Although there aren't any manual exposure modes on the P1, several presets to help you photograph landscapes, shoot moving targets, and capture bright subjects in dark places while preserving a film noir atmosphere. Unfortunately, we found that the camera's flash range came up short for all but close-up images in dim light. Even though it has three level settings, the built-in flash just isn't very powerful, and there's no PC connection or hot-shoe on the camera to let you use an external flash. Image quality was on the whole excellent, and the P1 captures the sharp, detailed images you'd expect from a camera of its resolution class. It has a few weak points, however.
We noted some barrel distortion at close range, and the camera doesn't offer as many white-balance settings as its competitors. Our tests showed that the ones it does provide produce slightly warm images under indoor lighting. We also noticed visible colour noise in our indoor shots, and under bright outdoor light we saw some chromatic aberration. This usually didn't present a noticeable problem, but in particularly challenging lighting situations the effect became visible. For example, clusters of tree branches shot against a bright sky had an unnatural purple hue. Daylight shots seemed to run a little to the blue side, and we found that on our snowy landscape scene, the normal exposure worked better than the landscape setting (underexposing slightly for deeper sky and watercolour).
Out of the box, the P1 comes with only 8MB of Sony's Memory Stick removable media. That size is inadequate for recording more than a few high-resolution images, so you'll have to add the cost of the extra memory you'll need onto the camera's price. On the other hand, you won't have to shell out extra cash to power the camera, since a rechargeable battery and charger are included. Sony makes an optional underwater housing for the P1 (AU$499 list) that you can take to depths of up to 30 meters (approximately 30 metres). We had a colleague test the Marine Pack on a dive, and he found it superbly designed and very easy to use.
Overall, we liked this camera's handling, picture quality, and good range of image modes and effects. While you'll want to spend an extra AU$315 for a 64MB Memory Stick in order to get the most out of it, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P1 offers high-quality images, fun features, and a great compact design for the money.
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P1
Company:Sony Australia
Ph:1300 137 669
PriceAU$1,999
Rating:
10%
8%
I would like to say that This is my first digital camera And if the sony can keep up the good work I would say normal cameras Will be out of date in the next 5 years What a wonderful toy :) Invest in a good printer and like me you will never have to go to a camera house again
Keep up the good work sony