Reviews
Sony
Cyber-shot P200
High resolution and Sony quality at a reasonable price
Not
long ago, all Sony digital cameras distinguished themselves by
recording their pictures onto standard floppy disks. That was
the Mavica series and you could tell they used floppy disks because
their largish bodies were pretty much built around the square
shape of a 3-1/2-inch floppy. To this day you can buy Sony two
digital cameras that use optical disks as their recording medium,
and one that still uses floppy disks. In this day and age of Memory
Sticks and other tiny storage cards the thought that a camera's
size was once dictated by something as arcane as a big plastic
floppy disk seems absurd. As does those old floppy disks' minuscule
1.44MB storage capacity that wouldn't hold a single image from
the new Cyber-shot DSC-P200, not even in the camera's lower ãstandardä
compression mode.
Unlike
the big old Mavicas of yesteryear, the Cyber-shot P200 is barely
larger than a flip-phone. It measures approximately 4x2x1 inch
and weighs just five ounces, ÷ about the same as a current PDA.
But what you're holding in your hands is a powerful 7.2 megapixel
camera with a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar (sounds important, doesn't
it!) 3X zoom lens, a bright 2-inch outdoor-viewable LCD screen,
and a plethora of all those Sony micro details we used to love
and hate on the CLIƒs when they still roamed the earth. In terms
of design, the P200 is playfully styled, with one side square
and the other swooping around three bright concentric circles
in the midst of which sits the P200's 3X optical zoom lens. In
fact, almost everything on this camera is lusciously rounded and
curved÷buttons, lines, inserts, even the tiny little flash window
and a long concave moulding around the left side of the camera
which is probably there so that you can more easily hold the P200
with the index finger and thumb of your left hand. All of this
is in great contrast to the boxy T1 Sony unleashed to an unsuspecting
world just a year or two ago.
Just
as was the case with all those many CLIƒs that used to delight
us (and befuddle potential buyers), it is not entirely clear why
Sony needs so many different lines of very similar digital cameras.
If I were on Sony's marketing staff and had to come up with a
proper rationale and product placement description for this camera,
I'd probably say, ãThe Cyber-shot P200 is for customers who prefer
style and elegance over the angular shape of our more engineering-driven
models. These customers are value-conscious and seek performance
and features, but not at the price point of our higher end solutions.ä
And
so, just as it was always possible to find just the right CLIƒ,
what the P200 will perfectly match many customers' expectations.
There is full 7.2 megapixel resolution, a 3X optical zoom lens,
and a nice 2.0-inch LCD. And 30 frames-per-second 640x480 movies
with sound. Sure, an internal, foldable zoom is more elegant than
the P200's that moves out an inch when you power up the camera.
And the top notch Sonys have 2.5-inch displays which better outdoor
viewability. Plus there are some other, less obvious concessions.
All of this doesn't make the P200 cheap ÷ no Sony 7.2 megapixel
camera can be cheap ÷ but it costs less than the higher-end models.
In
daily use, the P200 does almost everything well. It is small enough
to fit into almost any pocket. It has a good 3X optical zoom that
can be multiplied by either a standard 2X digital zoom or Sony's
ãSmart Zoomä that employs unused pixels to enlarge an image taken
in one of the camera's lower resolution modes. A small optical
viewfinder helps when the LCD washes out too much outdoors. The
controls are easy to figure out although I'd suggest a pass through
the 100-page manual. You'll learn all the tricks the P200 can
do, plus gain insight into some of the less obvious stuff.
While
many P200 users will never venture beyond the ãautomaticä mode,
the camera also has a P(rogram) mode where it controls aperture
and speed and leaves the rest to you. And a M(anual) mode where
you control everything. Items such as macro, flash, or resolution
are easily changed by pushing one of the four directional controls,
which is a good thing as the P200's onscreen menus are neither
always obvious not always easily visible.
Overall,
the P200 is pleasant enough. It doesn't gets in the way, has long
battery life, good picture quality, and the display offers plenty
of information, including a live histogram. Controls, icons and
text are a bit small, and the P200 is only average in autofocus
and recycling speed. Still, a good choice for those who want a
small, reasonably priced high-res Sony camera.
öConrad Blickenstorfer
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