Sony DSC-D700 camcorder review

Sony DSC-D700 (NP-F550) specifications

• lens / zoom : 28 mm - 140 mm (5x) (dig: 2x)


• focus / macro : auto | manual / 20 cm /


• metering mode :


• aperture : auto | manual / F2 - F2.4 - F13.2


• white balance : auto


• shutter : auto | manual / 4s - 1/2000s


• exposure :


• flash / mode : pop-up / external


• viewfinder :


• iso ratings : 100 / 200 / 400


• image size : 1344 x 1024


• image format : tiff / jpeg (exif)


• image compr. :


• lag/cycle times :


• remote control : self timer 1s / 30s / time laps


• video options :


• audio options :


• connectivity : video


• storage : pcmcia II, memory stick


• Power acceessories : Li-ion NP-F550

Sony's CyberShot Pro D700 is definitely the "king of the hill" of the sub-$2000 digital cameras. Newer digicams may be topping the 2 megapixel mark these days but the 1.5 megapixel D700 has got it all! The Sony DSC-D700 (np-f550) caused quite a stir in the Digital Photography world when it was announced last year. Many people were excited by it's specifications: five times zoom, full SLR-TTL viewfinder, 1.5Megapixel CCD and all the manual controls you'd expect to find on a true SLR.

True SLR with a big optical viewfinder, a huge 2.5-inch color LCD, 5X zoom lens with manual focus and zoom control, variable ISO 100-400, builtin popup flash or external "clip on" strobes with the hot shoe mount, 1/2-inch 1.5 million square-pixel progressive scan CCD, JPG or TIF image capture (1344 x 1024 pixels), ATA Type II memory card (CompactFlash, SmartMedia or MemoryStick cards in PCMCIA adapter too) and it's powered by the infamous Sony NP-F550 LITHIUM rechargable battery, more Sony Battery here..

Unfortunately due to the high price ($1699) and short supply (the newsgroups were buzzing with availability news earlier this year) it's not had the impact we all expected it would. Those who did venture (and were fortunate enough) to get hold of one weren't disappointed, finally I've got my hands on one and have the opportunity to share an in-depth review of the camera with you.

The D700 has the largest focal length zoom of any camera in its class except for its 2MPixel brother, the new Sony NP-F550 which also sports a 5X zoom (and that one is a Carl Zeiss!) The 700's lens is a F2-2.4, 5.2-26mm (35mm equiv 28-140mm) optical zoom with 13 elements in 10 groups. Threaded for 62mm filters. The minimum object distance is 20cm in all focal lengths, macro is automatic.