Power Supply

Power for the R1 comes from a lithium ion battery housed in the right handgrip, as on an SLR. It's an "InfoLithium" model that gives you a precise estimate of the amount of power left in the battery. In addition to the standard indicator, the R1 displays the amount of operating time left. Obviously that's a big advantage, because standard indicators don't warn you that power is running out until the battery is nearly completely flat. The other special characteristic of the R1 is its ability to recharge the battery in the camera; all you do is plug the charger/power supply into the special connector on the left of the camera. Obviously, for some users, an external charger can be more practical - especially if you have several batteries! - but they'll have to buy it as an option. The battery life with the battery fully charged is around four hours of shooting, or a few hundred shots. That's quite enough for most potential users of the R1, though a second battery is still advisable for intensive use.

Connectivity And Software

Not surprisingly, the R1 connects to your PC via a USB 2.0 connection, though nothing requires you to use that method, which generally is no real advantage. A memory-card reader allows faster file transfer and also saves battery life, since battery power is needed for the USB connection.

Sony supplies two CD-ROMs with the R1, the first containing an all-purpose, consumer-level "software suite" and the second an application for processing RAW files. If you shoot only in JPEG you won't need to install the second program on your computer.

Picture Package, the general-purpose software, brings several applications together under one basic interface. It can transfer images, save them to CD-R, and has basic photo browsing and editing functions. A more original feature is the possibility of creating VideoCDs, so you can view your photos on a TV set with a DVD player, for example, as well as slide shows with music. Like many similar applications, it offers only limited functions, and its ergonomics and speed of operation didn't impress us very favourably. In other words, you'll do better to use more powerful software if you're a demanding user, especially if you want to correct and retouch your shots.

The Picture Package interface lets you choose among several major functions.

The browser lets you sort your images, but it seemed slow...

The basic functions include rotating your shots, sending pictures via e-mail, and printing.