January 6, 2005, Las Vegas � Sony announced the latest in their line of Cyber-shot digital cameras: the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200. This camera will be released in February 2005 in Europe only. But, if you�re in another part of the world, don�t fret. The P200 is nearly a carbon copy of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P150, which was released in August 2004. Both cameras have 7.2 megapixels and 3x optical Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lenses in compact camera bodies.
The P200 and P150 share a 4.2 x 2 x 1.1-inch body cast from aluminum. The metal housing is durable enough to be thrown around while maintaining a light weight. The Sony P200 weighs five ounces without the battery and 6.3 with the battery. This slim digital camera has the same 38-114mm optical zoom lens as the P150, and the same 3x optical zoom and 6x digital zoom as the P150.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 has Manual, Auto, and Program Auto exposure modes, as well as nine scene modes. These nine scene modes are the same as the ones on the P150: Beach, High Speed Shutter, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Snow, Candle, Fireworks, Soft Snap, and Landscape. Both cameras also have the same six white balance modes. (Neither has a manual setting.) Both cameras also have a movie mode that shoots 30 frames per second at 640 x 480 resolution.
The only difference between the two cameras is the LCD screen. On the P200, the screen is two inches, has 130,000 pixels, and has a protective polycarbonate cover. The Sony P150 has a smaller 1.8-inch LCD screen, but it has more pixels at 134,000. Both cameras have histogram displays on the LCD screens.
