Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T700 (silver)
Cameras Buying Guide
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October 4, 2008 11:12
3.5/5
I was looking for a compact camera with internal optics (i.e. no lens that comes out of the body) since my wife's 5 year old cousin dropped my 3 year old Casio right on the optics, and that was the end of that camera. For what I wanted it for, it fits the bill perfectly. I feel confident that I can hand this to a kid and they won't be able to break it. However, there are a few drawbacks that make me de-rate it. The first, which I should have known, is that the connector is proprietary and it requires the software to get the photos off the memory built into the camera. That stinks if you are traveling, you have to take YOUR laptop. I take my camera every where I go with my kids, and when at relatives houses, I like to take pictures, and then just leave them there. In the past, I would just pop out my SD card and either use a standard usb cable, and have the camera show up as removable storage, or pull out the SD card and plug that directly into a reader in a computer, or a usb adapter that I carry in my camera bag. Realizing this, I will probably go get a 4 gb MS duo card plus usb adapter now, which kind of defeats the purpose of having the internal memory. That was -1 star in my book, but pretty par for the course for Sony. The other big nit was that to charge the battery, you have to remove it from the camera and plug it into a battery charger. I was able to keep my old camera plugged into it's usb cable and it could charge off the computer. That is -1/2 a star. -
September 29, 2008 07:03
4.0/5
I was looking for a camera to replace my Sony N2, which I have been very happy with, but was looking to find something smaller. I've been eyeing the T-Series cameras since the first one but have always found things I didn't like. They've always been bulkier than I was looking for. This one really impressed me by its small size and simplicity. Feels really durable too. Display is by far the best I've seen in Sony ultra-compacts and I've had many of them - probably at least 7 now. Menu system still needs work. I really wish it was more like the PS3, but I guess it might not work so well with a touch screen. I'm impressed by the auto ISO low light capabilities without flash. In some low light conditions I choose the ISO setting, rather than auto and flash enabled and get a better, warmer picture than trying to have the flash light up the scene. I've installed many, many Cybershot photo software packages in the past and have uninstalled just about every one. The one that comes with the T700 is very nice. It is very similar to the photo program that comes with Vista. It does a great job of importing current picture folders, and offloading pictures from the camera. Its method of picture organization is very good. I really like how the software analyzes all pictures for certain faces, and when you click on a certain face it will find many other pictures with the same face. It even found a baby picture of my fiance! This feature is a bit limited in that the people need to be looking straight at the camera for it to be most effective--iit does miss some pictures because of this. Camera is lightweight an easy to carry in a pocket. It does a pretty good job of capturing video in a dark setting as well; though, it plays it back in only a 3" window. Not sure if this can be changed or not, I haven't found the menu item for that yet. For the money charged for this camera I'd like to have seen Sony throw in a docking cradle. It does come with an insert that fits into the CSS-HD2 cradle, but you have to shell out between $50-$75 to pick one up. I'd still prefer to not to have to buy Memory sticks and SD cards separately, but what are you gonna do-Sony isn't going to be letting go of that cash cow anytime soon. All in all this was finally the T-series camera I've been waiting for and I'm very happy with it. -
November 2, 2008 11:36
Mediocre
1.0/5
I have no idea what CNET has been smoking. I bought the Sony camera off their review and realized that they are either biased or incompetent. Anyone looking for great looking pictures as opposed to a great looking toy needs to look else where.
For professional unbiased reviews try DPREVIEW.COM .
The problem with most pocket cameras is that their sensors are small and hence do not obsorb enough light. When high pixel rate is added that makes it worse. The best inexpensive pocket camera ever made was the Fuji f31df. That was because the sensor size per pixel was the largest of pocket cameras.
There are some companies trying to bring back quality pocket cameras. Sigma DP-1 and the new DP-2 are attemt at that. They provide large sensor and quality optics. THey do cost over $700 though. Olympus is working on a quality pocket but it has not been released. -
October 1, 2008 08:53
4.0/5
This is only my second digital camera, my first being a Canon 3.2 MP I bought quite a while back. When shopping for this camera, I looked at the H50, W300, and W170. Seems that Sony has eeked ahead a bit over Canon, so I focused my search on Sony. This camera has it all, except for HD video recording, which I determined was not that important for me in a point-and-shoot and consider it a trade-off. I love how I get the 4x optical zoom without a protruding lens and the usefulness of the internal playback software is amazing. -
December 2, 2008 11:39
3.5/5
Overall very happy with the camera. Beautiful pics majority of the time and nice and compact. Love the design. -
November 28, 2008 09:26
5.0/5
I got this camera and ive already taken so many pics! i love the size and looks and screen and modes and basically almost everything. I will prolly have to get a back batter because the 3.5 inch screen tends to eat it up a bit. Im not sure if the red saturation in pics is a lil high because my face is wind burned right now so iono if it is all teh camera or if my face is really that red. lol BUT I LOVE IT! get it if you want a quick point and shoot thatll fit in your pocket! -
November 16, 2008 11:44
4.5/5
Good Deal for a great price :) -
November 4, 2008 07:52
Excellent
2.0/5
I was excited for this camera. 4GB internal memory, touchscreen feature with stylus, interesting design, decent shot to shot time (about 2.2 seconds), the smile detection has improved, 4x optical zoom, and so forth. I can go on and on. Now, I would trade a handful of these features if this camera would produce good photos. The quality is egregiously sub par, ghastly too soft, and it is absurd to spend over $300 for such poor quality. If it were not for the advanced features of this camera, I would suggest not paying over $150 based on photo quality alone. I was excited for this camera...however, Sony has disappointed me again. Where is this invested money going to? It is suppose to be investing in color processor technology. When you buy a camera, you ought to lean more toward photo quality. This camera just lacks it.
