so i am happy. I will update the review as I get familier with Camera and as i use it over the time.
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Excellent Ultra Zoom!, April 12, 2006
Reviewer: S. Stageberg
I have owned the Sony DSC-H1 for over 2 months now and I have been very pleased with the results. Before I purchased, I read countless reviews and spent hours researching which ultra-zoom to buy. It finally came down to the Sony DSC-H1. I chose it over the Canon S2-IS because the Sony is a better deal. The H1 includes the following accessories in addition to the ones that are included with both the Canon and Sony: 2100mah rechargeable batteries and charger, lens adapter, lens hood, and 32mb of internal memory (vs. the 16mb card that is included with the S2. So, for less money you get rechargeable batteries, a lens adapter, lens hood, more memory, and a 2.5in LCD! (Even the tripod socket on the H1 is metal while it is plastic on the S2). So you see the H1 (for me) seems like a way better deal than the S2.

The H1 is built very well. It feels very good in the hand and it is very solid. The large hand grip and lens barrel make it a joy to hold. The battery door is very solid and doesn't feel like it will break even with heavy use (there is also a nifty hinge in the middle of the battery door that allows you to swipe memory cards without letting the batteries fall out; you can even change cards on a tripod)! I recently went to Wal-Mart and while browsing around, I decided to look at the cameras just for curiosity sake. Side by side they had the S2-IS and the DSC-H1. I picked up the S2 and it didn't feel like a solid, expensive camera like the H1 does. And then there's the LCD. After using the 2.5 in. screen on the H1 for a month, I saw just how small the 1.8 in. screen is! It is so small that it is very hard to see the details of your shot, both before and after you shoot. So, once you try the H1 you won't want to go back to a small LCD!

The camera is very easy to use. The controls are well placed and with a little practice you can operate the camera without removing your eye from the viewfinder (or LCD). The flash is very powerful and far reaching; it can be turned down for shooting closer subjects. Some people complain about the slow recycling of the flash. It is a little slow but I don't really mind; it doesn't take as long when you have it on low, which is what I use most of the time. It is only slow at the normal and high levels, but that is expected with having such a powerful flash. This doesn't bother me as I take mostly outdoor photos (that's why I wanted a 12X zoom)! If you will be taking mostly indoor shots then you may want to look somewhere else.

The 2.5 in LCD makes shooting a real pleasure! It is bright, clear, and gains up in low light (it doesn't gain up as much as some cameras, like Kodak, but it gains up enough for me). I also bought a screen protector on eBay to protect the LCD from scratches and fingerprints.

The zoom lens is smooth, fast, and has many stops to make precise adjustments. With 12X you can really do a lot more! There is some controversy over the lens not being very high quality. I have not found this to be true. Most of my shots come out sharp and clear (the occasional shot that is blurry is usually my fault; too slow of a shutter speed, etc). The Image Stabilization is incredible! It makes it that much easier to get that low light or far off shot that would have been impossible otherwise. I couldn't be happier with the quality of the shots that this camera puts out. The movie mode is also very nice. It is very high quality also. It is fun to take movies of some things that you just can't photograph.

I have to admit that I was tempted by the Panasonic FZ5 but the small screen, lack of manual focus, and the odd design just didn't appeal to me.

Now, on to the accessories:

I bought an extra set of batteries for $6 and 2 extra 256mb cards for about $40, and now I am all set for shooting pleasure. Don't get turned of because of Sony's use of Memory
Sticks. Even though they used to be more expensive then SD, they are rapidly falling in price and if you search the internet, you can easily find them for less then their SD counterparts.

I also bought a Tamrac Digital 6 camera bag to put everything in and it fits the bill! I bought this case because it fits the H1 with the lens adapter on (I want to leave it on all the time to protect the lens). Be sure to check out this case for the H1 as a very high quality alternative to the low quality Sony case (at only $18 this Tamrac case is a bargain)!

All-in-all I think that this is a super camera and I am very glad that I bought it.
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Good Camera, April 8, 2006
Reviewer: H. Redick

This is a great camera for just about anyone.It takes great pictures and the steady shot really works great even when using the zoom at max. The only problem I have had is the battery life is rather short.It would be better with 4 batteries instead of two.
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A Good Camera .., March 26, 2006
Reviewer: Mohankumar Murugesan "Mohy"

I decided a lot before buying this camera, the tie was between cannon S2 IS and Sony DSC-H1. I finally decided to go for DSC-H1
This is an absolutly great camera, the 12x zoom rocks. The image stabilization is also awesome. The only con is that, it has a very bright flash which throws up a lot of artificial light on the subject. The battery life (sony) is also good. But Cannon S2 uses the SD card which has become very cheap, where as H1 uses the memory stick which is costlier when comepared to SD.

overall the DSC-H1 is a great camera, but i would rather recommend going for a digital SLR if you are on the passion side of photography, since DSLR's prices are tumbling down.

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