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 the battery, 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. A HDMI cable is abscent so you will have to buy one of those if you want to connect your camera directly to your tv. Also abscent is a DC cable but after a second look at the manual it turns out that the dock can’t recharge the camera even with the DC cable. 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 a 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’re 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 etcetera. 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. There’s just one problem though. The touchscreen is good but not great. Luckily I had few problems after a few days of extensive use but the iPhone beats it hands down with its capacitive touchscreen and multi-touch functionality.
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. Here are the full specs.
Sensor Optical CMOS Emor R
Megapixels 10.2
Sensitivity Auto ISO, 125, 200, 400, 800, 1600 or 3200
Zoom 4x optical zoom. 8x digital zoom
Flash Built in. auto, slow, off
LCD display Resistive Touchscreen. 3.5″ 921k pixels
Modes Scene selection, panorama, twilight, HDR, anti-motion, movie, Manual (limited), Auto
Storage Pro Duo, SD, SDHC
Video Full HD (1920×1080) up to 60 frames per second
Weight 133g
Dimensions (H x W x D) 59.5 x 97.8 x 17.5 mm
Colors Silver, Red, Blue
Thanks for the article. This is the first comprehensive review that I have been able to find on the internet.
thanks for the review!! it was very helpful im looking into getting a camcorder i wanted something really small to vlog with, can you tell me how well this camera does on video if you are walkng?? is it really shaky?? and how well does ths record in low lightconditions???
@Everyone,
I recently changed the comment box so some comments that were made this morning are lost. Sorry for the inconvenience.
@Angel,
Thanks for your comment. Low light recording is fine, on YouTube you can probably find some samples. There’s some noise in low light but it seems to be the best HD cam in its size. The camera also does an amazing job in keeping the shakiness to an absolute minimum.
@MW
Your welcome, I’m happy that this article is helping a lot of people out there. It’s the first one on the internet, that’s probably explaining the increased traffic at the moment.
Nice review.. would like to see how much of this is in the rumored TX5 model
About the burst mode… When you choose say 3fps, instead of 10, does that mean you still only get 10 shots in the burst (but over a 3.3s period)?
You can choose a burst speed and the time you hold the shutter button determines the number of photos.
Say medium burst speed makes 5 photos per second so if you hold it for 0.5 seconds it will produce 3 photos.
Thanks Robin, but I mean what is the MAXIMUM number of frames you can get with the lower rate bursts. I’m assuming it is still 10 frames max, which would allow longer than 1s worth of capture?
Yes it’s still 10. The time it takes to make them is determined by the burst speed you selected. Sorry I misunderstood your question earlier.
And I have an apology to make to everyone who read the review. At one point I mentioned that you can’t see the photo settings once you’ve taken the photo but actually you can. There’s an option hidden somewhere deep which allows you to view your photos and the settings it used to produce it. I adjusted the review accordingly.
Hi again Robin, I have this camera now, and I think you could add a couple of points to your review…
1. The 1080p .mp4 mode is only 1440×1080 (see p53 of handbook) so not “full HD” like the AVCHD interlaced modes.
2. The non-US verision (which I have) is only 1080/50i and 1080/25p instead of your 60i/30p.
You also cannot recharge the battery via the dock, even with the optional AC adaptor. That is really annoying. I’m only going off what it says in the handbook here, but your review is currently at odds with this.
Also worth mentioning is the 20 second wait after taking a burst of 10 photos. This seems to not be affected by memory card speed either, which is strange.
Other than that I’m really happy with the camera. It takes great auto mode photos, and good quality vids.
Thanks for your review.
I’ll adjust the review with some of your remarks. Really disappointing to hear that the dock can’t recharge.
Thanks for your comment.
Thank you very much for making this review and the great examples. I’m very glad I’ve found it!
i realy like it thanku for this
Very nice review. I was looking for something like this, thank you. Found Your link on a forum that google sent me to. I can stop my searching.
Why is the audio in your videos in mono, not stereo?
Awesome review. Thanks for taking the time to do this. Are you using iMovie for the ACVHD editing? Any issues?
Thanks for the compliment. The movies you see are right out of the camera without any editing applied. If I were to edit though, Premiere Pro and final cut pro would be candidates for the job.
I got it for almost two months and the words printed on the camera the “DSC-TX7″ dropped off when I rubbed using a cloth. So now the words has gone off haha but nvm for me. also the AVCHD is sucks.
Great review! I picked this camera up yesterday and love it. The battery life sucks. How did the battery hold up during your tests?
I needed one recharge before the review was done. The battery doesn’t bug me too much to be honest but the fact that you can’t recharge using the dock is a real bummer.
can the 1080i video be edited in mac softwares?
iMovie
Aperture 3
or the adobe softwares?
Thank you for the extensive review–will be looking around for one of these on sale:)
Fantastic review! Thank you for taking the time and trouble. I’ve been shopping cams for a few weeks now, and have been reluctant to pull the trigger on the TX7, even though it’s strengths: quality glass, best sensor, pano is nice and good low light and movie performance. Your demo dispelled my reservations. I will purchase tomorrow.
A lot of your comments have been destroyed after the recent 2.0 upgrade. I’m sorry for that. So I’m going to retrieve them manually. The dates of publication can’t be maintained though.
Thanks a lot for the great review.
I am a bit confused right now, I am about getting a new camera, the Sony TX7 or the Sony HX5V, which one do you recommend?? I know the HX5V has 10x optical zoom, but it looks bulky and I don’t need that much zooming anyway, same thing with the GPS capability, am sure I won’t use that! So, for the pictures/vidoes quality in general, which one should I get. I hope you can help!
Thanks again for the great review, it was really helpful.
The HX5 probably produces a better picture. I can’t say for sure because I haven’t reviewed the HX5.
In your case I’d probably get the TX7 because it’s just way more portable and easy to use, and at most the HX5 is only slightly better.
Thanks for such a nice and detail review
Nice review. Thanks!
Nice review!
Although you have one mistake about the camera dock. You can charge it with the dock by using an optional DC adapter. Hopes this helps!
great review. Thanks for sharing with us.
thanks for the complete review
Does the camera record videos in widescreen HD. 720P or 1080P in 16:9 aspect ration.
Is there 16:9 mode in video recording.
Yes. Both 720p and 1080i with full 1920×1080 pixels.
Great review. Best one I have seen. Like your samples. I would like to see more as you learn more. I just got the camera and I am in love. Great camera. I had a sony HD video camera that cost me $1,200 and this one has better video quality imo (just less manual settings). Images are great better than my Canon Powershot that I liked a great deal. I find myself editing less in photoshop. And sharpening is almost never needed.
Thanks again.
What is you opinion on the speed of each shot? I have a Cannon EOS 20D I use on trips, for everyday use I bought the Sony. It seems very slow, slower in fact than my very old Cannon PowerShot SD600.
Thank you Robin, for your extensive review of a camera I’ve been considering. It’s very helpful to me, especially to view the photos. What puzzles me though is why the absence of people shots? I mean fairly close in where one can see how skin color and hair and eyes are reproduced. And I’ve noticed this absence in other reviews as well. Privacy issue? Again,thank you very much.
In first page, you said “Yes The Sony CyberShot TX7 is the first to support not only memory pro duo but also SD and SDHC”-wRONG! DSC-H55,DSC-TX5 and my dealer says even DSC-HX1 now supports it.There maybe more, though.
A question-Maybe I missed something, but can it zoom while recording movies?
yes, it can zoom during video.
I have not enjoyed such well written review for ages- fair,well-balanced,informative and simple and complete with sample shots n videos for each feature in camera. It can only be from one hands-on pro driven by passion to comment and share. Bravo and thank you.
Just got mine last Sunday, already shot over 600 pictures. LOVE the camera. LOVE the panoramic pictures. People can’t beleive them when I show them. Everyone I show, they want to go and buy one. Cost little high, but how often do you buy a new camera. I’ve always beleived you buy the best if you want to take pictures to keep. I have 9 grandchildren – so you know I want to keep them.
So it has MP4 Video recording as well, right?
Yes. Mp4 (1440×1080 max) and avchd (1920×1080).
Ok, thank you so much. I will be getting this camera.
fab
Excellent review!!! Nicely done! I noticed you have a macbook pro. Is it easy to transfer the videos to iphoto? Does it require anything extra? The Sony TX1 model transfers photos and video easily with one click. I am seriously considering the TX7 because of the few improvements. Any feedback or input would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you very much. Everything transfers with one click except for videos shot in AVCHD format. Those can be accessed by navigating the remote disks displayed on the wallpaper, I can give you the path if you want. Everything stays the same for photos and mp4 videos.
If you have any questions please ask and I hope this helps.
Thorough review, thanks. Question: not used to having a battery such as this, how do you handle the need for new battery if your camera dies while shooting? Always carry a spare charged? Must you deplete one battery entirely before recharging? Will extreme temperatures effect the life of the battery?
The battery can easily be removed and replaced by a spare, takes less than a minute and uses a smart clicking system. Alternatively you can recharge it using the battery charger (camera doesn’t charge via USB). This requires you to remove the battery, which I find very weird.
Haven’t noticed the battery being influenced by weather, and I’ve used the camera during really heavy circumstances, both hot and cold. Scientific tests could prove me wrong, but it’d only be by a very small margin.
Does anyone knows an alternative battery supplier, the orig. battery is about 50,- wich is horrible much for this tiny little piece of chocolate…:-)
I purchased this camera a few months ago after my Kodak was damaged. I always avoided Sony because I thought their price premium was a but too much for what I considered the eye candy aspect of many of their products. But after I saw all the impressive low-light imagery of the camera on YouTube and various reviews, I decided to try it. Holy Cow! What a camera!
I’m no photographer. To call me a novice is to be polite. But you’d think I was a genius using this camera. The low-light capability is nothing short of incredible. The HDR feature is wild indoors and out. People don’t know why the picture is so good until you point out that they can see outside the window and inside the room in the same shot. People forget that this is not how cameras typically work even though it is how their own eyes work. And the panoramic shots? HA! Genius.
I may not know cameras too well. But I know this. The best camera in the world will not save you from having a dope behind the lens pressing the shutter button. But the TX7 comes the closest!
Is it perfect? No. The battery really is too small and the fact that it doesn’t charge using the supplied dock and USB cable is a disappointment. But if that’s as bad as I can muster on a point-and-shoot, it gives a sense as to how enjoyable this camera is.
you a chinaman?
No, not in looks, culture or anything like that. But I’ve Chinese ancestors.
Sony will release the TX9 next september. It’s just a small upgrade from this model but I recommend people on the fence to wait.
Decide when the time comes to go for the newer model or this one (at a discount).
I don’t think I’ll be presented with the opportunity to review the new model, I’m sorry.
Hi – great review.
Do you (any of you) find the camera is somewhat “splash” proof ?
Its just that I have to use mine at the beach in tought weather, where there can get drops of water, and sand blowing.
And for this, I find most compact cameras with exterior lenses are very fragile.
This one has interior lens only – so it should be more splash/sand proof than f.ex the HX5 or similar, right ? (and the TX5 has too low video capabilities)
And touch screen so very few buttons and “openings”.
What do you think ?
Does the camera auto refocus DURING video recording???
A few questions if anyone could clarify:
I have read the manual and handbook, and every spec – and is it true that it does not have manual focus, nor manual shutter/aperture ?
If shooting in video mode – does the display go off or dark after a while, or does it stay bright when recording ?
(I have to use it for sport actions without “hands on”, where it has to have as long battery life as possible, so a dimmed or dark display while recording for maybe half an hour is important)
And is the video “complete” and not in error, even when the camera runs out of battery ?
Really interested in this cam, and could not find the answers to above anywhere…
> Dave
Yes.
> Peter
I think it’s a pretty strong camera but don’t expect too much of it. Its body is made of metal, the lens is covered and internal, and there’re very little openings like you said. That’s about the best you can get in a camera not specifically built to withstand the difficult circumstances you described. Maybe consider the TX5?
The camera does have manual focus, just press on the object you want focused. Also in the menu you can specify focus settings like “center” “multi point” or “single point”.
There’s however no manual shutter mode, this is done by the camera depending on your chosen modus e.g. twilight, auto or hdr.
The display stays active during video mode, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to see what you’re filming. There’s no dimming that I know of.
When the battery nears empty during recording it will first save the video and then turn itself off. You will also be warned when the battery is low.
I just got this camera after losing my 6 month old Sony TX1. Your review was great and very helpful, and I have to tell you, the TX7 is a fantastic camera!!! Love the stabilizer…already tried that and indeed it works wonders. Fantastic photo quality in low light. Panorama, great, same as the TX1. Some improvements in design and program since the TX1. I am sold on the Sony T series. Fantastic camera!!!!!!
Very good and detailed review. Thank you very much!!