The Sony DSC –P92 Digital Camera: My Vacation Buddy in China.
Written: Jan 27 '05
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Pros: Compact size, 5.0 Megapixels Resolution and options.
Cons: Price maybe, and comes only with a 16 MB memory stick.
The Bottom Line: A great little digital camera, it survived as my only camera in China.
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| Ironcladd's Full Review: Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P92 Digital Camera |
The Sony DSCP92 Digital Camera: My Vacation Buddy in China.
By James Zaworski
I just returned from my vacation to China. This was a first for me in several respects. The first of which was that it was my first time traveling internationally as an adult and alone, it was a first in that it was my first trip to China, and Asia for that matter. It was also a first for me in that it was the first vacation where I did not bring with me a standard 35 mm film camera with me (or the whole set of camera, accoutrements, film, carrying case, etc.) It was my first vacation where I brought with me a digital camera, and used it exclusively. It ended up being my indispensible travelling buddy that was both compact and portable, easy to use, took great pictures, and was sturdy enough to withstand the winter temperatures of Beijing and Xian, survived being dropped in ShenZhen onto the concrete sidewalk, and was never stolen from me and always worked properly.
What follows is a table of information on the Sony DSC-P92 digital camera, followed by a review of my one month long experience with this camera.
Information on the Sony DSC-P92.
Brand Sony
Built-in Microphone With Built-in Microphone
Built-in Speaker With Built-in Speaker
Camera Type Standard Point and Shoot
Estimated Price $100 to $200
Focus Type Autofocus & Manual Focus
Image Sensor Type CCD
Interchangeable Lens Without Interchangeable Lens
LCD Panel With LCD Panel
LCD Protected Position Without LCD Protected Position
Manufacturer Part Number ps2297 • ps088b • dscp92kitis • ps229a • dhdscp92 • cyber-shot dscp92 • dscp92
Memory Type Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro Compatible
Optical Zoom At Least 2x Zoom
Resolution 5.0 - 5.9 Megapixels
Tripod Mount With Tripod Mount
UPC 027242624269 • 081097002375 • 27242624269 • 405420811388
Video Speed 16 fps
Viewfinder Optical (Through-the-lens)
Warranty 1 Year
Dimensions
Depth 1.31 in.
Height 2.25 in.
Weight .59 lb.
Width 4.69 in.
Exposure Control
Aperture Range f5.6 (w) - f2.8 (w)
ISO Speeds Auto, 100, 200, 400
Shutter Speed 1/30 - 1/2000 sec
White Balance Auto, Daylight / Sunny (Preset), Cloudy (Preset), Fluorescent (Preset), Incandescent (Preset)
Flash
Flash Functions Flash Off, Auto Flash, Fill-in Flash, Red-eye Reduction Flash, Slow Sync
Image Quality
Resolution 5 Megapixel
Resolutions 640 x 480, 2592 x 1944, 2592 x 1728, 2048 x 1536, 1280 x 960
Included Features
Self Timer 10 Sec.
Interfaces
Interface USB
Video Interface Video Out
Key Features
LCD Size 1.5 in.
Optical Zoom 3x
Resolution 5 Megapixel
Lens
35mm Zoom Lens 38 - 114 mm
Digital Zoom 4x
Focal Length 7.9 - 23.7 mm
Focus Range 19.7 in. to Infinity (w)
Macro Focus Range 3.9 - 19.7 in. (w)
Optical Zoom 3x
Miscellaneous
Included Accessories Software, USB Cable, Video Cable, Hand Strap, 16 MB Memory Card, 2 x AA Rechargeable Batteries, Battery Charger
MPN dsc-p92
Product ID 20691250
Movie Features
Movie Capacity - High Resolution 42 sec.
Power Supply
Battery Life 270 Images
Battery Type 2 x AA Batteries
Storage
Compression Modes Fine
Compression Type JPEG
File Size (High Res.) 2.67 MB (47 images on 128MB card)
File Size (Low Res.) 0.07 MB (about 1828 images on 128MB card)
Memory Type Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro
System Requirements
Operating System Apple Mac OS 8, Apple Mac OS 9, Apple Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows 98SE, Microsoft Windows ME, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, Microsoft Windows XP Professional
What I like about the Sony DSC-P92 Digital Camera.
1. Compact size.
This camera was ideal for my international vacation in China. I cannot believe how nice and compact this camera is! Compared to a real 35 mm SLR film camera, it is a tiny camera. Of course, as digital cameras go, it is not the smallest one around, but it is a nice and manageable size. It weighs a few ounces, maybe four or five ounces at most. Not quite pocket sized, it is still hand holding size.
2. The LCD display and control panel.
The back of the camera has a very nice. The LCD display is about 2 x 2 inches in size and shows you what you are going to take a picture of, or a video. The controls next to it include a switch that has a play mode, still camera mode, movie mode and a setup mode to switch to. You can set the date, time and displays here. There is a menu button and a delete button. Further, there is a navigation area where you have the ability to navigate the LCD menu displays for deleting photos, adding date or time, or playing the sequence of photos you have taken. I also liked the feature where you can instantly review a photo just after you took it, and have the options to edit or delete the picture if it was not good enough.
3. The view finder, lens, and focusing mechanisms.
The view finder, and zoom function, as well as wide angle function, are on the back of the camera as well. The focusing mechanism is automatic, so is therefore not worthy of mention, except that it works very well. So far, I have not taken an out of focus picture with this camera. If you do mess up, you can always delete.
4. The batteries and re-charger device.
The camera takes two AA batteries, but it comes with a re-charger, which is a great feature, as I do not have to run out and buy batteries every week for this thing. The batteries have a pretty long life before being recharged. The re-charger device comes in very handy, but while I was in China, it was worthless because of the different electricity supply, so I had to buy another local recharger, which worked well.
5. The memory card.
The camera comes with a 16 MB memory card. This means that on high resolution, you can only store 10 photos, but on low resolution, you can store many times that amount. The photos are uploadable, of course, and when you delete them, the memory card is reusable. I was not content with a measly 16 MB of memory for my photos, so I bought a 128 MB memory card from Best Buy to go with it, and might get another one too, as these will hold 80 or so high resolution photos. It will do lots more low resolution photos. For some reason, though, I cannot get the memory card to upload to my computer when I remove it from the camera. I found that I need to get a 256 MB memory card for big and long trips like this, or else use the low resolution setting to fit more photos. But I really like high resolution photos, so that is why I am going to get the bigger card.
6. Photo editing software transfer software
On my trip to China, I had varying results using the digital camera when hooked up to the computer (in internet cafes or in the hotels). The Sony DSC-P92 camera comes with a CD-ROM that has image transfer software, USB interface software, and Cyber-shot software. I think there is photo editing software on the CD as well. It is all good stuff and means you can upload your photos to the computer from the USB connector that connects the camera with your PC. But so far, as I mentioned earlier, I cannot get the memory card to upload the photos to the smart memory stick slot in my computer. I do not know if it is my computer or the memory stick.
7. Video Options
The Sony DSC-P92 has a digital video feature with integration of the built in microphone and the video feature. I think it takes up to a two minute mpg format video, but I have not used this feature as of yet. I know the video function eats up the memory like the cookie monster eats cookies.
8. The lens and the resolution in mega pixels.
The Sony DSC-P92 has a decent 2.0 optical lens with a 2.0 x digital zoom as well. I wish I had the new version has a Zeiss-Ikon lens though, as the photographer in me will find the limitations of this lens to be wanting in future. The 5.0 plus MB resolution option is really great, but I cannot honestly tell the difference between 3.2 and 5.0 MB of resolution.
9. Hookups.
There is a set of cables to hook up the camera to your TV set, which is cool for a slide show or a quick video show.
The USB hookups are great, but I had forgotten mine when I left to go to China. So I had to buy one there from an electronics store, which ended up being inexpensive.
What I do not like about the Sony DSC-P92 digital camera.
Price.
I paid a little over $200 for this camera, it is a little steep, at least for me. But pay the price I did, out of necessity. You might be able to find it for less if you do a search.
The lens and mega pixels.
I wish the lens was better on this thing, and of course, we all want more mega pixels! No more than one day after I ordered this camera, a brand new state of the art digital camera came on the market at an Aldi grocery store. For $50 more, I could have gotten a 6.1 mega pixel digital camera of some no name brand that has a better lens and more features. The thing about the lens that I have found in digital cameras is that you do not really have a professional range of lens types or lens options available, or if they are available, they will cost you thousands of dollars for these zoom, wide angle and fish eye lenses, and will only go well with the more expensive digital cameras that look just like 35 mm ones that traditionally have film.
But, the problem I encountered with only bringing a 128 MB and a 16 MB memory stick card with me was that since I like to take photos on high resolution, this limited my picture taking ability very much. When sending the photos to email, I was never really in an area that had broad band (even though this was claimed), and the 1.4-2.0 MB size photo files took forever to upload to my various email programs.
However, this seems to be a pretty solid little digital camera, and it has stood up to some rigorous use lately, and has not broken in the first week yet. The photos it takes are excellent, clear and I do not have to run to Sams Club to get them developed and wait three days for my photos. Oh, that is another feature too, that you can go to a place like Walgreens and bring your memory card with you and print out the photos for a quarter or so per photo, so that is cool for those people who cannot afford photo paper or color ink(like me).
All in all, the Sony DSC P-92 digital camera is a great little digital camera that has some nice features, is easy to use, and takes great pictures. I feel that it is a good beginner camera for the inexperienced digital camera novice (not to sound redundant). It is a good practice camera for the seasoned photographer to get the hang of the whole digital thing.
I recommend it highly, and give it five out of five stars.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 225
This Camera is a Good Choice if You Want Something... Easy Enough for Anyone to Use
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Epinions.com ID:
Ironcladd
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Member: James Zaworski
Location: Shenzhen, China
Reviews written: 508
Trusted by: 158 members
About Me:
I am an English teacher, Archeologist and Anthropologist.
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