Do you really need it?
Written: Feb 17 '02
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Pros: 5 Megapixel. 3 shot burst. Manual control. Best Pro-sumer digital camera. Good battery performance.
Cons: Largest memory stick is 128MB. Do not come with a case. Lots of accessories.
The Bottom Line: If you can afford this camera and do intend to print up some 8 X 10s or 20 X 30s, then this camera is for you
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| acuratl's Full Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-F707 Digital Camera |
Well, I've had my DSC-F505v for a couple of years now and we just had our newborn Baby Boy so I was looking for another digital camera that can take burst shots because everytime we take a picture of our Boy, he would smile AFTER the fact.
The Sony DSC-F707 caught my attention because it has 3 shot bursts, taking 3 photos within one second. The downside to this is the flash is disengage in this mode so you can only shoot it during daytime or a very well lit room at night. Let me tell you, it really works. Ever since we got the camera, we have over 400 pictures of him with SMILES.
It has alot of adjustability. You can set this up in auto mode, which works really well. Or you can use the aperture priority mode, shutter speed priorily mode, or full manual. All the adjustment knobs/buttons are within easy reach. You do not have to go through the menu anymore for these adjustments, unlike the F505v.
In the highest resolution, each picture is about 2MB. It is a big file but you can really see the details in each picture. We took a close up shot of our little Boy, when we blew up the picture, you can actually see the detail of his little tiny hair on his pores standing straight up. It also has a very nice feature, letting you shoot in 3:2 mode. This mode is excellent if you ever want to print a 30" X 20" poster size picture. I ordered one from imagestation.com, it was just like photograph, except it is 30" X 20"....very impressive.
There are a few movie modes. The highest quality mode will only limit you to 15 seconds of recording. The others will let you record as long as you have room on your memory stick. Know what other cool feature this camera has? It will tell you how many pictures you can take based on the resolution setting on your camera, same for the video. I find this feature very useful when I am taking continuous shots without having to worry how many more pictures I can take before the memory stick is full.
One thing I dislike about the F707 is the zoom buttons. It is now on the lens barrel, unlike the F505v where it is on the upper right hand corner on the body of the camera. I am sure I'll get used to it but now it will be hard to take pictures with one hand.
The battery performance on this camera is amazing. It last about 3 hours, no kidding. The F505v only lasted about an hour and the battery is dead. You can order alot of accessories for this camera. I ordered the custom leather case, LCS-FX for about $80. It is a really nice case with room to store a spare battery and several memory sticks. I also have the HVL-F1000 flash, which is better than the standard flash. I do alot of shots in my house and I like the pictures to have a softer look. The HVL-F1000 lets me point the flash towards the ceiling and using the ceiling to bounce the flash will yield a very nice photo without red eye. I also have the lens hood LSF-H58, it prevents glare from the sun when shooting outside.
When I had my F505v, I hated shooting at night because 1) It will never focus correctly and 2) I could not see what I am shooting at. The F707 emit a laser pattern for about a second or so to focus the object or subject you are taking a picture of. The nightframing is nice because you can actually see what you are shooting at in total darkness.
If you like taking scene photos at night, the slow shutter will work wonder....but be sure you have a nice tripod for a nice, steady shot.
There is a function to let you resize your photo within the camera. Lets say you took a picture in the highest resolution, about 2MB. Well, if you saved it on your computer and want to free up some space on your memory stick you can resize the picture to the lowest resolution, which is about 100-200KB. Lets put it this way, in a 128 MB memory stick, you can save about 60 picture taken in the highest resolution and about 770 in the lowest resolution, you do the math.
This camera has so many features and so much advanced than the F505v that it would take me forever to tell you every single feature. I am mad at myself for not getting this camera sooner. However, earlier models did have some problems with them and I am lucky mine is fine.
The only down side to this camera is that I am buying more and more 128 MB memory sticks. One tip to you, if you do buy this camera, go to Sonystyle.com and register your camera there and it will give you a $20 e-coupon good towards purchasing accessories for your camera.
I hope after you read my review, you will go out and buy this camera and start enjoying it as much as I have.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 800
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Epinions.com ID:
acuratl
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Reviews written: 48
Trusted by: 12 members
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