Sony Cyber-shot S70 retro review

Sony Cyber-shaft S70 retroactive review

17th September 2021

Written by

In early 2000, Sony launched the Cyber-shot S70, packing the caller's latest 3 Megapixel CCD sensing element with a Carl Zeiss-branded 3x zoom and a wealth of features at a price of $800 that undercut many of its rivals. I reviewed it in the August 2000 issue of PCW magazine and liked it soh much I actually opened my own wallet and bought one.

Yes, this loved viewers, therein episode of Dino Bytes, I'm retro-reviewing my very own S70 to see if it still makes my warmheartedness flapping 21 years after I spent the best part of 700 pounds on it.

Depending on your neighborhood, the S70 was launched alongside the lower-end S50 and S30 models, but the S70 was the one you wanted with the top-close 3 Megapixel resolution. But despite sporting Sony's second-best sensing element at this time for this kind of camera, the company decided to house it in a surprisingly boring body: forget the innovative rotating designs of the F series to date, instead the S70 went for a physical structure close to kin to a pack of butter in size and forge, and just about American Samoa comfortable to hold also. You can see the meagre grip from the top, along with the lyrate deuce-ac position mode dial, basic LCD info screen and the mono mic for the video mode OR sound clips. Meanwhile connected the rear, the S70 was typically Sony, a master of miniaturization with a scattering of tiny buttons that weren't particularly comfortable. In use IT felt rather different to the Canon G1 and Nikon 990 which both benefited from decades of experience in stills camera ergonomics.

For makeup you had the choice of a 2in screen, fixed in position unlike the side-hinged G1's display operating room the rotating body of the 990, but that in turn did help it meet a glower price point. In the meantime in the corner was a basic optical viewfinder, actually the first along a Sony Cyber-chatoyant.

Sony made a head honch about the lens, with its 3x optical tramp eq to 34-102mm and full control over the bright f2-2.5 aperture. But what successful IT really special was the Carl Zeiss branding, a collaboration that promised the sharpness the high resolution detector deserved. The combination certainly delivered good looking images, just appeared identical to the lens on Canon's PowerShot G1 as asymptomatic as the Epson 3000Z, both betting alternative branding. I still father't know World Health Organization made it, but I'm pretty indisputable it's the synoptic lens along these three competing models.

Can a tizzy you'll find out a flash sync port, a proprietary USB ballyhoo and a3.5mm Av jack up for composite video and mono sound for those TV slideshows. When you connected the S70 to a computer, the card was conveniently bestowed as a removable drive, but if, like me, you've lost the cable, you'll need a Memory Stay put bill of fare reader.

Meanwhile in the rear recession is a DC input signal to charge the battery inside the camera. Sony supplied the S70 with an Alternating current adapter that doubled equally a courser and a mains mightiness append, when most cameras charged you unnecessary for unitary. Charging was swift as well, but annoyingly the AC adapter was larger than the camera itself, which proved a pain in the neck when backpacking for trips.

Behind a large flap unofficially of the television camera you'll find the battery compartment, home to the substantial NP-FM50 Info Lithium pack which allowed the S70 to indicate exactly how many minutes of charge remained. Ameliorate nevertheless, it boasted over double the life of many rival cameras, especially those that took Alcoholics Anonymous batteries, confirming the S in the model constitute stood for Stamina. Sadly my original assault and battery no yearner holds some charge, but replacements are available. I bought a DSTE FM-50 replacement from Amazon which cost reasonable 12 pounds and seems to work well til now.

Also housed in the battery compartment is the memory posting slot, with the S70 unsurprisingly adopting Sony's proprietary Memory Stick format in the unabridged chewing-gum influence. I'd cursed the S70's USB cable so used my Sony U20 camera every bit a card reader A it has a much normal USB interface.

The S70 May have housed Sony's advisable sensor for this kind of photographic camera at the time, but it wasn't the first camera to boast 3 Megapixels. Canon's PowerShot S20 had that honour with the exact same 1/ 1.8in CCD, recording images with 2048×1536 pixels, enough to make a 7x5in publish at 300dpi or even a 10x8in at a push. Again, veneer unfavorable judgment from to begin with models which turned their JPEG condensation up too high, Sony had gone mild on the S70 with images measuring around 1.4MB to each one, but annoyingly with no new JPEG options. This meant you could only squeeze around five photos onto the exiguous 8MB stick supplied with the S70, at one time when most rivals came with 16MB cards and a choice of JPEG compression. The S70 did offer some alternative formats though, including a mono GIF option for written document enchant A well as an uncompressed Spat, but measuring 9MB each you couldn't evening fit one onto the supplied notice.

Speed was also an issue. Those TIFF files took roughly 40 seconds to record, while the tv camera itself took several seconds to power-heavenward, enter playback or cycle betwixt images. Merely IT did at least allow for lots of photograph control including aperture and shutter priority modes, the latter accessing speeds between 1/1000 and 8 seconds.

You could besides record video on the S70, albeit at a top superior QVGA mode, with 320×240 pixels at 15fps with mono audio. Clips were also pocket-size to 15 seconds each.

Rush along and questionable ergonomics were the S70's downside, but modest buffering and a with kid gloves-pruned feature-set allowed it to undercut the Nikon COOLPIX 990 and Canon PowerShot G1 spell delivering similar quality. Those were the cameras I aspired to, but the S70 was the combined I could in reality afford and it served me well, staying in my family straight after I upgraded it a class later to the 4 Megapixel S85.

As I've mentioned in reviews of other 3 Megapixel models from roughly the Twelvemonth 2000, IT represented a turning point not just in price, but in solution, being the first time digital images really became usable for ME.

Sony S70 review in Personal Computer World UK magazine August 2000

The S85 was the last S mock up in this boxlike mould, with Sony launching and experimenting with multiple alternative series, including the popular P range. The S returned now and again, but non with the impact of the S70 and S85 which to me are boxy classics of the daytime and ideal for collectors.

Check prices at Amazon, B&ere;H, Adorama, eBay Oregon Wex. Alternatively get yourself a imitate of my In Camera book or deal ME to a chocolate! Thanks!