F717 vs. F707 worth $215?

JohnnyRay118812 · Oct 21, 2002

I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717. Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717 worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Ivan Medvedev · Oct 21, 2002

This is an interesting question and I would like to know what people think as well. I am in a similar situation - have bought F707 for $700 recently and I still have some time to return it and get the 717. As far as I understand, the 717 gives slightly better colors but they are bundled with low light focusing issues...

JohnnyRay said:
I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Todd Moore · Oct 21, 2002

Read Phil's review and compare the differences. To me, the histogram was a very nice addition to the camera along with along 6 point selectable focus range.

Other things (I) think about in this camera:
additional WB - presets - not worth it, do it manually anyway
faster shutter speed - only in auto modes
faster startup time - over-rated for this camera
Faster focus - somewhat of a benefit
Faster continuous shooting - over-rated for this camera
USB 2.0 - Waste with current size of memory sticks.

Hotshoe - Junk - 1 pin for triggering, a step up from no pin. Buy a Metz flash and get it all!

I may have missed a few others but in reality the camera is the same with the exception of a few bells and whistles..

I tell you Johnny, I may take a step back and get back into the 707 because (I) feel that some image quality has been lost somewhere between the 707 to 717. This may change somewhere and at some time on the production line but thats my opinion.

As silly as it may sound, the thing that I really do not like thinking about losing is the histogram. To me, that alone is worth a couple hundred dollars but I will sacrifice it for reliable image quality.

You know and I know that a brand new 707 at $799 is a steal.

Thanks

JohnnyRay said:
I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Todd Moore · Oct 21, 2002

Read my other post......I am running out of time as well because I am juggling several camera for testing purposes and have yet to see the 707 outperformed for producing pictures

As for the issues that you read in this forum, I think sooner or later they will be resolved without having to work around them. Production time will fix that.

As for the colors, I think everyone has an opinion on that based on their own taste. I never have over saturation problems on my 707 and actually love the better than real life colors....I look at Nikon colors and say, "those colors look too real"....

Good luck!

Ivan Medvedev said:
JohnnyRay said:

I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Click to expand...

Shimbabwe · Oct 21, 2002

Ivan Medvedev said:
JohnnyRay said:

I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Click to expand...

Johnny Ray and Ivan, I can only speak for myself. The short answer is No. I love my 707 and its saturated colors. Very rarely do I get reds that can not be corrected because of blown detail. I know the 717 will prove to be a great camera as well. But for me, it isn't worth the extra 2 bills. JMHO

Ivan Medvedev said:
Ivan Medvedev said:

Johnny

Click to expand...

Jeff Hydrick · Oct 21, 2002

JohnnyRay said:
I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Considering I paid $550 for my F707, the price difference is too great to justify the F717. If you use your AMEX gold card, you can price match the camera from a camera shop to any Internet vendor to get this price (Up to $250.00 difference). AMEX gold is the only way to buy any electronic item

Ivan Medvedev · Oct 21, 2002

I stopped by the local GoodGuys yesterday and they had both 707 and 717, so I shot a couple of test snapshot with both in auto mode trying to get the same framing. Below is a comparison pic that I have composed with a couple of detail blowups. Some observation: both cameras used the same 1/30 shutter speed and F/2 aperture, but the F707 set itself at ISO-160 and the F717 set to ISO-120. Both were set to 0 sharpening and all other settings I tried to keep the same. It seems that the 707 has some red bleeding and a little bit more aberrations, while 717 has less detail.

Joe M. · Oct 21, 2002

I own many Sony Digital Cameras. I love my F707 and do not think the F717 is worth the upgrade. So the answer to your quesion is no it would not be worth the extra $200.00 for me.

Lets see what Sony comes out with next year. Just Imagine....

Thanks,
JoeMin

Jeff Hydrick said:
JohnnyRay said:

I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Click to expand...

Considering I paid $550 for my F707, the price difference is too
great to justify the F717. If you use your AMEX gold card, you can
price match the camera from a camera shop to any Internet vendor to
get this price (Up to $250.00 difference). AMEX gold is the only
way to buy any electronic item

Harry Behret · Oct 21, 2002

I got my 717 last Thursday and to date I'm happy with and feel that it was worth the $. I like its imporved handling of reds and greens (I feel the improved handling of greens is abiiger plus). The battery life is longer; it focuses better and faster; its lighter; and I like the histogram. Basically its just an improved 707. I took a series of comparison shots between the 707 and 717 when I got the 717, take a look if it helps with your decision.
http://www.pbase.com/hpb/707_v_717

Good luck.

Harry

David (r00t) · Oct 22, 2002

I paid full price for my 717. I paid and additional $250 to upgrade. It was well worth it. Assigned from the colors, focusing, histogram.

The fact that my post processing went from editing 95% of my photos down to 5% was worth it to me.

Everyone is different and you will get varying responses. My 707 was always TOO red for me. It even cast a red hue on ALL of my photos. I had several actions in PS that I had to use EVERYTIME.

If I put money to my time spent post-processing....the 717 paid for itself already.

JohnnyRay said:
I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

--
David

My galleries
717:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291248045
707:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292056545

pyriel · Oct 22, 2002

BUY ONLINE! Right now, you can get the 707 for $566 and the 717 for $789 at http://www.stop4camera.com

JohnnyRay said:
I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Jay Jervey · Oct 22, 2002

Ivan Medvedev said:
...while 717 has less detail.

What you are seeing is less in-camera sharpening at the default setting. The detail is the same (i.e. resolving power. The F717 is less aggressive and leaves the final sharpening up to the photographer. Many prefer that (I know I do). If you want F707ish sharpening, you can always boost the F717 to +2.

--
Jay Jervey
Former Sony DSC-S70, S85, F707
Canon S200 (ultra portable)
Sony DSC-F717

Jerry Rosen · Oct 22, 2002

I paid $687.00 for mine.

jgaddy said:
Other things (I) think about in this camera:
additional WB - presets - not worth it, do it manually anyway
faster shutter speed - only in auto modes
faster startup time - over-rated for this camera
Faster focus - somewhat of a benefit
Faster continuous shooting - over-rated for this camera
USB 2.0 - Waste with current size of memory sticks.
Hotshoe - Junk - 1 pin for triggering, a step up from no pin. Buy
a Metz flash and get it all!

I may have missed a few others but in reality the camera is the
same with the exception of a few bells and whistles..

I tell you Johnny, I may take a step back and get back into the
707 because (I) feel that some image quality has been lost
somewhere between the 707 to 717. This may change somewhere and at
some time on the production line but thats my opinion.

As silly as it may sound, the thing that I really do not like
thinking about losing is the histogram. To me, that alone is worth
a couple hundred dollars but I will sacrifice it for reliable image
quality.

You know and I know that a brand new 707 at $799 is a steal.

Thanks

JohnnyRay said:

I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Click to expand...

technolawyer · Oct 22, 2002

If you take more than a small number of indoor pictures the answer is most definately YES!

The flash system in the F707 was terrible! If I used it indoors under incandesent lighting at zoom amounts of more than 2-3x in AUTO MODE, I got a terrible blue cast (LEVBFS). I had to adjust by putting a warming filter on the camera, but the results were still inconsistant.

With the F717, however, the blue cast is gone! And I can use my old cheapo Sunpak strobe when the power of the builtin flash is just not enough. I have encountered no substanial blue cast even at high f-stops and shutter speeds.

Other advantages: Less sharpening halos! These things are extremely visable when using the F707's "0" setting. The F707's default sharpening does provide pictures that seem to have more detail. But post process sharpening in USM can do the same thing on F717 pics.

Much better greens! reds were occasionally a problem with the F707 but the neon-like green were worse (although not a glaring).

Here is my take on the improvements (and my subjective valuations):

Improved white balance (esp related to flash use): HUGE IMPROVEMENT, probably worth the price difference alone. Value: $200

Improved Colors: Not enough alone to justify the price difference but definately welcome. Value say, $75

Histogram: I would put the value of this at $50-$75

Shutter and operating speed increases (reduced shutter lag): $25

Zoom ring (I didn't think this would be a big deal, but I love it!): $25

Less aggressive internal sharpening: $50

Hot Shoe (even if it isn't smart): $50

Do the math, overall the F717 is a much better camera in my opinion. That is not to take away from the F707 which was a ground breaker and is still a great camera in its own right!

Whichever you pick, you will get incredabily detailed pics that under certain circumstances can rivel those of the $2000 plus Digital SLRS.

Kurt

r00t said:
The fact that my post processing went from editing 95% of my photos
down to 5% was worth it to me.

Everyone is different and you will get varying responses. My 707
was always TOO red for me. It even cast a red hue on ALL of my
photos. I had several actions in PS that I had to use EVERYTIME.

If I put money to my time spent post-processing....the 717 paid for
itself already.

JohnnyRay said:

I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Click to expand...

--
David

My galleries
717:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4291248045
707:
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4292056545

--
Kurt

alex wetmore · Oct 22, 2002

JohnnyRay said:
I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

From my point of view the upgrade is worth it, but it depends on your preferences. I really fine the histogram and flash hotshoe useful, the more realistic colors are nice, and the zoom ergonomics are much better.

alex

Bob Balan · Oct 22, 2002

Something that has been overlooked is the faster shutter on the 717 - no more losing shots because of shutter delay.

Bob

Bob Balan · Oct 22, 2002

pyriel said:
JohnnyRay said:

I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Click to expand...

benhecht · Oct 22, 2002

jerry rosen said:
Where did you get it for $687.00? Is that with a USA warranty? Sounds too good.

Ashley Kinghorn · Oct 22, 2002

The 707 for $799 is still a steal in my books.

The 717 for $999 is a good deal, as the camera is great.

Totally depends if you want a steal, or a good deal.

Thats my 2 cents.

JohnnyRay said:
I purchased an F707 at Circuit City on 9/28 for $949. I had to
have it before my Vegas/Zion vacation last week. I got it with the
intention of returning it within 30 days and getting the F717.
Now, the F707 is $799 and the F717 is not at my CC yet. With their
price guarantee, I can get $165 back on the F707. Hence the
question to those of you that have owned both cameras: is the F717
worth the extra $215 ($165 + $50 since the F717 will be $999)?

Johnny

Fritz Norris · Oct 22, 2002

I don't trade cars every year and the same goes for cameras. If I had unliminted dollars to spend that might be different.

The difference for the "average" (if there is such a person) owner of a 707 vs the 717 is negleable (IMHO). My wife uses the camera mostly and she thinks it takes great photos of the grand kids and thats all that matters.

A little more of this and a little less of that would be meaningless to her (or me).

I'M with you, I'll see what the 727 (or whatever) looks like next year. Maybe it will have a 10 X optical lens with IS like my C-2100 UZ. It would then be time to up grade!!

Fritz

Joe M. said:
I own many Sony Digital Cameras. I love my F707 and do not think
the F717 is worth the upgrade. So the answer to your quesion is no
it would not be worth the extra $200.00 for me.

Lets see what Sony comes out with next year. Just Imagine....

Thanks,
JoeMin

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