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Sony CyberShot DSC-F707 5.24MP 2560x1920 16MB USB
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- Spec Navigator
- Image Processor
- Storage
- LCD Screen
- Exposure Controls
- Power
- Flash
- Lens Features
- Video
- Connectivity
- Other Features
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Image Processor
| Number of image sensor pixels | 5.24 megapixels |
| Maximum horizontal image resolution | 1280 |
| Maximum vertical image resolution | 960 |
| Image format |
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| White balance |
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Exposure Controls
| ISO equivalencies |
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| Exposure settings | Auto Exposure |
| Metering characteristics | TTL |
Lens Features
| Optical zoom | 5 X |
| Digital zoom | 2 |
| Minimum aperture | 2 |
| Lens mount | Fixed |
| Focus features |
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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F707
CyberShot DSC-F707 5.24MP 2560x1920 16MB USB Review, by Alan Stafford March 22, 2002
WHAT'S HOT: The Cyber-shot DSC-F707 wowed our judges in several of our test shots. An outdoor shot showed off the camera's 5-megapixel CCD, capturing extremely sharp details, excellent color balance and contrast, and almost none of the image noise (color mottling) we've seen in similar shots from many other cameras. In a cropped image of test patterns and text, the Cyber-shot made tiny words readable and reproduced parallel lines down to a very fine level. Shots of our mannequin, Gloria, weren't quite as impressive, with some flaring when the flash was used, but they did look very sharp.
This Cyber-shot has a long (5X) zoom lens, with a maximum zoom length of 190mm (35mm equivalent). The lens moves quickly, quietly, and smoothly; and it focuses very quickly and accurately, so you rarely have to attempt to focus more than once. That remains true even in macro mode (as long as you don't try macros in full-telephoto zoom): You can place the lens an inch from your subject, and nine times out of ten, the camera will achieve a positive focus lock. If it doesn't, flip a switch and you can focus manually via a ring on the barrel.
The DSC-F707 offers two somewhat unusual modes to deal with low-light conditions. In Night Shot mode, the camera emits an infrared light to help it focus; the light illuminates the shot as well, so you can take shots in total darkness--you don't need (and can't use) the flash. (Previously, we've seen this mode only on digital video camcorders). Most DV camcorders capture monochrome images in this mode, though; the DSC-F707 captures some color, and we found we could use an image editor to amplify the colors enough to get a pleasing image (Adobe Photoshop 7's new Auto Color command did a great job at this task).
The NightFraming mode, on the other hand, depends on Hologram Auto Focus, in which the camera emits a laser to help it focus in the dark. After determining the proper focus and exposure values, the camera fires the flash. The process is a bit slow, but otherwise it works wonderfully--producing better images in the dark than any other digital camera we've seen. Aim it a black cat under a new moon, and you'll probably get a pretty good shot.
Even with its monster lens, the DSC-F707 lasted for 156 minutes (good for 404 shots) before its single NP-FM50 lithium-ion battery gave out; that's the third-best battery life among over-$500 cameras we've tested, and well above the average. At that rate, you probably won't need a second battery, which costs $60 more.
WHAT'S NOT: Lugging the DSC-F707 may require a camera bag: It weighs 1.5 pounds--substantially more than any other camera on our chart, except the burly Olympus Camedia E-20N. The AC adapter, which charges the battery in-camera, tacks on another 12 ounces, and it's no space-saver either.
The mammoth lens is larger than the camera body itself, leaving the camera poorly balanced. The camera body has a large, sturdy thumb support to help you hang onto it, but if you try to hold it in one hand, you'll probably have trouble moving your fingers to reach different controls. The camera uses a large pop-up flash positioned on the camera lens; it pops up with a loud, jarring thwack (the camera has a shoe for an external flash, however).
We found nearly all controls on the camera body very easy to figure out and use. You adjust most settings via a thumbwheel on the back (which, like many digicams' thumbwheels, can be hard to press squarely in the middle to select a setting) or by using Sony's Jog dial, which lies near the shutter release but not so close that you'll confuse them. Sony did perch a few controls--most importantly, the zoom switch--way out on the lens barrel, however, so you must support the camera body with one hand while you're futzing with the zoom. Since the lens rotates to about 80 degrees upward, holding the lens in your palm and moving the zoom with your thumb works best.
The DSC-F707 pairs a typical, 1.8-inch LCD display with an LCD viewfinder instead of an optical viewfinder. The LCD viewfinder shows you exactly what you'll get in your shot (some optical viewfinders cut off portions of the subject), but most people would rather look through glass than at grainy pixels. You must flip a switch to alternate between the big LCD and the viewfinder, too. The camera supplies a diopter adjustment to change the focus of the LCD viewfinder, something we haven't seen before.
WHAT ELSE: In addition to capturing still images, the camera can take several types of movies. Video in MPEG movies is a bit choppy, and sound volume is adequate. You can capture animated GIFs to put on Web sites or send via e-mail; unfortunately, the lag time between shots is typically several seconds, so it's useless for stop action, unless you work with a tripod and ample patience. A burst mode, however, lets you take three images in rapid succession, as if you were using a motor drive on a 35mm film camera; and unlike with some cameras, you can use this feature at the camera's highest resolution--though we'd have liked the option to take more shots in a burst. An exposure-bracketing mode works similarly: Press the shutter release, and the camera takes three shots with different exposure values; you can vary the amount of EV compensation it uses, but you must dig into the setup menu to do it. Unlike some cameras, the DSC-F707 remembers the last shooting mode you were using, so you don't have to reset everything when you turn the camera back on or return from playback mode.
You can shoot in several exposure modes: aperture-priority, shutter-priority, full-manual, and a few automatic modes, including portrait, landscape, and twilight (a preconfigured, slow-shutter mode). You can choose aperture values and shutter speeds very easily by pushing and spinning the Jog dial. When you press a small button on the lens barrel, the camera sets the white balance automatically. The camera can capture and store images as TIFFs, but the included 16MB Memory Stick can't hold even one image at the highest resolution.
UPSHOT: The great pictures, the long lens, and the ease of use afforded by the impressive focusing mechanisms make the Cyber-shot DSC-F707 a strong 5-megapixel choice, though we'd consider the camera's size and weight very seriously before we bought one.
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Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
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Reviewed by: axthetax
Strengths: Reliable, fast, excellent macro capabilities
Weaknesses: Only 5X optical zoom, metering problems
Overall: Not the most user-friendly digital camera I've owned, but it takes the highest quality pictures. While I've generally been happy with it, it has a very annoying "feature"- when using the camera in manual focus mode, the camera re-adjusts the focus when you hold the shutter button down halfway, causing me to have to refocus every time. All told, I would probably go with a different model if I had it to do over again. The picture quality is great, but this camera is not pleasant to deal with when doing macro photography or any kind of photography where you would want to focus manually.
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Reviewed by: naushad_iba
Strengths: High resolution, nightshots, manual control, great photos
Weaknesses: Flash may washout subjects in close range, memory stick media maxes out at 256MB per stick.
Overall: Great camera with great functions. Takes really quality pictures. I have shot thousnads of images and am completely satisfied.However, there are some minor issues with the camera - the built-in flash is not of top quality. When shooting with flash, often shots are missed.I will recommend this camera highly to anyone who is looking for somethig in this range. But, there are newer (and probably better) models available from Sony as well.
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Reviewed by: raytsai
Strengths: Great lenses, sharp photos, Awesome zoom, best digital zoom compared to most other "name-brands", night-shot and auto-focus ability, great manual controls, great photo quality (good saturation rates)
Weaknesses: bulky, non-intuitive placement of buttons on the lens "barrel", sony memory stick limitations (128MB as of 11/02), proprietary battery, very hard to rotate 90 deg. for non-portrait shots
Overall: Overall the camera is top notch, the only real caveat is that there is a better version now available w/ the Sony DSC-F717 model (this one's the 707 if you haven't noticed already). In terms of photo quality, it's unmatched for the most part. Maybe the Nikon Coolpix 4500 (the 5000/5700 models are def. lower!) and the Minolta 7Hi can compete, but I still like the f707/f717 even if sony isn't a "camera" name-brand. The quality of the pictures and camera shows. I haven't seen Canon's new G3 up front yet, but I haven't heard anything to show me that the Sony F7x7 isn't the top dog. This is not to say that this camera doesn't have it's issues though. It's a rather unsightly camera for most initially and it took me a period of getting use to before I started appreciating it's shape as useful for taking pictures. The camera isn't a point and shoot you can hand to a stranger and expect them to use it, but any camera enthusiast will be over-joyed at how many manual options are available. The main reason this camera isn't good for a non-gadget family is the button placement. You can see all sorts of buttons on the barrel which is great for using the space, but you find yourself searching for buttons all over the place. My final gripe is the 4-way hat switch that has the select button when you push the middle of the switch. This is used to select the various menus and is not very easy to push, especially if you don't have the delicate finger size of a petite girl
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Reviewed by: btpheritage
Strengths: The camera's automatic focus is easy and takes great pictures. The menus on the camera is easy to use and understand. I like the 5 mega pixels.
Weaknesses: The Mpeg 320 by 240 16fps is good, but I wish that the camera would take 720x480 to make DVD Movies. But no still camera does. The manual is weak in how to use the extra features.
Overall: Overall I am Really happy with the camera. I read the reviews that the camera has a severe white balancing problem, but I didn't find that to be a problem at all. You can control the flash to low,normal, or high. You can take night shots in the dead of night without a flash, but it comes out with a green like gray color at about 1 mega pixel in quality. If you are taking pictures of animal life at night or a spy camera, it is good for that. I bought the F707 at $699 when the F717 was just released. Which is a great deal compared to the higher F717. I called Sony and they couldn't sell me that the changes on the F717 is all that much better for a $300 price difference.
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Reviewed by: jgtoohey
Strengths: 5X Optical zoom. Flexible point-and-shoot or manual control. Excellent, crisp photos. Fast focus, good write time. Easy to use menus and controls. Good battery life. Direct Windows XP compatible.
Weaknesses: Limited capacity of Memory Sticks. Haven't found any others.
Overall: This camera is INCREDIBLE. I actually bought a lesser camera, and took it back the next day to get the 707, which is the one I really wanted. I bough this camera to be my replacement for film cameras. This baby has great zoom capability, focuses quickly and takes SPECTACULAR photos. It is easy to use, the features can be very quickly mastered. I took it right out of the box, and did a full day of telephoto sports shots at soccer games, and the results were astounding. Some complain of its bulk, but if compared to a traditional SLR body with a telephoto comparable to to the 707's zoom capability, it's actually very compact. The compatibility with Win XP makes it foolproof to download the photos. I couldn't afford a $4,000 digital SLR, so this full featured 5MP, 10X zoom dynamo for $800 was a great investment for me. I expect many years of excellent performance. Thanks, Sony.
| Merchant | Price | Merchant Rating |
|---|---|---|
| sunny beaches | $149.00 Buy Now » | |
| Usa-Camera-Outlet | $347.00 Buy Now » |
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