First of all, I want to start by saying, I haven't read ALL of the opinions on this site written about the Sony DSC-P1. But still, I think my problems with the camera differ slightly from the problems other people are having so READ MY OPINION. I think you will find it very informative. Not to mention, you can take what I tell you and go to the store and try these things out.

The P1 looks like a great camera. Even when I was at the store about to buy the camera, I really liked all the things the camera had to offer. It's small, 3.34 MPixels, SONY, cool features, etc. I played with it and had pretty good results from a initial point of view. So I bought the camera and took it home. To give you a little background on myself, I was once a photographer, but I am totally new to digital photography. Regardless, I figure photographic techniques are pretty similar or the same between film and digital photography so I didn't have much to learn.

The first day, I took hundreds of pictures. The 8mb stick is a joke. You have to buy more memory to keep you from going insane. I eventually got the 32mb stick which still isn't enough, but I manage. From first glance, everything was good. I noticed the weakness in using the flash. I also noticed a little blur...most of these things I read about in other people's opinions of the camera. I wasn't too alarmed.

A week later I took a few hundred more photos in various lighting and environments. That is when I started to notice all of the problems with the camera. For simplicity, I will list them for you.

1) Size - The size of the camera at first seems like a selling point. But after using the camera for a while, unless you have small hands or you are able to keep the camera steady with one hand, the camera is hard to GRIP. In order to take clear photos, you have to keep the camera steady by using two hands. With a small camera, you expect to take snapshot photos. Just point and shoot. That is not the case. You have to hold the camera really steady, focus the camera, and press the shutter release to take the picture. Which brings me to point 2

2) Holding the camera steady - The button to take the pictures is not that hard to press but it does cause problems. If you are doing it one handed, I guarantee you that you will shake the camera a little when you press the button. With 2 hands, I'll give you a 50/50 chance of not shaking the camera. It's really difficult to take pictures without shaking camera. To test this, I took several pictures of the same object. I took 10 with me holding the camera. I took 1 by putting the camera on a tripod and I used the self-timer function so I wouldn't have to touch the camera when it takes the picture. I compared my photos to the self-timer photo. There is no way to get the picture that clear while you are holding the camera. Not to mention, most pictures you take won't be portrait photos where people pose or objects don't move. Sometimes you want to take moving objects. Forget about it. It's hard to get a picture without some blur in it.

3) Flash - First of all, I don't quite understand what people meant by the flash was weak. Most of my photos, I felt the flash was too crazy. I wanted to use a diffuser or something because the flash made my subjects too bright. But that's not my main complaint. Here's where I differ again from other opinions. The problem with the flash is due to it's placement on the camera. The flash is more towards the center of the camera...probably closer to the shutter release (right side when you are holding it). The lens is located on the other end of the camera (Left Side). When you take a picture using the flash, the flash projects light at the subject from one end, while the lens captures the image from the other end. What this does is, it causes a shadowing effect. You will almost consistently get pictures where the subject cast a shadow. I took several portrait photos. All of them had shadows on the left side of them. That's because the lens is on the left and the flash is closer to the right. I actually looked at someone else’s photos they posted on the internet of their "great" Sony DSC-P1 and they had the same shadow effect. POOR design. People complain about the flash. I would NEVER use the flash. Forget it...unless you like shadows in your pictures.

4) For $699, 3.34 MPixels, I want GREAT photos. I would have to say that overall, of all the photos I took that were not blurry, the photo quality was average to a little above average. I was expecting great photos from a 3.3 MPix camera. I didn't really notice the difference until I saw some photos my friend took with his Canon G1 which is also 3.3MPixels. I can't justify paying $699 for a camera that produces average to just above average pictures.

5) Automatic vs Manual - Some people might be thinking, "I want this camera because it's fully automatic." Let me just tell you, for the price you are paying, you should expect more. If you want a fully automatic camera, buy a cheaper camera. If you want more manual control over your camera, look elsewhere. This camera is not for the amateur photographer nor for the intermediate or professional. This camera is for the casual point and shoot photographer taking pictures of their family vacation. And even that, it doesn't do very easily.

If you want this camera for the size, I would suggest you look at the new models that just came out. The DSC-P50 and P30. They are lower on the MPixels but probably a much better value for the quality you would expect in a camera that size and price. I returned my camera and bought the equally priced DSC-S75. So far it looks like a great camera but I just got it so I don't have much to say about it right now.

Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 699.99