7.2-megapixel effective recording * 2" color LCD * optical viewfinder * 3X optical zoom (up to 2X digital/6X total zoom) * JPEG options: 3072 x 2304; 2592 x 1944; 2048 x 1536; 1280 x 960; 640 x 480 *
1 Amazing Digital Camera, Incredible Value
The DSC-P200 is an amazing piece of technology that demonstrates how far digital photography has come. With a 7.2 MP resolution, 3X zoom, lithium ion battery and a 2" LCD screen squeezed into a tiny package, this camera is truly amazing. The output is no less impressive with quality superior to that of any other camera I have seen.
One of the advantages of a camera this small is its ability to be carried in your clothing without relying on an external carrying case. While this is a great attribute that allows you to bring it to parties for impromptu photos, its apparent fragility is a cause for concern. It would be nice if Sony provided a glove-like camera case or entirely different, ruggedized housing. Of course, many third-party camera cases are available along with what Sony offers, but even the smallest of these will be too large to fit in a shirt or inside sport coat pocket.
In addition to its diminutive size, the camera's portability is also fostered by the lithium ion battery which lasts for nearly two hours. Moreover, with a larger memory chip, you will have everything necessary for a day or more worth of shooting. At the full seven megapixel resolution, photos average about three (3) megabytes each. This means you can store only about ten photos on the included 32 MB Memory Stick, making memory a necessary upgrade. By comparison, my 512 MB Memory Stick allows me to take over 150 maximum resolution 7.2 MP photos. Fortunately, it can be purchased for approximately $55 at Amazon.
Even though I am not a professional photographer or artist, I can definitely appreciate the picture quality. I had the opportunity to directly compare the Sony DSC-P200's quality to that of a Minolta 5 MP camera taking the exact same photo at the same distance. The pictures of a friend and me were taken by a waiter in an upscale restaurant with relatively low lighting. At first glance, they appeared to be of comparable quality. After closer inspection, however, it was clear that the Sony image was superior. In one striking example, the shades of my burgundy shirt were more accurate with less pixilation.
For the amateur photographer, be aware there are many features to be deciphered. As a former engineer and gadget enthusiast, I consider myself a quick study. Yet, I had to spend a couple of hours reading the manual and still have some learning to do. So, don't buy this camera on the way to your daughter's wedding and expect to use it (besides, the battery will be dead anyway).
Many casual photographers may question the need for seven megapixels as this exceeds the resolution of even the largest monitors. For example, a high-end WUXGA (1900 x 1200) wide format monitor only has 2.3 megapixels. However, the camera's superior resolution provides a hidden benefit. Even if you don't want to create large format photos or posters, it does allow for a convenient "off-line" zooming. So if you are at sporting event or show, you can take photos of scenes even too far with 3X magnification. When editing the images on your computer, you can crop the part of the photo desired to effectively zoom into the image you wish to save or share with you friends.
As a Sony Vaio owner, I have the added benefit of being able to slip the Memory Stick directly into my laptop without having to worry about cables or additional drivers. It would be even nicer, though, if Sony provided some sort of wireless connectivity, such as Bluetooth or WiFi. I can see why Sony would skip this feature as current wireless technology would not be sufficient for transfer of several high-resolution photos.
The video capability is a nice frill even though it would not be a key reason for purchasing this camera. I was quite surprised that it produced quality video AND sound recordings. The latter was far crisper than I ever expected. With two gigabyte chips available in 2005, you could record full motion video for nearly 80 minutes. This sounds great, but the camera doesn't record moving scenes very well. Presumably, this is due to internal bandwidth limitations. On this note, it would be nice to provide HDTV video recording, even at a lower frame rate. This would be quite a stretch due to bandwidth limitations/data write speed as HDTV cameras, geared for the professional market, are very expensive.
In summary, the Sony DSC-P200 is an incredible piece of technology that provides tremendous picture quality in a small package. I can't imagine wanting more out of a camera other than a ruggedized housing or high resolution HDTV video, which is quite unrealistic given its size and cost. Given the camera's intended purpose, Sony has done an amazing job. For still photos, the DSC-P200 should be good for a decade or so.
Pros
7.2 MP
Incredible picture quality
Lithium Ion battery
Compact
Cons
No glove-like case
A bit complicated for recreational photographers
Delicate (potentially)
32 MB of standard memory
No Bluetooth
2 Professional Quality Camera
I resisted "going digital" for a long time. When I finally took the plunge and compared cameras, the Sony DSC-P200 was the standout. Consider this:
The P200 has a metal case -- not plastic.
The lens is a Carl Zeiss -- the same German optical firm that makes lenses for Hasselblad and Leica.
The P200 is made in Japan by the same Sony subsidiary that makes the professional digital Betacams used in Hollywood.
The design of this camera deserves an award - the placement of the buttons, shifting of the lens to the extreme left side - the result is a camera that "feels right" -- never do I touch the wrong button, or have to search around for the right function.
The photos? I shot Macro, fluorescent, incandescent, cloudy, and bright sunshine -- exposures were excellent and the 7.2 Megapixel Super HAD sensor produced images that did not pixelate until I had enlarged them to 200X!
I bought the Sony DSC-P200 (and I recommend getting a 512MB memory stick -- you can get 130 images at the highest quality setting) and the two of us have been inseparable.
3 Weak point
I liked the little camera,but the batttery compartment door jamed and broke off the first time I opened it.I'm looking for something moree robust.Sears refunded without a hassel.
4 One great camera!
This is a great Compact and solid camera. The picture quality is phenomenal. I love the manual settings options and the beautiful pictures it takes in auto mode. It starts up super fast and is so compact there is no excuse not to take it everywhere. Thank you Sony!
5 great camera
I love the quality on this camera. The Carl Zeiss lens really makes a difference. Pictures for which there are no moving objects come out crystal clear and the camera was made to feel solid.
I'm happy with the USB 2 interface and I really love the compact, yet powerful camera that Sony has made.
6 What were you thinking, Sony? Blurs?
I have a 150, which is the same camera with a smaller LCD. I love Sony, and usually the name stands for fantastic equipment. Not here.
I have found the problem with low light situations to be that the flash will sync at 1/40 of a second. Compare that with the usual flash sync of most cameras at 1/60 of a second. That may not seem like such a differnce, but think about taking 1/40th of one pizza and 1/60th of another. The 60 is more stable and has more pieces remaining.
I used my camera at an auto show. The 40 sync causes any motion to blur. I got decent car photos, but the people walking in the background were blurs. I took some other shots with friends goofing around at a restaurant. The slightest hand movements in the shot were blurred.
Some reviewers will say you need to hold it with both hands and some other things. I have to reject this. This is a pocket sized camera. You get it to carry around and use for snapshots (for the most part). Most of the stuff you're going to shoot with this is going to be indoors with bad light. The camera doesn't work well in the situation most of us bought it for. You can manually adjust the camera to a shuter speed of 60 or better in those situations, but most users won't understand that.
Look at a Canon or something, or wait until I hope Sony gets it right next time.
7 SONY Hits a Home Run
This is my 3rd Digital camera. I just returned from two weeks in Italy. This camera is simply amazing. The quality of the photo's and the ease of use are my favorite things about this model.
If you're shopping around, stop here and buy this camera. We purchased the silver case too and it's the perfect companion.
In either Black & White, Sepia or Color the unit out performs anything I've used in the past.
JIM
8 Can't ask for more!
Let me start off by saying I have owned an arseload of digital cameras--Kodaks, Nikons, and most recently Canons. My last Canon was a G5 and I feel certain I never used more than 5% of the features it had to offer (my bad) and it was just too much camera for me.
On top of that, my wife was always complaining about the shutter lag and how it was so annoying when trying to snap pics of kids and other fast-moving objects. That is the first thing about this camera--it is fast. Fast in startup, fast between shots--in that way, it is great. Second, it is small, but not TOO small. I'm a bigger guy and I tried out the somewhat smaller Canon SD500. The longer form factor of the P200 is perfect for my hands. I've never gotten in the way of the viewfinder or flash.
Third good thing is the battery life. It lasts a long time and spares are not that expensive. In the miscellaneous category, the LCD is super and it comes with a handy little strap. I'm sure without it, the camera is easily dropped.
Not much on the downside--the 32mb card is useless except for trying it out (9 pics??!!). I have always been a CF card man myself, so I had to revamp all my memory, but a 1gb Memory Stick holds more than 200 images. I plan to pick up another.
Haven't tried the Movie function or the Redeye, but I hear they are both great. This is just a fantastic camera. Don't imagine I will be getting another for a while, and that is saying a lot for me.
9 Great compact camera
I have enjoyed my new Sony P200. It's small, lightweight, quick to start up, and fun to use!
Sony's colors are a little more vivid than some other digital cameras, but you can adjust that by setting the contrast and saturation levels lower.
I have not had a problem with blur at all, but you do have to hold this camera steady. The optical viewfinder helps. My photos have been very sharp and crisp.
I am particulary impressed with my indoor flash shots. I set the ISO to 100, shutter speed to 1/60, and aperture to f2.5. I have gotten excellent shots even in challenging places such as bars and restaurants.
10 Great little camera
I have had exclusively Olympus for both 35mm and digital. This was my first venture into a sony. I have to say I am very impressed! I used most of a 1 gig card testing this camera in all types of lights and playing with all the settings and I have found it to be very user friendly and uncomplicated. And the red eye reduction actually works! Not a single picture came out with ANY red eye! My children and neighbors are now hiding from me though ;)
And if consistently beautiful pictures aren't enough... the size is perfect! Its small enough to fit into a pocket but not so small you can't see the screen or read the buttons.
I am very happy with my little P200!
11 Best investment I've made
I just got the Sony Cybershot and I absolutely LOVE it. The pictures are amazingly clear and the camera itself is light and sleek. The movie mode is just incredible. I paid $399 for this camera and am so happy with this purchase. If the uploading time was just a bit faster, it would be the best camera in the world.
12 Probably my last camera for a while
I thought my old Olympus C50 was going to be my last digital camera for a while, but then the P200 was released as an update to the already-excellent P150 and I convinced myself to buy it.
I think Sony did a great job on this camera. It is perfect for those who are tech savvy but really appreciates technology when it is used to make something better without making it cumbersome to use.
The Sony DSC-P200 is first and foremost a point and shoot camera designed to capture every-day life images and the occasional video. To best serve that purpose, it is compact, easy to use, and have an exceptionally quick turn-on time. It's not the smallest camera, but it is compact enough to fit inside small pockets, and substantial enough to be easy to hold. Sony cameras, like most Sony brand products, have excellent user interfaces that are logically laid out and easy to comprehend. I figured out out to use my P200 without reading the manual. I will probably refer to it to see exactly what the scene modes are but that's about it. The large 2 inch LCD on the P200 also makes it much more user friendly than smaller 1.5 or 1.8 inch displays. The turn on time for this camera is one of the best, probably somewhere around a second between pressing the power button to being able to snap a picture. My old Olympus C50 took 3-4 seconds and it was a real bother.
Ease-of-use points aside, this is a 7.2 Megapixel camera and it packs a picture-quality punch that is surpassed only by high end cameras such as the SLR variety. Untill full reviews come out on one of the well known digital camera review sites, I think it is adequate to use reviews for the P150 as a guage. Those reviews have all been very positive on the P150 and the P200 is at least as good as the P150 in terms of picture quality.
Some words about blurrness...
I've heard/read about Sony digital cameras taking blurry pictures and all expert opinion attribute the blurrness to two things: image processor, shaky hand/mount.
There are only a few Sony digital cameras that suffer from blurry pictures caused by an image processor that is too agressive in performing noise reduction. The DSC-W1 is probably the best and most recent example. However, the DSC-P150 does not have this problem, and neither does the P200 according to what I've seen and the pictures I've taken. I tried a DSC-W1 for 2 weeks before returning it so I know first hand what the image processor induced blurryness looks like.
The second cause of blurryness is a classic case of shaky hands. The newer generation of Sony Cameras seem to be programed to prefer a longer shutter open time rather than increase ISO or turn on the flash. It tries to make the most out of available ambient light before making use of adjustments that compromise picture quality. What this results in are shutter speeds as slow as 1/30th of a second before the camera will start using the flash in full auto mode. This combined with 7.2MP of resolution will result in blurry pictures if the hand holding the camera isn't absolutely still. In trying to maximize the picture quality of the camera, Sony has traded off some real-world usability. Whenever I use my P200 to take a picture and see that the shutter speed is 1/40 or slower, I will make a mental note to brace myself when taking the picture, or at least use both hands.
All things considered, it's hard to imagine a more perfect combination of everyday usability and performance. The P200 is perfectly at home snapping birth-day party pictures for 4x6 prints, or mounted on a tripod to get that perfect shot for a 8x10 blow-up.
13 Ronak Shah's review strangely familiar!
My review for the DSC-P200 was posted on Amazon.co.uk about a month ago.
Weird then to see it reproduced here by Mr Shah almost in its entirety!
Mr Shah you are exposed! However I like your review considering I wrote it!
14 Not overly impressed
I traded up from an Olympus 3mp. My old camera took consistently good photos, but I like to do alot of cropping, and I thought upgrading to 7.2mp would give me greater ability in that area. Also, I wanted a smaller camera.
I must say that I've taken about 200 photos with my new Sony, and I'm not overly impressed. I tend to shoot almost all my shots in full auto mode, and at least half of the photos were blurry, or the color was not accurate. I took thousands of photos with my old Olympus, and I would say maybe 10-15% didn't turn out good. With the Sony its 50%. That's not right! Some might say that I'm doing something wrong, but I'm simply comparing full auto mode of my old Olympus to full auto mode of the Sony.
Its possible I got a bum camera. With all the glowing reviews that I have seen on this camera, I tend to think that is a possibility. I'm going to send it back to Sony and get a new one, and see if its any better. If not, then I'm going to return it. Unfortunately I bought it online and they don't take returns, but fortunately AMEX has a return policy and they'll take it back.
**Update 3-12-05**
I am probably one of the few people that now can say they have owned the new Sony P-200 and the new Canon SD-500. As noted above, I was not pleased with the picture quality of the Sony. I went out and got the Canon today. WOW! Big difference! I've taken about 100 shots with the Canon, in varying lighting situations, all in auto mode, and not one blurry picture!!! The quality, detail and clarity is much better than the Sony in my opinion. I did not conduct a rigorous test, but just took some identical shots in identical lighting with both cameras, and the Canon won hands down. Sharper pictures. More detail. More natural color.
Perhaps I have a defective Sony camera, but I have seen some other reviews where people had problems with blurry pictures, and it seems to be a known problem with the camera. After playing around with the Canon, I don't even want to take the chance of returning the Sony and getting a replacement. Its getting returned right away.
15 Fantastic
I received my Sony Cybershot 7.2MP camera last week and have been taking pictures every day since. The quality of the pictures is excellent. The battery life is excellent (its been five days, 100+ pictures (most with flash), and a dozen less-than-a-minute movie files and I still haven't had to recharge it). I've taken a number of movies and, for a camera, they are great also. Another great feature is that it takes pictures in relatively rapid succession, even with the flash on.
It is small, easy to use, and, overall, just a great camera. It is very convenient - it fits right into my pocket.
I purchased a 512MG memory stick, which I would recommend.
The grandparents are going to be very happy!
16 Sony DSC-P200
Likes
Small size, fits nicely in my hand
Quick shutter response and almost no shutter lag, even outdoors at 20 degrees
2 inch LED screen makes composition and reading menus easy
Red eye not common but happens
Dislikes
Optical viewfinder hard to use wearing glasses
Flimsy plastic stop for battery release
Tiny holder for wrist strap
No built-in panorama mode
Some red-eye, easy to take out with the Nikon View software that I use to edit my pics
Summary
I like this camera and am glad I bought it. Paid $399 minus a $50 trade-in of any old camera at CompUSA in February 2005. Small and easy to use. I was looking for a pocketable camera and found it in the P200. My wife doesn't like techy things and yet has had no problems using the camera. She loves the larger 2" LED viewing screen. I mostly take pictures of the grandkids and our puppy, The quicker shutter release and short lag times are a godsend. No problems with indoor flash shots; have come out sharp and clear. The main annoyance is what to do with several hundred dollars of CF cards I still have for my Nikon 5400. Maybe EBay?
17 I love this camera
I just want to say that i really love this camera not only the price of it and all the features plus the image quality and the easy to use without reading the manual because i come with the flash video tutorial to watch on the computer. Beside, i'm totally agree with the first two reviews.
18 One of the best compact digital cameras on the market...
I just purchased this as a replacement from my Sony P-100 5 mega pixel camera. WOW! This camera is definitely a sleek improvement from past models. Aside from the 7.2 megapixel count, this camera excels in almost every conceivable area relevant to compacts.
First off, this camera starts up in less than a second or so--truly fast compared to other similarly priced cameras. This feature is essential when attempting to capture that oh so special kodak...er...sony moment in a blink.
Secondly, the camera is beautiful. Sony got it right this time when designing a sturdy, compact and lightweight technological masterpiece. True, it's not as small as its even lighter cousin--the T-33, or the Pentax Optio S5n and Casio Exlim models, but it passes the pants pocket test with flying colors. Additionally, when compared to the T-33, this camera uses the regular memory stick size and not the smaller duo like the T-33. Sooooo, if you already own a sony, this is a natural upgrade.
Some other excellent features on the P-200 are the manual overides. You can adjust the shutter speed and aperature which, for a camera in this class, is a true rarity.
I also am enjoying the extremely high quality video mode; although not the most important selling point, having the ability to take camcorder like videos with sound for unlimited amounts of time (unlike 30 second segments from many other cams) is handy.
Another amazing feature is the battery life. I remember my first sony digital camera--the DSC-P50 2.1 mega pixel. It's battery life was dismal. My P-72 was slightly improved, but still suffered from chronic battery munchies. The P-200 fully charged can take pictures for over 200 minutes! If you're on the display modes, it can last almost double that--another breathtaking accomplishment. The info lithium works well in calculating the remaining battery life--a major complaint from owners of other cameras like Canon that lack this feature. Lastly, it is a proprietary battery, so purchasing an additional one is recommended.
Needless to say, the 2" lcd is gorgeous, just like the past sony cameras I've had. It's extremely hi-res and I have no difficulty seeing it in sunlight. The lcd's navigation is similar to earlier sony cams with a few new additions. Sony finally placed a protective screen over the actual lcd to prevent damage...took them long enough, but it's much appreciated.
Overall, I'm tremendously pleased with the picture quality from this puppy. I envision this camera lasting well into early-mid 2006 when Sony will release yet another improvement. Until then, I highly recommend this for most anybody who appreciates quality and functionality incorporated into a lightweight package.
19 Switched from Kodack to Sony!
Wow! Am I glad I made the switch from my big, bulky Kodack to my slick, steamlined, and very beautiful SONY! Beautiful pictures, easy use, tons of features, or just point and click. No red-eye, no white-out, no PROBLEMS! I LOVE this camera, and for $399 for a 7.2 Mega-pixel you can't go wrong. GO BUY IT NOW!
