Reviews for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

1.8" LCD - 5x Optical Zoom - 2560 x 1920 Image - 320 x 240 Video - MPN: DSCF717

  • 5
  By member: Grigolly - Jan 4, 2005

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: movable lens, plenty useful functions, comfortable form

Weakness: Expensive accessories and memory cards

It is a great camera. Very easy to get used to, comfortable L form, movable lens, just great. Moreover it has plenty of options!

5mp is enough even if you are going to print A3 size photos. Noise on ISO 100 and on ISO 200 is low; ISO 400 and ISO 800 are very noisy.

if you are going to purchase this camera, you'd better buy at least 128mb memory too. And if you are going to use it while camping, of sightseeing tour, I would recommend you to acquire better battery (290 minutes are not enough and it takes 140 minutes to charge it).

Anyway I am using this camera for more than 7 months and I still think that it is the best camera

100% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: Greytata - Jun 10, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Electronic quality, lens quality, overall quality

Weakness: none so far

I am a Nikonist ( have 3 Nikons SLR 35mm ) and a serious amateur/semi-pro photographer for more than 30 years, but this is my second Sony Digital. Contenders before purchasing this one were Nikon Collpix 5700 and Minolta Dimage 7Hi. I was not in the market for a "true" SLR with interchangeable lenses, as they are too expensive but if I did go, would be a Nikon 100D.
Well, after having tested all of these 3 babies in real photo capturing situations ,the Sony was the one that is the easiest to hold and handle, the buttons are very well placed and the camera has a lot of handy functionalities. Carl Zeiss lenses are on par with the best of the best and image resolution in outstanding. Construction is very very good( its the one that have the more solid feel of the three )and we can get accesories for it almost anywhere. The focal length is very acceptable ( 38 to 190mm ) and the shutter speed goes from 30 seconds to 1/2000 ( not the 1/1000 that are printed in the PCWorld revue). Batery lige is excellent. NightShot and specially Nightframing are very handy and the low light performance is outstanding. Colors are well balanced and defined.

I am very very pleased with this one and if I did not buy this one, i would have go to the Minolta, as the Nikon is a bit to "tight and small" on my hands and not as easy to operate as the Sony. I recommend the Sony for its user friendly interface and operation and a superb value for money.

99% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: craig5 - Aug 8, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Excellent picture fidelity, colors really are vibrant and clear. Goes a long way on the batteries. A really great camera so far and I'm very happy with it.

Weakness: Few if any. It is a complicated camera with lots of features so the manual could be a bit more logically layed out in terms of process & procedures.

Have owned this camera a little over 6 months and it's doing everything I expected. Accurate, focused, and vibrantly colorful pictures. The Sony memory stick, reader, and software is also surprisingly easy to use if you have average computer "savvy."

96% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: dfly - Aug 15, 2004

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: MANY-- --> swivel body is AMAZINGLY useful (I first thought it would be awkward) --> great lens = great images --> LIVE histogram -- LEARN TO USE IT & take much better images --> solidly built

Weakness: Nothing major --> Memory Stick memory is a little more expensive & more limiting than other formats --> RAW image capture would be nice, but I'm happy with my images

This is a terrific camera if you are an amateur interested in becoming a better photographer. DON'T fall into the "more megapixels is always better" trap. At 5 mp, I have taken professional quality images that look great at 8x10" (never tried anything larger). I bought it at somewhere near the original price ($999), but still consider it a good value. At current prices, I think it's a GREAT value. Based on the reviews of the f828, I am not even THINKING about moving "up" to the 8mp model.

If you are an experienced amateur making the digital 'leap' from a film SLR, this is a great tool to learn and grow with. Learning to use the histogram will make you a better photographer -- guaranteed. The swivel body will encourage you to experiment with different camera angles than you might have considered before.

btw, It is also simple enough that a real amateur can take very good 'point-and-shoot' photos.

I also have both the Sony Wide Angle lens (0.7x, I think) and their telephoto lens (1.7x I think). Each is about the 1/2 the size of a one-pound coffee can, and each weighs more than the camera. This are big-momma lenses; but both take great images. The basic lens on the camera is not very 'wide' (38mm equiv.), so the wide angle is especially useful for landscapes.

Built-in flash is no better than most built-ins, so you will probably want to add an external flash using the hotshoe.

Battery life is VERY good, but you will probably want a spare for trips where you may be shooting all day long.

There are many more expensive cameras out there that don't take images any better than the f717.

95% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: MrKnobs - Sep 16, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Excellent Zeiss lens (razor sharp, F2.0), long battery life, fast focus and shooting, great macros, lots of features, takes great pictures, even in total darkness (IR).

Weakness: 35-190mm (5x optical) is a little short for me, I'd prefer a wider angle on the low end for scenics. Minimum aperture is F8, could use F16 for scenics. Noisy pics at ISO 400-800.

This is a superb camera, the best of the 5MP I tried. Longer battery life (4-6 hrs ON), quicker focus, shorter time between shots (esp. with memory stick pro), easier to use. What good is the longer zoom on other cams if the lens is so slow you can't shoot handheld? This lens is very fast and sharp. Put it on manual and you can control everything, put it on full auto and your wife can use it as a point and shoot. It will even take video clips. Unlike the 5MP Nikon, it has threads for filters. The Minolta 5MP I tried lasted 30 minutes on fresh batteries, this will go 4-6 hours. Enlargements look as good as a 35mm, especially if you shoot in TIF mode. I wish I could show you some pictures I've taken with this, it's just a great camera!

94% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: dannylovesayumi - Feb 1, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Super optic Carl Zeiss Lens.....need I say more? Great 5x zoom lens. Batteries last forever! Functions are easy to use. Ergonomical well balance for right or left hands. USB 2.0!

Weakness: Memory stick 32MB! What a joke! Need at least a minumum 128 and above.

Well first of all I contacted Sony Japan and they are coming out with a 1GB Memory Stick soon but get ready for the price......USD$550.00-USD$650.00! Well other than the memory stick, I have absolutely no complain about this camera. Recommended for intermediate and advance users for high res pix. Flash is a bit strong, so -1EV down had to bit adjusted. White balance is 95% accurate but can be fine tune on Photoshop. I love the download from the USB2.0 as it's fast! I bought this camera in Japan when it just launch not long ago. My friend recommended although this is not a camera brand name like Nikon or Canon but when it comes to a high end consumer usage, this is one camera that will shoot down plenty of 4.0MP-5.0MP digicam!
I just wish Sony would have thought, 5.0MP camera should at least come with a 128MB. Just imagine shooting about an estimate of 20-25 shots on 5.0MP and is full! As I am an advance user, going travelling was a hassale as i need to download to mine mini Sony laptop. After purchasing the 128MB, it was still too little for me.
To summarize it all, it's the best 5.0MP camera under a USD$1000.00 I have seen so far. It's a must for all digicam freaks! Nothing beats this camera except unless you compare with legendary Nikon D1x or the D100 or the up and coming Canon 1Ds which is 11.1MP but at a stageering USD$7699.00!

89% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: dmulhair - Mar 12, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Does it ALL

Weakness: 32mb supplied memory stick

Am taking a professional caliber photography course and needed the control this camera offers. The Zeiss lens was the final convincing factor.
Want a great digicam at an affordable price? -- buy the f-717. No regrets. Own 4 other digicams, ALL SONY; happy with all of them.

88% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: dafing - May 9, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Everything, Hologram AF, 5.0MP, Great low light/no light shooting options...list goes on!

Weakness: None whatsoever

Awesome camera, amazing quality. Easy to use, like a point and shoot camera really. Some complain about the "expensive" costs, LOL, I live in New Zealand and the cameras retail price is around $2500 NZ dollars!! well worth the money tho. :)

88% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: Allan002 - Aug 1, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Exceptional lens quality; great color balance schemes; superb macro capability; easy to use.

Weakness: No capability to change lenses (but that keeps you from having to spend more money!).

I had the original DSCF707, and when it was stolen, I replaced with the F717. Both were superb, but the F717 is even better. You would not believe the quality of photos I am getting, ranging from extreme close-ups to astronomical photos (I have a hand-held shot of the moon that rivals photos taken with astronomical scopes). I've learned to use the AE lock to adjust lighting rather than fiddling with F-stops, and am getting superb photos. Have a friend with a very high-end Nikon, and his photos are no better quality than mine. He spent about $4K more than I did, too, and has to carry around a case of lenses. I love the versatility of the Zeiss lens on this camera. I also love the color balance technology, which is accurate and easy to use. Sharpness of photos can't be beat. Light sensitivity is great. I have a zoom of a bee in flight, in full sun, and you can see his wings stopped in mid-flight. I highly, highly recommend this camera. After 40+ years of photo taking, I am doing by far my best work with this camera, and of course am paying nothing for film processing. I have not found it necessary to retouch photos with Photoshop or other software. I usually print from PowerPoint because it is easy to resize and crop and add captions. This camera is great for the beginner, and can give you professional-quality results as you become more sophisticated; it allows your artistic flair to surface without having to learn anything about the technology underneath it.

86% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: Walsh78818 - May 14, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Very easy Camera to use. Very good resolution. Like the Carl Zeiss lenses. This is my second SONY I like this camera as much or more than my first. Like Tele and Wide angle lens.

Weakness: Camera is a little hard to handle when taking shots. You have a hard time finding the zoom controls.

I would recomend that you buy a 128MB stick. I have several. I can download to my laptop so memory is not a problem. If you have to go out and do a lot of shooting and don't have extra memory or a backup you may have proplems. The resolution is really great. Auto focus very good. Battery life is really good, I do have an extra battery.

86% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: bignose - Dec 12, 2002

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Everything

Weakness: Nothing

I am a complete photographic dead brain. This camera does everything for me - brilliantly. Also bought an Epson 1280 printer. The pair work magnificently well together. Printing even a full A4 size photo (on the premium glossy paper mind you) gives fabulous results, no graininess, just quality.

82% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: shotgunslade - Jan 11, 2004

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Fantastic! This is my second Sony. The first being a floppy disc model whish is great, but onlt 20 plus or minus pictures.

Weakness: I have not found any, but I am just an amature. I enjoy the 717 more every time I use it.

As other reviews state, the 32Mg stick is great for a spare.
I purchased two 256 Mg sticks and two larger capacity batteries.
A week in NYC attending a Trade Show, and I still had plenty of room to take 25 or 30 more pictures.

Battery charging was corrected by purchasing a generic stand alone in NYC for $50.00.
I also purchased a Wide Angle lense that screws onto the front of the camera lense by using an adapter ring. Wide Angle and adapter ring in NYC cost me $255.00
To prove the worth of the Wide angle lense, I removed the new lense from the box, stuck the camera lense into the cardboard box and snapped a picture. Results, BLACK, you could not see anything.
Then screwed the Wide angle on, put it back in the box and snapped a picture. Results, you could see the four walls and bottow to include the seams of the box.

A further experament, I placed the Wide Angle lense into my trouser pocket and have a beautiful image of a $20.00 bill and a wad of other folded bills.
Another picture taken in my opposite pocket gave a very clear image of my automobile keys and door remote and the flash was outside of my trouser pocket for both.

The next investment will be to add a screw in Telephoto Lense to round out one fantastic camera.

81% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: moncrieg - Jul 26, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: High resolution, ease of use, high quality pictures

I've owned this camera for eight months and have taken about 2000 pictures with it, and am *very* pleased with the images obtained. The color is good, the clarity is good, handling is good. I have noticed one bug in the firmware - only rarely will the camera power up and the lcd screen stays black instead of displaying the image viewed through the lens. Sony has either not noticed or addressed this bug. Powering down and then back up restores normal behavior. Do not let that deter you from purchasing this camera. It takes excellent pictures, especially considering the price. I've compared with others a lot and continue to be pleased.

80% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: hinzc7711 - Nov 29, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Pro photos with little experience. Hands down the best camera I have owned over (Casio, Fuji). Clear photos at all sizes when printed. You'll have confindence that your photos will be great!

Weakness: Size, by far is the largest camera I have owned. Though when it comes down to good photos and great battery life the size is no problem. Nothing says buy again more than great photos!

Have been using the USB cord for most downloads from the camera, thopugh I also bought the laptop card slot reader. Used in combination they are friendly and do not conflict with this camera or other devices. Highly reccomend the leather case, I've dropped mine a few times with no damages. Great buy.

80% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: 898johm - Aug 25, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Lens,5 meg,extreemely clear pictures.

Weakness: None for me as yet. I own a Sony DSC-S75 and already have pleanty of memory, and three batteries.

Am very pleased. Am entering pictures from the camera in an Art Show in a couple weeks. 14by18 inch prints being processed by a photo shop near me. I have high hopes for the results from this camera.


78% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: uboena - May 13, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Carl Zeis lens is fantastic.

Weakness: Havent really found any except the on camera charger is way too slow. Definetly need a quicker charger.

I love the fact that I can take cool pictures at night. This is my first digital camera and was pretty to use. The wide angle lens i bought was really well worth it. I do a lot of landscape pictures and when I went to my family reunion I took great family shots.

75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: JimBockian - Nov 27, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Overall design, logical controls, easy to follow user manual, extensive number of functions and capabilities

Weakness: None that are readily apparent. Early trial photographs are definitely superior quality.

The most impressive things at first pass, are the number of settings and controls on this camera, many of them automatic. As a Leica and Nikon guy in the 35mm world, I am accustomed to cameras and attachments that can "do everything" if properly employed. With features like the 38mm to 190mm zoom lense with macro settings, Nightframing and Nightshot capabilities enabling pictures in near darkness, thumbnail photo scrolling, displayable data on every photo taken, ISO settings from 100 to 800 [on the fly - no changing films], ability to group shots in folders, and all the video features, it is easy to let go of the photographic film world altogether. I compared the Leica digicam at $899.00 [manufactured by Panasonic] with the F717 at @699.00 and they are not even in the same league.

Realizing that 5 megapixel shots take a lot of storage, I purchased two 128 memory sticks with the camera and use the 32 meg stick as a spare. In time I will get a 256 meg Memory Pro stick if I need it. Want to load photos from memory stick to PC without depleting the camera battery? Get a Sandisk ImageMate 6 in 1 Card Reader. It's small and portable with your laptop.

75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: joseph1966 - Apr 23, 2004

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Great camera, excellent quality, easy to use. It's a Sony. What else can I say.

Weakness: None.

I took the camera out of the box, charged the battery and started taking pictures. The auto focus does all the work for you. I'm going abroad at the end of May, and I think I've made the right choice in this purchase.

71% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: nzugwc - Dec 23, 2002

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Outstanding image quality and ease of use is excellent.

Weakness: None noted so far.

I love this camera. It is unbelievable and very easy to use. The picture quality is outstanding and battery life is excellent. I have had several digital cameras and this is the best yet albeit the price is a little steep.. You get what you pay for! Buy it! A 5 star rating out of 5.

67% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: bigkahuna - May 6, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Quick auto-focus, manual options

Weakness: Memory sticks

This is a great camera for people to start with that are looking for quality pictures since it supports great automatic operations (point -n- shoot) and will allow a person to develop the photography skills with all the manual options available.

63% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: srotio - Nov 10, 2002

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: This is a great camera. The pictures are super !

Weakness: None So Far

I enjoy taking pictures had many cameras. This one is great to use and the results are excellent. I shot pictures and printed them on premium plus paper @ 8x10 and you can not tell them from a pro photo lab. The DSC-F717 has lots of great features and is faster than its previous model the DSC-F707. I would recommend this camera to anyone.

60% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: ossy - Feb 18, 2004

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: This is a great camera.Love swingback for candids. Lens is fantastic. Have made 13x19 enlargments from half frames.Camera is complex, but also versatile.Good all around. I love the F2 lens.

Weakness: The delay when it comes to action photos is annoying, though I have become used to it and anticipate it,most of the time. The tangling straps are annoying too, but minor. 400 and 800 ISE tend to noisy

I have taken about 5K photos with this camera. I don't miss my film camera at all. I am surprised no one (I read all the reviews to date 2/04)has mentioned the swing back. I can use it as I used to use my old Exakta years ago: looking down. Great for candids. My first attraction to this camera was superior industrial design. Most digital cameras are unspeakably ugly--not this one. Then there is the sharp F2 Zeiss Vario Sonar. I shoot a lot of theater photos for a communtiy theatre and regularly make 13x19" enlargements even from half frames. This is a great general purpose camera. I am taking it everywhere and now it is the only camera I am taking with me. I have 6 128M memory sticks most bought from COSTCO that work fine. I am considering an iPod with an adapter, or a similar gadget for extra storage on the road. I am glad I did not buy the digital Canon EOS Rebel even though I have a slew of Cannon lenses because the SONY F717 meets all my needs.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: amorgan1 - Nov 8, 2002

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Almost everything about it see weaknesses.

Weakness: In flash, viewer blanks during shot (does not effect LCD). Instruction manual difficult to understand. Sony needs to make higher capacity "memory sticks"

Everything they said about this camera in Digital Review is on-the-money. I like the "heft" of this camera. It feels like a "real" camera and not a cheap piece of plastic. If you are familiar with Sony miniDV CAMs then you'll recognize some of the layout. A right handed person may have some trouble with the left mounted controls on the lens but the ability to zoom or manually focus the camera by the "ring" should make up for that. The flash seems to be overpowering when set to "normal" washing out the color. I found the best results were given in te "low" setting. Since my camera was one that fell within the "serial number" focusing problem, I spoke to Sony soone after it arrival. The were excellent and walked me through the steps to see if my unit was effected. It was not. We still have a long way to go before we feel completely confortable with all that this camera can do, but so far . . . I'm very impressed not only with the camera and support, but with the review done by Digital Review.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: CompBoss - Oct 30, 2002

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Does Everything.

Weakness: None So Far

Great Camera and Software. Does just about everything. Comes with just about everthing you need to take great stills and video. The software allows you to edit, produce and even email nice pictures.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: venkkkk - May 28, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Carls Zeiss lens, Battery lasts longer, Easy controls, Fast recording

Weakness: Accessories are very expensive. Only 32 MB memory stick comes with the camera. Drivers don't work all the time. Very propreitary.

None of my friends beleived that I took those snaps, all of them wanted to buy this one shortly. Most of my snaps were unbeleivable with excellent details and sharpness. Sony DSC 717 is an excellent prosumer camera, worth the money. Macro shots with 5X optical zoom are exceptional. Accessories are very costly.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: blazeburns - Mar 11, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Almost everything: photo quality, great macro photos, manual features, battery life, better zoom than most.

Weakness: Small LCD and LCD viewfinder makes it tough to manually focus or be sure autofocus is accurate. Inconvenient placement of zoom controls.

Overall, I'm very happy with the camera. The bottom line is that it is capable of taking incredible photos with great resolution. Very versatile and loaded with nice features.

The issue of the LCD is somewhat irksome to me - I just don't know if I've gotten a really crisp image until I can look at it on a computer screen. In general it is safe to rely on the autofocus and I don't know how much can be done about this issue anyway. It may just be a problem inherent to digital viewfinders and LCDs.

I don't want to seem like I'm coming down too hard though because overall, it is a great camera. I wouldn't think twice about making the same purchase if I had to do it all again.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: sparkey600 - Mar 21, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Makes very good photos.

Weakness: This is not really a weakness but the camera is a very flexiable tool and takes time to learn to use.

The battery charger that is built in must be a quick charger as the battery does not really get a full charge unless you use an external charger. I had an old battery from my other Sony that showed to be almost dead and would npt charge up in the cameras but I purchased a charger from Sony and it charged right up.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: alvinhern - Oct 3, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Awsome Pictures, Lots of options, Just love this camera. This is my first digital camera and I'm learning how to use it very quickly, The quality of these pictures are to die for.

Weakness: 32 meg card is a total joke, not sure why they even bothered putting that in it, you need at least 128 but even that only gives you 51 pictures at the highest fine resolution. I recommend 256.

I'm really glad I purchased this camera so far. I hope it works well for the weeks to come since I will be taking it on my upcoming cruise. For the money I think this is probably the best choice.

50% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 5
  By member: unclesmrgol - Jan 11, 2005

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: standard hotshoe -- you can use non-Sony flashes. excellent magnification range -- 35mm to 200mm best autofocus I've ever had no step-up filter ring needed.

Weakness: wide angle isn't wide enough for vistas. a bit of noise at high ISO settings. a lot of shutter lag

I take thousands of pictures of marching bands every year. This camera was purchased as a replacement for two previous cameras, and has not failed to produce pictures which wow the crowds. A marching band can fill a football field, and your average high school or junior college stadium doesn't have seating far enough from the field for this camera to get the entire field without a wide angle adapter. The camera certainly does have enough magnification for you to catch individuals on the field, provided you use a tripod. With that thought in mind, the camera has produced excellent pictures at all magnifications and ISO settings. I normally take parades during the day at ISO 100/200, and this camera produces stuff good enough for 11x14 photos. At ISO 800 (night time field shows), the results aren't as stunning due to a bit of noise, but are certainly more than adequate for a full screen web display.

The non-dedicated hot shoe is really cool. Unfortunately, you have to navigate Sony's menu system to turn it on, but once on, you can stick your favorite ancient giant manual flash on the top, set shutter speed to flash's sync speed, calibrate the f-stop to the flash's output, and there you go.

Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 4
  By member: jfuste - Dec 24, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: In AF mode, it does all! Plenty of options, perhaps too much for a beginner. Nice and crisp pics at night, fireworks specially, pics are incredible. Battery life is very good. Near 500 shots...

Weakness: No RAW mode. Tele and far scenes seems blur or not well focused (must use tripod). WEIGHT! No standard lenses can be used (Nikon, Canon..). Memorystck prices!

Overall, I'm satisfied, very satisfied. In full resolution mode I've done the best pics of my life. More than 5.000 in a year! impossible with a film one. Macro mode are a singular and funny way to use a camera for me. Nice shots of snakes, flowers, moths, coins.. only at 10mm! Fast pics, like waterdrops are astounding! It lacks a 1/2000 mode but from 1/500 to 1/1000 you could do a lot of nice "frozen" drops! I expect to see what F828 can do with 8MP sensor.... :-)

92% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 4
  By member: gipsy5 - Feb 23, 2004

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Great Auto Focus. Amazing Night/Low light Shots/ Battery time would rival any other cam. Great buy for it price.

Weakness: Bulky. Be Ready to carry some weight around. On-Camera controls will take some time getting used to.

Ture there are Big names in the 5.0 mp digi cam world. but Sony has made there mark with this camera. Sony has really done a great job with this one.. !
Images are sharp , crisp and loads of manual control gives this camera the ease of Point and click as well as the professional touch. if ur a Photography enthusiast , looking for somewhere to begin with in the advance photography but dont want to blow ur money up then this is the best cam for u. The cam has the Best AutoFocus , even in the dark conditions. i have used Nikon coolpix and found in comparison this SONY is UP n RUNNING in less then a second.. ! Flash recharge is hardly noticable and InfraRed makes it possible to get great shots even in dark conditions ! however dont rely on 32 mb stick.. that wont last that long . get atleast a 256 mb stick. i have to admit i was VERY happy with the battery time of this camera ! this camera is worth every penny. on the downside, be ready for a little bulky camera with a long lens. its not that easy to carry around. so if u want a quick point n shoot , easy to carry around. this is NOT for you. overall i would RECOMMEND it to anyone !

89% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 4
  By member: kndnnyj - Dec 10, 2002

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Ease of use, Great photo quality

Weakness: Attachments are too costly

I would purchase this item again. Although I would reccomend using 128 Mb sticks and have an additional battery on hand. The night shot feature needs an additional light source. Field of view is limited. All in all, this is a great piece of work.

80% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 4
  By member: rcguy - Mar 15, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Manual control

Weakness: high priced memory and accessories

Takes great pictures on automatic. Manually you have all the control of the photo that you may need. Great camera but Sony is not cheap. Not enough memory and very expensive.

78% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 4
  By member: djschair - Feb 25, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Great zoom, GREAT LONGLASTING BATTERY, Downloads pictures very quickly, Great picture quality, Great features

Weakness: No Memory

I got this as a gift and it was much more than I expected. I had originally chose the Fuji Finepix camera, but this one is more than I expected. It is my second digital camera and I am very impressed. The features are wonderful, there are so many things you can do with this camera before you even use photoshop. I must say my favorite part of this camera is the battery life, I have gone for weeks without charging it and the quality of my pictures have not changed. The only probem is the lack of memory, which could possibly be a hassle for some. I have a laptop so it isn't that big of an incovience for me, I jsut purchased the 128 MB memory stick. I would recommend this camera to anyone who is a new camera user and wants a professional camera, it has a lot of things to it, and once you find out what they are it comes very natural. GREAT CAMERA!!! I AM VERY HAPPY WITH MY PURCHASE.

75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 4
  By member: dpbel - Nov 14, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: crisp pictures, night framing, many options

Weakness: pop-up flash

Very sophisticated electronics provide a user friendly and easy downloadable features. Pictures are very crisp and crystal clear which should be for a 5.2 mp camera. Zoom and auto zoom work quick and well for any type of photography from amatuer to proffessional. Highly recommended but would definitely immediately purchase a 128mb + stick to provide more play time.

75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
  • 3
  By member: nbrtmpr - Jan 3, 2003

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 5 Megapixel Compact Camera

Strengths: Lots of features

Weakness: Poor quality, low memory stick capacity

Sony recalled mine after 7 days. Sony did not call me, I found it on their website. Customer service is a joke. Registration information goes only to marketing.

75% of readers found this review helpful. Did you find it helpful or unhelpful?

Top
Reply by member: BigJoeD
Dec 23, 2004

I dont know what you mean by poor quailty I purchased mine as soon as it came out had to bring it back sony told me between certain serial numbers there was a problem. I got another from best buy and had not one problem since and love the camera. As far as the quailty I think you cannot find better it is a solid built camera and takes excellent pictures.

  • 5.0
  Imaging Resource - Sep 2, 2002

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717

Read Full Review

Top
  • 2.6
  TopTenREVIEWS.com - Jul 16, 2008

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-F717

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-F717 receives an overall TopTenREVIEWS score of 2.11 out of 4.00. It is ranked the #290 standard digital camera of all time. The overall rating represents an intelligent balance of features, value as a function of price to features, and a summary of reviews from a variety of sources. The TopTen REVIEWS' formula gives a picture of important consumer features, market value, and...

Read Full Review

Top
  • 2.5
  productwiki.com - Dec 6, 2011

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-F717 is a digital camera released as an upgrade from the original DSC-F707. It too features a Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar lens with a 5x optical /2x digital zoom, and a 5MP CCD. However, it adds along a larger 32MB memory stick, improved AF, shorter shutter lag, faster startup time, and improved AWB. Plus the newly added multi-burst mode lets the user capture 16 320x240 frames...

Read Full Review

Top