Timings & File Sizes

The F707 is a fast camera, it powers on very quickly and has the first shot under its belt in just 4.5 seconds. Focusing never takes more than 2 seconds (normal AF) and is typically closer to 1.5 seconds. File flushing is also quite fast, Memory Stick doesn't appear to be causing any major delays in this department. The entire camera is locked during the writing of TIFF format images.

Timing Notes: All times calculated as an average of three operations. A 128 MB Sony Memory Stick card was used for any timings which included file saving. Unless otherwise stated all timings were made on a 2560 x 1920 FINE JPEG image (approx. 2.0 MB per image).

Action Details Time taken
(seconds)
Notes
Power: Off to Record   2.6 Very fast
Power: Off to Play   3.5 Image loading *1
Power: Record to Off   1.2  
Power: Play to Off   <0.5  
Mode: Record to Play   0.8 Image loading *1
Mode: Play to Record   <0.5  
Play: Magnify From x1 to x5.0 5.8 (17 steps)
Rec: Thumbnail view 3 x 3 thumbnails 1.2  
Auto Focus LAG Normal AF 1.1 - 1.6 Average *2
Auto Focus LAG Macro AF 1.7 - 2.5 Average
Shutter Release LAG   0.1 Fast
Total LAG Normal AF ~1.2 Fast
Off to Shot Taken   4.5 Very Fast
Shot to Shot AF 2560 x 1920 JPEG FINE 3.0 Fast *3
Shot to Shot MF 2560 x 1920 JPEG FINE 1.8 Very Fast

*1 'Rough image' is displayed while more detailed image is loaded.
*2 AF was approximately 0.5 seconds slower at full telephoto (average 1.6 seconds) and nearer to the 1.1 seconds timing at full wide angle. In low light using the Hologram AF (laser) focus times were closer to 2.2 seconds (still very respectable).
*3 The second frame can be taken as quickly as 2.4 seconds after the first, however subsequent frames can not be taken any faster than 3.4 seconds apart due to the fact that the cameras buffer must make space for the next shot.

The F707's performance was surprisingly fast, with a very fast power-on time (just 2.6 seconds)* and fast shot to shot times you never find yourself waiting for the camera. Because the camera has a very short image review time (approximately half a second) the live view returns very quickly after taking a shot, this certainly gives a good impression of speed. Focus speeds were average, faster than the F505V but still not stellar.

* This time is a whole 1.4 seconds faster now on the final production camera compared to the pre-production unit used for the original review.

Burst 3 Mode

The F707 has a dedicated continuous shooting mode named 'Burst 3', in this mode one press of the shutter release records three frames over a 1 second period (thus 3 fps). Depending on the selected image size / quality you will have to wait for these images to be written away to the Memory Stick before you can shoot the next burst.

Image Size / Quality Frames Frames per second Time before next burst
2560 x 1920 FINE 3 3 fps 11.0 sec
2560 x 1920 STANDARD 3 3 fps 9.2 sec
2048 x 1536 FINE 3 3 fps 9.9 sec
1280 x 960 FINE 3 3 fps 7.6 sec
640 x 480 FINE 3 3 fps 4.6 sec

File Flush / Display Timing

There are three timings below, I'll describe each in turn:

  • Time to process - this is the amount of time after pressing the shutter release button before the camera returns control to you, the image may still be being written away to the Memory Stick but you can begin to take the next shot.
     
  • Time to flush - this is the amount of time it takes the camera to process and flush; complete writing the image to the Memory Stick. It is taken from the moment the shutter release is pressed to the moment the red light beside the Memory Stick slot (inside the compartment) goes out. This timing includes the time to process.
     
  • Time to display - this is the amount of time it takes the camera to display the image, as with most digital cameras the F707 first displays a rough version of the image (a thumbnail from the file header) and then loads the full resolution image, you can't manipulate the image until it is fully loaded (magnify etc.) however you can interrupt this loading process skip to the next image.

The F707 appears to have enough buffer space to hold a maximum of three images at a time, so it's possible to snap two shots and still have space for one more.

File Type Time to process
(seconds)		 Time to flush
(seconds)
 Time to
display
(seconds)		 Average
File size
*1		 Approx. images
on a 128 MB
Memory Stick
2560 x 1920 TIFF 39.6 39.6 2.7 14,403 KB  7
2560 x 1920 FINE 1.4 3.8 2.6 2,000 KB 51
2560 x 1920 STANDARD 1.4 3.1 2.3 1,300 KB 96
2048 x 1536 FINE 1.7 3.3 1.9 1,200 KB 82
1280 x 960 FINE 1.4 2.3 1.3 600 KB 202
640 x 480 FINE 1.4 1.5 1.0 160 KB 789

*1 All file sizes are an average of three files. As is the case with JPEG it's difficult to predict the size of an image because it will vary a fair amount depending on the content of the image (especially the amount of detail captured). For example, take a photograph of a fairly empty wall and you'll get a small JPEG, take a photograph of a bush with a lot of detail and you'll get a larger image. File sizes here are closer to the later, the larger size of file you should expect.

Battery life

We ran the camera through our new battery life test. This test is designed to be fair and comparative to each camera and battery type:

  • Take 4 shots without flash
  • Wait 2 minutes (50% of the time powering the camera off)
  • Take 1 shot with flash
  • Wait 1 minute
  • Repeat

All batteries had been fully discharged and recharged before the test and all cameras were reset to their factory default settings. Here are the results:

Camera
Prosumer / SLR-Like		 Battery Power Battery life Number of shots
Minolta DiMAGE 7 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 1 hr 14 mins 125
Minolta DiMAGE 5 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 1 hr 56 mins 195
Nikon Coolpix 5700 EN-EL1 4.8 Wh 2 hr 08 mins 215
Canon PowerShot S40 NB-2L 3.9 Wh 2 hr 13 mins 225
Minolta DiMAGE S304 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 2 hr 18 mins 235
Canon PowerShot S45 NB-2L 3.9 Wh 2 hr 28 mins 240
Nikon Coolpix 4500 EN-EL1 4.8 Wh 2 hr 27 mins 250
Fujifilm FinePix 6900Z NP-80 4.1 Wh 2 hr 29 mins 250
Nikon Coolpix 990 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 2 hr 30 mins 255
Nikon Coolpix 995 EN-EL1 4.8 Wh 2 hr 30 mins 255
Nikon Coolpix 5000 EN-EL1 4.8 Wh 2 hr 32 mins 260
Minolta DiMAGE 7Hi 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 2 hr 33 mins 260
Canon PowerShot Pro1 BP-511A 10.2 Wh 2 hr 36 mins 265
Canon PowerShot S50 NB-2L 3.9 Wh 2 hr 39 mins 270
Minolta DiMAGE S404 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 2 hr 39 mins 270
Sony DSC-V1 NP-FC11 2.8 Wh 2 hr 39 mins 270
Olympus C-7000 Zoom LI-12B 4.5 Wh 2 hr 44 mins 280
Nikon Coolpix 8700 EN-EL1 5.0 Wh 2 hr 45 mins 280
Minolta DiMAGE 7i 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 2 hr 46 mins 270
Olympus E-20 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 2 hr 48 mins 285
Canon PowerShot G1 BP-511 8.1 Wh 3 hr 00 mins 300
Nikon Coolpix 5400 EN-EL1 4.8 Wh 3 hr 06 mins 315
HP Photosmart 850 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 3 hr 12 mins 325
Sony DSC-S75 NP-FM50 8.6 Wh 3 hr 15 mins 330
Nikon Coolpix 8800 EN-EL7 8.1 Wh 3 hr 27 mins 350
Fujifilm FinePix S602Z 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 3 hr 29 mins 350
Canon PowerShot G2 BP-511 8.1 Wh 3 hr 32 mins 355
Casio QV-4000 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 3 hr 38 mins 365
Olympus C-5050 Zoom 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 3 hr 48 mins 380
Casio EXILIM EX-P700 NP-40 4.5 Wh 3 hr 48 mins 385
Sony DSC-S85 NP-FM50 8.6 Wh 3 hr 50 mins 400
Sony DSC-F717 NP-FM50 8.6 Wh 4 hr 02 mins 405
Pentax Optio 750Z D-LI7 6.6 Wh 4 hr 03 mins 415
Sony DSC-V3 NP-FR1 4.4 Wh 4 hr 05 mins 415
Nikon Coolpix 8400 EN-EL7 8.1 Wh 4 hr 09 mins 420
Sony DSC-F707 NP-FM50 8.6 Wh 4 hr 20 mins 440
Fujifilm S7000 Zoom 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 4 hr 23 mins 445
Konica Minolta DiMAGE A2 NP-400 11.1 Wh 4 hr 26 mins 450
Canon PowerShot G3 BP-511 8.1 Wh 4 hr 32 mins 455
Canon PowerShot G5 BP-511 8.1 Wh 4 hr 33 mins 460
Pentax Optio 550 D-LI7 6.6 Wh 4 hr 36 mins 465
Minolta DiMAGE A1 NP-400 11.1 Wh 5 hr 02 mins 515
Leica Digilux 2 BP-DC1-E 10.1 Wh 5 hr 05 mins 515
Sony DSC-F828 NP-FM50 8.6 Wh 5 hr 28 mins 540
Fujifilm FinePix S5000 4 x AA NiMH 1600 mAh (GP) 7.7 Wh 5 hr 31 mins 555
Canon PowerShot G6 BP-511A 10.3 Wh 5 hr 38 mins 570
Olympus C-8080 WZ BLM-1 10.8 Wh 5 hr 52 mins 595
Other test notes:
 • LCD monitor is left on during the battery test
 • The camera is powered off half of the time and left on half of the time (switch every 10 iterations)
 • There are now higher capacity AA NiMH batteries available, however in the interests of fair
    comparison we will continue to use our 1600 mAh test set

I remember how amazed I was with the DSC-S85 when we tested it, now I must repeat my amazement with the DSC-F707 which lasted a stunning 4 hours and 20 minutes in our battery test shooting no less than 440 images. On a full charge the camera states '280 minutes' of battery life, our tests ran just 20 minutes short of that. This amazing battery life not only puts the F707 at the top of our power chart but most importantly means you'll be out shooting all day on just one charge...

Cool

Something else which is noteworthy, the DSC-F707 remained cool to the touch throughout the battery test, the only heat from the surface of the LCD (and that's from the backlights). There was no heat around the battery or hand grip nor the main body or lens.