"Picky Details" for the Sony DSC-H1 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing

When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Sony DSC-H1:

Power

Good but not exceptional battery life. The Sony DSC-H1 uses a two AA batteries for power, and two 2100 mAh NiMH batteries and a charger are included with the camera. Because it lacks a standard external power terminal, I couldn't conduct my usual direct power-consumption measurements, so we're dependent on Sony's own rating of the camera in this respect. (At least such rankings are now based on the CIPA standard, and so should be pretty consistent from manufacturer to manufacturer.) Using the included batteries Sony estimates that you can shoot about 290 shots per charge, a pretty reasonable number. Sony also sells 2500 mAh batteries for about $9, which would boost that number to 320. While these are pretty good battery-life numbers, they're somewhat lower than those of some competing models such as the Konica Minolta DiMAGE Z5 (420 shots) and the Canon PowerShot S2 IS (550 shots).

Storage Capacity

The Sony DSC-H1 stores its photos on Memory Stick memory cards or in approximately 32 MB of internal memory, and no card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 64 MB card, preferably a 128 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings. Make sure you get a MemoryStick PRO though, if you want to take advantage of the H1's powerful movie mode.) The chart below shows how many images can be stored in the internal memory at each size/quality setting.