After positive experience with the last year's Sony DSC-T1, I decided to check out the new super-compact models from Sony. I bought both the Sony DSC-T7 and the Sony DSC-T33 to see how they compare to the DSC-T1 and to each other.

This review is about the Sony DSC-T7. I bought mine for $120 more than the T33. I see now that the spread in prices is decreasing and you may find the T7 for only $50-80 more than the T33. I think I know why the difference in prices is decreasing. You see, there is not much differentiating these two cameras.

Pictures

The pictures of the Sony T7 as well as sample photos I took using it are available at the address below:

Click here to see the sample photos I took with this Sony DSC-T7 camera and photos of the camera

What Is Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T7?

The Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T7 is a 5.1-Megapixel ultra-compact stylish digital camera with metal case, a 3x optical zoom, a large 2.5-inch LCD screen, Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar optics, powered by a small rechargeable battery.

The camera stores pictures on a proprietary Sony Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick Duo Pro and features fast USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection to PC and Mac computers.

Two Reviews

I will provide two reviews below. The first one (short version) will be targeted to people who don't want to read through multiple pages of text to figure out if the camera has what they want and if it performs well. It is targeted to a casual user rather than somebody who cares about the small details.

The second version will contain the description of the more advanced aspects for those who are interested in them. By separating this information, I hope to avoid boring casual shooters to death with information about things they might not need.

I will also outline the differences between Sony T7 and the Sony T33 as well as compare the T7 to Canon PowerShot SD400.

Short Review

The T7 looks pretty cool, cooler than the Sony T33 that I reviewed recently. Find the looks of the Canon SD400 better though. The T7 is compact. It looks and feels rather durable and its silver buttons and overall design make it look more hi-tech and more expensive than the T33.

The camera has a fixed lens that does not extend from the body and does zooming and focusing internally. The lens cover that opens when the camera is powered on. When the camera is powered off, the lens cover closes. Because there is no need for the camera to extend the lens, the startup time is minimal - less than 1 second.

The camera has no on/off button, but is rather powered on by sliding the little lid on the front panel down, exposing the lens. It is powered off when you slide the lid up, covering the lens with it. It is the same arrangement that the original Sony T1 had.

The top deck has a shutter release button as well as a zoom control that I find too stiff. The bottom of the camera has a Memory Stick Duo card compartment lid as well as a threaded tripod attachment hole. The camera comes with a translucent plastic tripod adapter that is attached to the camera with a screw-type mechanism and then can be attached to a standard tripod. It is like having a mini-tripod mount that connects to a attachment that has a real tripod mount. Why did they do it? Seems like a very stupid idea to me.

The rear panel of the camera houses a huge bright 2.5-inch LCD monitor, control buttons and a sliding switch between review, movie and still picture taking modes. The side of the camera has a battery compartment lid and a carrying strap hole as well as a little adaptor jack.

The connectivity to the power, video and USB is by means of a little supplied camera adaptor/dock. The camera has a small proprietary multi-contact connector on the side, which corresponds to the jack on the supplied miniature dock. The dock has a USB port (the cable is supplied), A/V out (A/V cable supplied) and the DC power jack (AC/DC adaptor is not supplied, but the external battery charger is).

The camera comes with InfoLithium-type compact battery, which is charged outside the camera in a supplied compact charger that plugs into a wall outlet. The charger takes 100-240V and has foldable prongs. The battery came completely depleted and the initial charge took 1.5 hour - a little shorter than 2 hours it took me to charge the similar battery of the Sony T33.

The camera is very easy to use. I have not read the manual (I have not even opened it), but was able to use the camera and all its features in no time. The camera can be used by any member of the family and by photographers of all levels of expertise from novices to advanced ones (albeit it will not give you much control over the shutter speed or aperture).

The T7 comes pre-set to Auto mode. You do not have to do anything other than point and shoot - the camera takes care of the rest. The camera uses 5-area smart autofocus (in non-manual modes, you can also select spot autofocus, continuous autofocus or preset manual focus to 0.5m, 1m, 3m, 7m or infinity). You press the shutter release button halfway to make camera focus (the camera shows you that it focused and beeps to confirm focus) and then you take the picture by pressing the shutter release button all the way.

You zoom in and out by using the stubby stick on the top panel. The camera has no viewfinder but has a huge, 2.5-inch LCD screen that is accurate, fluid (slightly less fluid in the dark) and has a backlight that can be turned off. The screen has good visibility in sunlight.

If you want more control, you can select one of the scene modes (Portrait, Landscape, etc.). And for even more control, you can select Program mode, in which you can select ISO (64-400), white balance (albeit with no custom setting), exposure compensation, flash output adjustment (normal, low, high), metering mode (multi, spot), sharpness adjustment, contrast adjustment, saturation adjustment, color and picture effects, etc.

The flash mode can be selected by pushing the arrow up button on the rear panel, the macro mode can be selected by using the arrow left, the timer by arrow down and the review of the last picture by arrow left.

The camera is very fast in operation. The camera takes less than a second to power itself on in either review or shooting mode. It feels almost instantaneous.

The T7 can capture images at about 1-1.5 per second in burst mode. In single-frame mode, the camera could snap pictures as fast as I could push the shutter release button - about one a second. The focusing takes much less than a second and the shutter lag, when pre-focused, is almost unnoticeable. The zooming is pretty slow, but smooth and lets you fine-tune your composition.

The review proved to be subjectively faster than that of the cheaper Sony T33, where the image would first appear coarse and then would get finer.

The camera lets you select the resolution for your images between 5M (5 Megapixels, 2592x1944), 3:2 (about 4.4 MP, perfect fit for 6x4 prints), 3M (2048x1536), 1M (1280x960) and VGA (E-mail) mode (640x480). You also get a choice between Standard and Fine quality. The Fine mode uses about 6:1 compression and the Standard uses about 12:1. Obviously, the Standard file size is half that of the Fine: about 1.3 MB vs. 2.5 MB at the highest resolution.

The supplied 32 MB memory card can fit about 12 photos at the highest resolution and best quality or 24 photos with Standard quality.

The battery shows its remaining power in minutes on the screen. The fully charged battery lasts about 70-100 minutes, which is pretty good for its size. You can turn the LCD backlight off to conserve the battery power.

The flash is rather weak. It illuminates the center of the frame more than the corners and has an effective range of less than 8 feet. It has a recycle time of only about 5 seconds. Rather fast for the camera size but the flash is pretty weak.

In its red-eye reduction mode, the camera emits a series of bright annoying flashes before the actual flash. The red-eye reduction mode is disabled by default and you can enable it by going to the setup menu. In other words, it is buried too far.

The camera produces very good photo with well-exposed, sharp, contrasty and richly-colored images (see the samples below, click for full-size images). Feel free to download the sample photos I took and look at the EXIF data (if you have any EXIF-compatible viewer, e.g. ACDSee or Photoshop).

The camera sometimes overcorrects the white balance and most pictures have warm cast. The photos are sharp with only very small amount of softening in the corners of the frame - a non-issue as at most print sizes the corners are usually cut off. Again, this will not be noticeable in printed pictures however since corners normally don't make it to the print due to the aspect ratio difference and other factors. Plus, the blurriness is so small, you have to enlarge the image to 100% on the computer screen to notice it.

Usually, the smaller the camera and the higher the optical zoom it can provide, the softer the image becomes, especially at the corners of the frame as it is difficult to produce compact optics with high zoom levels. Surprisingly, the Carl Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens on the T7 is so good, there is only a small amount of blurring in corners. Overall, the lens produces sharp results at all zoom levels and has impressive 3x optical zoom range.

Unlike the T33, which starts at ISO 100, the T7 starts at ISO 64 setting. The image noise is slight at the ISO 64 or ISO 100 in the shadows, gets more pronounced at ISO 200 and gets rather bothersome at ISO 400. Still, if you are printing 6x4 or 5x7 pictures, the noise should not be visible at all and will only be slightly visible at ISO 400 with larger prints. With 5.1-megapixel shots it produces, you can print your photos at up to 11x14 inches with good detail (ISO 64-200).

Recommendation: I recommend Sony DSC-T7 if you want a ultra-compact, cool yet capable camera with 5.1-megapixels and huge LCD screen that produces excellent photos with print sizes of up 11x14 inches. It is extremely fast and easy to use.

If you want a cheaper and slightly worse looking, but similarly performing and sized Sony, check out the Sony DSC-T33. And if you want a cooler-looking camera with conventional lens, take a look at Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital ELPH.

Full Review

Features and Specifications

• 5.1-megapixel CCD
• Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens
• 35mm equivalent lens focal length: 38-114mm
• 2x digital zoom / 6x total zoom
• Real Imaging Processor - for high-quality images and faster camera response
• 2.5" color LCD
• Resolution: 2592 x 1944; 2592 x 1728; 2048 x 1536; 1280 x 960; 640 x 480
• MPEG Movie VX with audio
• 14-bit DXP A/D conversion
• five-area multipoint autofocus and continuous autofocus
• shutter speed: (1 - 1/1000 seconds)
• 10 scene modes, including Beach, Fireworks, and Candle
• slow shutter noise reduction
• variable ISO sensitivity and selectable ISO 100, 200 and 400
• macro mode (as close as 3.25" from subject) and Magnifying Glass mode (0.4" from subject)
• built-in flash
• built-in mono microphone and speaker
• USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface (backward-compatible with older USB 1.1 interface)
• compatible with Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo (32MB Memory Stick Duo supplied)
• audio/video output for connection to a TV
• 3-7/8"W x 2-7/16"H x 11/16"D
• weight (with battery and media): 4.8 oz.
• warranty: 1 year

Supplied Accessories

• 32MB Memory Stick® Duo (with adapter)
• rechargeable InfoLithium® battery (NP-FE1)
• AC adapter/charger
• USB cradle and cable
• A/V cable
• wrist strap
• camera stand with threaded base for use with tripod
• software CD-ROM (for Windows® and Mac)

More on Features and Controls

The camera uses a very small rechargeable battery that looks like a cell phone battery. The camera has a bright low-light focus assist illuminator that helps it focus in low light.

The camera also has a Macro mode, but the flash produces shadows in the corners and the tripod mount can only be obtained by using the special camera tripod adaptor - there is no tripod mount in the camera itself. To mount the camera on the tripod, you have to place it on the adaptor and rotate the screw in it to fix it in the threaded hole in the camera. The adaptor has a regular tripod mount.

It seems that the camera uses a two-step type aperture with no fine control over aperture. The camera doesn't let you control the aperture or the shutter speed directly, but even if you select landscape mode or try shooting in different lighting conditions, you will soon discover that your resultant photos have only one of two aperture values at any given focal length, which is typical for a compact camera.

You can use the exposure compensation in the Program mode and it comes in handy in some situations. There are a bunch of scene modes as well, which help the camera tweak the focusing and exposure settings according to the type of scene.

Manual Focusing

The camera lets you select among 0.5m, 1m, 3m, 7m or infinity.

More on Image Quality

The camera produces contrasty photos that have a pleasing color with slight oversaturation (by default) and a slight warm cast. The dynamic range of the photos seems to be slightly limited, especially in highlights (as in other consumer-level digicams). In harsh lighting conditions, the highlights can be blown out. Overall, the dynamic range is rather good, comparing to other compact camera of similar price.

I was not able to find much chromatic aberration (purple fringing) in the areas of high contrast. See sample photos by clicking on the link below.

Sample photos from Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T7 digital camera

White Balance

The T7 has auto white balance or you can choose among several presets including flash white balance (gives pictures too warm of a cast), halogen, incandescent, sunny, cloudy, etc. The camera has no custom white balance setting (using a grey card). The camera's automatic white balance favors warmer color casts, but does a good job overall.

Camera Sounds

The camera itself is rather quiet in operation. You can customize the sounds it makes through its speaker and their volume.

Macro

The T7 can take decent macro pictures. It can capture (with no flash) a minimum area of about 3x2.2-inch and features a sharp image overall with only slight softening in corners. You need light to illuminate the shooting area and/or a tripod, however: the flash when engaged leaves shadows in the corners of the frame.

Build Quality and Ergonomics

The camera has a solid feel and good build quality. It feels better designed and built than the Sony T33, but less so than Canon SD400. The major controls are within easy reach and the tactile response is good overall, but the zoom control is too stiff and uncomfortably located.

Menu System

I have not read the manual, yet was able to use the camera in all modes. I like Sony's menus less than recent Canon menus or Panasonic ones. But they are certainly usable. If you use both the T7 and T33 you will discover that the menus are absolutely identical with the T7 having only a couple of extra items (ISO 64 setting and an extra scene mode).

LCD

The T7 has a large 2.5-inch non-articulated (fixed) LCD screen and no viewfinder. The LCD coverage as about 100% - you can see exactly what will be recorded. The LCD is bright, fluid (unless it is dark), has good visibility in sunlight or darkness and very good resolution.

Movie Mode

The camera offers you three movie modes: 320x240, 640x480 and 640x480 high quality. The supplied memory card didn't let me use the High Quality 640x480, but the standard 640x480 was OK. It was rather fluid (but not as fluid as a regular camcorder footage) and it didn't let me zoom during shooting :( .

Computer Connectivity

The camera uses USB 2.0 Hi-Speed connection to transfer pictures to a computer. You can also remove the Memory Stick Duo memory card and use a memory card reader (if you have one). The camera comes with an adapter for Memory Stick Duo to be used with a regular Memory Stick devices.

I used the camera with the USB cable supplied (through the dock). The file transfer is very fast at about 2,500-3,000 KB/s. The annoying part is that you have to install a driver to be able to use the camera with your computer before you connect the camera for the first time (I never had to install a driver for Panasonic or Olympus cameras I used). The good part is that after installing the driver for the T33, I tried connecting this T7 without installing the driver and it worked.

I do not use the software that was provided with the camera since I have Adobe Photoshop CS2.

Histogram

The camera can display a live histogram in the shooting mode as well as in the review mode to show you if you have overexposed the highlights or underexposed the shadows. I useful feature when you don't trust the LCD.

Comparison to Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T33

The Sony DSC-T33 looks worse and is a little larger. It has slightly worse built quality and features slightly worse tactile response (but its zoom control is better). The T33 uses a large camera dock for USB, power and A/V connectivity as well as for tripod mounting. It charges its battery inside the camera. It has a dedicated camera on/off button and an automatic motorized lens cover.

The T33 has no ISO 64. Its picture quality is comparable to the T7 and it has similar specs and Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar optics. The T33 has slightly slower preview speed and USB transfer speed.

Comparison to Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital ELPH

The Canon SD400 looks cooler to me, seems to be better made, uses more widespread and cheaper SD memory cards. I find its menus easier to use. I find the colors it produces slightly more pleasing. It is about as fast as the T7 in operation, but has slower USB transfer speed. It has smaller (but still large) 2-inch LCD and an optical zooming viewfinder. It has a real metal tripod mount and a more powerful flash.

Bottom Line

I recommend Sony DSC-T7 if you want a ultra-compact, cool yet capable camera with 5.1-megapixels and huge LCD screen that produces excellent photos with print sizes of up 11x14 inches. It is extremely fast and easy to use.

If you want a cheaper and slightly worse looking, but similarly performing and sized Sony, check out the Sony DSC-T33. And if you want a cooler-looking camera with conventional lens, take a look at Canon PowerShot SD400 Digital ELPH.

Recommended
Yes

Product Rating
(Above Average)

This review is also available at Epinions.com: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-T7 Digital Camera Review on Epinions.com

My Reviews of Other Digital Cameras