Size and Features Perfect for Active Lifestyle -- VIEW UPDATE AFTER MUCH USE!
Written: Jan 30 '02 (Updated Mar 06 '02)
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Pros: Compact size, Easy to Use, Mpeg, Self-Time, UNDERWATER HOUSING AVAILABLE!!!
Cons: Expensive, Only 8MB, Steady hand required, Battery hog, Can't find substitutes for expensive accessories
The Bottom Line: Separately, I've seen better prices OR better zoom OR better pics but never all in one neat little package. This tiny useful thing literally goes everywhere I go!
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| deerechick's Full Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P5 Digital Camera |
UPDATED REVIEW BY ME...AFTER I'VE HAD THE DISTINCT PRIVELEDGE OF THIS CAMERA ACCOMPANYING ME AND MY HUBBY FOR 10 DAYS IN HAWAII! NOW ONLY IS IT A FUN (but expensive)TOY, we FINALLY have decent pictures of US TOGETHER! I'll INCLUDE THE NEW STUFF HERE FIRST, then BELOW THE DOTTED LINE IS MY ORIGINAL (pre-trip).
OKAY, this is the absolute BEST thing that happened to an active traveler. I carry it in my purse or my hubby's pocket! If you want me to email you a couple photos to witness first-hand the distinct quality, I'd be happy to.
We must have taken 800-900 photos on our 10 day vacation to Maui and Kauai. Each night, we'd hook this puppy up to the television in our condo (yes, it comes with cables to hook your actual camera to the tv & see it BIG & CLEAR!), sift and delete the not-so-perfect ones, and have more room the next day to fill the left-over memory. We ended up loving it SO much, we had to find a Radio Shack in Kauai to get more memory so we could take more pictures. They were all so perfect we didn't want to delete any more. We came home with about 350 PERFECT pictures. That was Sunday. All excited about our pics, we had our families over Monday for mango margaritas to watch our slide show. Yes, you hook the itty bitty camera up to the tv again, put it in SLIDE SHOW mode, and narrate as you sit back, hands free, and watch your own personal movie flip from shot to shot to shot automatically.
Also, for you couples traveling...how many times have you come home with pictures of just you ... OR pictures of just your honey? Never together. Well, with the snazzy self-timer, one of you go stand on the beach while the other positions the camera on the hood of the jeep, presses the shutter button, and in 10 seconds, VOILA, a picture of the happy couple...without having to bother passersby to stop their vacation for YOUR perfect picture.
Now, we are avid scuba divers, sometimes going down 100 feet both at night and during the day. With the underwater housing my hubby got me for Valentines Day, half of our pictures are of rock fish, eels, scorpion fish, sharks, coral, etc. Creatures that many people have never seen. We even took VIDEOS UNDERWATER of each other diving and chasing fish. We we climbed back up on the boat after the dive and played back the fabulous colorful pictures we took underwater for the other divers to see, everyone was jealous ... and writing down the name and model number of our camera. My husband got a really, really close picture of the inside of an eel's mouth. He was not nearly as close as it looks, but with the zoom, it looks like he was touching the eel.
I brought the pictures home and printed them with my desktop HP printer on premium quality Kodak paper, and I swear you cannot tell they weren't printed at a photo lab. In fact...some of the pictures that came out dark or with shadows, I was able to lighten BEFORE printing, so they came out better than if done elsewhere. For instance, with the program that came with my printer (you know these "freebies" aren't the best software either), I was able to brighten the shadows on our faces from our caps. With 35mm, our faces would have been unidentifiable.
Anyway, email me with any questions you may have because I went through this same long and very tedious and stressful (yes, spending money causes me heartache) purchase, and I'd love to help anyone avoid further research.
Thanks for checking this out. Hope it helps.
Aloha!
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So...what's missing? I'm stumped! I LOVE the Sony DSC-P5! It's packed with performance and versatility. It'll take me anywhere from still family portraits to action shots of my niece's basketball games to my underwater scuba diving excursions.
To be honest, this is actually my first digital camera, but I've tried many similar items and made the salesman take many pictures before I purchased this beauty! After extensive Internet research, I had narrowed my choices down to 5 digital cameras before actually visiting an actual store. My choices did not even include a Sony at all. I had two Canon's, a Nikon, and two Olympus models. In fact, the first time I visited Circuit City, the salesperson advised me against Sony because the accessories were so expensive. Actually they are...but ultimately it's worth it.
I knew I needed good zoom, 3 or more megapixel camera with auto focus. Other preferences included a self-timer, optional underwater housing, purse-size, red-eye reduction, different speed settings. Options I use now that I hadn't even thought of and didn't think I'd use include the movie mode, tripod mount, different "scene" modes, and black and white mode.
Don't fool yourself, now. You can get easily caught up in this compact machine. I even annoyed my niece by taking too many pictures at her basketball game. ;o) At least I didn't need the flash! Oh, did I mention that you can force the flash to stay on, off, or auto. If your indoor shot has decent lighting (like a high school gym), you don't even NEED the flash! Think of all the birthday parties, football games, and Christmas gatherings you could photograph without blasting an annoying flash!
Sites for my digital camera research and comparison included Steves-digicams.com, dpreview.com (complete with timeline), nextag.com, and dcresource.com and imaging-resource.com, where you can narrow down choices by specs such as pixels and price. I especially found useful zdnet.com, which rated several features, as well as the overall cameras.
Thumbs Up -
3 X optical zoom. 6 X digital zoom. 3.2 megapixels. Up to 400 speed. Autofocus. Very clear pictures in general. Red eye reduction A+. Can fit in even my "going out" purse! UNDERWATER HOUSING optional (though quite pricy).
Thumbs Down -
No remote control. Expensive camera and accessories. Zoom could be better, but it's the best in the the compact size category without losing clarity. Have to use alot of battery for high speed (400) and stay very still for good action shots.
P.S. No, I do NOT represent Sony in any way! I just appreciate a good product when I FINALLY see one. Good Luck!
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 599
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Epinions.com ID:
deerechick
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Location: Louisiana
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
Southern belle, young female Newlywed, full-time marketing rep, college grad, love to travel
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