Review based on a production Sony DSC-W7
Announced along with a 5MP twin (the W5), the DCS-W7 is part of the second generation of Sony's 'traditionally-styled' compacts designed to appeal to the first-time user moving from a film camera to digital. Essentially the same as a Cyber-shot P200 in a larger more conventionally-styled body (and with a bigger 2.5-inch screen), the W7 builds on the success of the W1, which was something of a surprise hit last year. But does the W7 have what it takes to compete in the increasingly crowded 7 megapixel compact market? Read on to find out. Here's a brief summary of the main spec highlights:
| Street price | • US: $399 • UK: £260 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Aluminum |
| Sensor | • 1/1.8" Super HAD CCD |
| Image sizes | • 3072 x 2304 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 @ 16.6 / 30 fps |
| Lens | • Carl Zeiss 38 - 114mm equiv. (3x optical zoom) |
| Focus | • 5-Area Multi-Point AF • Center AF • 5-Step Manual • 6 cm macro mode (Wide) |
| Shooting mode | • Auto |
| Shutter Speeds | • 1/8 – 1/2000 sec (Auto) • 2 – 1/2000 sec (Program Auto) • 30 – 1/1000 sec (Manual) |
| Apertures | F2.8 – F5.2 (W), F5.6– F10 (T) |
| Metering | • Multi Pattern |
| Sensitivity | • Auto • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 |
| White Balance | • Auto • Daylight • Cloudy • Fluorescent • Incandescent |
| Image parameters | Color effects (Sepia, Black and White) |
| Continuous | 5 Shot 7MP (JPEG fine), 100 Shot VGA (JPEG std.), 0.9fps |
| Flash | • Built-in • Modes: Auto, forced on, forced off, slow sync, red-eye reduction • Range: 11.8 in - 14.8 ft. (0.3– 4.5m) |
| Storage | • Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO • 32MB internal memory • No removable media supplied |
| Viewfinder | Real Image Optical |
| LCD monitor | • 2.5 " TFT • 115,000 pixels |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 High Speed • AV out • DC-IN |
| Power | • 2x AA type battery (alkaline, NiMH, NiMH) • NH-AA-DA rechargeable AA batteries supplied |
| In the box* | • DSC-W7 camera |
| Other features | • PictBridge and DPOF compatible |
| Weight (inc batt) | • 197 g (6.9 oz) (without batteries and card) |
| Dimensions | 91 x 60 x 37 mm (3.5 x 2.3 x 1.4 in) |
* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
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Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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This article is Copyright 2005 and may NOT in part or in whole be reproduced in any electronic or printed medium without prior permission from the author.
Sony Cybershot DSC-W7 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom | $55.00 |
Sony Cybershot DSC-W7 7.2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom | $55.00 |
Sony DSC-W710 16 MP Digital Camera with 2.7-Inch LCD (Silver) | $88.00 |
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX7 16.2 MP Digital Camera (Black) | $209.09 |
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