Sony Cyber-shot DSC-G1: A failure to communicate

Earlier this year, Sony announced its first wireless (Wi-Fi) digital point-and-shoot camera, the 6-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-G1.(Click on image at right for an enlarged view.) Although not the first company to have a wireless camera--Canon, Nikon and Kodak had all introduced earlier such models--Sony received quite a bit of attention, particularly since the G1 also featured a 3.5-inch LCD, the largest available on a point-and-shoot camera at the time, plus 2 gigabytes of on-board storage, the most we’d seen on a digital camera.

However, when we recently tested its wireless capabilities, we were surprised to find that, unlike all other wireless cameras, it can't wirelessly transfer image files to a computer’s hard drive--presumably a major reason for buying a Wi-Fi camera. It also couldn't wirelessly print photos, as some wireless cameras can.

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What the G1 can do is easily and wirelessly transfer image files to other G1 cameras. It can also send them to DLNA-compatible devices, essentially TVs and computers, for viewing only. In order to view images on such devices, though, you need a version of media player software (such as Sony's VAIO Media software or Acer Arcade Deluxe) that isn't bundled with the G1.

Because of ambiguities in Sony's press release announcing the camera and in some G1 coverage by independent Web sites, unwary consumers might assume that the G1 could wirelessly transfer pictures to a computer's hard drive.

(In that press release, Sony states that with "a DLNA-compatible PC, storing and sharing photos becomes simplified through wireless image transfer from the camera to the PC," that the G1 has "One-Touch Wireless Photo Sharing and Archiving" capabilities, and that "The G1 model is Sony's first digital camera with the ability to send photos wirelessly...." Even Sony's G1 product description, says, somewhat vaguely, that the G1 users can "view photos via wireless transmission to DLNA-compatible TVs and computers.")

Based on such language, many reviewers who have written about the G1 appear to have overestimated its wireless capability: Engadget, Popular Photography and Imaging, and Imaging Resource.

Wireless limitations aside, the G1 is a fine camera. In our recent tests, its picture quality and next-shot delay were both excellent. We were also impressed with its large, 3.5-inch LCD. (Unlike some other Sony Cyber-shots, it's not a touch-screen). It can also create tailored slideshows, to which you can add your own music and use several transitions between images.

Costing nearly as much as a budget SLR, the G1 is very expensive. We've seen it offered online for under $500, but that price is still hundreds more than equally fine cameras. And as with other Sonys, the G1 accepts only Sony's brand of media cards, the often-pricey Memory Stick Duo.

-- Terry Sullivan