Sony DSC-P1 10/10

The Sony DSC-P1 is one of Sony's acclaimed range of Cybershot digital cameras. It has a resolution of 2000x1500, about 3.3 megapixels, more than enough for most uses. There is absolutely no noticeable loss of quality when expanding pictures up to A4 size on the max resolution (unlike 2 megapixel cameras, where you do notice just a small loss of quality). Unlike Nikon's Coolpix 950, you do not have as much control of the picture, most of the settings are auto (like the shutter speed), but you can control the flash and exposure settings. The optical zoom provides a reasonable amount of magnification. There is also a digital zoom. Like other Sony products it takes Memory Sticks to store pictures. You can even get these in 64 MB size. Consequently you can choose to store many pictures on it even in uncompressed format. You also have more space to store videos (this Sony can capture 160x120 videos) and to store commentry (the camera has a built in microphone so you can describe your pictures).

The DSC-P1 is easy to use and begin small, you can slip it into your pocket easily (something you can't say about the majority of digital cameras). It connects to you computer via a quick USB interface. Downloading several pictures takes little more than a few minutes. Basically when you connect the camera to the USB port, just go to Windows Explorer, and your computer will see the Sony DSC-P1 as another disc drive. This saves you from taking out the Memory Stick and putting it in an adapter (which costs extra). The major plus point of this camera is the Lithium Ion battery. It lasts for at least an hour sustained use with the LCD on. Thanks to Sony's infoLithium technology, you can tell how much longer (to the nearest minute) the battery would last. When will other digital camera makers follow Sony's example!

The picture quality is great, but you need some light, otherwise the colours are not accurately reproduced and look a bit washed out. Other than that you could not go wrong with this camera. It also stylish with it's silver finish and functional with a wide array of features for the budding photographer. It has received many other good reviews from other sources. I can see why. At around £600 it is not cheap, but then again digital cameras are generally more expensive than their film counterparts.