The Sony Cybershot DSC TX1 breaks down a number of boundaries and is one of the most innovative digital cameras of 2009. This is a pocket digital camera with a difference. Well, quite a few differences to be honest. To start with it has a fast burst mode allowing you to take up to 10 shots per second. Next is a sweep panorama mode. This fires off a burst of photos as you sweep the Cybershot DSC TX1 round. The photos are then stitched together in camera to produce a single seamless photo. This is great for landscapes of cityscape photos.

Next up is a 720p, High Definition movie mode. There is also a handheld twilight mode. This aims to reduce the amount of noise in shots where light is low. The technique the camera uses to achieve this is to take a burst of six shots and then overlay them to get the best possible result. The three inch LCD is touch controlled. This removes more or less every button from the back of the camera leaving you to select the settings you require through the menu system.

Many of these new and advanced features are available because Sony has used a different type of sensor in the camera. This allows for the faster processing speed that underpins the burst mode, sweep panorama mode and handheld twilight mode.

Among the more standard features the Cybershot DSC TX1 has 10 megapixels, a 4x optical zoom lens and image stabilisation.

As you can see this is a digital camera that offers something very different from the majority of digital cameras on the shelves.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
As long as you are not planning to make extra large prints the Cybershot DSC TX1 is capable of handling this type of scene well enough. It does find it difficult to bring out a great deal of detail in the lightest and darkest areas of a scene. If you do blow up the photo up to a large size you may notice a touch of purple fringing here and there.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
I like the colours in this shot. The contrast between the blue sky and the darker foliage works well. Again the camera finds it difficult to bring out detail in darker areas. Sharpness is about average for this type of shot where zoom is not being used.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
Pushing the zoom to its limits focusing is good, without being perfect. There is some slippage of sharpness towards the right hand side of the picture where the scene is more distant.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
When the zoom lens is not pushed to either extreme the Cybershot DSC TX1 is capable of producing well focused shots, even when there is some distance between the camera and the subject. This photo has a pleasant, bright feel to it.

Outdoor Portrait
This is a fairly standard portrait shot. The levels of pink in the skin tones are about right. Focusing is crisp and you should have little problem with this type of photo.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
Overall this is a good effort. The eyes are sharply focused, but the hair lacks a little definition when the picture is blown up. I can also see a hint of red eye creeping in.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
The camera manages to inject a lot of brightness into the photo. Noise is controlled quite well, but still takes a slight edge off the shot.

Colours
The strength of colour you like to see in a photograph is a matter of personal taste. The colours produced by this camera work well for me. They do not overpower and are well balanced.

Macro
As I have seen with other Sony digital cameras a slight purple tinge can appear in my macro shot. This is the way the Cybershot DSC TX1 reacts to the artificial lighting used. This is unlikely to be an issue under natural light. Aside from the lighting problem this is a good effort.

Noise
I am not totally convinced by the Handheld Twilight mode. It does a fair job of controlling noise, but my efforts were a little blurred. I would suggest using a tripod or finding a surface to rest the camera on whenever possible in lower light.

Overall
Looking back through my test shots I am happy with the standard the Cybershot DSC TX1 produces. You should be able to produce plenty of good looking snapshots in a variety of situations.

Even without using the fast burst mode shutter lag times are extremely impressive. I was able to take a single shot in 0.19 seconds and five in 6.88 seconds. With flash on times were 0.42 seconds for one shot and 8.87 seconds for five. This beats most digital cameras hands down.

The time taken to turn the camera on and take the first photo was fast too at 2.45 seconds.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

This is one of the slimmest digital cameras you can find. It has a sliding lens cover that helps to give the Cybershot DSC TX1 a sleek look. Grey, silver, blue, pink and gold models are available.

93.8 x 58.2 x 16.5mm

119g

Lithium ion (NP-BD1). Sony estimates you should be able to take in the region of 250 shots in between charges.

The 11Mb of built in memory is only large enough to store 2 photos. The Cybershot DSC TX1 is compatible with Memory Stick™ Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo™. Memory Stick PRO Duo™ High Speed (No Speed Advantage), Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo™(No Speed Advantage) cards.

Click here to save money on memory cards..

Very good. I feel that Sony has improved the touch screen interface considerably over earlier versions. This helps to make the Cybershot DSC TX1 very easy to use.

Ease of use - features - design and style - minimal shutter delay - fast turn on time

Very small built in memory

The Nikon Coolpix S60 is another good quality, touch controlled digital camera. It is a more basic model than the Cybershot DSC TX1 and this is reflected in the price.

Taking into a count all the features the Sony Cybershot DSC TX1 has, plus the fast shutter response times I think this camera works very well. Picture quality is good without being perfect and I found very little to trouble me. All in all this is an impressive camera.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menu

Description:	10 megapixels 4x optical zoom
Ease of Use:	9
Features:	10
Colour:	8
Macro:	8
Indoors:	8
Value for Money:	8
Style:	9
Movie Mode:	9
Image Quality:	8
Build Quality:	9
Total:	86
Verdict:	This pocket camera is very different to most of its competitors. It has a number of exciting features such as a 10 frames per second burst mode, High Definition movies, sweep panorama and a handheld twilight mode that aims to reduce noise once lighting levels fall. It you are on the lookout for a digital camera packed with the latest features then take a look at the Sony Cybershot DSC TX1.
Review Date:	October 2009
Related Pages:	Sony DSC TX1 Specification Sony DSC TX1 Sample Images Sony DSC TX1 Features
Comparisons:	Canon IXUS 200 IS vs Sony Cybershot DSC TX1
Comparisons:	Sony Cybershot DSC WX1 vs Sony Cybershot DSC TX1

	GBP 209.99
	GBP 221.99
	GBP 246.99
	GBP 255
	GBP 275
	GBP 289
	GBP 299
	GBP 299.99
	GBP 299.99
	GBP 319.6
	GBP 325.00
Click a flag for prices from other countries:

Camera	Rating
Panasonic DMC FX60	86
Canon IXUS 120 IS	86
Sony DSC TX1	86
Canon IXUS 110 IS	86
Canon IXUS 100 IS	86
Panasonic DMC FS62	85
Samsung ST550	85
Nikon Coolpix S570	85

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Sony DSC TX1