Sony DSC-T1. A great multipurpose digital camera for travelers

I share this information because members have inquired of the camera used in my cruise photos. I am not a professional photographer; my comments come from the perspective of a Photo Enthusiast just offering to help others capture their once-in-a-lifetime memories.

SONY DSC-T1 SAMPLE PICS – resolution has been lowered for web viewing.

The Sony DSC-T1 is a 5 Megapixel ultra compact, about the size of a pack of playing cards. At less than an inch thick, it can be easily transported in your front pant pocket or small purse. Although it will also fits in a shirt pocket, I found it more obtrusive there. With current Internet pricing at $400-500, it is clearly at the high end of the Point & Shoot category. Given the price, I still regard the DSC-T1 as one of the best all-around Point & Shoot digital cameras. Add the economically priced Sony underwater housing and you've created a compact multipurpose camera package that hard to match.

Camera - Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T1 Digital Camera

• 5.0 Megapixel
  
• 3X optical lens, 2X digital zoom
  
• 2.5" LCD monitor
  
• Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® Lens
  
• MPEG (640x480, 30fps) with audio
  
• Media- Memory Stick Duo
  
• Dimensions- 3 5⁄8" x 2 3⁄8" x 4⁄5" (91 x 60 x 21mm)
  
• Weight- 6.3 oz (180g) w/battery, Memory Stick Duo™ Media & Wrist Strap
  
• DSC-T1 Specification Sheet (pdf)
  

Underwater Housing - Sony MPKTHA (aka Marine Pak)

• $200 MSRP, I found mine on eBay at ~$125.
  
• Designed specifically for the DSC-T1, the camera fits snug in this compact housing.
  
• All camera features remain accessible through watertight controls.
  
• Rated for operation to ~120ft. (I’ve taken mine down to 80ft.)
  

LIKES, DISLIKES AND TIPS

What’s HOT -

• 5 megapixels allow for picture cropping without significant loss of detail. More megapixels = more cropping options.
  
• One camera IN & OUT of water (w/ housing). Fast one-clamp entry into the housing also served well during those quick approaching rain showers.
  
• Compact, compact, compact. One of the smallest 5MP digitals on the market. Camera, spare media, spare battery, and housing all easily fit into my lumbar pack with room to spare.
  
• Large 2.5" LCD (I rarely use the viewfinder)
  
• Fast startup. You won’t appreciate this feature until you’ve missed shots due waiting for the camera to initialize.
  
• No protruding zoom lens. Unique zoom mechanism keeps all moving parts internal.
  
• 640x480, 30fps MPEG video. This will not impress anyone on a computer monitor, but is good for television(NTSC) viewing.
  
• Smart battery feature that displays battery life in minutes left.
  
• USB cradle for charging and offloading pics.
  

What’s NOT –

• Good color accuracy, saturation and focus, but there is room for improvement. My wife’s 5MP Pentax Optio 550 performed better in these areas, but is not as compact or versatile. The DSC-T1 is a very capable multi-use camera, but do not mistake it for a portrait camera.
  
• No tripod mount. Battery access and USB cradle port wins out over a tripod mount for this non-portrait camera. Sony does address this in their soft case below.
  
• Poor flash range. The built-in flash is useless beyond ~6ft. This is an acceptable trade-off considering small body.
  
• Requires expensive Memory Stick Duo or Pro Duo media. Pro duo media allows for MPEG at 30fps, otherwise you get 16fps. You get a 32MB Duo(not Pro) with the camera.
  
• No place for moisture packets in U/W housing. Compact design does not allow for a space to insert a “moisture muncher”. As such, lens fogging is a concern. This should not be an issue with proper awareness and conduct with respect to ambient temperature and humidity. The case manual explains procedures for minimizing moisture in U/W case.
  

I believe these to be acceptable trade-offs for an ultra-compact digital.

TIPs

• Get the Sony Active Lifestyle Cyber-shot Case (AJK-THA) soft case. Sony makes multiple cases that fit the DSC-T1, but I really like this one. It allows you to take photos by just unlatching the Velcro flap; camera stays in case. Provides scratch protection to the large LCD and protection against minor bumps to the camera body. The case also adds a tripod mount.
  
• Get a Strobe(external flash) for better underwater photographs. The built-in flash may be adequate for surface shots in clear water, but will be severely underpowered for diving. I use a slave strobe and arm for my diving set-up. I will not go into details of that setup as it is off-topic and there are plenty of web resources that will offer better explanation of options. See links below.
  
• The AF(autofocus) Illuminator is of little use while camera is in housing so turn it off to save battery life.
  
• Don’t use the digital zoom feature. As with most digitals, this feature gives poor results. Most photo editing programs or photo kiosks will provide better results.
  
• Why are my underwater photos so blue? The first of the visible colors to be absorbed by water is Red. Because of this absorption, everthing has a bluish tint. You may employ one or more of the following to add Red back into your photos.
  
  • Use a flash to provide more light on subject. This overcomes the water adsorption.
    
  • Use a color filter. Sony VF-MPTH. I have seen these around $80.
    
  • Use a photo editing program to add Red back into the picture. I prefer this method as it offers much greater control.
    

If any of the Sony links die, just search their product pages by product code.

Underwater photography resources:

theUnderwaterPhotographer.com

wetpixel.com

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the info on your camera. Richard is still looking for a new underwater camera and this one might be a good choice. I'll take a look at some of the links you provided in the next day or so.

Thanks again,

Debbie

Hi Debbie,

You guys would like this camera. It's a little smaller than your Reefmaster. Nice thing is that you should be able to snap off >75 5MP shots plus some VGA-quality video with one 512MB Pro Duo memory card. The large LCD also really comes in handy underwater.

For safety reasons, I don't use the wrist strap that comes with the housing. I don't want anything around my wrists that may hang-up in the event of an emergency maneuver. Rather, I've found a coil lanyard to work well. I just keep it snapped to a BC chest ring during ascent/descent and unbuckled (but still attached) while in use.

If you have good natural lighting and clear water, you may be able to sneak by without using a strobe setup. But you will likely be shopping for one shortly as the built-in flash will be severely underpowered in all but macro conditions. Just remember that this setup will not get you a "magazine cover" quality photo, but with practice you should get good results at a fraction of the price of a technical underwater photo setup.

If anyone is still looking, I've got a

Sony DSC-T1 Digital Camera

Sony MPK-THA Marine Pack

VFM-PTH Filter package for sale.

$850 value for $175

Email me for details.

jramsay@freescouts.net