Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-H7 a Great Family Camera!

First the stats and then my comments on the H7:
DSC-H7
Sensor
• 1/2.5 " Type CCD
• 8.1 million effective pixels
Image sizes
• 3264 x 2448
• 2592 x 1944
• 2048 x 1536
• 640 x 480
• 3264 x 2176 (3:2)
• 1920 x 1080 (16:9)
Movie clips
• MPEG VX Fine / Standard
(640 x 480 @ 30 / 16 fps MPEG-1 with audio)
File formats
• JPEG
• DPOF
Lens
• Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar
• 31-465mm (35mm equiv)
• 15x optical zoom
• F2.7-4.5
Image stabilization
• Super Steady Shot
Conversion lenses
• Yes
Digital zoom
• Precision 2x, TTL 30x
Focus
• Auto
• Macro
• Single
• Monitoring
AF area modes
• 9-point
• Face Detection
AF assist lamp
• Yes
Focus distance
• 50cm
Metering
• Multi-pattern
• Center-weighted
• Spot
ISO sensitivity
• Auto
• ISO 80
• ISO 100
• ISO 200
• ISO 400
• ISO 800
• ISO 1600
• ISO 3200
Exposure compensation
• /- 2EV in 1/3EV stop increments
Exposure bracketing
• Sharpness Setting: /-1EV in 1 step increments
• Contrast Setting: /-1EV i n step increments
• 3 frames, /-0.3/0.7/1.0EV
Shutter speed
• Auto: 1/4-1/4000sec
• P: 1"-1/4000sec
• S: 30"-1/4000sec
• A: 8"-1/2000sec
• M: 30"-1/4000sec
Aperture
• F2.7-5.6 (w) F4.5-8 (t)
Modes
• Auto
• Program
• Shutter Priority
• Aperture Priority
• Manual
• Scene
Scene modes
• Twilight
• Twilight Portrait
• Portrait
• Landscape
• Beach
• Snow
• Fireworks
• High Sensitivity
• Advanced Sports Shooting
White balance
• Auto
• Daylight
• Cloudy
• Fluorescent 1, 2, 3
• Incandescent
• Flash WB
• Manual
White balance fine tune n/a
Self timer
• 2 or 10sec
Continuous shooting
• 100 shots, 2.2fps, 8MP (max)
Image parameters
Color Modes: Natural, Vivid, Sepia, B&W
Flash
• Auto
• On
• Slow Synch
• Off
• Red-eye reduction
• Front/rear synch
• Auto/Daylight synch
• Range: 0.2 - 9.8m (wide) 1.2 - 6m (tele)
Viewfinder
EVF
LCD monitor
• 2.5-inch
• 115,000 pixels
Connectivity
• USB
• HD
• AV w/multi-jack
• DC in
Print compliance PictBridge
Storage
• Memory Stick / Pro Duo
• 31MB internal
Power
• Lithium-ion NP-BG1 battery
• BC-CSG Charger
Weight (no batt)
375 g (13.2 oz)
Dimensions
109.5 x 83.4 x 85.7 mm (4 5/16x 3 5/16x 3 3/8in)

UPDATE - 6/13/07:" We have had the H7 now for a few weeks and taken hundreds of photos with it in that time. The photos have spanned the range from sports shots of our children to Macro shots of watches for my hobby. The macro literally allows me to place the camera within 1cm of the object and get amazingly close photos with superior detail. The "burst" mode allows a seeming limitless series of photographs to be taken with amazing clarity. The best discovery of all with the camera is that the face detection software actually seems to know when someone is wearing glasses and compensates for them - the photos of my daughter in her glasses are simply the best I have ever seen unretouched!

The Sony Press release says that the "H7 is a winning combination of the Face sensing technology from Sony's high-end SLR camera series, 8.1 mega pixel, versatility in settings and modes, and ease of use." I have found that to be absolutely true. This camera has more versatility than any other digital I have ever owned because it combines high shutter speed shooting and intelligent continuous auto-focusing. The lag time is the lowest (meaning its the fastest camera) that I've used. It can quickly focus on fast-moving subjects by predicting where those subjects will be in the frame. This predictive technology also helps to reduce shutter lag, the time it takes for the camera to focus and shoot.

The DSC-H7 features powerful Carl Zeiss 15x optical zoom lenses for up-close shots of big plays on the field. Sony's new face detection technology can identify up to eight faces in the cameras LCD frame, and automatically adjust white balance and flash as well as focus and exposure for correctly exposed, sharp photos. It places boxes around faces as it recognizes them and the photos are amazing under every lighting condition that I have encountered so far. The H7 features high-definition outputs, which means that you can simply connect it to your HDTV with the Sony VMC-MHC1 high-definition component cable, sold separately. I have to say that these photos take on an entirely new dimension when seen on out 37in HDTV.

One of the sales points or targets of the new H7 is families with budding athletes. The H7 can shoot up to 1/4000 of a second, a critical speed for capturing fast-moving sports and freezing the action. The software built in is the Bionz™ processing engine, first used in Sony’s Alpha digital SLR camera system. This new circuitry very obviously speeds up response times over older Sony digital cameras. It delivers the fast image processing speeds needed to produce color-rich, detailed pictures for true high-definition photo viewing even with fast moving kids! The battery seems to be good for about 300 photos and a 2meg Memory Stick Duo is good for just under 1000 photos.

A tripod is nice but a pain to lug around with you everywhere. I've always been a fan of Sony's Steady Shot feature on their cameras. The H7 incorporates Super Steady Shot optical image stabilization to minimize blur caused by camera shake, an important feature when shooting at slow shutter speeds at full zoom. Their high sensitivity, up to ISO3200, also helps to fight blur resulting from fast-moving subjects.

The cameras’ high sensitivity (up to ISO 3200) also helps preserve the mood by capturing well-exposed, natural-looking photos, even in challenging low-light conditions. This means that you can shoot at higher shutter speeds to take in the maximum amount of light without using the flash. Picture noise, common to pictures shot at high ISO levels, is minimized by Sony's Clear RAW ™ noise reduction technology. I am finding that staying at ISO400 or lower results in the best quality photos. The Lens hood is nicely designed (two-pieces that store in 1/2 the space) and can be very important for taking the sports photos that the camera is principally marketed towards for families.

The H7 comes with a nice little remote that is infrared and includes a shutter button, home button, slide show button, menu button, Telephoto-Wide Angle zoom rocker button, and a 5-way control button. It is nice for taking family photos with everyone in the photo and for use when connected to the HDTV for showing the photos and movies. It is small and is powered by a very easy to find standard CR2025 button type lithium battery.

The H7 has a 2.5 in LCD screen that is fixed flat to the back of the camera. The two main difference between it and the more expensive H9 camera are that the H9 has a 3-inch, flip-up LCD screen so that you can shoot comfortably from nearly any position and it has Zero Lux (no light) capability known as NightShot technology.

The DSC-H7 camera is listing at $399 and is not generally being discounted yet. The VMC-HD1 high-definition component cable is sold separately for about $40. Additional accessories include wide (around $159) and telephoto ($169) conversion lenses, filters ($109), batteries (NP-BG1 sells for around $49), travel chargers (vary widely), sports packs and cases. There are few aftermarket items available yet because the H7 & H9 were released for sale in April 2007.