Sony DSC-TX7 10.2MP CMOS Digital Camera with 4x Zoom with Optical Steady Shot Image Stabilization and 3.5 inch Touch Screen LCD (Silver)
July 13th, 2010 | 
Author: Sony DSC-TX7 10.2MP CMOS Digital Camera with 4x Zoom with Optical Steady Shot Image Stabilization and 3.5 inch Touch Screen LCD (Silver)
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 List Price: $399.99 Sale Price: $368.00 Availability: unspecified 
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Product Description
The sleek and stylish DSC-TX7 offers a large 3.5-inch touch screen1 to easily take and review photos. An advanced Exmor R CMOS sensor provides stunning low-light images and sweeping panoramic views with iSweep Panorama mode. Plus, delight in 1920x1080 Full HD video recording9 and playback10.
Features
- 10.2 Megapixel Back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS Image Sensor : The DSC-TX7 features a 10.2 megapixel Exmor R CMOS image sensor that brings out the full resolving power of the camera's Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® lens to deliver extremely quick speed, high resolution, and stunning low-light sensitivity with improved image clarity and drastically reduced grain. In addition, the combined “Exmor R” CMOS sensor and BIONZ™ image processor delivers extremely quick 10fps, Anti Motion Blur, Hand-held Twilight and 1080i movie modes.9
- Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens with 25mm equivalent wide 4x Optical Zoom : The high-performance Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar® 4x optical zoom lens brings distant subjects closer for video recording as well as for outdoor, sports, and travel photos, and Close Focus shoots close-ups up to just under ½” from the subject. A wide angle of 25mm equivalentwide-angle lens allows you to take wider shots of the scene or group in crowded spaces.
- 3.5-inch Xtra Fine LCD touch screen display1 w/TruBlack technology : A large 3.5-inch Xtra Fine LCD touch screen display1 w/TruBlack technology (921K pixels), the largest of Sony's Cyber-shot DSC line makes it simple for viewing and sharing images with simple and fun touch screen operation. With its Ultra AR film coating, which reduces reflections and increases contrast and brightness, viewing images on the LCD even in bright light is possible.
- Simple Touch Screen Interaction : The DSC-TX7 offers intuitive functions to the multi-purpose touch screen, such as the ability to select the focus point with a simple touch, scroll through images by sliding your finge
Details
- 3.5-inch touch screen for simple focus selection and photo viewing
- 10.2-megapixel "Exmor R" CMOS sensor for stunning low-light performance
- iSweep Panorama Mode captures stunning panoramic images
- Quick capture with 10fps at full 10.2 MP resolution; 1080i AVCHD Movie records high-quality HD movies
- Accepts Memory Stick Duo/Memory Stick PRO Duo/Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo (not included)
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Rating
I’ve owned this camera for a small over a week now. I bought it specifically for its full HD video recording capability. I found its photo quality to be somewhat inferior compared to Canon cameras. Nevertheless, I am using it nearly exclusively for video shooting. So far I am profoundly impressed by the quality of 1080/60i AVCHD video (as seen on 50″ HDTV). It is very well comparable to that of full size entry level HD camcorders. The colors are very realistic (not oversaturated like cheap pocket camcorders), there is no visible pixilation; the microphone is tuned to pick up voice instead of noise. The autofocus works fantastic; you can basically shoot videos in macro mode. Also with optical image stabilization, the videos don’t come out looking all “shaky” and “vibrating” like those from Flip and the like. This camera is super small, slim and light. Isn’t it fantastic to be able to take high quality HD videos on the go instead of just photos?! Easily fits in jeans pocket. I give this camera 5 stars because I reckon there is simply no competition to it at this point – try to find a high quality AVCHD camcorder with optical image stabilization, optical zoom, stereo Dolby plus microphone, etc of this size.
The camera comes with a dock which has full-size HDMI out port for simple connection to HDTV as well as USB, A/V and DC ports. Unfortunately the DC adapter is not included. Even though it cannot be used to charge the camera, it will but power it so you won’t be draining the battery during playback which can be essential because the battery runs out really quick when filming or playing HD.
My advice – do not buy this camera for photo taking because you will be majorly disappointed by the photo quality (many of the pictures I took came out quite grainy). That of course if you’re used to Canon… But if you aim to use it primarily for video shooting – there is not much to reckon about.
Rating
Brilliant small point-and-shoot camera!
In addition to all the positives above, here are some things I liked the most:
Pros:
+Brilliant low-light photos
+Brilliant video
+Uses SD cards in addition to Sony’s proprietary Memory Stick
+Small size, form factor
+3.5 inch touch screen is both high-resolution and gorgeous
+Excellent fit-and-end
Cons:
-VERY HARD to open/close easily. The end is quite slippery and the cover is hard to open
-Hard to hold since the screen takes up the entire back face. There’s a tiny grip on the back, but that’s not enough – even for someone with small hands like me.
Otherwise, it’s an brilliant camera!
JT
Rating
Many times with electronics there are features that sound fantastic but don’t really live up to expectations. The TX7 has a very fascinating feature list and the fantastic thing is none are a let down, IMO. Everything just works. The low light ability of this camera is a real stand out. If you’re like me and dislike photos taken with a flash you’ll like handheld twilight. In this mode the camera takes 6 photos with different settings in less than a second and combines them into one that results in a low light picture that looks exactly like what you see with your eyes. Most of the time you’ll probably have the camera in iAuto mode and it works brilliant. The nice thing is it instantly shows the setting it’s picked for you on the screen just by pointing the camera so you know it’s working, and on that same point can manually change the settings if you want something different. Turn on iSCN+ while in iAUTO and it’ll take 2 pics (instantly, with one press) with different settings and saves them both, so you nearly always end up with a shot you like in auto mode. The panorama mode is very cool and fool proof. Then of course there is the HD video! 1920×1080 60i HD video with stereo audio. Video quality is brilliant and wrapped up with everything else this camera offers makes it a fantastic choice. With electronics something better always comes out after you buy a product, but I believe with this camera you can buy it now and use it for years to come without feeling compelled to upgrade because it has fantastic features and fantastic quality photo and video.
Rating
First, I want to give props to Sony for adding a SD/SDHC media slot, otherwise, I would not even consider this digital camera. I do not want to pay double the price for Sony’s Memory Stick Duo versus SD/SDHC cards with same capacity. When shopping for a new camera, I considered all the major brands and Sony’s DSC-TX1 and CyberShot T90. Currently, I have a Canon PowerShot SD600 digital camera that has given me many many fantastic pics. But, its about four years ancient and I want the newest, latest technology. I searched the web for all the digital cameras I was interested in and then went to Best Buys and Fry’s Electronic to see and test them. Nothing, I felt, came close to this camera with all its features. The Sony DSC-TX7 is slim, about two-thirds of an inch thick, but there are other thinner digital cameras out there if that is what you are looking for. My Canon dimensions overall is smaller than this camera. Turning on the camera is quick and simple. Slide the cover down and it’s ready to take pics/videos in about 2 seconds. The lens does not pop out like many other digital cameras. The lens stay internal even when using the optical zoom, which is why it’s only 4X. Not a problem if your subject is not distant. It’s wide angle lens allows you to get more picture or closer to your subject. A small issue I encountered is that sometimes while sliding the cover open, my thumb would touch the top of the lens dirtying it. I have an average size hand so it may be a concern for those with large hands. The 3.5″ touchscreen LCD viewfinder was absolutely the best with brilliant sharpness, brightness and clarity. I suggest you try it at the store and you will see when you compare it to other cameras. Give credit to the optics of a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens and xtra fine LCD screen. In full sun, I was clearly able see the the subject in the viewfinder. With my Canon, the screen was really dark and even with my hand partially blocking the sunlight, it was very hard to see anything. I have taken hundreds of photos/videos with the TX7 in many different lighting conditions and I am very pleased with the results. The photos/videos are clear and sharp, and the colors are vivid and honestly accurate. In low-light conditions without the flash, the TX7 takes very excellent pics that was much less grainy than my Canon SD600. For extreme close-ups, it has two settings, macro and super macro. With super macro, I was able to be one-inch away and still have a super sharp focus on the subject I was pointing at. You won’t find that with any other brand camera unless its a DSLR camera. The iSweep Panorama Mode is very cool, simple and simple to use. After pressing the panorama mode and then the start icon, just go the camera slowly in one direction and it will capture a panorama picture. That’s it and the camera does the rest. No need for photo editing software to stitch your photos together. The battery life has so far been excellent. I have used the camera all day long, taking mostly photos and some videos, and have not had a dead battery. Sorry, but I did not count the number of photos taken or the length of the videos. An extra Sony battery will run about $50, quite expensive, so I am waiting for the generic ones to come out on eBay, which will cost considerably less. The TX7 has only 45 MB of internal memory, which is not much so I bought a 16 GB SDHC, class 6, memory card on Amazon for about $40.00. That will allow me about 5 hours of HD quality video or thousands of high-resolution photos. Besides the high price for this camera, I like this camera!
Rating
I’ve owned several lines of the Sony pocket cams, and this is by far their best yet. The low light shots are unbelievable excellent for a pocket camera. I rarely use the flash outside if any street lights are present. I really like how wide the lens is too. I don’t use the video feature much, but its extremely sharp. So far, Fantastic camera.
Rating
Let me start this review with saying that I have owned quite a few digital cameras in the past. Sony (W50, W250), Canon (SD750, SD760IS) and Nikon (S5 or something) are amongst the brands I have tried. All of them were compact point-shoot cameras.
My ideal digital camera is one where the following conditions are met:
1. I don’t have to reckon of the environment I am in (day or night)
2. It MUST be compact so I can carry it around easily, fit it in my pocket, etc.
3. It should just work without changing settings all the time.
This is exactly that!
Excellent Points:
-> Best low-light pictures (finally!!!)
-> Incredible Panaromic mode. It is sooo simple to use.
-> So many modes, but auto is the best mode.
-> Tap to focus certain areas of the screen! Very cool.
-> The most compact camera I have seen that has a solid build to it. Nothing cheap about it (including the price!)
-> Ability to zoom while recording HD movies! A huge plus.
-> 29 minutes of continuous video recording. (most cameras only allow 10)
-> The touch screen has an ‘simple mode’ (aka idiot mode), which hides away all the advanced features and makes it very simple to use
-> My SDHC card works (min 8gb recommended)
-> Made in Japan (no offense, but to me this says alot about the build quality)
Minor Points:
-> Battery is not the best, but is not horrible either. Would recommend trying it out first. For most people, it should not be a problem, But, it is so tiny that you can easily carry a couple of them with you. Wait for the prices to come down on the battery and snag a couple of them.
-> The silver is really dark silver. You could even say its dark grey. Looks much better in reality than in pictures. Having said that, I reckon the Red would be sexy as well!
Verdict: Certain Buy!
Rating
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2CJFJZJHTQM4H Highly Recommended!!
Rating
I like this camera. The highlights are the high def movies and the panarama mode. This alone captures images worth the price of the camera. No need to carry a separate camcorder, the movies are that excellent! Excellent job Sony! Also, the smile shutter works fantastic. My kids are smiling in every picture! Also, fantastic for handing camera to a weirder. All they have to do is frame the shot and the camera takes the picture when everyone smiles.