Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F707Wow! 5 megapixels, a super-sharp lens, Hologram AF, NightShot, NightFraming and more! Killer technology, great photos from Sony!<<Design :(Previous) | (Next): Optics>> Page 4:ViewfinderReview First Posted: 08/20/2001 (Full production model update 11/20/2001) |
ViewfinderThe F707 offers both a 1.8-inch, 123,000-pixel, rear panel LCD monitor and a smaller electronic viewfinder (EVF) in place of a true "optical" viewfinder. The EVF actually uses a tiny (and lower-power) LCD screen to show the same view you'll see in the camera's monitor display.What makes the EVF so useful is the information display, which is identical to the LCD monitor's display (complete with navigable menus). As we discovered on the FD91 and FD95 models, the idea of being able to see the exposure settings in the viewfinder is a good one, but navigating the menus through this small viewfinder is pretty tricky. We found it much easier to simply switch on the LCD monitor when we needed to change menu options. The EVF does feature a diopter adjustment dial on top of the eyepiece, which should make things easier for eyeglass wearers. A sliding switch on the rear panel controls where the view is displayed, either on the larger LCD monitor or in the smaller eyepiece.
As we noted in the overview portion of this review, we're in general no fans of EVFs, finding them a poor substitute for true optical viewfinders. On the F707 though, the EVF seems to have higher resolution than we're accustomed to seeing, which helps a great deal. Plus, the NightShot and NightFraming modes eliminate one of our stronger objections to EVFs; that they're generally useless in low light conditions. Overall, even the F707's EVF doesn't take us entirely out of the anti-EVF camp, but it goes a long ways in the right direction.
The Display button on the back panel controls the information display, with a choice of full or partial readings in Record mode. The basic information display reports Flash mode, exposure settings (aperture and shutter speed), and Focus mode. The detailed display also shows the remaining battery power and image quality and resolution. Both the EVF eyepiece and rear panel LCD monitor have adjustable brightness functions. The LCD Brightness adjustment is the first option in the camera's Setup menu, with Dark, Normal, and Bright settings. When the camera is running on battery power, the second and third menu item are for LCD and EVF Backlight adjustment respectively. The backlight settings have Normal and Bright options. This is particularly helpful when shooting in bright, sunlit conditions. For some reason, when the camera is plugged into the AC adapter, the LCD Backlight option disappears. (Perhaps because Sony felt that the camera would generally be indoors when connected to an AC source, and hence not need the high brightness backlight option for the LCD screen.)
In Playback mode, the Display button also controls the information display, but in this case, turns it completely on or off. An Index Display mode shows as many as nine thumbnail images at a time on the LCD monitor with the first press of the Index button. Pressing the Index button a second time displays exposure information about the selected thumbnail, including aperture, shutter speed, exposure compensation, ISO, metering mode, flash, and white balance (in two screens). The Zoom control on the side of the lens barrel controls the playback zoom, enlarging captured images as much as 5x.The advantage of an eye-level viewfinder, as provided by the EVF, is that it promotes a more secure camera grip (arms clamped to your sides, camera body braced against your face), which helps with long telephoto and low-light shots. It also provides a more natural "look-and-shoot" operation than when you're forced to rely on a rear-panel LCD display. On previous Sony digicams, we found the smaller EVF eyepieces difficult to work with in low-light situations, as the electronic viewfinder system typically requires more light to operate. Sony has answered this challenge with the NightFraming and NightShot modes. The NightShot technology was first pioneered by Sony in its consumer camcorder lines, and is now making its way into digital still photography. In the F707, it allows you to do things with a digital camera that you simply *can't* do with a film-based unit, such as take pictures in total darkness.
NightShot and NightFraming take advantage of the CCD's sensitivity to infrared light, which is normally filtered out, because it tends to skew the camera's color rendering in bright sunlit scenes. Sony's NightShot technology uses a movable IR filter that lets the camera take advantage of this IR sensitivity in low-light situations and block it at other times.
In NightShot mode, the camera flips the IR filter out of the way for both the framing and exposure. Any natural IR light in the scene is supplemented by two infrared LEDs on the front of the lens, which project IR beams onto the subject. These lamps don't completely cover the field of view at wide angle, but they do a pretty good job from about halfway up the zoom range toward telephoto. The built-in illuminator lamps enable you to shoot in total darkness, but the pictures you capture will be monochromatic, with the majority of light areas showing a green cast (as is typical with Night Vision goggles). Some colors will render as different shades of gray than they would in a normal black-and-white photo. This is because the reflectance of objects is often different in IR than in visible light, so a "dark" color in daylight may actually appear quite bright in IR. (Note that when shooting reflective surfaces close-up, you'll be able to see the glow of the camera's IR lamps in the center of the image.)In NightFraming mode, the camera also flips the IR filter out of the way and turns on the illuminator lamps, but only while you're framing your shots. As soon as you half-press the Shutter button, the IR filter flips back down, and the camera takes a normal visible-light photo, using its built-in flash. This is particularly handy for nighttime flash shooting, when you wouldn't be able to see (or focus on) the subject otherwise.
We'd really like to see the NightFraming made available for other exposure modes besides Auto, and to be able to choose whether or not to fire the flash. We enjoy taking night shots from a tripod, and the NightFraming would be a nice way to take advantage of the F707's 30-second maximum exposure time and excellent noise reduction. Of course, if you're shooting from a tripod, you can still use the NightFraming like this, it just takes two steps: Turn on the NightFraming and switch the camera to Auto mode, compose your picture, then turn it off again, switch back to the mode you want to shoot in, and take your shot. This isn't a huge inconvenience, but we'd still like to see NightFraming work independently of the shooting mode, and also not mandate use of the flash.
Overall, NightShot and NightFraming are a tremendous extension to digital photography, clearly taking it into realms that film-based cameras just don't touch on. Sure, you can shoot with IR film, but the no-light viewfinder capability of NightFraming just isn't available in the film world. Combined with the Hologram AF feature, they make in-the-dark digital photography more practical than it's ever been. Big kudos to Sony for bringing these innovations to digital photography!
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