Sony DSC-S70 Digital Camera

Conclusion

There is no question that the Cybershot series cameras are a step in the right direction for Sony. As we have seen with the DSC-S70, Sony is out to make a camera that will quickly appeal to the consumer, with aggressive looks and a equally impressive performance.

There are some problems with the S70, however. First off it is extremely slow, a fact which frustrated us constantly upon its use. The proprietary Memory Stick format makes us wary, as prices could rise or products could be be discontinued easily. The camera's grip left some to be desired, as it seemed a bit delicate in our hands. Finally, smaller issues such as the troublesome menu button and lack of a few features, left us a bit disappointed.

However it seems that for every bad on the S70 there is an equal and opposite good. The color chart shows that the S70 can accurately reproduce colors rather accurately, with colors a bit on the light side. The impressive Carl Zeiss lens shows Sony's commitment to high quality optics and the 3.3 megapixel CCD proves that Sony is out to battle with the big dogs.

Does the S70 match up? Well, what it looses in speed and features it makes up in image quality and optics. We think that the S70 is a good option in the $800 price range, however it is very hard to place the product here as an additional $100 should be tacked on for almost mandatory 64MB Memory Stick. At $900 the S70 is still a good camera, however the competition gets tougher, with cameras like the Nikon Coolpix 990 and the Olympus C-3030Z competing for your money.

We think that the S70 will be a good camera for some time now, far outlasting the former Mavica series cameras.