Sony DSC-S70 CyberShot

Click to take a QTVR tour of the S70

Here's the latest CyberShot from Sony, the DSC-S70 features a 1/1.8" 3.34 million pixel SuperHAD CCD imager that yields 2048 x 1536 uncompressed TIFF or finished JPEG still images. For optimum printing there is a 3:2 aspect ratio setting. The DSC-S70 can also capture HQ/QVGA (320x240) motion video with sound at 16 frames per second. Movies can be replayed fullscreen on the big 2-inch TFT color LCD.

Great pictures start with a great lens and they don't get any better than a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 3x optical zoom. High-speed scan autofocus with 5 manual focus presets plus macro mode. To further insure the image quality there is a 12-bit A/D conversion, 4-step adjustable sharpness and 4-mode white balance. Exposure control can be any one of seven Program AE modes with Aperture priority (9-step) or Shutter priority (18-step).

Images are stored on Sony's Memory Stick media which has recently dropped in price and is now more agressively priced than CompactFlash. Need more flash power? No problem just attach the optional Sony HVL-F1000 accessory TTL flash and plug it into the special sync connector. Battery power is no problem either, this camera is powered by the famous Sony infoLITHIUM rechargeable battery for hours of picture taking per charge.

Jump to the DSC-S70 specifications.

On the back we find a 2-inch low-temp polysilicon TFT color LCD with 123,000 pixel resolution.  There's also the power on/off switch, LCD on/off, volume control, Program AE mode switch, focus mode, flash mode, display mode and a 4-way jog switch for navigating the onscreen menus. The battery charger/AC power supply plugs into the jack behind that cover down in the bottom right corner.

On top we find the microphone, data LCD (see next frame), the Mode dial and the shutter release.   And of course, the usual Sony stickers.

The data LCD display on top allows you to keep track of important camera options and settings without the need to use the color LCD. Battery condition, flash mode, selftimer, white balance (if other than auto), EV compensation, graphical representation of the space remaining on the Memory Stick, image size and image number are displayed.

The only thing on the bottom is a metal tripod socket.

Here's the left and right side views, a little farther down and we'll open up the doors on both sides and show you what's in there.

An exceptionally sharp and fast F2.0 to F8.0 (in 9 steps) Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar 3x optical zoom equivalent to a 35mm 34-102mm lens.

Focus range is 10 inches to infinity in normal mode and down to 1.6 to 8 inches in the macro mode. The focus is either automatic or manually controllable via presets for 0.5m, 1.0m, 3.0m, 7.0m or infinity.

Using the optional VAD-S70 ($35) lens adaptor you can attach the VCL-MHG07 ($145) 0.7x wideangle conversion lens or the VF-R52K ($30) filter kit that consists of a ND #8 and a clear lens protector.

Across the back of the camera are the majority of the user controls. Left to right we have the Focus button for selecting autofocus, macro or one of the five preset distances. Next to the optical finder is the flash mode button (auto, on, off, redeye). The LCD button turns the color LCD on and off. The PROGRAM button selects the AE mode (automatic, shutter, aperture, panofocus, landscape, twilight, twilight plus). The VOLUME buttons control the speaker output and they also change the aperture and shutter speed values when in those AE modes. The DISPLAY button toggles the onscreen overlay information. The 4-way jog switch pops up the onscreen menus and allows you to navigate them and make selections.

The zoom lens controls are on the top right and below the jog switch is the power button. Located on the top of the camera are the Mode dial and the shutter release.

On the left side of the camera are the I/O ports. On the top is the external flash sync connector for the optional HVL-F1000 ($120) TTL flash. Then we have the high- speed USB port. On the bottom is the combination video and audio output port. The video signal is user-selectable for NTSC or PAL formats.

On the side near the top is the speaker for audio playback. Next to that is the diopter adjustment for the optical viewfinder.

On the right side is the combination battery and memory compartment. The storage media is Sony Memory Stick, an 8MB module is supplied.

Memory Sticks are now available in 8, 16, 32 and 64MB capacity and 128MB and 256MB size are scheduled in the next year.   I recently purchased a 64MB stick for less than $100 so the prices are now less than comparable sized CompactFlash cards.

The battery is a Sony "M" series NP-FM50 InfoLITHIUM rechargeable 7.2v "battery with a brain" -- it tells you on the LCD exactly how many minutes of runtime is left.   Additional NP-FM50 batteries are available for $60 - it's always a good idea to have a second battery.

The DSC-S70 does not need an external charger. It comes with a combination battery charger and AC power adapter (AC-L10) that plugs into the DC input jack on the back of the camera.

For faster charging out of the camera you can purchase the optional AC-VQ800 ($150) external AC charger for the NP-FM50 battery packs.