Digital Camera Review

First Impressions Review

The P-series of Sony digital cameras turns five this year. To celebrate, they’re putting out an upgrade to last year’s Cyber-shot P150. The new Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 boasts 7.2 megapixels in a compact point-and-shoot form. The digital camera sticks with the classic P-series frame: a rectangle with a rounded left side. The P200 will be available in Europe and the United States in February 2005 for $399. The price is a welcome downgrade from the P150’s retail price of $499. The two cameras are strikingly similar. They have the same 7.2 megapixels, 3x optical zoom lens and the same menus and options. The only difference is that the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 has a larger 2-inch LCD and a wide groove along the top to provide a left finger grip and added shooting support.
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Connectivity
Software
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 comes with the following software on its CD-ROM: Picture Package for Sony v1.6 for Windows, Pixela, ImageMixer VCD2 for Macintosh, SPVD-012.1 USB Driver, and the Cyber-shot Life tutorial for Windows.

Jacks, Ports, Plugs
The P200 can plug into an optional Cyber-shot Station USB cradle and charge the batteries while transferring pictures, printing, or playing slideshows on the television. Since the accessory is optional, Sony made it possible for all of these functions to be done without the cradle. The USB can connect directly to the camera. There is also an AV out jack that is compatible with the American (NTSC) or European (PAL) formats. A DC in cable completes the selection of jacks and ports.

Direct Print Options
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 is PictBridge compatible. Photos can be transferred with the USB cable directly to the printer from the camera or optional USB cradle.

Memory
The Sony P200 comes with a 32 MB Memory Stick, but can also accept Memory Stick Pro cards up to 1 GB. The camera saves images and movie clips as JPEG and MPEG-1 files to the memory.

Other Features
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 does have a self-timer that waits for 10 seconds before snapping a picture.

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