Digital Camera Review

Digital Camera Review

Sony’s top-end Cyber-shot model, the DSC-F828, is an 8.0 megapixel, four color channel (Red + Green + Blue + Emerald) CCD camera with a unique design and a host of professional features (live histogram, multi formats and burst modes, etc.) that brings Sony into the prosumer SLR market. The Sony DSC-F828 is quite an improvement over the previous model, the DSC-F717, which was very much a consumer camera. Priced at just under US $1,000, the DSC-F828 may be a good option for the Sonyphile ready to replace their older Sony digital still camera. Equipped with a 7x optical zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* multi-coated lens with a 7.1-51mm focal range, in addition to a 2/3-inch 8.0 megapixel CCD, the Sony DSC-F828 is poised to make its mark in the professional imaging world.
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Picture Quality / Size Options (8.0)
The Sony DSC-F828 has three custom image menus, allowing users to very slightly modify image sharpness, saturation, and color. The Sony DSC-F828 has three sharpness modes: normal, -, and +. These modes can be accessed by pressing the menu button on the top of the back, and then using the jog dial/joystick to scroll to the sharpness screen. Image saturation can also be manipulated in-camera by accessing the saturation feature in the menu. Three modes are available: normal, -, and +. The Sony DSC-F828 has two in-camera color modes: normal, and real. The color selection page, as with the other mode pages, can be located by pressing the menu button and using the joystick to scroll left or right within the main menu.

The image preset options are very easy to navigate, although they should be accessed with caution. Beginning users should probably leave these features to normal, as most cameras tend to oversharpen and over-saturate anyway. As far as using the features, within Sony’s easy menu system adjustments couldn’t be easier.

The following is a list of approximate file sizes for the available modes on the Sony DSC-F828:

RAW: 16.5MB + 2.4MB JPEG (8M FINE)
8M TIFF: 22.9MB
8M FINE JPEG: 2.4MB
8M STD JPEG: 1.6MB
5M FINE JPEG: 1.7MB
3M FINE JPEG: 1.1MB
1M FINE JPEG: 0.5MB

This is a pretty impressive array of options, giving the user no reason to complain.

Picture Effects Mode (7.0)
The Sony DSC-F828 has several digital effects available for users. They are sepia, negative art, and solarize. These are accessed through the menu in any mode, with the exception of auto. When in the menu system, users can use the joystick to scroll over to PFX, and then choose from the available options. Personally, I think these effects are worthless. Any manipulation should be done in a picture editing suite, where users can preserve the original image if they don't like the way something looks. As far as functionality, accessing these effects and using them is very simple.

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