Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 First Impressions Review

Focus
Auto
The auto focus on the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 has several modes: five-area multi-point auto focus, center auto focus, and a 5-step manual focus. There is an assist lamp in the front of the camera to aid the auto focus in tough lighting. The P200 can focus as close as 50 cm in Normal mode and 6 cm in Macro mode. That is a great range for a compact digital camera. The only complaint I have is that this model does not have a continuous auto focus function, so it takes a moment or two to focus before a shot can be taken.

Exposure
These exposure modes are available on the Mode Dial: Manual, Auto, Programmed Auto, and Scene. If lighting settings still don’t make the cut, there is an exposure compensation mode that lets the user choose from -2 to +2 in 1/3 increments. This is a standard range for a compact camera.

White Balance
White balance options are just as abbreviated as the ISO range on this model. The Cyber-shot P200 has the following options: Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, and Flash. Unfortunately, there isn’t a manual setting. But it does at least cover basic indoor and outdoor lighting setups.

ISO
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 has a limited range of ISO options: 100, 200, and 400. This range is standard for a compact point-and-shoot at this price, but occasionally a camera will go above and beyond and add a 50 and an 800. Not this one.

Shutter Speed
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 also has a fairly standard shutter speed range that is sufficient for point-and-shoot users. In the Auto mode, shutter speeds range from 1/8th-1/2000th of a second. The range widens in the Program Auto mode, where it reaches 1-1/2000^th of a second. Manual mode moves to the slower end of the scale, but is still sufficient to capture both low light and fast action shots at 30-1/1000^th of a second.

The P200 has a hand shake alert that appears on the LCD screen if a shutter speed is too slow. This is a nice option for beginners who don’t want to see their learning curve in their pictures.

Aperture
The Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens has a decent aperture range. In its widest setting, it boasts apertures from f/2.8-f/5.6. In the telephoto setting, the lens has apertures of f/5.4-f/10.