Well, I took some comparison shots, in direct sunlight, in fully auto mode. I originally thought I would just compare 3MP to 3MP, but I was impressed with Fuji's 6MP mode - I didn't think I would be. I uploaded 5 pictures - F707 3MP (set to three in camera, not post resized) and S602 3MP ... F707 5MP and S602 5MP (by taking at 6 and resizing), and the original Fuji 6MP for reference. I used a tripod for these shots.
http://www.pbase.com/yumbrad/602and707
My conclusions? I had originally thought the 707 would "beat" the 602 for me hands down, but I found that I actually prefer the 602 images at 3MP, and only slightly prefer the 707 at 5. You really need to have them side by side at full resolution (in image viewer or two big browser windows) ... Detail wise, at 3MP I think the 602 edges out the 707. This is partially, I think, because the image out of the 707 is over-saturated. So, colorwise, I definitely prefer the 602. Looking at the scene with my naked eyes, the 602 has truer color reproduction. I tried to match the images in photoshop, and to make the fuji look like the sony, I had to boost lightness by +10, and saturation by +28! If I want over-rich colors, I can do that myself post-camera... Now, in the 5MP comparison, of course the 707 has more detail - but I was surprised how well the 602's image looks, and I think in print they would be very similar (except for color, if that wasn't changed).
So I'll be taking back the 707 today - I mentioned this before, but I really love the feature-set of the 602... microdrive (15 min near DV quality video/hundreds or thousands of stills), video (which is *great*, and no focusing hasn't been an issue), save last 5 mode, etc etc... And so, now that I see the image quality, at least for me, is not that different, I'm *very* happy with the 602 - especially considering the price difference. Of course it's not for everyone (if you NEED 5mp), but for my priorities, I like it a lot. I hope this can help someone looking at both...
Oh, here are some other shots.. One with a couple crappy webcam shots of the cameras side by side (the coin is a quarter):
http://www.pbase.com/yumbrad/707nextto602
And one demonstration of the "last 5" burst mode on the 602 (I resaved these at a higher compression and I wasn't very steady while shooting... I have other, more boring sequences that have better picture quality - but this one's a fun spike from a short guy like me :) )
http://www.pbase.com/yumbrad/spike
