Sony DSC-M1: Good Video, Disappointing Pictures
by Stephen Caston on June 20, 2005 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Digital Camera
The Timing Tests
* NOTE: For all of our time tests, the camera is reset to its factory default settings and set to record using the highest resolution and quality setting. It is set to record in Auto mode. We also disabled all sounds. A 512 MB Memory Stick Pro Duo card was used.Before reading our results, please refer to our Testing Procedures page.
Startup Time
The startup time is recorded from the moment that the power button is pushed to the moment that the shutter sounds. The camera is set to record in Auto mode.| Startup time (seconds) | |
| Sony DSC-M1 | 1.76 |
| Pentax Optio X | 3.37 |
| Canon PowerShot S60 | 3.98 |
Startup time is not a problem at all for this camera. Compared to other compact 5 megapixel cameras that we have tested, its 1.76 sec. startup time is incredible. This has a lot to do with the internal lens system (also seen on the popular T1 camera). Since the camera uses folded optics, there is no need for a telescoping lens to protrude from the camera body. In fact, the 5 megapixel DSC-F88 has the same type of lens system and takes nearly the same amount of time to startup (1.73 sec.).
Auto-Focus and Shutter Lag
To record shutter lag, we perform two tests with the lens at its widest angle setting. For the first test, we pre-focus the lens and measure the amount of time that it takes the camera to take a picture after the shutter button is pressed. The second test measures the time that it takes for the camera to take a picture after we press the shutter button without pre-focusing. Each test is performed 3 times and the results are averaged. For more information regarding our testing procedures, please refer to our Testing Procedures page.| With Pre-focus (seconds) | Without Pre-focus (seconds) | |
| Sony DSC-M1 | 0.01 | 0.24 |
| Pentax Optio X | 0.09 | 0.92 |
| Canon PowerShot S60 | 0.08 | 0.69 |
As we've come to expect from Sony's digicams, shutter lag and auto-focus are very fast. When the camera is pre-focused, the shutter lag is so fast that it is less than a hundredth of a second. When we included focusing in the test, the M1 took only 0.24 sec. to focus and take a picture after pressing the shutter button. This is even faster than the DSC-L1, which we thought was incredible at 0.31 sec. The M1 is now the fastest compact digicam that we have ever tested in terms of focus and shutter lag.
Write Times
We recorded 5 different write times with a SanDisk 512 MB Memory Stick Pro Duo:Single Shot - The time that it takes for a single picture to be written completely to the flash card (the time that the "activity light" is on).
Shot To Shot (STS) - The time until the second shot can be taken after the first (shutter to shutter).
Shot To Shot w/Flash - The time that it takes the camera to take two pictures with the flash, starting from the moment that the first flash is fired to the moment that the second is fired.
Shot To Shot w/Buffer Full - The time between the last shot of a burst that fills the buffer to the moment that the shutter sounds again.
Clear Buffer - The time that it takes the camera to clear the buffer after a full burst of pictures is taken.
We performed each test three times and averaged the results. Below are the resolution, quality setting, and average file size used for the tests.
| Resolution (pixels) | Quality setting | Avg. file size (MB) | |
| Sony DSC-M1 | 2592x1944 | Fine | 2.22 |
| Pentax Optio X | 2560x1920 | Best | 2.51 |
| Canon PowerShot S60 | 2592x1944 | SuperFine | 2.05 |
| Single Shot | Shot to Shot | Shot to Shot w/Flash | Shot to Shot w/Buffer Full | Clear Buffer | |
| Sony DSC-M1 | 1.06 | 1.11 | 6.93 | N/A | 5.26 |
| Pentax Optio X | N/A | 4.39 | 5.96 | N/A | N/A |
| Canon PowerShot S60 | 2.73 | 1.87 | 5.54 | 3.67 | N/A |
The M1 has a very respectable shot-to-shot time at 1.11 sec. without the flash. However, when the flash is used, the M1 slows to nearly 7 seconds between shots. The M1 is so fast at flushing images out of its buffer that the buffer will never fill up when shooting in the normal recording mode. In other words, the camera can take a picture every 1.11 sec. until the memory card fills up. With the M1 in "Speed Burst" mode, it can take up to 4 frames at 4.17 fps. The camera then takes 5.26 sec. to clear those 4 images out to the buffer before more images can be taken. Unfortunately, the M1 is unable to take pictures while files are being written to the flash card - you must wait until all 4 are written. Overall, the M1 has very impressive write/cycle times compared to similar cameras that we have reviewed. However, this camera is definitely not the fastest if you plan on using the flash very often.
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Gatak - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
The video is 29.97 FPS. This seem to be rather odd to me. Is it the raw video or did someone convert it? Why would a camera record at 29.94 instead of 30? Makes no sense at all. It would also be nice if it was possible to choose FPS from 1 per x minute up to 30fps. That could make it really useful.yacoub - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
It's amazing how obnoxious society is becoming. Just use a phone as a phone, or a communication device as a communication device (phone, email, txt msg'ing). All this camera and video stuff is ugh.PrinceGaz - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
#7- I think some people just look at the pictures and don't bother reading the article.Personally I like products that use AA batteries because you don't have to buy an expensive proprietary battery as a backup or when the included one fails. NiMH AA cells have capacities of as much as 2300mAh so battery life isn't a problem-- if anything products using AA cells normally have a longer battery life than those using small proprietary batteries (such as the 680mAh capacity of the DSC-M1's battery). The other advantage of AA cells is that in an emergency you can always buy a couple of alkalines and use them, though that should only be as a last resort.
I think the main problem of the DSC-M1 is it uses Sony's Memory Stick for storage rather than the cheap and industry standard SD cards. Stupid Sony.
sxr7171 - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
Far from me to defend an all in one Sony product but has anyone actually read the article or looked at some of the pictures at least? The AA battery was just for size comparison, it uses a Li-Ion battery. I knew this thing was a piece of crap regardless of "Carl-Zeiss" being written on the lens. It's all a stupid marketing gimmick like having a so-called Mark Levinson stereo in your car. Most Mark Levinson systems cost more than the stupid Toyota.stephencaston - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
Thanks for the comments guys. I think I've fixed the link problems.Johnmcl7 - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
Yeah, the image links are messed up, they include the paragraphs below.Interesting read, I'm not much of a video fanatic but I do like to recored the occasional clip, I'm currently using a Fuji S7000 which records at 640x480 and 30 frames per second, but as mentioned in the article it's mpeg-1 so it takes vast amounts of space, something like a meg per second, giving me only 15 minutes recording on a 1GB card. I look forward to mpeg4 recording becoming standard.
I use the camera attachment for my Archos AV340 which records straight to mpeg4, more than happy with the quality and there's plenty of room for the recorded movie. Unfortunately the device is in for repair, very much missing this ability on my digital cameras.
John
JustAnAverageGuy - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
Kind of messed up the image links on the first, second, and ninth pages. No?sprockkets - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
either that or use proprietary batteries. At least you can use ni-mh but they won't last long probably in digital cameras.Locut0s - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
I'm always wary of products that try to be all things to all people, or simply integrate a number of different functions together. More often than not you end up with a product that does everything OK but no one thing great. Or does one thing great but the rest of the stuff feels like an afterthought. I also dislike products that use AA batteries, my experience is that they eat them for lunch. I also hate wasting them.Still I suppose there is a place for these types of products for those for whom owning an ALL-IN-ONE product trumps quality issues.
Boonesmi - Monday, June 20, 2005 - link
i want one