Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H7 Easy Digital Camera Review

If you’re tired of the standard 3x optical zoom lens that comes on most digital cameras but you’re not sure you want to invest thousands of dollars in an SLR and lenses, you may want to consider an ultra-zoom digital camera. The 8.1-megapixel Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H7 has a 15x optical zoom lens that will give you close-up shots of your daughter’s ballet performance even when you’re in the back row.

The 15x optical zoom lens is designed so that its glass elements “float.” The elements compensate for movement caused by shaking hands, ensuring blur-free pictures. Video is much smoother too. I have a video that my mom took of me running a track race in high school. She was cheering while filming and the resulting footage is incredibly shaky. I wish that camera was optically stabilized like this one! The 15x lens comes with a hood to shade it outside, but beware. The lens hood shows up in pictures if the lens is zoomed out all the way.

The Sony H7 is designed with a chunky hand grip and wide base so that it looks like an SLR, but it is smaller than most with measurements of 4.31 x 3.28 x 3.37 inches. The body is available in silver and black colors. The body has a mode dial so you can easily access the auto, scene, movie, manual, or priority exposure modes. On the back there is a 2.5-inch LCD screen with a lackluster 115,000 pixels.

The screen resolution isn’t as smooth as on many other digital cameras’ screens probably because Sony is also trying to sell the fancier H9 by flaunting its awesome screen. The Sony H9 has a 3-inch screen with twice the resolution and a mechanism that allows it to fold out and tilt up and down. The H9 overshadows the H7 with the fancier LCD and NightShot infrared technology that lets you snap pictures even when it’s dark. The H9 costs $479 though, so the H7’s $399 tag is much more feasible for many. If you don’t mind the screen resolution and don’t snap photos of wildlife in the night, then you probably don’t need the H9.

The H9 and H7 share many features such as the 8.1-megapixel resolution, 15x optical zoom lens, and list of exposure modes. There is a fully manual mode where you can choose the shutter speed and aperture yourself. Two priority modes allow you to select either the shutter speed or aperture. And there are 9 scene modes including a new Advanced Sports Shooting mode that combines the quick 2.2-frame-per-second burst mode with auto focus technology that predicts where the subject is going and locks the focus onto it.

There is also a decent movie mode on this ultra-zoom digital camera. It records standard 640 x 480-pixel video that looks great when played back on televisions and recorded to Memory Stick Duo Pro media. However, if recorded on the standard Memory Stick Duo cards or internal memory, the video only records at a choppy 16-frame-per-second rate. Users should purchase a Pro card anyway because the 31 MB of internal memory isn’t enough to have fun with all the features on this camera.

Reviewing photos and video on the Sony H7 is fun too. It’d be better if the LCD screen resolution was better, but it’s still thrilling to watch slide shows with music. The camera comes with four soundtracks and more can be added with the included software. Pictures and video can also be output to high-definition televisions if you also buy a $40 cable from Sony.

The Sony Cyber-shot H7 is a winner. It has great resolution, a long stabilized lens, realistic colors, exposure modes that are easy to find, a help guide to explain menu options, an auto focus system that detects faces and predicts movements, and a speedy 2.2-frame-per-second burst mode. With the Sony Cyber-shot H7, you’ll rarely miss a shot. And those shots will rarely be blurry.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H7 - THE BOTTOM LINE.... Rating: 444.39

Likes

- Optical image stabilization - Rotary dial - 2.2 fps burst mode - 15x zoom lens - Remote control - Speedy face detection

Dislikes

- Zoom control - Cluttered mode dial - Poor LCD resolution - Uneven strap lugs - Flimsy battery door - Lens hood shows in wide angle

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H9 Rating: N/A	Canon PowerShot S5 IS Rating: N/A	Olympus SP-550UZ Rating:	Kodak EasyShare Z712 IS Rating: N/A	Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ8 Rating:
Better	Better	Better	Better	Better
- 3 inch LCD screen with 230k pixels - NightShot infrared shooting - LCD screen folds out and tilts	- LCD flips out and rotates - Optical viewfinder - Hot shoe - 4 movie modes - MovieSnap button takes full-resolution still pictures while recording video - 4 AA batteries more convenient - Accepts more universal SD media - 207k pixels on LCD screen	- 18x optical zoom lens - Electronic viewfinder has better resolution - LCD has twice the resolution - ISO 3200 and 5000 settings at lower 3 megapixel resolution	- Cheaper $299 price - Kodak Perfect Touch technology automatically brightens pictures in playback - 15 scene modes - No special card necessary for good movie frame rate	- Cheaper $349 price - Wider f/3.1 max aperture when zoomed in - 2 custom white balance settings - White balance fine-tuning - Widescreen movies - Flip animation mode - Bigger viewfinder - More common SD, SDHC, MMC media compatibility - 380-shot battery - 207k pixel resolution on LCD screen
Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal	Equal
- Electronic viewfinder - 15x optical zoom lens - Optical image stabilization - Built-in flash unit - Same dimensions - Same exposure modes and settings - High definition output - Face recognition	- 8 megapixels - 2.5 inch LCD screen - Optical image stabilization - SLR-shape - Lens is fully functional in the movie mode - Manual and automatic exposure modes - f/2.7 max aperture	- Optical image stabilization - Manual and automatic exposure modes - 2.5 inch sized LCD screen - f/4.5 max aperture in telephoto	- Optical image stabilization - 2.5 inch LCD screen with same horrible 115k resolution - Manual and priority exposure modes - Same video resolution	- Optical image stabilization - Comes in black and silver colors - Compatible with conversion lenses - High sensitivity scene mode with ISO 3200 - Manual and priority exposure modes - Electronic viewfinder
Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse	Worse
- More expensive $479 price	- 12x optical zoom lens - $499 retail price - Shorter 15-1/3200 shutter speed range - ISO to 1600 - Slower 1.5 fps burst	- Can’t use optical zoom and audio simultaneously in the movie mode - 7.1 megapixels - Less powerful flash unit fires to about 15 ft - $499 retail price - Shorter 15-1/2000 shutter speed range	- 7.1 megapixels - 12x optical zoom lens - Short 4-1/1000 shutter speed range - 80-1600 ISO range - No custom white balance - Flash only effective to 15 ft - 2 fps burst for 6 shots	- 7.2 megapixels - 12x optical zoom lens - Manual ISO to 1250 - Less resolution on electronic viewfinder at 188k pixels