What makes this camera interesting is that while it fits in the general size and theme of the digicam realm, but it also is a little too new to fit into that first decade of the 21st century and it uses a CMOS rather than a CCD sensor. Now in full disclosure some of I have written about some of the ‘digicams’ that I have used in the past when they were still new. But they had long passed from my toolkit, so when I got my hands on the WX7 I decided that I would give this lovely piece of kit the proper treatment. It has also been a long time since I used once of these cameras, especially one as small as the WX7.
Camera Specifications
Make: Sony
Model: Cybershot DSC-WX7
Type: Point-And-Shoot
Sensor: 7.77mm CMOS (Exmor R), 16.2 megapixels
Storage: SD Card Slot (1x)
Lens: Fixed, Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 4.5-22.5mm (25-125mm) 1:2.6-6.3
Shutter: 2s – 1/1600s
Meter: TTL Metering, ISO-100 – ISO-3200
Autofocus: TTL Autofocus
Dimensions (WxHxD): 92.2×51.9×19.1mm
Weight: 120g (with battery and card)
Year of Manufacture: 2011
Power Source: Sony Type N LithIon (360mAh), NP-BN1
Background
The modern electronic powerhouse we know today as Sony had a humble start in war-ravaged Japan. Shortly after the Japanese surrender in 1945, Masaru Ibuka opened a radio repair shop in the ruins of the Shirokyia Department Store building. A year later, Masaru was joined by Akio Morita after Akio saw an ad in a newspaper about the new venture. The two men already knew each other as they were wartime research colleagues. Together, the pair formed Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. or Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation. Together, they both repaired and built radios, all while undertaking the goal of constructing a magnetic tape recorder. The Type G or SONI-TAPE hit the market in 1950, and Masaru went to the United States to drum up support for expansion into the North American Market, using the trade name Sony. The Sony TR-55 marked the first transistor radio produced in Japan. Its successor, the TR-63, would put the company on the map, being one of the most miniature transistor radios produced at the time, and coined the term pocketable. By 1958, Sony became the company’s official name as the company began to have a global reach. In 1960, Sony released the TV8-301, a portable 8″ television. Sony would move into the video market by introducing their legendary Trinitron Screens, along with a large-scale video recorder, the PV-100 and the more consumer-oriented CV-2000, by 1968. Sony also released the first video cassette in 1971, the Unimatic. And by 1975, the iconic Betamax hit the market.
Sony would ultimately lose the format wars, falling to the more popular VHS video cassette, but that didn’t stop them from continuing to work with video recording and developing cameras that used CCD sensors to capture images: the first such camera, the HVC-F1 aimed at professional television productions. The engineers at Sony also realised that CCD sensors could be used to capture still images. The Mavica saw limited release as a prototype camera. Using a 2″ floppy disk and interchangeable lenses, the prototype saw limited use during the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 by select newspapers. The lessons learned would result in 1988’s Mavica MVC-C1; the C1 was an all-analogue still-video camera using a CCD sensor and could store fifty images on the Mavipak disk. Sony would continue to improve the Mavica line, but it wasn’t until 1996 that the first true digital camera was released. Sony’s leadership wanted a fun digital camera that could be marketed to consumers at an affordable price. The Sony Cybershot DSC-F1 used a .3 megapixel CCD sensor and stored the images on an internal memory chip. Sony continued to produce Mavica cameras, which used floppy disks; one of my earliest experiences with shooting professionally for a High School event was using one of these Mavicas and uploading the images to a website for a Provincial Badminton tournament.
The Cybershot line became popular, with multiple different models being released. Some smaller, some far larger in the bridge camera format. But the mainline Cybershots were always aimed at the consumer market as a small pocketable camera to take snapshots. The DCS-P1 from 2000 is an iconic Sony camera that inspired many other cameras from other manufacturers. The P1 featured removable memory using the Sony Memory Stick and a 3.3 megapixel CCD sensor. Three years later, the even smaller DSC-T1 used a license-built Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens. 2009, the first WX-Series camera was released; the DSC-WX1 used a Sony G-Lens, an SD Card memory storage slot and the new EXMOR-R CMOS sensor with 10.2 megapixels. The WX1 also could take HD video in the 720p format. In 2010, the DSC-WX5 increased the image resolution to 12.2 megapixels and 1080i HD video. A year later, the DSC-WX7 was released, increased the image resolution to 16.2 megapixels, and changed the lens to a Vario-Tessar instead of a Sony G. The WX-Series were aimed at the entry-level market and are still produced today, with the two current versions starting in 2018 with the WX500 and WX800.
Impression
Of course, in the case of this particular copy, the camera is purple (although the box says blue), and the second is the small stature of the camera. And this thing is tiny! You have to remember that I got out of these point-and-shoot cameras years ago, and even then, the most miniature camera I used was the Lumix LX3, which is even more significant than the WX7. That said, with some careful and constant use, I have come to terms with the size. Control-wise, everything is focused on the camera’s right side: a small command dial, push buttons and, of course, the shutter release and zoom controls. These offer good feedback and are quickly figured out without a manual to guide you. It is also lightweight and doesn’t take up too much room; even in the protective case, it fits easily in my pocket and hangs nicely off the wrist. One of the best features is how big the rear screen is, and while it doesn’t offer a perfect view of how your final image will look, it does a good enough job.
Experience
As I mentioned, this camera is small, and it took me a long time to understand how to hold it! Ergonomically, the WX7 is a slab; there’s no hand grip, but at least it has a rounded body shape. If you’re used to holding a camera with two hands, this camera does not need two hands; you can operate it with only one. I found it easier to maintain and handle using the wrist strap. Everything you need is there on your right side, no questions asked. The operation is simple; you can get going with this camera without a manual and almost right out of the box. The screen makes it easy to compose your shots, but it lacks the dynamic range to display how the final images will turn out, so I would only put a little credit on how they look while viewing from the camera itself. Keep the display showing the histogram up to show off your exposure better. The one thing to note is that the camera could be faster, but there is a significant delay between operating the controls and engaging the function. It is better than older cameras, but the delay is noticeable. The autofocus is fast, at least, and accurate. I have yet to have the camera miss the focus, but sometimes, it does search for that focus in complex environments. The auto exposure is also good; your settings can be displayed on the screen. I found that it is best to shoot the camera in P or Program mode so that you have some override; I find that the camera tends to sacrifice aperture to get a faster shutter speed. Adjusting the settings is straightforward, with an easy-to-understand menu tree so that you can adjust things like your metering mode, autofocus settings, and similar. Now, the one thing that the camera does struggle with is battery life; now, that could simply be due to age, but even for a ten-year-old camera, the battery still holds up and has a decent battery life for the size and rating of the battery. The downside is that it does take a proprietary USB cable, known as a VMC-MD3, which you can get for around 12$ (CAD). At least the camera supports in-camera charging, and with a standard SD card, you can pop the card into a standard reader to import your images.
Image Quality
Regarding these cameras, the biggest concern is the image quality, but the quality that this camera pumps out is rather good! You can only shoot in JPG format, but the large resolution produces clean images. Even if it is in JPG format, you can adjust the images using software like Adobe Lightroom, which has room for pulling out shadows and highlighting details. Not too much; in some cases, there isn’t enough information to render things properly when your highlights and shadows are too far gone. The one thing I mentioned about the screen is certainly something you want to consider: the image you see on the screen needs to fully realise the overall quality of the image when viewed on a computer/mobile screen. Like other digital cameras of the era, you want to shoot it in clean, even light, and any light will do, as there is a limited range of latitude on the CMOS sensor. But again, you can pull out details within 1/3 to 1.5 stops of difference. The one thing that always impressed me about Sony sensors is how well they handle higher ISOs, and the WX7 displays the same qualities, doing well at higher ISO values without too much added digital noise, given the sensor size. I wouldn’t print big with high ISO images, but at the lower values, you could output larger prints without too much loss of quality.
Optics
Okay, so let’s clarify: the lens might say it’s a Carl Zeiss, but it is a licensed-built lens with only the name and the legendary lens formula. But that shouldn’t stop you, as the optics on this camera are surprisingly decent. You aren’t going to get the best results, but based on what the camera is and the primary market, the lens is good enough. Sadly, I cannot thoroughly test how the lens behaves at different apertures, but from what I have seen, there’s no trouble with fall-off or vignetting at the wider apertures. The lens on this camera is pretty good, sharp, and performance in different conditions. It does have some distortion on the wide and long ends, but oddly enough, with some automatic and manual corrections, you can clean that up in Lightroom. I also didn’t notice any flare with off-axis light, ghosting and aberrations; it’s not bad for a little point-and-shoot lens.
Low Down
Is the WX7 a good camera? Yes, it is; can it produce award-winning images? Yes, in the right hands. But when looking at cameras within this classification, you must remember who the camera is designed for. It is intended for people to capture memories; it is the modern snapshot camera with everything coming to a happy middle where performance is balanced out with cost and size. Is the WX7 a digicam? I consider it one, but others may not because it came after 2010 and uses a CMOS instead of a CCD sensor. However, I consider it one because it fits into that category but has issues different from those of older cameras of the class, such as image quality. But even as someone who likes working with SLRs and film, I cannot deny that I like the photos the camera produces. It also makes for an excellent toss-about camera to capture memories when I don’t want/need the distraction of pulling out my phone. And the best part is that because the camera doesn’t have the same cult following as older ones, you can have one for a fair price on the used market. Just ensure it comes with a good battery and a charging cable.
Further Reading
Don’t take only my word on the CyberShot WX-7; here are some other reviews from around the Internet!
Photography Blog – Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX7 Review
Photo Review – Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX7
CNet – Sony Cyber-shot DSC-WX7 Review
Trusted Reviews – Sony Cyber-shot WX7 Review
What Digital Camera – Sony Cyber-shot WX7 Review
Tech Spot – Sony Cybershot DSC-WX7