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Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P72
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Bottom Line
Solidly built and compact, the Cyber-shot DSC-P72 is a point-and-shoot for the mainstream--modestly priced and relatively easy to use, with all the features you need for casual photography.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P72
Cyber-shot DSC-P72 Review, by Eric Butterfield June 30, 2003
WHAT'S HOT: Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-P72 is reasonably priced at $330 and easy to use for casual photography. Its compact shape fits comfortably in one hand, and the controls on the back are located within easy reach of the average thumb, which makes the camera convenient for one-handed operation. You can change most of the camera's settings with just a few button presses. The DSC-P72 is one of the few digital cameras with high-speed USB 2.0, which should, in theory, shorten the time it takes to transfer images from the camera to your computer.
Powered by two rechargeable nickel metal hydride AA batteries (included in the box along with a charger), the camera took an impressive 462 shots on one charge in our tests. Should you forget to charge up its standard batteries, the Cyber-shot can also run on two standard AAs.
WHAT'S NOT: The Cyber-shot's automatic focus feels slow to lock on to subjects. Despite the built-in autofocus illuminator (a light beam that helps the camera focus in dim settings), the Cyber-shot also seemed slow when taking flash photos. If surprising your subjects for candid shots is your goal, you might look for a different camera.
WHAT ELSE: Based on our lab tests, the DSC-P72's overall image quality is about average for a 3-megapixel camera. Photos taken in daylight had rich, accurate colors, though most of the shots were slightly underexposed. Portraits looked nicely crisp, but our close-up photo was not as sharp as samples from the Olympus and Nikon models that we tested at the same time. Our outdoor test photo looked slightly darker than it should have (resulting in lost details in shadows), and we spied a small but noticeable amount of speckling in what should have been a solid blue sky--an effect of electronic noise within the camera.
Our test flash shot of our mannequin model had a somewhat unflattering skin tone and an odd brown shadow--almost like a dirty halo--along her left side. That's something we have not seen with most other digital cameras. We took a few casual flash shots around the office of our coworkers (in areas with more ambient daylight than florescent lighting) and the halo effect did not appear.
Main exposure controls include white balance, ASA speed, exposure value, and five scene settings: twilight, twilight portrait, landscape, snow, and beach. The last one is designed to accurately capture sea blue, but we did not test it.
This may not be the best camera for sports fans: It has no sports or action setting among the various scene modes, and in burst mode, the Cyber-shot can take only two photos before it has to save the images to its Memory Stick media. It has a MultiBurst setting, in which the camera takes 16 pictures in quick succession, but the result looks like a low-resolution video clip. The camera records video and audio; you can record an audio note to accompany a photo when you snap a photo, but you can't record one later.
Other functions in this camera could have been better thought out. You can view nine pictures at once on the 1.5-inch LCD screen--it's a fast way to pick several photos and delete them all at once. But deleting a single photo in this mode requires seven button presses--even though the camera has a dedicated delete button (it's far easier just to display one picture on the screen and use the button). The camera lets you create folders in its Memory Stick media to organize your photos, but you can't delete folders within the camera.
Sony offers a remarkable lineup of extras for its point-and-shoot, including wide-angle and telephoto conversion lenses, polarizing and neutral-density filter kits, and an external flash. Adding conversion lenses to the Cyber-shot is, however, somewhat awkward, because you must attach a relatively bulky adapter.
Sony ships Pixela ImageMixer with the DSC-P72--it's a basic program for editing photos and movies, and for organizing albums. It's convenient for downloading images; for other tasks, however, we found its interface to be difficult to figure out (though it has a deceptively simple appearance).
UPSHOT: Solidly built and compact, the Cyber-shot DSC-P72 is a point-and-shoot for the mainstream--modestly priced and relatively easy to use, with all the features you need for casual photography.
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Review Now! Already own it? Tell us What You Think
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Reviewed by: evebellisimo
Strengths: Macro mode is decent and so are the pictures. They come out pretty nice up to an 8x10 with the right software. Compact size can fit in a large pocket. No red eye!
Weaknesses: Uses up AA batteries quickly. Most pictures are blurred wen the object moves...bad shutter and bad ISO so it doesn't do well in low light.
Overall: I've had this camera for 3 years solely for taking pictures of place I travel to and my baby. It holds up well for a 3.2 in comparison to my newly upgraded Canon A620. Unless the price for this camera drops below $100 there is no reason to purchase it as other cameras $200 and below are much better. I will point out that many people were very impressed with the photos I've taken and the quality of them even though this is 3.2 megapixels. I use the video mode a lot to take short clips of my baby as she grows but it does not do good in low light at all. I've also dropped it a few times and it amazingly is working fine. It is a very strong and sturdy camera. I don't worry about mishandling it at all. I actually give it to my 10 month old to play with sometimes. Use a tripod when taking pictures to keep from blurring.I've been very happy with this camera and still think it is of great quality. And the pictures are not too far off from my 7 mp Canon A620 surprisingly. I just needed a higher resolution to print bigger photos. I'd recommend this camera for novices who are looking for a decent resolution, a high quality product, taking still and scenic shots, or for fun.
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Reviewed by: gigglezoh
Strengths: VERY COMPACT! EXCELLENT QUALITY PICTURES!
Weaknesses: BATTERY CHARGER TAKES 6 HOURS TO CHARGE TO FULL LOAD
Overall: I'VE HAD THIS CAMERA FOR 2 YRS. UPGRADING FROM ANOTHER DCS-P. I WILL UPGRADE TO THE DCS-P150 OR 200 NEXT BUT AS OF NOW I'M COMPLETELY SATISFIED WITH THIS ONE. I'VE TAKEN OVER 4000 PICS USING THE SAME BATTERIES THAT CAME WITH IT AND THEY'RE STILL GOING STRONG. I BOUGHT A 30 MINUTE CHARGER AND THESE BATTERIES CHARGE IN IT IN 30 MINUTES TOPS. IT'S VERY WELL BUILT! I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS CAMERA TO ANYONE. IT DOES A GREAT JOB.
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Reviewed by: marfacko
Strengths: 3.2 P, 3X optical zoom, exposure control, ISO choice, white balance control, flash control, price
Weaknesses: Lag between pushing shutter button and when actual picture is taken, although this may be common in most digital cameras. I have no basis for comparison for the Sony is my first digital camera.
Overall: I am a novice at digital photography and actually had to take a community service course on how to buy a digital camera. From the course I was able to establish my needs and desirable features of a digital camera for us. The Sony has met every expectation so far, not the least being the very reasonable price of $175.00 on sale at a local electronics outlet. With PriceGrabber's help, I purchased a rapid battery charger w/4 batteries for under $25.00, a 128 MB memory card for $44.00, and a Sony Cyber-shot soft carrying case for $17.00. I was good to go for a total outlay of $268.00, complete. I just recently ordered another 128 MB card. When shooting in a fully automatic mode, it is pretty much a point and shoot camera, but I am finding the more familiar I become with its capabilities, the more options I am choosing to exercise. I've taken pictures, got them into my computer, but have been unable to "send" them anywhere, which is a product of my lack of computer expertise. I cannot fault the camera in any way. It may not have the most up to date "bells and whistles" that would appeal to the typical "gear head," but it sure fulfills our needs and my expectations.
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Reviewed by: vikasjain
Strengths: Very Nice Performance
Weaknesses: Just 16MB Memory :-( ....
Overall: I am using this Camera since last 2 weeks, and found it to match my expectations..I find it better not to use the software included with the camera , but just to cut & Paste from the removable device..
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Reviewed by: stp
Strengths: Easy to use, nice pictures, packed with features for the price.
Weaknesses: Included memory card is small.
Overall: I am happy with the camera and would buy it again.16mb memory card that comes with camera is a waste, it is to small.usb access via cable camera direct to computer = no cradle which makes it nice and easy to connect to any computer adn get photos with or without SONY's included software.
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