Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-W7 August 1st, 2005 | by David J Elrich

Features and Design

The silver-finished DSC-W7 has what Sony and others euphemistically call a rangefinder design.  On some level, it has a Leica feel, but it sure isn't an M-System camera or the $1,599 Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 (which is as close as you can get to a digital version of a film rangefinder and has a price to match.  It's a clone of the Leica Digilux 2.)  The W7 is about the size of a thick deck of playing cards, the lens fully retracts into the body, and a handy cover protects the lens when you power it down.

The mostly metal camera has a very nice feel; there's a rest for your middle finger on the faceplate.  Holding it that way puts your index finger right by the shutter button, with your thumb on the wide/tele toggle adjustment.  It has a 3x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens that's equivalent to 38mm-114mm in 35mm terms, close to the traditional point-and-shoot film camera range.  The top of the unit is very clean; there is a Power button as well as the classic Mode dial, which gives reassuring clicks as you move it into position.  Although the camera is geared to casual photographers (the basic Auto and seven scene modes for typical settings such as Portrait, Landscape, Beach and Snow), there are some limited manual adjustments available.  In the M manual mode, you can change aperture (only f2.8/5.6 in wide angle and f5.2/f10 in full telephoto) as well as shutter speed (30-1/1000^th of a second).  In P program, there is a raft of options, ranging from exposure compensation to white balance.  It's nice that they're available, but I doubt if the targeted buyer will care one iota about them.  Still, they do come in handy, as you'll soon see. 

A huge, 2.5-inch LCD screen, rated 115K pixels, dominates the rear of the DSC-W7; it's one of the real joys of this camera.  There's also a tiny optical viewfinder, the classic four-way adjustment keys, and Delete/Resolution, Menu and Histogram/Screen Off buttons.  It's very logically arranged and understandable; Sony engineers are to be commended for it.

The bottom of the camera has a compartment that holds the two supplied AA NiMH batteries and Memory Stick flash media slot.  Sony recommends MS Pro in order to get the best movie clip quality, so budget for this as you comparison shop.  A quick Google search suggests that a 512MB Pro stick costs around $80 or less.  There's also a teeny-tiny speaker for listing to your mini Hollywood products, but don't expect the impact of War of the Worlds.

This is one nicely-designed compact camera, even though it doesn't have the sex appeal of ultra-skinny models like Sony's DSC-T33 or -T7.  In the carton, you'll find everything you need to start taking photos other than the flash memory—strap, batteries, charger, cables, owner's manual and the poor software. 

Image Courtesy of Sony Electronics