It seemed expensive
When I first was looking at the DSC-P1, I thought that $800 was a lot of money for just a camera. I played with it a bit and eventually ended up buying it out of sheer geek-outedness. Really, more of a whim than an educated buying decision.

I couldn't have made a better impulse buy. Sure, $800 is a lot of cash to toss out in one sitting. However, I am a photography junkie and was spending about $20/week on film development at my local Tall's. That adds up to $80/month, which, in only 10 months, adds up to the cost of my camera (which will surely last more than 10 months). Sure, it costs money (unless you're with OFoto) to develop prints, but you only have to develop the ones you're happy with!

The Sony DSC-P1 Has Contributed to my Artistic Photographic Pursuits
Now, I take pictures of whatever I want without regard for wasted film. I have the 64mb memory stick (it comes with the 8mb, which I immediately deemed totally unacceptable) and never worry about running out of space. I take pictures of doors, of glasses, of food, of anything! Sure, people usually do this when they first get a camera, but I've had this camera for four months and I never get tired of snapping anything that looks interesting.

As any artist will attest, quantity of work begets quality of work. So having this digital camera has helped me to be a better photographer. It also helps that I'm a Photoshop junkie.

Aside from just having a digital camera in general...
This particular camera is very sweet. The photo quality is just fine for most purposes (I still consider it to be a pretty economy camera), the size is absolutely ideal for a purse or pocket, the display is very nice (although takes a lot of battery to run), and it even comes with a tiny speaker to listen to the sound that goes along with the short videos you can take. The UI is pretty intuitive based on all the other confusing UIs I've seen.

On the down side, you can't take a spontaneous shot, because it takes so darn long for the camera to actually process what you're taking a picture of. If you plug in your camera before you install your driver, you have to reboot in safe mode and uninstall a ton of drivers (perhaps there was an easier way, but do be aware of the very specific order). And finally, the battery life leaves something (much) to be desired. The display always says something like "91 minutes" and in about ten minutes, the battery light is flashing and your camera is shutting down. It's the LCD.

Anyways, it's a great camera and I still love it.

Recommended: Yes