Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 Review
Review based on a production Sony DSC-P200
Announced in January 2005, The DSC-P200 is the direct replacement for the DSC-P150, the first ultra-compact 7 megapixel compact. The changes are minimal (a slight redesign, a new, larger screen, an additional metering mode and the addition of custom white balance) - though pricing is inevitably a lot keener after a year in this fast-moving market. As with the P-150 before it, the P-200 is essentially a 'point and shoot' camera with a Carl Zeiss 3x zoom lens, 7.2 megapixel sensor and a smattering of photographic controls.
- 7.2 effective Megapixels
- Carl Zeiss® Vario-Tessar® lens
- 3x Optical Zoom, up to 14x Smart Zoom, 6x Precision Digital Zoom
- Large 2.0" LCD
- Stamina Battery Life (approx 370 shots by CIPA standard)
- Manual Exposure Setting
- Slim and Compact High Quality Aluminium Body with Hair Line Finishing
- MPEG VX Fine with Audio
- AF Illuminator
- Histogram Indication
- USB 2.0 High Speed Transfer
- Scene Selection Mode
- Available in Red, Silver and Black versions
- Conversion Lens Compatible (Optional
- Cyber-shot Station Compatible (Optional)
Note: Due to the minor nature of the changes, the majority of this review is based on the DSC-P150 review, September 2004.
Sony DSC-P200 Key specifications
| Street price | • US: $370 • UK: £230 |
|---|---|
| Body Material | Metal (aluminum) |
| Sensor | • 1/1.8" Sony Super HAD CCD • 7.2 million effective pixels |
| Image sizes | • 3,072 x 2,304 |
| Movie clips | • 640 x 480 pixels @ 30fps • 640 x 480 pixels @ 15fps • 160 x 112 pixels @ 8fps • Motion JPEG (.avi) • With sound • Clip length limited only by media capacity (streaming) • 640 x 480 pixels / 30 fps only with Memory Stick PRO media |
| Lens | • Carl Zeiss 38 - 114mm equiv. (3x optical zoom) |
| Focus | • TTL autofocus • 5 Area Multi-Point AF • 5-step Manual focus • 6cm macro mode (Wide), 30cm (Tele) |
| Shooting mode | • Auto |
| Metering | • Center, Multi-Segment, Spot |
| Sensitivity | • Auto • ISO 100 • ISO 200 • ISO 400 |
| White Balance | • Auto • 5 presets • Custom (manual) |
| Image parameters | • Saturation (3 levels) |
| Continuous | • 0.6 to 0.9 fps (5 shots 7MP / JPEG fine) |
| Flash | • Built-in flash • Auto, Forced On, Forced Off, Slow Synchro • Range (ISO auto): Wide; 0.2 - 3.5 m (0.66 - 11.48 ft) Tele; 0.3 - 3.5 m (0.98 - 11.48 ft) |
| Storage | • Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO • 32MB Memory Stick supplied* |
| Viewfinder | • Real Image Optical |
| LCD monitor | • 2.0 " TFT, 134,000 pixels |
| Connectivity | • USB 2.0 • A/V out • DC-IN |
| Power | • NP-FR1 Rechargeable InfoLithium® Battery, • AC adapter included (in-camera charging) |
| In the box* | • NP-FR1 Rechargeable InfoLithium Battery |
| Other features | • PictBridge and DPOF compatible |
| Weight (inc batt) | 144 g (5.4 oz) |
| Dimensions | 104 x 52 x 28 mm (4.1 x 2 x 1.1 in) |
* Supplied accessories may differ in each country or area
If you're new to digital photography you may wish to read the Digital
Photography Glossary before diving into this article (it may help
you understand some of the terms used).
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Conclusion / Recommendation / Ratings are based on the opinion of the reviewer, you should read the ENTIRE review before coming to your own conclusions. Images which can be viewed at a larger size have a small magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the image, clicking on the image will display a larger (typically VGA) image in a new window. To navigate the review simply use the next / previous page buttons, to jump to a particular section either pick the section from the drop down or select it from the navigation bar at the top. DPReview calibrate their monitors using Color Vision OptiCal at the (fairly well accepted) PC normal gamma 2.2, this means that on our monitors we can make out the difference between all of the (computer generated) grayscale blocks below. We recommend to make the most of this review you should be able to see the difference (at least) between X,Y and Z and ideally A,B and C. |
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