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264 of 273 found the following review helpful:
 Perfect second camera for hobbyistsMay 23, 2005
By James F. Strasma
"strasma"
I've already been the happy owner of a Sony DSC-F828 "big" camera for over a year, and still consider it perfect for my serious photographic needs.
However, precisely _because_ it is so big, it can be very inconvenient to bring along, and also very intimidating to potential picture subjects.
Enter the new Sony DSC-T7. I didn't realize just how _much_ smaller, or more precisely, how much thinner it is than all other digital cameras until I saw it in person. It not only fits in a shirt pocket, it fits in a shirt pocket _along_with_ a Treo or an iPod. Because its 3x zoom lens is folded, it does not protrude at all when taking pictures, meaning most subjects won't even realize a camera is pointed at them, let alone that it is zoomed in and high resolution. This greatly easy getting natural expressions in informal photos.
Next, the specifications of the T7 are better than those of other similar Sony cameras such as the T1 and T33 in ways I care about, such as doubling the number of pixels in the 2.5" LCD screen, including an auto-focus assist lamp, and USB 2.0 support without needing driver software when used with Windows XP.
One of my pet peeves about digital cameras is that they are not protected from the elements. The T7 helps this in two ways. First, its on/off switch is a solid lens cover. Second, the camera fits easily in the smallest size zip-loc sandwich bag, and can easily be operated while in the bag, providing serious dust and splash protection.
One further protection is needed, but easily handled. The LCD needs protection, which I provided by covering it with a sheet of screen protector plastic left over from an old PDA.
As you might expect from such a thin device, battery life is somewhat limited (about an hour of continuous use, set up for maximum brightness, continuous focus adjustment, and automatic flash. For that reason, I bought a spare battery, and since the charger is bigger than the camera, suggest other buyers do the same.
Similarly, plan on getting more memory immediately. The supplied 32M is good for only 14 pictures at top resolution. I settled for 512M, the largest I could actually buy at time of purchase, but would recommend the new 1GB size if available to you as you buy. The memory door appears a bit flimsy, so it seems best not to need to open it too often.
I bought this for my point and shoot wife to take on a week-long trip, and thereafter to have it with us whenever a shot might present itself, but not surely enough to carry the large camera, or in situations where keeping the large camera clean and dry might be an issue.
If you too are a serious hobbyist, do be aware of unavoidable limitations: 1) 5MP is good, but not as good as the 7MP of a few also (barely) pocketable cameras. I decided smaller size outweighed higher resolution, but you may feel differently. 2) F4 is 2 full stops dimmer than the F2 of my other camera, which matters quite a bit when the light is low, as does 3) the ASA maximum of 400, rather than 800. There's also 4) no place to attach a filter. For a second camera, these are all perfectly acceptable compromises, in my opinion.
Highly recommended as a second camera for hobbyists, or as a first camera for folks who want a very convenient and very high quality point and shoot camera.
122 of 126 found the following review helpful:
Joggably tiny and great camera!May 31, 2005
By Steve M. Potter
My main criterion for my 2nd digital camera was: can I jog with it in my pocket? Of all the 5mp+ I looked at, this is the only one that really won't be annoying. And has now been tested on several jogs with great success. It is very solid, sturdy, and dense. It really is as wide and high as a credit card, and LESS than a cm thick, not counting the sturdy lens cover. That cover was a big selling feature for me, as I am afraid of those flimsy metal leaves that close to 'protect' some lenses, while in my pocket. Although it has slid open by itself in my pocket, but the auto-off protected its battery.
After 3 weeks, I have taken many great photos with it. It has an amazing macro capability: better than 1:1! It really is like a magnifier, the icon they use for that mode.
I miss the time-lapse feature of my Canon S50 ("intervalometer") and hope Sony gets a firmware upgrade to include that. Although this is not a full 'manual' camera, it has many adjustable features, and seems to choose well when you let its AI do the adjusting. The video is awesome, esp. at full res (640x480) as is the sound. In fact, you could set it to low res, just to use it as a sound recorder-- well over an hour on my 512M stick. At high res, you get only ~10 min on a gig stick, but considering this is not a camcorder, that is fine for capturing many moving 'images'.
I LOVE the very fast start-up, well less than 1 sec. Great for catching those spontaneous shots while riding in a car. And it is quiet: no motors whining to give away your photographic intensions. (The zoom motor is virutally inaudible).
I was very pleasantly surprised how intuitive all the buttons are laid out, and menus too. Sony did a lot of usability testing. Much better than my Canon. And the buttons are the sturdiest of its class of tiny cams.
It has a tiny tripod hole, so needs their adaptor/desk-stand to mount (included). Battery is tiny but not as feeble as some reviews reported. I love Sony's 'infolithium' that tell you how many minutes you have left. Get an extra, tho. The screen is awesome, and can be booped up for easy view in broad daylight. Who needs a viewfinder?
Sensitivity and noise are pretty good-night images possible. Image colors are over the top, so I turned down the 'saturation' setting.
It is so tiny, you better use that long neck strap so you don't lose it. I keep it tied to my belt loop and forget I have it with me at all times now.
If you want the best really small digital camera out now (May 2005) then this is the one.
25 of 26 found the following review helpful:
Impressed by image quality, and great indoor outdoor images.Aug 18, 2005
I am utterly impressed by this camera. Ill explain this review in 3 parts, the overall quality, and its uses.
Indoor Images
Many people complain about indoor images and I must admit i at first when purchasd this camera was very dissappointed at the orange brownish tinge from this camera, but i also discovered something new after a few days of owning this digital camera. Well the thing that really causees the brownish tinge in this camera is the type of flash thingy. If you are using this camera in low light conditions indoor, try using auto flash, as and it will have no brownish tinge, i have tested this many times and can confirm this, and when taking images in a fully lit area, use SLOW SYNCRO FLASH, this flash makes the color so accurate that you can't possibly see any oragne tinge. i compared it with auto flash and what a difference it made. When i mean dark areas for auto flash also I don't mean like complete black. Ill show you an example. Lets say ur in a room and half of it is lit, or the light source doesnt reach the whole room, like half the room is darker, than on the darker side use auto flash, and on the brighter side use slow syncro flash. It has high color accuracy, u just have to be steady. When taking pictures in complete darkness, the flash shows no significant difference. Also with the flash indoors, the book does show the distance, i know tons of people have not followed the distance and get overexposed pictures and complain its the cameras fault when its not. I think the distance for flash on the W side, normal is 3 and a half feet up to 8 feet something.
After i followed these simple rules, i never had a brownish tinge in my images, and some of these pictures i tested were used using floursecent lighting, and some with natural light.
Outdoor
Outdoor images turn great in auto mode, no really need to set anything unless you want to take landscapes, they have settings for those already. Amazing quality, and if your taking pictures of people being being lighted from behind, try raising the ev a little higher, and use force flash.
Overall
Great, compact camera. The images is what a 5 megapixel camera should have, i don't see why people complain about is to much. Sure its fine to complain to sony that the manual didn't show them how to take indoor images and how to use the slow syncro options. All my tests were done in the auto setting with only changes in flash, because the auto wb are already good. This camera is simply amazing, and is good for students/adults that just take pictures for family vacations, school projects. The price is also perfect for a camera this small and i do not complain about the battery life. And easy to use for just a point and shoot as you dont really need to change the settings. Hope this helps those that are deciding to get this camera or having trouble taking indoor images.
19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Just another great camera from SonyJul 29, 2005
By Hi-Tech
I had this camera for several weeks now and took over 100 pictures. The pictures are really good with this size of camera. People who complaint abut the picture quality of this camera either they expect too much from Sony or they never use an ULTRA-COMPACT camera before. You cannot compare this camera to the bigger (compact) camera from Canon, Nikon or Pentax. The depth of this camera is about half of the Canon SD lines (ex. SD400) and Pentax S5i OR 1/3 of the Canon S lines (ex. S410).
I currently own both Sony F828 (8MP) and Pentax S5i (5MP). I get this camera because it's thinner and has a larger LCD screen than the Pentax .
Of cause, the picture quality cannot compare to a semi-pro camera like Sony F828 but it's about the same as or better than Pentax S5i. This camera is great to take outdoor pictures or indoor pictures with short distance (under 5 feet). You cannot use this camera to take group photos (say- more than 4 people) because the flash is not strong enough to produce a good picture. Some people complaint about the noise but all they need to do is to lower the ISO to 200 or below to avoid those noises.
I did not notice much about blurry pictures. The pictures come out great 90% of the time for indoor. Outdoor pictures are always great. Color is very decent also.
Pros:
1. Small - easiest to carry and decent picture quality
2. looks great
3. high quality built and feel great to hold
4. battery is very decent compare to my Pentax
5. histogram
6. very good movie resolution with no time limit.
Cons:
1. add a charging station so that the battery does not have to come out when charging
2. a little bigger and stronger flash is good
3. a little bit pricy but built quality is great compare to my Canon or Pentax. Hey, why people are willing to pay more $$$ for an entry level Lexus when they can get an Avalon or a Camry with same options for thousands less.
if you're looking for a camera to fit all situations (day, night, group photos), you need to get a BIGGER cameras but it's more difficult to carry around. I got rid of my Canon S410 and got a Pentax S5i about 6 months ago because the Canon is too fat to fit in the pocket
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Sony Cybershot DSCT7Sep 14, 2005
By Robynne Hanus
Outstandingly awesome! Feature rich, yet simple to use - and YES, it does have an OPTICAL zoom. The quality of the photos are great. And it's very small - I can wear it around my neck and forget it's there because it's so light. As an avid photographer for many years (even back when the equipment wasn't digital!), I can say this is an incredible piece of technology.
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