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Sony DSC-S70

Sony makes a compact 3.3 megapixel digicam with full movie/sound capability and a razor-sharp Zeiss lens!

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Page 1:Intro and Highlights

Review First Posted: 5/5/2000

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3.3 megapixel CCD, up to 2048x1536 images
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Very sharp 3x optical zoom lens , 2x digital zoom
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Records movies with sound
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JPEG, GIF, TIFF, and MPEG file formats
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High-speed USB computer connection


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Manufacturer Overview
More than any other single company, Sony has dominated the digital camera market the last few years, thanks in large part to the easy computer interfacing offered by their Mavica(tm) line of floppy-disk based cameras. They've also been active at the high end of the market, with products like the DSC-D770 and DSC-F505, which caught the eye of many pros and advanced amateurs for their excellent optics and exposure control.

This spring (February, 2000), Sony stunned the digicam world by announcing no fewer than six new models. At the lower end, they extended their Mavica line, cleverly using special versions of the "FlashPath" floppy disk memory card adapter in conjunction with their Memory Stick technology to deliver "floppy disk" cameras with potential storage capacities as high as 64 megabytes. In their CyberShot still camera line, they brought out several new models, providing a range of resolutions and feature sets. This review covers their new high-end CyberShot model, the DSC-S70, which sports a 3.3 megapixel sensor, very sharp Zeiss 3x optical zoom lens, and features like advanced exposure modes (aperture and shutter priority) and MPEG movie recording with full sound and video.


Highlights

  • 3.3 megapixel CCD delivering up to 2048 x 1535 pixel images.

  • 560 x 220, TFT color LCD monitor.

  • 3x, 7 to 21mm Carl Zeiss, Vario-Sonnar lens (equivalent to a 34 to 102mm lens on a 35mm camera).

  • 2x digital zoom.

  • Auto and manual focus options.

  • Automatic, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Twilight, Twilight Plus, Landscape, Panfocus and Spot Metering exposure modes.

  • Variable white balance with Auto, Indoor, Outdoor and Hold (manual) settings.

  • Built-in flash with Auto, Forced, Suppressed and Red-Eye Reduction modes and a variable intensity setting.

  • External flash sync connection.

  • Records movies with sound, at 320x240 or 160x112 pixel resolutions.

  • Apertures from f/2.0 to f/8.0.

  • Shutter speeds from 8 to 1/1000 seconds in still mode and from 1/8 to 1/1000 seconds in movie mode.

  • Image capture on Sony Memory Stick.

  • JPEG, GIF (in Text mode), TIFF and MPEG1 file types.

  • USB interface for connecting to a computer.

  • NTSC/PAL switchable video output (US models ship with NTSC video cable).

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