Today we're looking at one of the hottest cameras announced early January at the annual CES event. It came from the Sony booth and is part of the T series family which are the ultra compact point and shoot cameras. Characteristics of the CyberShot T series is that they are all high end cameras with a thin body and a sliding cover in front of the Carl Zeiss lens. They also wear a heavy price-tag and unfortunately the camera we're discussing today is no different. With a price-tag of $400 and a 2010 February release date, I'm of course talking about the Sony CyberShot TX7.
What's in the box
The CyberShot TX7 is packed like you're used to with Sony products. The packaging is very small and has the essentials printed on it. Surprisingly the blue version is shown on all boxes, it's not dependent on the color of the model inside. The first things you're going to see are the manual, a registration paper and a advert for additional accessories including the party-shot dock. After that you finally get to see the camera you've been reading so much about. The Sony TX7 immediately draws attention to itself for its slim and premium design, more on that later. Sony was quite generous on the cable side of things. You get an AC cable for charging, a USB cable and a Stereo audio cable for connecting your dock with a stereo system, but HD people will mention that sound can be transferred through a HDMI cable so this particular cable will probably not be used much.
An HDMI cable is absent so you will have to buy one of those if you want to connect your camera directly to your tv. Also absent is a DC cable, so the dock can't be used as a charger right out of the box, I was a little disappointed by that. And I have to say I was moderately surprised that a wristband and an Exmor R mention were attached to the camera right out of the box. After removing both I was all ready to insert the included battery (a really small battery, new generation not found in the previous T cameras) and a SD memory card. Yes The Sony CyberShot TX7 is the first to support not only memory pro duo but also SD and SDHC.
There was one more thing in the box. A little pen you can control the touchscreen with. I don't think anybody will want to use it but it deserves a mention nevertheless for the fans. One circumstance the pen can really shine is when you're using the drawing features on the camera. And that's all you will find in the box. Apart from an HDMI cable and a DC cable, pretty much everything you can wish for is there.
Design
The first thing you're going to notice when glancing at the TX7 is the slim aluminum design. Its all brushed aluminum and with the lens cover up, the only two things that pop are the Sony and CyberShot logos. Everything that could possibly distract you from the minimalistic design are hidden behind the lens cover. It's interesting to see that Sony has opted to change some of the little body features that the TX1 and T900 had. For one the Sony logo is now in the middle and the CyberShot name has been removed from the cover to the lower body. Also gone is the curve in the lens cover which made the older models look like the cover was actually going all the way to the back of the device. With the cover down things still look relatively clean. The lens is on the left side with the flash right beside it. The stereo microphones are placed slightly to the right.
Moving to the back. It's almost all display, edge to edge. There are almost no buttons as the camera is controlled by the 3.5" touchscreen. Sony has done a terrific job getting rid of the wide edges around the screen. On the right edge they have placed a small metal ring where you can attach your wrist band to. Compared to previous T series cameras the metal ring is now really small which is great. Some people might prefer the longer wider wristband attachment though because it allowed them to hold their thumb on it to get that extra stability. Sony also added one extra button which is a dedicated Movie/photo button. Besides that you get the same buttons that TX1 users have. The on/off button (you can also turn on the device by sliding the lens cover), the shutter release, a play button for showing your photos and last but not least a zoom rocker.
I do have one remark about the design: Why so much technical branding? Beside the lens Sony printed a lot of technical terms some of which we didn't even understand. On the top it says: HDavchd, which is one of the video formats it can record to and just above the touchscreen you will be reminded that this camera has the new Exmor R sensor. Maybe they added the info to help impulsive buyers. The house dad that bought a new camera because it looked shiny and then comes home and says: 'look dear, I bought this camera which has an Exmor R and a optical steady shot. I guess it's really good.'
Yeah well don't always judge a book by its covers. Luckily the branding isn't that annoying especially when you compare it the amount of every other camera on the market. But I would applaud the company that manages to release a camera without any branding (apart from company logo and camera series). Maybe it's just impossible because of the rights and patents or something.
The overall design of the Sony CyberShot TX7 is amazing. It's looks so clean for a digital camera. Believe me this camera will turn heads and people won't immediately recognize it as a digital camera. Which is great because the point and shoot products and SLRs are not known for their design. Also think of the benefits like when you want to take pictures of your high school sweetheart before you actually asked her out or something like that.
Ease of use
For this part of the review I wanted not only my opinion but also those of a few people around me. But first I want to mention that I quickly found the patterns in the controls which made it an easy ride for me. On the left and right side you see a lot of icons indicating modes that are active at that particular moment. For example when you've activated the panorama mode a little icon on the left side will notify you of this. If you want to change to a different mode simply click on the panorama logo and select the mode that best suits your needs. Options are: twilight (6 shots becoming 1, ideal for low light), 10fps burst mode (10 shots in a second, ideal for fast moving objects), Panorama (sweep to make, ideal for landscapes) and HDR mode (2 pictures with different settings, ideal for high contrast photos).
The Sony TX7 perfectly implemented this system in all of its controls. Click on the timer to set a timer, click on the menu button to access the preferences etc. For me at first I was skeptical of the new dedicated movie/photo button. I thought it was a waste of space as you can also switch modes using the touchscreen. But as I started shooting photographs and movies I found myself reaching for the button a lot. It's just a whole lot easier and quicker somehow to use the physical button for switching between the video and photo functionality.
Sony has done a great job with the TX7 on the ease of use department. The buttons on the left side and right side aren't just buttons, they're also indicators of the modes and settings you have selected for that particular shot. The dedicated buttons (shutter, zoom, video/photo and show gallery) are really the bare essentials and things you always want to have in reach. Not everything is perfect though. For one the touchscreen is good but not great. The iPhone will beat it with its capacitive touchscreen and multi-touch. And secondly there's no way to see which settings you have used once the photo is taken. It would be great if you could hit the little info button and get all the information you got while you were taken the picture.
Now I showed the camera to a couple of passers by, you know mom, grandma, aunt, and asked them for their honest opinion. They all said that the camera was very easy to use. The icons were clear and the few buttons made the Sony TX7 one of the few cameras that don't intimidate the users. Unlike the Panasonic Lumix TS1, which rumors say scared Bill Gates once. So it seems that the device is easy to use for both tech geeks like myself and regular folks.
Specs and features
The Sony Cybershot TX7 comes with all the latest technology from Sony. The modes includes: smile mode (camera takes a photo when subject smiles), face detection, panorama, 10fps burst, twilight and much more. The auto mode is going to be the mode most users leave it at. In that mode the camera automatically detects whether you're attempting a macro shot, twilight or any other shot. It also knows when it's on a tripod, which is really cool.
Image quality
Overall the pictures this point and shoot can produce are quite good. With its wide angle lens (25mm) landscapes photos are a please to make and look at. But I did notice a touch of softness in the edges. And because the camera tries to keep noise down, some sharpness goes lost in the process. Colors are realistic but some users may not like it because they aren't really as vivid as some other compacts on the market. But for me I prefer a more realistic look to the "Disney" feel that has become really popular these days.
The panorama shots are great, a real plus. They always work, I've shot 10 so far and all 10 were flawless. Of course sometimes a small stitching error is made but given the ease of use I can hardly complain. Twilight mode is another thing users may want to experiment with. In this mode the camera takes 6 shots and compares them to create the ultimate photo. It works because in this mode low light pictures are considerably sharper and have less noise. HDR mode is the last one I'm going to talk about in this review.
Here the camera attempts to make a photo with lots of counter light. Imagine a tree with the sun behind it shining in your camera. In a normal situation the tree will be black with a big yellow dot behind it, right? Well in HDR mode the camera attempts to photograph the tree without any loss of tree details. So instead of a black tree, you get a brown tree with some nice textures on it. Surprisingly this mode works outstanding. I say surprisingly because these types of shots could only be managed my $1500+ SLR cameras in the past, that is until today because the Sony TX7 handles them with ease.
Conclusion
Sony has delivered a stunning camera with the release of the Cybershot TX7. It's a very compact device that you can take with you everywhere. It looks great from every angle and most people seem to agree because this camera is a real head turner. The touchscreen is pretty responsive (almost iPhone like, but not quite) and the different modes and options are easy to find. So the camera is very easy to use. Picture quality is good but not SLR like. The image can be a bit soft but the TX7 does a great job keeping noise away and making really good photos in a very short time. Video recording of this cam is superb. It's the best I've ever seen and I still can't believe all that is coming from such a small device.
So I recommend the Sony Cybershot TX7 to people who want a good looking small compact camera that takes really good pictures. You won't be disappointed, just don't expect SLR quality.
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