Sony DSC-M1: Good Video, Disappointing Pictures

Battery Performance

Our general method for battery testing is to reset the camera to its default settings and change the recording mode to the highest quality option. Then, we take 5 pictures without the flash and 2 pictures with the flash until the battery is dead. For more information on our battery test, please refer to our Testing Procedures page. For this test, we used the included NP-FT1 rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery (3.6V 680mAh). The batteries were fully drained before charging for the test.

Number of shots taken in one battery charge
Canon PowerShot S60	1,040
Sony DSC-M1	797
Pentax Optio X	451

Considering the size of the NP-FT1 battery, we were relatively impressed with the performance of the M1. We were able to take nearly 800 frames (797) on a single charge. On a related note, we applaud Sony for continuing to include a "minutes remaining" battery indicator. Since the user is forced to use proprietary batteries, at least they can see how much longer the camera will work before needing a recharge. Most other manufacturers use primitive and rather useless two- or three-bar battery indicators that don't give the user much information regarding remaining battery life. A spare NP-FT1 battery will run you approximately $50.