Rating: 
Summary: The F717 has it all!!!
Review: The only thing that I don't like is being limited to 128 meg memory sticks. I like taking pictures at high resolutions and that eats memory sticks fast!I have heard a rumor that 1 gig sticks will be available within a month. That should be plenty of room for most people. (until you can dump everyting into your computer's hard drive) I love all the maual options this camera provides. It takes beautiful, in focus, pictures in complete darkness. With a shutter speed from 1/1000 to 30 seconds you have the abilty to take great action shots and night shots!!!! The only thing that I would suggest for improvment would be making it smaller. I'm sure they are already working on it!!!
Rating:
Summary: Top of the line in so many ways!
Review: I studied long and hard before spending so much on a camera, and my time paid off. This camera is comfortable to use, easy to learn and with a bit of time, to master, and produces great results. Excellent color, and the unique night-focus and night-shot features work as advertised. Not cheap, but worth it for the serious amateur digital photographer. Wouldn't embarass a pro, either.
Rating:
Summary: THE DIGITAL CAMERA I LOVE.
Review: AFTER GOING THROUGH LOT OF SEARCH I FINALLY DECIDED TO BUY F717 TO FULFIL MY DREAMS REGARDING DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY WITH THE DECENT AND PROFESSIONAL STANDARD CAMERA.IT IS NICE COMBINATION OF SIMPLE AND ADVANCE OPERATIONS.THE BEGINNERS COULD USE THE AUTOFOCUS MODE AND THE OTHER PEOPLE COULD DO ALOT WITH THE FEATURES OF THIS CAMERA.
FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DONOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE CAMERAS AND PHOTOGRAPHY THIS IS TOO MUCH FOR THEM. ANYONE WHO IS INTO PHOTOGRAPHY THIS IS A VERY GOOD CAMERA.
Rating: 
Summary: great camera for a pro
Review: I spent a lot of time getting up to speed on this camera. Although it takes extremely good pictures and would be great for a pro, it is not for me. You have to use both hands for most pics. The zoom feature is on the left side of the bulky lens, for instance, while the shutter release is on the r/h front side of the camera, making zooming in and focusing a tiresome task. It has too many features that you pay for, but which are not easy to learn to use. In fact, most of them you would probably never even use if you were a family man just taking pictures of family activities. I took it back after owning it for a week & exchanged it. However, If you are a true camera nut or a pro, stick to the DSC- F717. It really is great, it has a great many pro features not found on less expensive cameras.
Rating:
Summary: Sony vs others
Review: The DSC-F717 is a dummy-proof camera with semi-pro intentions. In comparison with various Canon digital and analog cameras that I have owned, the ease of use is comparable to the digitals, and the features comparable to the canon SLRs. The bulky 2-handed design makes it more difficult to capture spontaneous moments, even when compared to the SLR, and the prominence of the button provides very good tactile control, but after a while, the direction pad starts to feel fragile. The bulkiness of the 717 has made me consider a second purchase of the new autofocus cybershot U-20 for all those other occasions where the speed of "deholstering" is important to capture those spontaneous moments. If only the could make a U-20 with all the features of the 717!
Rating:
Summary: This is so cool I sleep with it at night....
Review: Ok, maybe that's an exagerration... it's on the nightstand. Actually this is a great camera. It's not a top of the line professional, but it's not supposed to be either. This means you can't swap out the lens but you can add to it. The Carl Zeiss lens is, however, an amazing part of this camera. I took a quick snapshot of a crescent moon, and on my computer was able to see craters, so the zoom isn't that bad... This thing also connected instantly to my Mac (OS X - Jaguar), so I love that. I edit with PhotoShop, so I didn't bother to see what software came with the package. let's see... pros - great lens, fairly lightweight, easy to use. cons - took a little time to figure out some of the features, wasn't impressed with the manual. other than that, it's the best camera I own. --------------------
Ok, it's been six months since I first wrote a review of the Sony F717... And it's still an awesome camera. my only gripe was the size of the memory stick that comes with it, but I've since gotten a few 128 sticks. I've really become quite fond of the manual settings, allows for some really fantastic shots while playing with depth of field. The Macro settings also have come in handy with some spectacular results, very sharp images of tiny things close up to the lens. Still happy with the zoom, got me close enough to an alligator without having to offer myself up as lunch! Despite the bulkiness of the shape, your hands can easily get accustomed to it, and soon you'll be shooting without worry. The plus side of this design is that in forcing you to use both hands (for most shots) you'll end up with steadier shots. Another plus is the threading on the lens, which let's you add filters (first one you should get is a UV filter - around [$$$] at most camera shops). My favorite is my polarizer, it has saved many a shot. I've since bought a pocket tripod (Ultrapod II), and combined, I am quite happy. Overall, I have to say this is still the best camera I've owned.
Rating:
Summary: Makes you look like a pro
Review: This camera is amazing!! I started with the 505, and then moved up to the 707. If you're like me, you have a love for photography, but not necessarily the skill for it. This camera handles all the details for you, so it's literally point and click. The features are more than abundant, and the quality is beyond belief. I recommend getting the 128mb Memory Stick (maybe two if your going on a long vacation) and the Memory Stick USB reader for your PC. You will not be dissapointed!
Rating: 
Summary: Technical glitch
Review: See the recall posted at the Sony Technical Support site regarding the hologram focusing system. Sony will fix at no charge but it requires work, time and shipping. I purchased one of these at this site (Office Depot offering). It was one of the affected cameras. The camera is excellent otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: Fine piece of machinery
Review: I'll keep this short since there are already several reviews on this product. The good side: plenty of options and bottom line: nice picture quality. I am totally in love with the manual zoom ring. Matter of fact, at times, I forget that the "T/W" button existed at all(LOL) since I use the manual zoom ring so often. The manual zoom ring provides more delicate and linear zoom capability, whereas, the "T/W" button can be "choppy" as you are trying to adjust the zoom. I also love the new MPEG HQX movie option. It lasts longer than the 707's and the resolution quality is pretty decent to my surprise. Sound isn't the best, but hey, it's a DSC. The improvements over the 707 are definitely worth the extra $200. The bad (minor): Manual focus. It's hard to judge if the picture is "in focus" because the view in the LCD is a bit too grainy. So I thought the view finder would be a better option to use. But, it too, is a bit too grainy to make a good judgement. Therefore, I avoid manual focus altogether. I find that it takes quite a bit of trial and error to get the right focus-I just don't have the patience for that. There were times where I thought I had the picture in focus, but to my dismay, after seeing it in my computer, it is not. However, I think in the user's manual, it did state that the manual focus should generally be used in low light conditions or when autofocus is having difficulty finding the correct focus. I just wish the picture quality in both the LCD and view finder could be improved somehow-at least so that a better judgement in focus can be made. It seems the LCS/View finder needs to be more WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get-for those who didn't know the acronym). Yeah, I agree that the lens housing is a bit too long, making the entire camera kinda bulky. I also find because of its shape and size, there are very few non-Sony cases that fit it just right. Would be nice of Sony to have the "official" leather case come with the camera package-oh well. The fact that this is all the negatives I can dish out on this camera should speak for itself.
Rating:
Summary: This is Awsome Camera !!!
Review: You can't go wrong with bying this camera from Amazon. If you have ever moved to advanced photography and used 35 mm SLRs such as Minolta Maxxum 5000 or 7000 then you will love this Cybershot Cameras. Both models 707 and 717 are almost the same. They both future all advanced settings of SLRs and an excellent Zeiss zoom lens with focal length 9.7mm to 48.5mm. Keep in mind that because formed digital image size is different than a frame size 24mm x 36mm of regular film corresponding Lens 35mm is equivalent to 38-190mm. Camera is very easy to operate and all controls are intuitive and logically placed. You will find shutter priority, aperture priority, auto, and of course full manual mode including manual focusing. As soon as I bought this camera I took it for a "test drive" to the racing dogs track...If you own a Sony camcorder you will be pleasantly surprised that menu navigation and setup functions are very similar. In addition, you will find that your Sony's camcorder and Cybershot power supplies for battery charging are the same so you don't have to carry two of them when you are taking a trip. Finally, Cybershot lets you record mpeg movies limited in time only to the capacity of the memory stick. Some other cameras limit your movie clips to 30 or 60 sec.
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