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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! Select a topic 13. Reference: Datasheet 14. DSC-S70 Sample Images --------------------------------- 1. Intro and Highlights 2. Executive Overview 3. Design 4. Viewfinder 5. Optics 6. Exposure & Flash 7. Shutter Lag & Cycle Time Tests 8. Operation & User Interface 9. Camera Modes & Menus 10. Image Storage & Interface 11. Video, Power, Software 12. Test Results & Conclusion --------------------------------- Print-Friendly Review Version Additional Resources and Other Links Reader Comments --------------------------------- Digital Camera Comparometer (TM) --------------------------------- <-- Digital Cameras (Home) <-- Digital Camera Reviews Index <<Design :(Previous) | (Next): Optics>> Page 4:Viewfinder Review First Posted: 5/5/2000

Viewfinder
The S70's real image optical viewfinder zooms along with the lens (except in digital telephoto) and features a central autofocus crosshair to assist in composition and with AE/AF lock. A dioptric adjustment dial on the side of the viewfinder adjusts the view to accomodate eyeglass wearers. Two small LEDs on the right side of the viewfinder let you know when the focus is set and the flash is ready.

Additionally, the S70 features a 560 x 220 TFT color LCD monitor for composing images. An information display, controlled by the Display button, reports various camera settings, battery power and the number of images taken. An ever present menu lives at the bottom of the LCD monitor and is quickly called up by pressing the up arrow on the rocker toggle button (the down arrow dismisses it). In Playback mode, the LCD offers a six image index display for viewing several images at once. You can also zoom into captured images up to 5x with the zoom control and scroll around the enlarged image with the arrow keys (you can actually record a small 640 x 480 "cropped" image in this manner). As in Record mode, an information overlay controlled by the Display button reports information about the battery power, filename, etc.

We found the S70's optical viewfinder to be a little "tight" (we recently changed our terminology, we would have previously referred to this cropping as a "loose" viewfinder, but felt the "tight" term described what went on in the viewfinder itself a bit more accurately), showing approximately 84 percent of the final image area at wide angleand about 83 percent at telephoto.The LCD monitor proved only slightly more accurate, showing about 90 percent frame coverage at wide angleand about 92 percent accuracy at the telephoto setting. (We generally like to see the LCD monitor as close to 100 percent accuracy as possible). We also shot at the 2x digital telephoto setting, which provided about 88 percent frame accuracy and a somewhat softer image (a typical symptom of using digital zoom).