I've been searching around for a digital camera for over a month now. I initially wanted to buy this camera, but was hesitant. Then, I had horrible experiences dealing with Best Buy and Broadway Camera (see my reviews on these two companies) and finally purchased through Ritz Camera (review upcoming).

This camera is incredible! I am an amateur photographer at best. To paraphrase old Star Trek, "Dammit Jim, I'm a doctor not a photographer!" I wanted to purchase a camera with many features so I could play around and expand my photography options, but I also wanted a camera that was easy to use. The DSC-F707 offers both of these....

An overview of some of the options (and my opinions on them). Honestly, there are way too many to list, you can find full listing on the sony.com website.

5.0-5.2 Megapixel capability: the clarity is amazing. I understand that this gives the ability to enlarge to 11X14 without losing quality.

5X optical zoom/10X digital zoom: optical zoom is where the money is! The zoom is very nice and comparable to my film camera lens. The lens on this digital camera is a Carl Zeiss. I don't know much about photography, but I know we use Zeiss lenses in medical situations, so the must be pretty good!

Auto or manual focus: OK, I use the auto most frequently. The auto focus is very quick and easy to use. However I enjoy being able to switch to manual easily.

"Night-shot" infrared and "Night-framing" infrared assisted modes: This is cool! With night-shot, the camera uses infrared to look around and take photos. This is the same technology first used by the military in the Gulf War. You can take photos in complete darkness! Using the night-framing mode, the infrared helps you frame the shot and the flash pops up to take the picture. This gives great shots in minimal to no lighting.

LCD screen vs. through the optical lens viewing: This gives option of viewing more like a film camera or using the LCD screen. The LCD shows a good quality picture.

5 different picture sizes: from 5.0 megapixels to much smaller, the camera also includes an email mode which saves a small, lesser quality image, for emailing to friends or family, in addition to the higher quality image.

MPEG mode This allows recording of MPEG movies. They are grainy, but include audio and a great way to email video to your friends and family.

Included accessories:

Lithium Ion battery: has a half life up to 2.5 hours.

USB cable: for quick transfer to your computer.

AC adapter necessary to recharge

Lens cap, shoulder strap

In addition this camera is tripod ready and has an optional carrying case.

Two other things I would like to comment on...

Memory

This camera uses Sony's Memory Stick media card and this card is exclusive to Sony. It is slightly more expensive than other memory options for other cameras. The included card is 16 MB which will hold 6 photos at 5.0 megapixel and "fine" quality. It will hold 11 5.0 megapixel photos at "standard" quality, or 10 mins. of MPEG video, or over 200 of the smaller photos (640X480). I don't think this is the best memory option, but I bought an additional 128 MB card which can hold over 80 of the highest quality photos, or over 1900 of the smallest (640X480) photos.

Camera size

The camera is fairly small and lightweight, but it is somewhat awkward to hold. The more it is used, it doesn't seem as awkward, but for the beginning user this is a hurdle.

Overall, I think this is an incredible camera that is intended for more than just the casual user. I plan to get many years of use out of it.

Thanks for reading.


Update: December 26, 2001

After the comments I have read, I wanted to add a short update. I think the quality of the photos from this camera is incredible. I'm not a professional photographer, so I don't know if there is some way I should rate them, but I am very impressed! I have been emailing them to my family and everyone that has received them (even the smaller "email" photos that give up quality to make them easy to download) has commented on the great photos that come out!

I would recommend this camera to anyone!

Recommended: Yes