here are some 100% crops which show the noise levels for each ISO setting:
ISO 80 (100% Crop) |
ISO 100 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 200 (100% Crop) |
ISO 400 (100% Crop) |
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ISO 800 (100% Crop) |
ISO 1000 (100% Crop) |
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Sharpening
Here are two 100% crops which have been Saved as Web - Quality 50 in Photoshop. The right-hand image has had some sharpening applied in Photoshop. The out-of-the camera images are just a little soft at the default sharpening setting. Note that you cannot change the in-camera sharpening level if you don't like the default look.
Original
(100% Crop)
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Sharpened (100% Crop) |
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Chromatic Aberrations
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 handled chromatic aberrations excellently during the review, with only small levels of purple fringing mainly present around the edges of objects in high-contrast situations, as shown in the examples below.
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Example
1 (100% Crop)
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Example
2 (100% Crop)
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Macro
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 offers a Super Macro setting that allows you to focus on a subject that is just 1cm away from the camera when the lens is set to wide-angle. The first image shows how close you can get to the subject (in this case a compact flash card). The second image is a 100% crop.
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Macro Shot |
Macro Shot (100% Crop) |
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Flash
The flash settings on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 are Auto, Forced Flash, Slow Syncro, No Flash. These shots of a white coloured wall were taken at a distance of 1.5m.
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Flash Off - Wide Angle (38mm) |
Auto Flash - Wide Angle (38mm) |
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Flash Off - Telephoto (114mm) |
Auto Flash - Telephoto (114mm) |
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And here are some shots of yours truly. Both the Flash On setting and the Red-Eye Reduction option caused a tiny amount of red-eye.
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Flash On |
Flash On (100% Crop) |
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Flash - Red-Eye Reduction |
Flash - Red-Eye Reduction (100% Crop) |
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Night Shot
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1's maximum shutter speed is just 2 seconds in the Twilight scene mode, which will disappoint you if you're seriously interested in night photography. The shot below was taken using a shutter speed of 2 seconds, aperture of f/3.5 at ISO 100. I've included a 100% Crop of the image to show what the quality is like.
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Night Shot |
Night Shot (100% Crop) |
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Anti Shake
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 has an anti-shake mechanism, which allows you to take sharp photos at slower shutter speeds than other digital cameras. To test this, I took 2 handheld shots of the same subject with the lens set to the same focal length, with the ISO speed set to 100. The first shot was taken with anti shake turned off, the second with it turned on. As you can see, with anti shake turned on, the images are definitely sharper than with anti shake turned off. This feature really does seem to make a difference and could mean capturing a successful, sharp shot or missing the opportunity altogether. Here is a 100% crop of the image to show the results.
| Shutter Speed |
Anti Shake Off (100% Crop) |
Anti Shake On (100% Crop) |
| 1/6th |
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| 1/13th |  |
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Overall Image Quality
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1's image quality is slightly above average. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1's main drawback in terms of image quality is noise, with ISO 400 showing obvious noise and blurring of detail. The noise gets progressively worse as you go from ISO 400 to ISO 800 and finally the completely unusable 1000 setting. The noise at ISO 400 is also clearly evident in a 15x10 inch print. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1 handled chromatic aberrations very well indeed, with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations. The 6 megapixel images are just a little soft straight out of the camera at the default sharpen setting (which can't be changed). The night photograph is poor, with the maximum shutter speed of 2 seconds severely limiting what can be achieved. Macro performance is a stand-out highlight, allowing you to focus as close as 1cm away from the subject, although there is lens distortion and shadowing at such a close distance. Anti-shake is a feature that sets this camera apart from its competitors and one that works well when hand-holding the camera in low-light conditions or when using the telephoto end of the zoom range. The built-in flash worked OK indoors, with little red-eye, and satisfactory overall exposure.
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