Sony DSC H7 Review

The Sony DSC H7 is an 8 megapixel camera with a 15x optical zoom lens. As well as the long zoom lens the DSC H7 boasts a number of advanced features, including manual exposure modes. This means that the camera is suitable for someone who is looking for a serious camera with plenty of zoom power, but does not want the expense of a digital SLR.

Outdoor 1 (Medium Zoom)
There are a number of good points about this picture. To start with the DSC H7 manages to produce a bright photo. It is well balanced when it comes to colours and focusing is above average. The camera also handles the glare of the sun better than a lot of other cameras do.

One area where there was a problem was with light turquoise lines being added to the edges of some of the white and shiny objects. This is often a problem with super zoom cameras, although this problem is usually more noticeable only when the zoom is near to full extension.

Outdoor 2 (No Zoom)
This is another good effort. As you will be able to see for yourself the photo produces some strong colouring, especially in the sky. Focusing is again above average.

Outdoor 3 (Maximum Zoom)
I really like this photo. It highlights the benefits of the extra zoom as the camera is able to get in close and pick out a lot of detail. It is another bright photo, with sharp focus. There is some purple fringing in the shot though.

Outdoor 4 (Building)
This is a new test. Therefore I haven't many other test shots to compare this one against. I like the result though. It is similar to the third outdoor shot in that the brightness is good, as is sharpness.

Outdoor Portrait
Even though I used the cloudy white balance setting to boost colours this photo lacks a little oomph! I would like to have seen some extra brightness and stronger skin tones.

Indoor Portrait with Flash
By way of contrast with the outdoor portrait this shot has plenty going for it. Colours are stronger, without being over done. No red eye shows in the shot and the DSC H7 has managed to use just the right amount of flash power.

Indoor Portrait without Flash
There is plenty of detail showing in this shot. It is another photo I am happy with. The lighting used is quite good, so you will have to get to know the camera in order to judge when you need to use flash and when you can get away with using natural light.

Colours
The colours produced by the DSC H7 are stronger in most cases than those delivered by a number of other brands. In my opinion they stay the right side of being over strong.

Macro
Once again a small amount of purple fringing shows. This is not likely to be a problem if you are taking nature based macro shots. Focusing is roughly average and a very slight blue caste is evident.

ISO 400
At ISO 400 picture quality remains impressive. Again this photo was taken in favourable light, so expect more noise to become apparent as lighting levels fall.

ISO 1600
By the time you reach ISO 1600 most picture quality has disappeared. I would look on this as an emergency only setting when the conditions are dark and you are outside the range of the flash.

Overall
Overall the DSC H7 passes most of my tests. The fact that this lens is even longer than a normal super zoom means that is a fair feet.

I was able to take a single photo in 0.15 seconds and five photos in 0.42 seconds. These are very fast times. Even with the flash turned on times only increase to 0.42 seconds for a single photo and 12.44 seconds for five. These times make the DSC H7 hard to beat.

You can compare this camera to other models by taking a look at the Shutter Lag Comparison Table.

The DSC H7 is similar in style to a digital SLR camera. It has a toughened finish and is available in black.

109.5 x 83.4 x 85.7

375g

The DSC H7 uses a lithium ion battery (NP-BG1). A battery and charger are supplied with the camera. Sony estimates you should be able to take around 300 shots with the battery before a recharge is required.

Sony have built in 31mb of memory. This is enough for around 15 photos. The DSC H7 is also compatible with Memory Stick Duo and Memory Stick PRO Duo.

Click here to save money on Memory Stick.

Above average. Despite the range of features the camera has it is still quite easy to use. In fact compared with other super zoom cameras this is one of the easier ones to get used to.

Picture quality - fast shutter lag times - build quality - design

Purple and turquoise fringing issues.

A couple of alternatives with similar features are: Canon Powershot S5 IS and Panasonic DMC FZ8.

There is a lot to like about the Sony DSC H7. It is a fairly solid offering and in my view does the job it sets out to. Most of my test shots were a success and it is hard not to be impressed by the shutter lag times.

Front View

Back View

Top View

Sample Menus

Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information on this site, please make sure you double check the feature set and specification at the point of purchase.

Sony DSC H7