Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX7

Viewfinder (0.00)

There is no viewfinder on this camera: photos are framed on the LCD screen on the back of the camera body.

Display (9.36)

The LCD screen on the back of the TX7 is a very impressive 3.5-inch model with a 921,000 pixel resolution. The high resolution of this screen shows: images on it look very clear and sharp, and movement on the screen is pretty smooth. It isn’t as smooth as a decent HDTV, but it is smooth enough to allow you to see details on moving objects.

The screen takes up the entire back of the camera: there are no additional controls or buttons. All of the features of the camera are controlled through this touch screen: you tap it to tell the camera where to focus or to access the on-screen menu. We found this touch screen to be pretty responsive; it did miss occasional taps, but responded quickly when it detected the tap. Sony includes a small piece of plastic it refers to as the paint pen for using on this screen, but we didn’t find that this made much difference.

Flash (3.00)

The flash of the TX7 is very small, and is located to the left of the lens. We found it was fairly powerful, though, allowing us to take photos in total darkness out to a range of about 10 to 11 feet. Between the lens and the flash is the AF assist light.

Lens (3.50)

The flash has a standard selection of modes, including a full auto, off, forced on and a slow sync, which combines the flash with a slow shutter speed.

The 4x lens of the TX7 is completely enclosed in the camera body: it does not poke out of the camera body at all in use. It has a focal length range of 4.43mm to 17.7 mm, which is equivalent to a 25 to 100mm lens on a 35mm film camera. That’s a decent range for a compact camera, with a good wide angle setting for shooting groups or landscapes.

The aperture range of the lens is a fairly decent for a compact point & shoot camera, though; it goes from f/3.5 to f/6.3, which is a little wider than most.

Zoom Ratio Examples
4.43 mm	9.0 mm	17.7 mm

Battery (5.00)

The DSC-TX7 is powered by a small NP-BN1 Lithium Ion battery that holds just 630 mAh of charge. That is not a lot, especially with the big screen, so it is not surprising that Sony quotes a battery life of 115 shots. We wouldn’t disagree with this: in our informal tests, we found that the camera seldom lasted more than a day or two of moderate use. A spare battery will cost you $50.

The battery fits into the camera in a cavity at the bottom, which is covered by a small latched door. The memory card fits into the same location. The battery is charged in an external charger, although there is an optional power supply which charges the camera in the dock.

Memory (5.50)

Sony has vowed that all of their 2010 camera models will be able to use both their own MemoryStick and SDHC memory cards, and the TX7 is one of the first to come with a memory card slot that can handle both. This means you can use either SDHC or MemoryStick Pro Duo memory cards, which is a plus if you are upgrading from an older camera that uses SD Cards. A new 4GB MemoryStick Pro Duo card will cost you about $20.

Jacks, Ports & Plugs (3.50)

There is just a single connector on the camera body: a proprietary port that connects to the included dock. The camera fits neatly into this dock, and this includes ports for USB, HDMI and power connections. While this does provide a neat way to connect the computer to a desktop PC or TV without having cables running everywhere, it is a pain if you want to copy photos off the memory card while you are on the road: you’ll have to take the dock along with you.