Product Description

Features 9.8mm Ultra Slimness (at thinnest point) Clear Photo LCD (2.5 Hybrid Type, 230k High Resolution) 5.1 Effective Mega Pixels Carl Zeiss? Vario-Tessar? Lens 3x Optical Zoom, up to 12x Smart Zoom, 6x Precision Digital Zoom Macro 1cm (in Magnifying Glass Mode) Quick Operation (Start-up 1.1 sec, Shutter Time Lag 0.24 sec, Shutter Release Lag 0.009 sec) High Quality Stainless-steel Body Real Imaging Processor MPEG VX Fine with Audio AF Illuminator Histogram Indication USB 2.0 High Speed Transfer Scene Selection Mode PictBridge Compatible Long Battery Life (approx 150 shots by CIPA standard)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #61445 in Consumer Electronics
• Brand: Sony
• Model: DSCT7S.CEH
• Released on: 2005-04-28
• Dimensions: 1.85 pounds

Manufacturer's Description
Presenting our thinnest Cyber-shot® digital camera yet, the DSC-T7 from Sony. It features 5.1 Megapixel image capture, a Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® lens with 3X optical zoom and 5 area multi-point auto focus, all in a camera body only 5/8 of an inch thick. It includes a full-sized 2.5" hybrid LCD monitor1 with a Clear Photo technology for improved viewing in bright sunlight.

The T7's ultra-compact design doesn't compromise its performance thanks to Sony's Real Imaging Processor" technology, 14-Bit DXP A/D conversion processor, and multi-pattern measuring. All three combine to provides fast start-up times, fast shutter speeds, and accurate exposures for photographs that are consistently entraordinary.

Super HAD (Hole Accumulation Diode) CCDs provide excellent image quality by allowing more light to pass to each pixel, increasing sensitivity and reducing noise. The Vario-Tessar® lens is specially produced for compact cameras and provides rapid auto focus with appealing zoom range. Utilizing a highly transmissive optical grade prism, the lens is housed entirely inside the camera body, and does not need to extend for use. The ultra-compact and thin size (9.8mm) of the DSC-T7 makes it the perfect camera to tuck in a pocket or purse for high-quality, high resolution photos almost anywhere.

The innovative Real Imaging Processor" in the DSC-T7 not only improves picture quality and clarity but also improves camera response time, decreases shutter lag, and improves battery stamina. The 3X Optical Zoom helps you frame your shots for better digital pictures, and Sony's Precision Digital Zoom provides an additional 2X magnification without the jagged edges of other designs, resulting in smoother images. Smart Zoom" intelligently uses the full CCD to let you zoom into the portion of interest by cropping the image size thus avoiding the image degradation of Digital Zooms.

Sony's 14-bit Digital EXtended Processor captures the range between highlight and shadow with up to 16,384 values, for extended dynamic contrast and detail. The enormous 2.5" LCD1 provides a high resolution view while shooting, with transmissive/reflective Hybrid design for extraordinary brightness in direct sunlight and large, easy to read menus. Unique in such a compact camera, this large screen makes it easy to share image playback with friends. The DSC-T7 includes Clear Photo LCD technology which provides higher resolution, contrast ratio and brightness. Images in the LCD will have up to a 40% improvement in colour reproduction than previous models. With its extraordinarily close focusing capability (1cm) and oversized LCD, the DSC-T7's Magnifying Glass mode can display images at over 3X actual size. This powerful capability opens up new possibilities in Macro photography.

By evaluating 5 separate focus areas of the frame, Sony's Multi-Point AF system can intelligently focus on the subject and avoid mistakenly focusing on the background. Independently light-metering 49 points of the frame, Multi-Pattern Measuring establishes the optimum exposure, even when highlight and shadow isn't centered in the frame. With 10 Scene Modes, parameters can be matched to the shooting conditions. Choose from one of the following: Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Soft Snap, Landscape, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, High Speed Shutter, Candle and Magnifying Glass. The Cyber-shot DSC-T7 captures 16 consecutive 320 x 240 frames as part of a single 1280 x 960 image which plays back sequentially in the camera or as a single image on your computer. And offers selectable 1/7.5, 1/15, 1/30 second frame intervals provide convenient motion analysis. The Cyber-shot DSC-T7 also captures VGA (640 x 480) high frame rate (up to 30 frames per second) audio/video clips with length limited only by the capacity of the media. Video mail mode captures smaller file sizes suitable for email.

Box Contents

Customer Reviews

Excellent Consumer Camera
The Cybershot DSC T7 is my first digital camera purchase and I am pleased to say it is a good one. The much-vaunted aesthetics of this camera in publicity pictures are even better when you look at it with your own eyes with the main camera body being constructed out of brushed aluminium and the protective lens cover out of plastic.

Along with looking sharp and sleek, the camera is beautifully constructed. It feels extremely solid to hold, is quite light and evidently has a high build quality although I'd still have qualms about dropping it. The LCD screen is another high quality component of the camera. It has a decent angle of view and displays pictures with amazing clarity. As for movie playback on the screen - I use a 512MB Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo stick which allows movies to be shot in high quality mode (640x400). Note that only Pro Duo cards can shoot in high quality mode. The playback of these movies on the screen is breathtaking with no hint of lag. The movies are also recorded with sound; sound playback is adequate on the T7. It can distort a little at high volumes but it isn't a major problem. If you're wondering, the 512MB stick can record just over 6 minutes in high quality mode.

As a first time digital camera buyer I was also looking for ease of use. I was extremely impressed with how straight forward the T7 is. Few times did I have to refer to the manual. Sony have provided the camera with a range of different scene modes for certain situations such as bright days, bright white snow, cloudy days, fast moving objects, fireworks, etc. The menu also allows configuration of ISO values, aperture sizes, shutter speed, etc. Point-and-click shooting for novices like myself is made easier with a real-time histogram for light values.

Photos taken with the T7 are sharp and clear when printed but usage of some scene modes can cause extra noise in the photo. Flicking through the photos taken is a piece of cake. The camera provides three settings - View, Shoot and Record. Shoot and Record are for taking photos and movies respectively whilst View is for looking over your photographs. At its largest scale, the camera displays photos in a 4x4 grid. Deleting any unwanted is also simple.

The camera takes an extremely short time to start up (approximately 1 second), and taking photographs is speedy too. Having the camera set on 5MP mode, the camera can take around 190 shots on an empty 512MB stick. Battery life is average on the camera - it lasts about 80 minutes on a full charge if you're taking pictures. If you're simply viewing them, this will increase to two hours. To conserve battery life, the camera automatically powers down if you close the protective lens cover, and if you leave it open, it will also automatically shut down after a few minutes. Having the screen set on normal brightness helps too with volume down and no menu sounds helps too. Along with having a spare battery.

This is an excellent camera for consumers. Its superb looks and construction turns head; I've had a dozen people inquire about it whilst on holiday and a few more when I returned back home. It performs admirable in point-and-click shooting, as well as providing more advanced settings for enthusiasts. Movie recording and playback is an absolute joy on the T7; videos in high quality look stunningly sharp on our 32" TV. When I was researching which camera to buy, it was going to either the Nikon CoolPix S1 or the Cybershot DSC T7. I'm glad I chose the latter.

Sony style and build quality, plus great features -Buy it!
This camera is the slimmest and lightest you can get (in its class - you can get smaller inferior ones) and as its from Sony, it does everything well.

The 5.1 megapixel is good enough for me but the best part is the video taking capability. On a 1 gig card (about £90) you can get 45 mins of v good quality footage and as its so small, nobody notices your doing it!

You could easily slip it in your jeans pocket for a night out and for me the size & weight is the most important part, but it still does everything the larger cameras do.

Linking to your pc is rapid and it automatically downloads when linked via USB. very easy to use, you dont even need to read the instructions.

Overall, great piece of kit and well ahead of the nikon and cannons i considered. it also looks great!

Trust In Sony
Firstly, let me start by saying how there are a plethora of negative reviews about this camera all over the internet. There are also some very good reviews, so I was left a little confused when it came to buying the camera. On the one hand, I had seen the camera and was totally in awe of Sony's design and styling. However, was I going to be looking at mobile phone picture quality, or at best the sort of output from economy digital cameras of 2 years ago.

The whole subject is entirely subjective as well. Some people who say it's great might have no photographic eye whatsoever, and the guys who says it's bad might be professional photographers.

So what's it like. Well I bought this camera and a Nikon D70s Digital SLR for serious stuff. The Sony is for nights out, parties, BBQs and places where you wouldn't usually want to lug a huge 300mm lense. The day I got them I pointed the Cybershot at my car and snapped a picture in clear daylight. I did the same with the D70. I then plugged both straight into my Canon IP4000 printer and output a standard 6x4 glossy print from both. Apart from some very subtle differences neighter myself nor my friends could tell the prints apart.

What does this mean? Clearly the D70 can handle a much wider range of shooting environments with many more manual overide features. But in an ordinary snapshot test they both performed great.

My conclusion is this. Anybody who rubbishes the image quality of the Cybershot hasn't got the slightest idea of what they are talking about. Image quality from a camera the size, style and price of the T7 is simply astonishing. If you are not happy with the image quality then you are either using the camera improperly or you are expecting far to much and I would advise you shell out £800 for a D70s and suitable lens, but be prepared to endure repetive strain injury carrying it around, and do not expect to take it on a night out clubbing.

My recommendation is this: BUY IT!! You will love it!!