Sony Handycam HDR-TG1 Camcorder Reviewby Jeremy StamasPublished on Oct 3, 2008 4:45 PM
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Still Features (7.5)
A simple flick of a button switches the Sony HDR-TG1 to its still camera setting. A separate shutter button is handily located just underneath the zoom ring to the right of the LCD. The shutter button utilizes the standard auto focus system—a blinking green circle appears when the shutter is pushed halfway down and the circle stops blinking when the subject in frame comes into focus. Pushing the shutter all the way down takes the picture. A small hand appears on screen if the auto-flash feature detects that a flash will be needed. Stills are captured in JPEG format and can be taken in four sizes: 2304 x 1782, 1600 x 1200, 2304 x 1296 (widescreen), and 640 x 480. Sony lists the HDR-TG1 as capable of capturing 4.0 megapixel still images, but the camcorder has an effective pixel count of 1.99 megapixels for stills.
The HDR-TG1 has its flash prominently placed atop the lens in the front of the camcorder. The flash can be set to auto, on, or off as well as having the ability to adjust the flash level from low, normal, and high. Redeye reduction and face detection are also included features.
The HDR-TG1 uses the same menu for manual still controls at it does for video, therefore the control options are identical as well as located and adjusted in the same manner.
The Photo Settings menu offers different options and adjustments and can be found under the Home menu. It contains the following items:
| Photo Settings |
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| Page 1 | Image Size, File Number, Guideframe, Zebra, Flash Mode, Flash Level |
| Page 2 | Redeye Reduction, Face Detection |
The Photo Playback menu contains the following options:
| Photo Playback Mode |
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| Page 1 | Print, Slideshow |
| Page 2 | Delete, Delete All |
Still Performance (11.98)
The still performance of the Sony HDR-TG1 was tested by photographing an X-Rite Color Checker chart under bright, even light. These stills are then run through Imatest imaging software to analyze color accuracy, noise, and saturation. We shot the chart under a variety of exposures and pulled the best results. HDR-TG1 produced a color error of 5.01, which was an excellent result. It was nearly identical to the strong score achieved by the Sony HDR-CX12, putting both camcorders ahead of the rest of the competition.
The HDR-TG1 also scored fairly well on noise, coming in with an approximate measurement of 1.32%. The score is comparable (although, slightly better), than the noise percentages produced by the Sony HDR-CX12 and Canon HF100. All these camcorders score significantly worse than the Panasonic HDC-SD100 and the Samsung SC-HMX20, which have impressively low noise percentages. The HDR-TG1 produced a color saturation of 102%.
The HDR-TG1 was capable of producing impressive stills, which was something unexpected considering its small 1/5-inch sensor. The color accuracy, noise level, and saturation were all either comparable or better than the results achieved by the larger Sony HDR-CX12. Don't go tossing your digital still camera in the trash, though. Like every HD camcorder that passes through our labs, the photos captured by the HDR-TG1 aren't near the quality you can expect from a dedicated still camera.
Still Resolution (9.25)
We tested the still resolution of the HDR-TG1 by shooting an ISO 12233 resolution chart under bright, even light. The best results the camcorder produced were 993 line widths per picture height (lw/ph) with a 5.1% undersharpening. The vertical resolution measured at 704 lw/ph with a 31.9% undersharpening.
These results are far lower than the numbers achieved by some of the top camcorders (like the Sony HDR-CX12, the Canon HF100, and the Samsung SC-HMX20), but they are actually very good for a camcorder that captures stills at 2304 x 1782 resolution. The HDR-TG1 did score better than the Panasonic HDC-SD100. Again, these results can't hold a candle up to any decent dedicated still camera.
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