Sony Cyber-shot DSC-PJ00

It's good-looking, smart, and loaded a camera to love.

By Heinz Bulos

or an ultra-compact camera, the
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P100 is
more than you can ask or.
1argeted at the stylish set, the DSC-P100
comes in three colors-siler, blue, and
red. It looks ery elegant, with sleek
cures at one end, unlike the boxy
cameras typical in its class.

But there`s more to it than a pretty ace.
lor one, it`s a 5.1 megapixel CCD camera.
1wo, it eatures a Carl Zeiss 3x optical
zoom. 1hree, it has a large 1.8` 1l1 color
LCD screen.

It`s quite light at 6.5 oz. Plus, it`s about
just an inch thin. O course, the problem
with ultra-compact cameras, including this
one, is that you hae to be extra careul
handling it, as there is no protruding
surace ,except or a narrow grooe, or a
irm hand grip. Make sure the strap is
around your wrist when taking photos.
Len i it`s a sturdy, all-metal body, you
don`t want to take your chances.

1he buttons, howeer, are well-placed.
lor instance, on top, there are only two-
the Power button and shutter release, and
there`s little chance you`d press the wrong
one. 1he controls at the back are both
easy to igure out and use. 1he labels and
icons are amiliar and the controls are
within easy reach with just your right
thumb. Len the Mode dial is not
cluttered with unctions, as with other
cameras.

\hat the P100 gets really high marks on is
the display system. Naigation is a breeze
as the camera uses a menu system that is
context-sensitie ,shows releant options
depending on the mode,, clear cut ,labels
and icons are sel-explanatory,, and
streamlined ,ery ew leels,. lor instance,
unlike many cameras that require you to
wade through a byzantine maze o menu
leels, with the P100, choosing to shoot,
say, in sepia or black and white, is a ew
press strokes o a button, while in
shooting mode.

An added bonus is you can easily see rom
the screen display the number o minutes
let on the battery ,not just bars, and the
number o images you can still take on
your storage media.

1he LCD has a non-glare surace, so you
don`t hae to squint under bright sunlight.
lor low light conditions, the camera
adjusts with its Auto Brightness eature.
It`s also equipped with an Auto locus
Assist beam which automatically operates
under low light.

Image quality, by the way, is terriic. \e
did test photos or still lie, portrait, and
landscape. 1he photos we took were
sharp, well-exposed, and color-accurate.
Len the 8R prints were impressie. \e
like the lexibility o shooting or Internet
use ,at 640x480 pixels, and or large prints
,at 2592x1944 pixels,. 1he 2592 ,3:2,
mode is conigured in a 3:2 aspect ratio
that is optimized or printing 4x6-inch
prints. \ou can also capture 640x480
ideo clips at up to 30ps, or shoot at a
lower 160x112 resolution or e-mail use.

llash range though is limited at 12.5 eet
and 38mm wide angle ocal length. It has
our lash modes: Auto, lorced On,
lorced O, and Slow. 1he lens range is
38-114mm ,35mm equialent,. It has 3x
optical and 2x digital zoom, or a
combined zoom range o 6x.

l
Don`t expect eery manual control
aailable in this model. But the beauty o
the P100 is that it lets you use it as a
point-and-shoot, with its excellent auto
controls, but still allow enough lexibility
through both preset and manual controls.
lor example, or adjusting white balance,
you can choose Auto, Daylight, Cloudy,
lluorescent, and Incandescent. lor scene
modes, there`s 1wilight, 1wilight Portrait,
Landscape, Sot Snap, Candle, Snow,
Beach, lireworks, and ligh Speed
Shutter. Pretty straightorward or the
casual camera bu, but o course, it`s not
to be taken too seriously by pros.

1he P-100 is also a ast perormer. Power
up is about a couple o seconds. Shutter
lag was 0.03 second in our tests. But it
takes seeral seconds to process images at
high resolutions. lor action photography,
the MultiBurst mode lets you record
sixteen rames at high speed. 1he burst
rate is .5ps, 15ps or 30ps. 1hese
320x240 images are merged into one
1280x960 image and displays as an
animated sequence when iewed in the
camera.

Naturally, the P100 uses Sony`s Memory
Stick or Memory Stick Pro or storage.
1he package is bundled with a measly
32MB stick, which is enough or about 14
images at the highest resolution.

1he camera uses an NP-lR1 InoLithium
rechargeable battery, and comes with an
AC-LS5 battery charger. Battery lie was
respectable at 5 hours and 30 minutes,
with 389 pictures taken by our 1est Lab.

Certainly, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P100
is an excellent choice or an ultra-compact
camera. I you want a reliable and easy to
use point-and-shoot camera, with enough
controls or you to play around with, you
won`t get wrong with this one.

PROS: Lxcellent image quality, easy to
naigate and control, ast perormance,
stylish design.

CONS: Not enough hand grip, limited
lash range, bundled storage is a mere
32MB.