Review posted for Sony DSC-T7 By
Dave Etchells
(Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - 13:09 EDT)
The new Sony DSC-T7 takes "thin" to a whole new level for a sophisticated digital camera design.
By far the thinnest Cyber-shot to date, the Sony T7 is noteworthy not only for its amazingly thin profile, but for the range of features and image quality that the Sony engineers managed to pack into its tiny frame. While there are always compromises when making a super-tiny digicam, the Sony T7 does better than most.
I was particularly impressed by its lens, not so much for its absolute quality as for the extent to which it avoids some of the severe problems with soft corners and high chromatic aberration we've seen in so many subcompact cameras in the past. Other image quality parameters are good too, with great color, solid resolution, and good dynamic range. Despite its tiny size, the Sony T7 offers a strong feature set, great shooting speed (shutter response times among the best on the market, regardless of size), and excellent video capabilities. About its only significant limitations are a somewhat limited low light capability, and the short battery life and weak flash output that's typical of subcompact camera models.
Bottom line, a fine little camera, good enough to be made a "Dave's Pick." If you're in the market for a really compact digital camera, but don't want to give up lots of features or accept poor-quality images to get there, you owe it to yourself to check out the Sony T7. One word of warning though: Don't pick one up and hold it unless you plan to buy one: They're that addicting. Read our Sony DSC-T7 review for all the details (but don't say we didn't warn you).
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