Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 - Expert Reviews

Review summary: Sony refines its innovative 5-megapixel Cyber-shot; it's the first digital camera we've tested with USB 2.0 connectivity.

Review summary: WHAT'S HOT: When we reviewed Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-F707 last April, we noted its inventive design, uncommon low-light shooting capabilities, long battery life, and dazzling images. The DSC-F717 retains all of that and adds USB 2.0 connectivity, zone ...

Verdict: Another one of the Jog Dial's tasks is setting the autofocus zone, a new feature in the F717. Probably most useful for portrait or macro photography, the zoned autofocus lets you set one of five zones (center, right, left, top, or bottom) within the ...

Verdict: An excellent package that should appeal to photography enthusiasts, especially those switching to digital from 35mm SLRs.

Review summary: In case you skipped over the chart, there are some shutter speed quirks on the F717. The shutter speed range in programmed or fully automatic is 1/30 - 1/2000 sec. Put it in shutter priority or full manual mode, and the range is 30 - 1/1000 sec. This ...

Pros: Excellent 5 Megapixel photos ; Lots of bells and whistles such as Nightshot, and zoom ring ; Fast F2.0, 5X optical zoom lens ; Hot shoe and histograms, at last ; Great battery life ; Many manual controls ; Robust performance ; One of the best movie ...

Cons: Missing a lot of manual controls found on other cameras at this price ; Reds are "too red" (and not a lot you can do about it) ; Loss of sharpness in image corners ; Shutter speed limited to (no slower than) 1/30 sec in programmed/fully auto modes ; ...

Verdict: ($999) is more of an evolutionary upgrade to the F707, rather than something totally new. It takes the already excellent features of the F707 and improves on them even more. The lens and CCD are identical on both cameras

Pros: Still the best resolution of current five megapixel digital cameras, Improved colour response, far less "Sony like" and much more natural, Good dynamic range, exhibits good detail from shadow through to highlight, Low noise levels compared to other ...

Cons: Storage capacity - Memory Stick still limited to 128 MB, No ability to control colour saturation, tone or noise reduction, No user settings / memories, Limited burst ability, very fast but only 3 frames, Visible sharpening 'white halo' around black ...

Verdict: Sony could be accused of going down the easy 'product refresh' route, and indeed to a large degree the DSC-F717 is a 'refresh' of the DSC-F707.