Sony's Cybershot DSC-T70 is their cheapest in the line of touchscreen LCD digital cameras. At $300 you get a 3" touchscreen LCD, a 8.1 megapixel sensor, 3x optical zoom, super steadyshot technology, and your choice of pink, black, silver or white.
Specs
- 3x optical zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens with 35mm equivalent of 38-114mm
- 8.1 MP sensor
- BIONZ image processor
- ISO3200
- 3" touchscreen LCD
- Dual image stabilization with Super SteadyShot
- Full HD pictures
- Comes in pink (DSCT70P), black (DSCT70B), silver (DSCT70S) or white (DSCT70W)
In The Box
- Sony CyberShot DSC-T70 digital camera
- Lithium ion battery
- Software and manuals
- Charger
- Stylus/pen for the touchscreen
- USB/AV Cable
- Wrist Strap
- Adapter plate for dock (dock sold separately)
Well to be honest, this is the first Sony camera that I've really got to play with for a long period of time. I really didn't like Sony cameras because there was just something about the LCD on the slim point and shoot cameras that I didn't like. It seemed like it reacted slow, or the color was off, or it was very grainy.
When I first opened the box for this camera, I wasn't to impressed. I had no clue how to use a Sony camera. I'm used to Canon. So the Manual was NOT helpful at all. It's really crappy compared to the manuals provided by Canon and Nikon. This thing was literally 15 pages. Nikon and Canon go step by step on how to use each feature.
That aside, I can honestly say, this is a great camera.
The Camera
The overall mechanics of the camera are for the most part good. You can slide the lens shield down to turn on the camera and start taking pictures. Even with a 3x optical zoom, the lens does not protrude out the camera. Likewise, you can always press the power button on the top of the camera to view pictures without having to expose the lens. There are only 4 buttons on the camera - power, play, and zoom in and out. The rest is all touch screen. Honestly, I was a little skeptical about the touch screen. When first trying it, I didn't really like it, as it didn't seem very reactive to my fingers. After playing with it more, I learned to use the nail of my fingers or the provided stylus. The stylus is meant to be attached to the wrist strap so you can have it with you at any time. The mechanics of the battery door is a bit tricky. There's no spring locking mechanism - you actually have to close the door then move the switch to lock it in place.
The one big problem I have with the layout of the Sony DSC-T70 is that the lens is at the top left corner. I usually hold my camera with two hands to be steadier, and I noticed that my fingers get in the way sometimes. Hopefully after getting used to this, my fingers won't get in the way. I like my lenses centered more on the body of the camera.
Functionality
The camera is surprisingly easy to use. Everything can be done by using the touch screen. The menus are rather simple, and I learned how to do everything after playing with the camera for about an hour - without the crappy manual. One annoying thing is having to click back after you've made a selection on your menu. I want to be able to just click the selection then go back and be able to take a picture automatically, but I guess this is a good feature in case you made a mistake.
Smile Shutter
The Smile Shutter on the Sony DSCT70 is a bit different than Nikons. It doesn't work automatically. First it will recognize the faces on the screen and highlight them with boxes. Then you have to press the shutter button to lock onto those people. When they smile it will take the picture. The smile shutter works similarly to that of the Nikon Coolpix S550, in that it will only take pictures if the face is completely vertical or horizontal (depending on how you are looking at it - i.e. portrait or landscape).
Super Steadyshot / Image Stabilization
Optical stabilization is where it is at. The shots I took at very slow speeds (less than 1/20 of a second) were still fairly clear. the DSC-T70 has a double anti-blur solution which claims it can reduce camera shake AND subject motion. I'm skeptical about the latter.
Although it has ISO3200, it is still pretty pointless because of the small sensor. Using ISO3200 will cause crazy amounts of noise. This feature really has zero value to me.
Touchscreen
The 3" wide screen touchscreen LCD really makes this camera special for me. I thought it would suck. However, when you learn to use the stylus the touchscreen is great. It offers a bunch of features that you wouldn't be able to do on traditional LCD screens.
The CyberShot DSC-T70's 3" lcd is huge and wide screen. But, it is a bit grainy when looking in dark-ish areas. The LCD can be set so that the pictures are regular size, with the left and right sides reserved for the menus and options. However this can be changed so that the entire screen is the picture. And you can take 16:9 pictures - suitable for display on HDTVs
Next the touchscreen allows you to draw on your pictures. It's very basic, nothing to fancy. It's like using Paint directly on your camera. You can draw with different colors and pen sizes. You can erase, and undo. You can stamp smaller images on there, and you can add borders. The sad thing about this feature is that when saving, it doesn't save at a very high quality. Still fun nonetheless.
The other great feature I love, is that you can easily set your focus point by touching the screen. Just pick spot focusing, and then you can press on the screen where/what you want to focus on. Some cameras don't even allow you to manually pick your own focus point.
Macro and Close-up
This sleek camera also has two modes of Macro photography. The first mode is Macro, and it works fairly well. You can't super close to an object and still be able to focus. But when you pick Close-up Mode, you can go literally 1-2 cm's away from and object and still focus. That's really great! The camera only starts focusing when you half press the shutter button.
Other Features
The Sony CyberShot DSC-T70 also has a great slideshow feature. You can play a slideshow complete with music and transitions. With the AV Cable you can connect it directly to a TV. You can also purchase a component cable to connect to a TV in High Definition.
The camera only has 10 scene modes which isn't very many, but I hardly use this feature anyway.
Aside from the regular B&W, Sepia, etc. color filters, there aren't any other fun modes built into the camera like Color Swap. Also, sadly there is no Photo Stitching for panoramic shots.
When focusing, there is no visual cue that the picture is unfocused. It will beep, and you can still take a picture. I would've liked it to not beep, or display red if the picture you are about to take is blurry or unfocused.
Pros
- huge 3" touch screen
- Great use of the touch screen
- No lens to retract in and out
- Optical stabilization
- Comes with a stylus
- Many fun features - paint, slideshow, smile shutter
- Easy touchscreen spot focusing
- Great Macro
- Comes in 4 different colors
Cons
- Lens in the top left of the camera - my fingers get in the way!
- Grainier LCD when compared to the competition
- Battery door is a bit clumsy
- Only 3x zoom
- No photo stitch function
Final Thoughts
I can fully recommend this camera. I got this camera for $270 after 10% off, and that's a very good price. I was very skeptical at using a touchscreen camera. I still can't say how long the touchscreen will last, but if it can last after a few years use that would be great. It offers many cool functions like Optical Image stabilization (which is a MUST now), smile shutter, and paint mode to name a few. I'm very happy with the Sony CyberShot DSC-T70, even though I hated sony cameras before. I'm glad I gave this one a chance.
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites
