Sony DSC-P1Sony packs a 3 megapixel CCD and a full 3x optical zoom lens into an exceptionally compact digicam!<<Optics :(Previous) | (Next): Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests>> Page 6:Exposure & FlashReview First Posted: 9/12/2000 |
Exposure
Exposure is automatically controlled on the DSC-P1, with the camera in charge of both shutter speed and aperture settings. Sony doesn't report the shutter speed range available on the DSC-P1, and the camera doesn't report either exposure setting during shooting (this is information that we generally prefer to see, but we're also aware that many consumers are simply not interested in these details). Although the basic exposure is controlled by the camera, the user can adjust white balance, exposure compensation (EV), flash mode and digital telephoto. In our own tests, we found the shutter speed to range between 2 seconds and 1/2000 of a second. The upper end of this range is quite good, but we would have liked to see a longer maximum shutter time to help the low light performance a bit. (Which we do have to admit wasn't bad.)
Exposure compensation is adjustable from -2 to +2 EV in 1/3 EV increments, through the Still record mode settings menu. White balance is adjustable in the same manner, with options of Auto, Outdoor, Indoor and Hold. The Auto, Outdoor and Indoor settings are relatively self-explanatory, matching the various light sources. The Hold option is an unusual Sony-only mode, that simply guarantees that successive images will be captured with the same white balance setting. We frankly don't find this nearly as useful as a "manual" setting, in which the white balance can be set based on a white card. It is useful though, to let you approximately set the white balance based on a grey card, before shooting a strongly-colored subject (which would otherwise fool the white balance system). A 10 second self-timer can also be activated through the settings menu, with the countdown actually triggered by fully pressing the shutter button. As the camera counts down, a small LED on the front of the camera blinks. There's also an adjustable sharpness feature, with values ranging from -2 to +2.
In addition to the standard automatic exposure modes, the DSC-P1 offers five Program AE modes. Pressing the Program AE button repeatedly cycles through these modes. Twilight mode biases the exposure system to somewhat underexpose based on the averaged exposure reading, thereby preserving color and detail in brighter objects (a sunset or neon sign, for instance). Twilight Plus allows longer exposure times, and also increases the effective sensitivity of the camera, to improve low-light shooting capability. Landscape mode sets the focus to infinity for recording distant subjects and landscapes. Panfocus mode changes the focus quickly from short focal distances to infinity, good for capturing fast moving subjects. Spot Metering mode bases the exposure metering on the very center of the image (the normal metering system averages readings from throughout the image).
Flash
The DSC-P1's built-in flash features four operating modes: Auto, Auto Redeye Reduction, Forced and Off. Sony boasts the DSC-P1's flash as an Intelligent Flash, that automatically assesses the shooting situation to provide the best amount of flash for optimum color accuracy and brightness. The operating modes are pretty self-explanatory and are accessible by pressing the Flash button on the back panel. The Auto mode fires the flash based on the exposure and existing light levels. Auto Redeye Reduction works similarly, but fires a pre-flash to reduce reflection from the subject's pupils, known as the Redeye Effect. The Forced flash mode simply fires the flash with each exposure, regardless of the light level, and the Off setting disables the flash completely. Sony rates the DSC-P1's flash as effective from 1.6 to 7.5 feet (0.5 to 2.3 m), in the normal intensity setting. Flash intensity can be adjusted through the settings menu, with options of High, Normal and Low.
Movie and Sound Recording
The DSC-P1 has both Still and Movie multimedia recording modes. In Still mode, you can record small sound clips to accompany images via the Record menu (by selecting the Voice record mode). You can record up to 40 seconds of sound for each image.
In Movie mode (accessed by turning the mode dial to the Movie position), you can record up to 60 seconds of moving images and sound, depending on the quality setting. Resolution and quality choices are 320 (HQ), 320 x 240 or 160 x 112. If the image size is set to 320 HQ, the maximum recording time is reduced to 15 seconds. Three standard menu options let you select preprogrammed recording times of five, 10, or 15 seconds. In these modes, a single press of the shutter button will automatically record a movie segment of the chosen length. A timer appears in the LCD monitor to let you know how long you have been recording, so you'll have some idea of how much time you have left to go. On the other hand, if you hold down the shutter button longer than the selected time, the camera will continue recording for up to 60 seconds if you're using the lower-resolution movie mode, or 15 seconds at the higher-resolution setting.
Picture Effects
The DSC-P1 offers a handful of creative picture effects, accessible through the Effect menu. Solarize makes the image look more like an illustration by significantly lightening the contrast. The Black and White records the image in black and white monotones. Sepia also records in monotones, but with a warm, sepia tint. Finally, Negative Art reverses the color and brightness of the image, making it appear more like a negative.
Clip Motion
This is a pretty cool feature we haven't seen before on a digicam, but that we imagine will be picked up by other manufacturers in the future. The Clip Motion capture mode works like an animation, recording up to 10 frames of still images to be played back in succession. Frames can be captured at any interval, with successive presses of the shutter button. When you've captured as many photos as you need (the animated photo above has 7 frames in it), you just press the rocker control button to tell the camera to finish the sequence. Available image sizes are 160 x 120 and 80 x 72 and the number of actual captured frames may vary with image size and available Memory Sticks space. (You have a maximum of 10, but could be constrained to fewer if your memory was very full.) Files are saved in the GIF format, and are played back with approximate 0.5 second intervals between frames. Very cool!
Special Capture Modes
The DSC-P1 gives you a few other options for the format of recorded images in Still mode. Through the Record menu, you can select TIFF for uncompressed image storage (available only for the 2048 x 1536 image size), Voice (mentioned above), E-mail and Text modes. E-mail record mode simply records a smaller (320 x 240) image size that's more e-mail friendly. Text record mode actually records a black and white GIF file and is perfect for taking pictures of white boards, flip charts or notes from a meeting, or for quickly copying a text document. (Text mode does require considerably more time to record and display the images though, due to the greatly increased processing the camera is doing to format the file.) All of the special modes record a standard JPEG file in addition to whatever special file is needed for the mode selected. (Thus, email mode records a full-sized JPEG in addition to the small 320x240 image.)
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