Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S700 Digital Camera Hands On Preview

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S700 is a 7.2 megapixel entry level camera with a 3x optical zoom and 2.4 inch LCD. We'll be posting our full review in a few days and wanted to give you our first thoughts about this camera. One of the S700's predecessors is the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S600 and it had a favorable response from users and reviewers, so I was interested to see how the S700 worked out.

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The S700 is an entry level camera, so shooting modes are limited to full automatic, program auto (let's you change settings like white balance and ISO), and a handful of scene modes. I like the fact the Sony limits the scene modes to what can fit on the shooting mode dial. It prevents users from being overwhelmed and spending too much time in a menu trying to pick one scene mode from a list of too many. Also, since all the shooting modes (including movie mode) is accessible from the shooting mode dial, it's easy and quick to switch between modes.

The camera is powered by 2 AA batteries (typical of entry level models) and accepts Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick Pro Duo memory media. Battery life is very good.

The S700 has a nice solid feel and looks like a camera that is $100-150 more than it really is. The metal body and brushed finish on the front give it a nice touch of style. Operation (shutter lag, shot to shot time, flash charge time) is quick compared to other cameras in this class.

The LCD is relatively large (2.4 inches), but doesn't have a high pixel count and is hard to see outdoors. Unfortunately, there is not optical viewfinder for those times when it's very hard to see.

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Image quality so far is good - colors are strong (a bit too strong for some) and details are good. Macro shots show plenty of detail.

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Stay tuned for our full review, coming soon!