Solid & Square Compact DigiCame DSC-T700
A review and Photo Examples of the Sony Cybershot DSC-T700.
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Table of contents
Gallery
Review
1．Overview
The Cyber-shot DSC-T700 is a compact digital camera (compact) made by Sony, released in 2008.
It’s been 17 years since its release, so it can be called an old compact.
It has a 10-megapixel CCD sensor, and the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO sensitivity are basically left to the camera, with almost no room for adjustment. The lens configuration is 12 elements in 10 groups (4 aspherical lenses/1 prism), which is a common level of complexity for a zoom lens, and the focal length is 35mm to 140mm in 35mm format equivalent, a 4x zoom.
The camera has a generous 4GB of built-in memory, so you don’t need an external storage medium, but if you do use an external memory, you will need a Memory Stick Duo. The Memory Stick Duo is Sony’s own memory card standard, and is one of the storage media that was defeated by the SD card alliance.
The battery is a lithium-ion battery NP-FD1 as standard. The InfoLithium version NP-BD1 can also be used.
2．Usability
The Cyber-shot DSC-T700 is a camera with a particularly solid, sharp, and unique design among the T series. I remember that it was a time when the disadvantages of the extremely small-pitch CCD sensor, which is almost a fully automatic compact digital camera, were being loudly criticized.
The image quality is decent during the day and hopeless at night, which is the standard for compact digital cameras of that era. At ISO 400, noise becomes quite prominent.
The lens is a Carl Zeiss brand, but ghosts appear in backlighting, and due to the limitations of the sensor, the resolution of the captured image is not particularly high, so you hardly get a glimpse of it.
The focal length is 35mm starting at 4x zoom, which is standard for that era, and is not wide enough for wide-angle lovers.
I would like to see a successor model starting at 28mm or 24mm, but the successor cameras that meet the lens specifications are not as cohesive as the T700 and T90, so I don’t feel a desire for it.
The back is occupied by an LCD display and there are no buttons. The display is a touch panel, and the shooting settings are done here. It is a pressure-sensitive touch panel, and there is no reaction when you press it with the pad of your finger, but it reacts when you touch it with a sharp object such as a fingernail or the tip of a pen. The reaction has a lag, so you can feel the technological limitations of the era when the camera was released.
On the top of the body, there are a minimum number of buttons: power button, shutter, playback, and zoom. Since it is a camera that is difficult to hold, it cannot be said that it is easy to operate. When you pull down the front slide cover, the power is turned on and you can shoot.
And this camera has a large capacity of 4GB, but to output the images to an external device, a dedicated cable, VMC-MD1, is required. On page 18 of the manual, it is stated that the DSC-T77, which was released at the same time, has a copy function to a memory stick, but it is clearly stated that the DSC-T700 does not have this function. In fact, even if you search the menu, you can’t find a copy item.
It is speculated that the camera did not include the ability to transfer the results of shooting to a memory card after filling up the 4GB large capacity memory due to the judgment that the copying time and battery life were insufficient, but since it is equipped with an Info Lithium battery, I would have liked it if it had been possible to copy in parts taking into account the remaining battery level and memory card level, or to provide a method of outputting to an external device other than connecting with a dedicated cable. It would be a relief if at least a general-purpose USB cable could be used, but the specifications only accept dedicated cables, which reminds me of Sony’s closed-off era.
3．Summary
In conclusion, to sum up the Cyber-shot DSC-T700, it is one of the top three cameras in terms of the beauty of its form among Sony’s slim compact cameras, and the factors that make it so beautiful are as follows:
- A body with sharp edges and no wasted space
- A body surface with a hairline finish
- The thinness of the body made possible by the use of a Memory Stick
The interface is a pressure-sensitive touch panel, and it feels dated in that it only responds when pressed with a sharp object.
I also have doubts about the specification that does not allow data to be transferred between the built-in memory and a Memory Stick.
Specification ,Study and more
The year this camera was released I was using the LEICA M8, OLYMPUS E-1, etc. and had little interest in compact digital cameras, but I was attracted to the design and bought this camera.
I got this one towards the end of its life, and it’s still in pretty good condition, including the appearance, so I still like it. Not long ago I would see a scratched one in the junk corner of a camera shop, but I rarely see them these days.
I’m glad I kept this camera rather than selling it. In the 2000s, when this camera was released, it was a scary time when compact digital cameras were changing models every six months. Even so, the perfection of the T700’s appearance shows a design sense that surpasses that of other manufacturers.
| Items | DSC-T700 | DSC-T90 |
| Number of pixels | 10.1-MP | 12.1-MP |
| Lens | Vario-Tessar f=6.18-24.7mm (F3.5-4.6) 35mm equivalent: 35-140mm | Vario-Tessar f=6.18-24.7mm (F3.5-4.6) 35mm equivalent: 35-140mm |
| Image sensor | 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor | 1/2.3-inch CCD sensor |
| Viewfinder | – | – |
| Rear LCD | 3.5-inch 921,000 dots | 3.0 type 230,000 dots |
| Battery | NP-FD1 NP-BD1 | NP-FD1 NP-BD1 |
| Recorded media | Memory Stick Duo 内蔵記録メモリー4GB | Memory Stick Duo 内蔵記録メモリー11MB |
| Size W x H x D | 95 × 58.4 × 16.4 | 93.6×57.2×15.0 |
| Weight (g) (including memory card and battery) | 160 | 151 |
| Release date | 2008 | 2009 |
| Color | Silver Grey Red Pink Gold | White Brown Pink Blue Black |
Options
- Plastic hard case
- Strap
- Connection cable: VMC-MD1
Reference links
Update history
- 2024.12.28
- 2024.04.10:Update
- 2023.07.29:First draft
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