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Sony Cybershot DSC S70 Digital Camera Review

Review:

Maybe the most attractive feature of this camera is the excellent relation between ease of use and image quality. Indeed, this successor of the famous DSC saga is really simple to use by inexperienced users, and it also provides expert photographers with very high quality results: images appear perfectly sharp and accurate, without noticeable distortion. This is possible mainly to the 7 to 21 mm focal longitude Carl Zeiss lens. In addition, the Super HAD image sensor features a 3.4 megapixel resolution, which translates into a real image size of 2048x1536. Both camera elements (i.e. image sensor and lens) are guaranteed to produce an excellent, professional image quality. However, the Sony Cybershot DCS-S70 digital camera may be a little slow to work, in both focus and interval between shots. This interval may as long as two seconds, which is a major inconvenience when talking about a 3+ megapixel camera.

Ease of use turn the S70 into a highly sophisticated “point and shoot” camera, featuring an automatic more on each of its functions. The exposition system does not implement a full manual control, what can be a big problem for most demanding photographers. For instance, CCD sensitivity is fixed on 100 ISO, and manual focus consists on only 6 presets to choose from. Nevertheless, it has opening-time and shutting-time priority, and it is possible to choose between central and punctual measurement systems.

Control panel is rather small, but it is large enough to show battery status, resolution, and focus type. Even when it lacks an anti-reflection cover for sunlight, the TFT-type LCD display shows more information than the small control panel. Its main flaw resides in not being able to photograph the whole area shown on the LCD.

In order to take advantage of the DSC-S70 ability to produce very high quality pictures, it allows you to store uncompressed images into TIFF format. However, as pictures are stored on a 8Mb memory stick, it is not possible to store more than one uncompressed picture per memory stick, which represents a terrible flaw and makes the use of JPEG or GIF compressed image formats almost mandatory. The camera is also able to capture motion video in MPEG format, with resolutions of up to 320x240. It is also possible to add audio notes to pictures.

Built-in flash functions perfectly well, without any image discoloration, and it is powerful enough for normal use. The Sony DSC-S70 digital camera also features the possibility to attach and use a professional external flash unit, theHVL-F1000, from Sony.

This camera comes with a rechargeable 1180mAh long-lasting battery included. It allows proper camera operation for two whole hours, even with the LCD display turned on. This makes this camera a very good choice when it comes to power autonomy. There is also an AC adapter, intended for indoors use.

Recommendation:

The DSC_S70 is an excellent choice both for professionals and hobbyist photographers. The 3.4 megapixel resolution plus the sharpness of the Carl Zeiss lens guarantee a very high image definition, much higher than you would expect from most digital cameras. The automatic mode, available though all camera options, makes this camera the right one for first-timers.

Features:

Image Device: 1/1.8" 3.4 Megapixel
Max Image Size: 2048 x 1536
Format: JPEG/TIFF/MPEG
Movie: MPEG /HQ mode
LCD Display: 2" 123k Pixels
Optical Zoom: Carl Zeiss 3x (34-102mm 35mm equivalent)
Precision Digital Zoom: 6X
Shutter: 18-step, 8 - 1/1,000 sec
Aperture: 9-step, F2.0 to F8.0
Focus: AF/5-preset manual
Auto Exposure Programs: Aperture, Shutter, Pan focus, Landscape, Twilight, Twilight Plus, Spot Metering
Storage Media: Memory Stick (8 MB stick included)
A/V Out: Yes
Auto Orientation Mode: Yes
Built-in microphone: Yes
Built-in Speaker: Yes
Bundled Software: Picture Gear Lite
Red Eye Reduction: Yes
Self Timer: 10 Sec