Sony Cybershot DSC-T200 8.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Silver)

by Sony

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.7 x 2.3 x 0.8 inches ; 6.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000V5SYMK
• Item model number: DSCT200
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (87 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,496 in Camera & Photo (See Top 100 in Camera & Photo)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: August 22, 2007

Product Description

Color: Silver

Manufacturer Description

With slim vertical design in three fashion colors, and a giant 3.5-inch widescreen touch-panel LCD that fills the back of the camera, the DSC-T200 captures your attention before it even takes a shot. 8.1-megapixel imaging, a Carl Zeiss 5x optical zoom lens, and special features like Face Detection and Smile Shutter mode help you bring out the best in everyone -- and the Sony Double Anti-Blur Solution delivers sharp color images even in low light. With the HD output, you can also share images in high definition on your Sony Bravia HDTV or other compatible HDTV screen.

Cyber-shot DSC-T200 Highlights

High Performance

Technological wizardry for effortless photo mastery! Capture perfect portraits, smiling faces, action far and near in beautiful, blur-free detail at 8.1 megapixels.

Produce crisp, clear portraits every time with Face Detection technology Whenever you shoot portraits of family members and friends, you can count on clear reproduction of faces whether subjects are perfectly still or moving slightly. Sony’s advanced Face Detection technology synergizes with Bionz to deliver highly precise, high-speed auto-focusing of up to 8 subjects’ faces when shooting portraits. This synergy ensures quick camera tracking of subjects, even when faces are slightly in motion, and significantly improves the performance of various camera features. For example, it enhances Sony’s original auto white balance and skin color control to prevent mistaken estimates of the luminous source (resulting in a reddish image) and mistaken correction of face color. It also improves exposure (including AE) and flash adjustment to prevent under/over exposure of your subject’s face and ensure suitable brightness. These improvements in turn help prevent blackout and whiteout in the subject’s face caused by exposure and flash settings optimised for the background. Moreover, red-eye reduction automatically activates when Face Detection is ON. Together, these advances enable instant analysis of image data and optimization of exposure and tone according to the scene. All Face Detection features work together to deliver ideal portraits every time.

Meet Smile Shutter, the first photo feature that knows how to capture smiles Capture joyous moments that used to get away! Whenever Face Detection finds a face, the unique new Smile Shutter mode can spot a smile. Simply activate Smile Shutter, and the camera takes a picture -- automatically! Using Sony’s proprietary algorithm, this innovative intelligent auto shutter system responds actively to smiling faces. To start, just choose Smile Shutter from Scene Selection, then press the shutter fully on the subject to be taken; the camera automatically detects the smiling face and closes the shutter. To detect the different degrees of smiles by your subject, you can set Smile Level sensitivity to "high" (to detect a faint smile), "medium" (for a normal smile), or "low" (for a hearty laugh). If there are several subjects in the frame, you can use the Touch Screen to specify the smiling face you want to take as the main subject -- or let the Smile Shutter choose the main subject and take the picture. Moreover, the Smile Shutter is great for taking horizontal as well as vertical pictures -- including group pictures where everybody is smiling, and self-portrait shots that automatically catch spontaneous smiles at the right moment. Think of the countless smiles you never want to miss -- a child’s innocent grin, joyful faces of family and friends, your own happy face in travel photos -- and use Smile Shutter to turn good times and good feelings into treasured shots. Time after time, you’ll smile at the results!

Enjoy 8.1 megapixels of exquisite detail Sony's acclaimed 8.1-megapixel Super HAD CCD offers high-resolution performance in compact dimensions, as well as numerous advances available only from the world’s leading CCD manufacturer. For example, an advanced sensor configuration reduces the gaps between microlenses so that each sensor captures more light for brighter, more accurate images with less noise. Clear, faithful image reproduction is now yours to enjoy.

Sharpen your edge with the Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens The DSC-T200 gives your images the startling accuracy and extra emotional impact of a highly renowned Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens. Originally designed in Germany, this high-contrast lens delivers natural clarity without distortion or noise. It’s just the right complement to Sony’s high-resolution CCD and 5x optical zoom.

Extend your reach with 5x optical zoom This is the world's slimmest camera with 5x optical zoom. And smooth, seamless zooming from 1x to 25x expands your photographic possibilities. You can capture magnificent scenes at the 1x setting, zoom closer with perfect clarity using 5x optical zoom, attain 8.5x zooming at high-definition quality with HD Smart zoom (16:9), or focus on minute details like faraway flowers with 25x Smart zoom (VGA). Whether you’re photographing natural scenes or capturing the facial expressions of distant loved ones, the DSC-T200’s powerful zooming capabilities let you make the most of memorable shutter opportunities.

1x/5x optical zoom/25x Smart Zoom

Sony boosts your photographic potential with Bionz The cutting-edge Bionz imaging processor, first introduced on the Sony Alpha DLSR, is now available on a Cyber-shot. Bionz takes advantage of Sony’s accumulated imaging technology to digitally process the high-resolution image data from the 8.1-megapixel CCD at high speeds and deliver dynamically clear, high-resolution images with natural color reproduction and minimal noise. It’s a level of precision unheard of in small cameras.

Optimize the dynamic range of your images automatically D-Range optimization employs a sophisticated image analysis algorithm originally developed by Sony to automatically determine the best exposure and contrast settings for optimal dynamic range in almost any shooting environment. In this way, the DRO gives your images a natural look with clearer details that match what you see with your naked eye. This is especially effective when shooting backlit portraits or any scene with dramatic contrast between background and foreground lighting. For example, the details of stained glass in a high-rise cathedral can be captured along with the deep blue sky.

A clearly better solution: Double "Anti-blur" Sony’s Double "Anti-blur" Solution reduces blur in your images -- both subject shake blur and camera shake blur -- through an intelligent combination of Sony’s original Super SteadyShot optical image stabilizer and high sensitivity shooting up to ISO3200. These features are highly effective at reducing blur even when shooting fast-moving subjects and portraits in dimly lit rooms. The gratifying results are extremely clear images every time you shoot.

High Sensitivity suppresses subject shake blur When environmental lighting is dim, such as inside a room or outdoors at twilight, the high-sensitivity ISO3200 setting lets you achieve natural results without using a flash -- even if the subject moves. Blur is reduced and details are clear in the subject and background, so you can take full advantage of the camera’s 8.1-megapixel resolution.

Super SteadyShot minimizes camera shake blur Camera shake blur, a common byproduct of handheld shooting, is effectively reduced by the Super SteadyShot optical image stabilizer. This feature employs a built-in gyro sensor that detects camera shake and a shift lens unit that compensates to help prevent blur. As a result, images are clearer in various circumstances, such as when shooting photos in dimly lit rooms.

Elegant Ease

Just touch the wide screen for instant photo inspiration. The revolutionary DSC-T200 sets the new standard in simplicity, sophistication, and supreme Cyber-shot style.

Outstanding widescreen 3.5-inch Clear Photo LCD Plus The slim, compact DSC-T200 is the first Cyber-shot to feature a 16:9 aspect ratio 3.5-inch wide LCD -- largest yet in the T series -- turning the entire back surface of the camera into a dramatic photo frame. This not only provides a comfortably wide viewing angle, even when shooting in 4:3 aspect ratio, but also serves as an elegant gallery for brilliant vertical and horizontal images. Furthermore, the easy to see 3.5-inch Clear Photo LCD Plus is designed for superb accuracy in color reproduction. The 230,000-dot high-resolution screen delivers superior clarity and color reproduction for exceptionally precise images, so you can easily check camera settings and capture beautiful, true-to-life pictures in vivid, natural color tones. A multi-layered AR coating reduces reflections, increases display contrast, and ensures excellent visibility even in bright sunlight. The result is unmatched pleasure in shooting, seeing, and showing your images.

Exceptional ease of use with the unique touchscreen The greatly enhanced Touch Screen integrates Touch Icons and on-screen buttons for easier, faster, more intuitive operation, while the 16:9 aspect ratio wide screen ensures easy visibility of all controls. Moreover, the DSC-T200 streamlines operation with a simple, uncluttered on-screen menu -- showing just what’s needed for convenient operation without confusion. Only icons and buttons needed for the shooting situation are displayed, allowing fast, stress-free operation without any hesitation. You can see all information at a glance, then just touch the screen to instantly choose from a wide range of camera and movie shooting modes, change settings and displays, or select from three display modes. In fact, it’s never been simpler to capture and enjoy beautiful photos. Beginners and experts, youngsters and adults -- anybody can take great shots with the DSC-T200. Effortlessly!

Pleasure

Create photo and slide show dazzle on high-definition TV. Gather friends and family for a sensational way to share the enjoyment of your own personal picture show.

Play your images and slide shows on high-definition TVs Now the images you shoot can easily be displayed in full HD quality on a high-definition TV such as Sony’s popular Bravia. Simply connect your Cyber-shot via the optional HD output adapter cable and enjoy individual images or personalized HD Slide Show with Music. The DSC-T200 makes it easy to share the excitement with everyone in your living room at a stunning 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution.

Indulge in the pleasure of HD Slide Show with Music The DSC-T200 can automatically create slide shows of your images, accompanied by music, for playback on the camera LCD or an HDTV. You can personalize your slide shows by combining four visual effects (Simple, Nostalgic, Active, and Stylish) and choosing any of four preset musical pieces stored in internal memory. Your favorite tunes can also be imported from PCs to the DSC-T200 for use as background music. New improved visual effects let you customize image playback and preset musical pieces or imported background music help make the viewing experience more dramatic, fun, and memorable on every level. Moreover, it’s easier than ever to operate Slide Show with Music without starting over each time. You can use new direct playback with a single tap on the Touch Icon, start from HOME or the middle of the show, touch the screen to pause, or easily change settings. That means new freedom to show and share your slide show as you choose!

Paint creative arrangements This function enables you to add a stamp, draw or write on your images using a supplied Paint Pen. For example, it’s simple to add a message to a photo -- write "Happy Birthday" on a gift photograph or add a favorite message to a picture. Painted pictures are saved in the camera as copies, apart from the original pictures. Now, the DSC-T200 brings you more ways to enjoy the Paint function by decorating screen images with pictures or text. You can choose from an expanded range of 15 colors for pen and stamp functions and 30 stamp shapes, with 15 frames available for new screen images -- and save in 3MP size in addition to VGA. Paint is a special way to make photo memories even more precious, and bring a personal touch to very special images.
_{*Notes: Painted images are saved separately from the original images. Resolution of the stamps, frames, and painted letters has no difference between 3MP size and VGA.}

Edit your images with in-camera retouching Fun, convenient editing functions let you easily touch up photos right in the camera, even immediately after you shoot. Now, the DSC-T200 supplies even more comprehensive in-camera functions to correct or process images. The new effects of Radial Blur and Retro have been added to the existing Soft Focus, Partial Color, Fisheye Lens, Cross Filter, Trimming, and Red-Eye Correction, giving you a powerful range of eight easy, enjoyable ways to personalize your photos. Radial Blur gives the dynamic effect of a freeze-frame shot, while Retro adds the stylish ambience of a classic photo. Once images have been edited, they can be stored separately from the original images and printed out whenever you like at extremely high quality.

Feel exceptional pride of possession The elite new Cyber-shot DSC-T200 is a style icon in form as well as function. At first admiring glance, you might actually wonder, "What is it?" The revolutionary front and rear design of this T series model is not easily identifiable, breaking with the existing conventional image of a camera. Drawing on the vertical design and basic concept of the previous DSC-T100, the DSC-T200 adopts a slimmer, more sophisticated look. The Touch Screen dispenses with buttons to fill the entire rear surface, for the appearance of a photo frame. The downsized battery allows thinner dimensions than the sculpted rectilinear T100, while the elegant curvilinear DSC-T200 combines enhanced grip with streamlined vertical design and a wider screen, creating a graceful impression. Like its precursor, the DSC-T200 is available in three dramatic colors --sophisticated silver, chic red, and elegant black in a new graphite shade -- and the front of each model is finished with a fine-quality hairline process. It’s a must-have Cyber-shot -- a pleasure to possess and display, and a joy to use.

Versatility

So small, slim, stylish, and supremely capable! From taking pictures to viewing and enjoyment, the HD-compatible DSC-T200 revolutionizes your whole photo experience.

Multi Resizing Change your pictures to suit your needs.This function allows original images taken in 4:3, 3:2 or 16:9 aspect ratio to be easily resized in-camera and their mode altered according to the application. Images taken in 4:3 and 3:2 can be resized into 16:9 at 2MP resolution for viewing on HDTV; images other than VGA (including 16:9) can be resized into 4:3 at VGA resolution for uploading to a blog or attachment to an e-mail. Fine tuning the trimming position is also easy with the 4-direction button displayed on the Touch Screen, and there’s no need to import images into a PC to make all these transformations. Simply resize -- and enjoy!
_{*Note: It is not possible to upload the screen image from the camera body directly to a blog.}

Wide zoom display Change your viewer to fit viewing opportunities. A "wide zoom" function allows photos to be displayed in 16:9 aspect ratio. Even 4:3 and 3:2 aspect ratio photos can be displayed in 16:9 aspect ratio when viewing on actual HDTV or on the full wide-screen LCD display of the camera -- for a feeling of HDTV viewing.

Enhanced, user-friendly experience The convenient interface greatly simplifies operation. Simply press the HOME button to select the desired function from the main screen. Since all DSC-T200 functions -- such as "shooting", "viewing" and "setting"-- are displayed, users can select a function with ease.

Moreover, when changes to specific camera settings are needed, just press the MENU button. For example, you can press the MENU button to change the setting of the Face Detection function while shooting, or to process the image while viewing.

Need operational assistance? Ask Function Guide. Designed for all kinds of users from novices to veterans, this beginner-friendly feature offers step-by-step instructions by providing clear, easy-to-understand, simplified guidance as you operate the camera. For example, an icon guide on the control button describes the selected shooting mode. Additionally, explanations are provided for the Scene Selection mode, so users can easily understand the optimal shooting mode depending on the situation. The easy-to-use Function Guide not only displays icons but also provides clear instructions, making camera operation easier and more worry-free than ever before. Of course, the Function Guide can be turned On/Off according to your needs. With the Function Guide on, even beginners won’t need a users’ guide. As you get used to the camera operation, turn the Function Guide off to speed up the operation.

Grid lines help guide composition

Grid lines When framing your scene, the new Grid lines feature puts a grid on the images so you can analyze the overall balance at a glance and determine the most pleasing composition.

Match every scene and smile with the right Scene Selection mode Convenient Shooting modes in the new DSC-T200 include Scene Selection modes that let you easily create beautiful images in almost any type of setting. Whether capturing friends at twilight with illuminated skyscrapers in the background, natural beauty at beach resorts, or fireworks in the night sky, the results are as spectacular as the scene you are shooting. Also included is High Sensitivity mode, which automatically selects the best ISO setting to allow a high shutter speed in any situation. Without using a flash, you can shoot outdoors at twilight or inside dimly lit restaurants and achieve clear, natural results. Moreover, unique new Smile Shutter mode can detect smiling faces, sense expressions, and automatically take pictures. This intelligent function handles all details -- focus, exposure, white balance, skin tone, flash, and even selection of the main subject in a group. It’s easy for anybody to use -- so you’ll never again miss a winning smile. In fact, you may not need to "Say cheese!" any more -- unless you want to continue the tradition!

Stamina and quick response The DSC-T200 extends your shooting pleasure with enough battery power for 250 shots per charge. Sony’s highly efficient Bionz imaging processor accelerates start-up time and reduces power consumption. Thanks to the convenient combination of quick start up time, improved shutter time lag, and long-lasting battery power, users miss fewer photo opportunities when travelling, at sporting events and everywhere they go. The camera can also be adapted to continuous shooting and start-up time is only 1.5 seconds.

When the memory stick reaches full capacity, or even if there is no Memory Stick in your camera, you can still store images in 31MB (approx.) of internal memory. You’ll appreciate this feature when you forget to bring your optional Memory Stick Duo or simply take more photos than you were expecting to shoot. Photos in internal memory can easily be copied to Memory Stick Duo.

Print your pictures directly from the camera You can easily print directly from the camera without using a PC. Just insert the memory card in a Sony DPP-FP70 or DPP-FP90 digital photo printer, select images on the 3.5-inch LCD, and print away! Or when using any PictBridge compatible printer, just connect it to Cyber-shot via USB cable, select images on Cyber-shot’s LCD, and print!

PC organization with Picture Motion Browser Sony’s advanced image management software, Picture Motion Browser, comes bundled with your Cyber-shot DSC-T200. Once installed in your PC, this software automatically organizes the images you upload from your Cyber-shot by date in a calendar format for easy searching. Basic features such as photo CD/DVD burning, adding dates to JPEG snapshots, and resizing images for transfer to Memory Stick have been improved for easier operation. And if you add an optional Sony GPS unit, the software’s advanced Map View function can even automatically organize your holiday photos according to where they were shot and display them where they belong on a world map that indicates the latitude and longitude.

Product Description

With slim vertical design in three fashion colors and a giant 3.5-inch widescreen touch-panel LCD that fills the back of the camera, the DSC-T200 catpures your attention before it even takes a shot. 8.1-megapixel imaging, a Carl Zeiss 5x optical zoom lens and special features like Face Detection and Smile Shutter mode help you bring out the best in everyone -- and the Sony Double Anti-Blur Solution delivers sharp color images even in low light. With the HD output, you can also share images in high definition on your Sony Bravia HDTV or other compatible HDTV screen.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

125 of 128 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Innovative elegant camera, best buy, November 14, 2007

By 

M. Zhu "Frank" (Vancouver, BC, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony Cybershot DSC-T200 8.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Black) (Electronics)

Sony T200 is a best buy. I have owned several Canon A series and SD series cameras up from 3MP, and this is the first Sony camera I bought, so here is my opinion comparing Sony T200 against Canon ones.

1) Adjustable flash intensity: T200 offers three levels of internal flash intensity: soft, normal and strong, user selectable. I haven't seen it on my Canon yet. Soft flash is particularly useful for taking pictures on my kids. Their eyes are so precious to protect.

2) Smile face scene mode: Sony innovation. No Canon has this yet. It makes life easy when picturing my little kids. With other cameras, I have to shoot 10+ pictures in high speed mode and hope that one of them would come out with that beautiful natural smile. Definitely Sony advantage.

3) 3.5" LCD touch screen: another Sony innovation on camera, (only Apple iPod Touch has a similar size). As I measured, 3.5" is the screen horizontal dimension, corner to corner is about 3.75", no Canon has this LCD size at this moment. Bright, clear and beautiful. LCD surface has special coating, so no light reflection found on most other cameras. Plain fun to frame a picture and review photos with this Large LCD. Touch screen replaced those many traditional tiny navigation/select buttons, very nice to me. Big Sony advantage.

4) 5X optical lens: most Canon SD series cameras have 3X or 4X lens, but Sony T200 has 5X. Lens quality is very good, as the pictures are sharp and clear. Sony advantage.

5) Anti-vibration: Sony uses Super Steadyshot feature which is a sensor based floating feature to compensate for vibration. Canon SD870IS uses lens based stabilization feature. They are both quite effective on this kind of compact cameras. I don't see much difference on pictures.

6) Face detection: both Sony and Canon digit III have this new feature, very good for taking portraits alike. Sony and Canon equal.

7) Simple, easy to use menu: without even looking at the user manual, I can touch through the menus and start taking pictures in minutes. Canon has a good menu system too, I don't see either superior than the other however.

8) Battery: Sony T200 has a relative small 680mAH battery and is rated for 250 shots, it does run down fairly quickly. Canon SD870IS cameras is rated for 270 shots, not any better. Generally speaking, compact cameras using LITHIUM ION rechargeable battery requires frequent charging because their tiny size has usually less than 1000mAH in capacity. If you are looking for cameras with long lasting battery, buy a Canon A series which uses AA NiMH battery with 2500+mAH capacity, you may then totally forget about charging issues. It's bulkier though.

9) Picture quality: nothing above is important if the pictures doesn't turn out great. In side by side comparison, Sony natural color mode is close to Canon vivid color mode. Sony color saturation are great and close to life. Canon pictures is more earth and natural. I personally prefer Sony color as I most often take family pictures and sightseeing pictures and would like a rich looking color scheme.

10) Picture noise: outdoors, both Sony and Canon did a good job, no visible noise. Indoors, Canon does a better job in noise reduction than Sony. Canon indoor pictures may be printed directly without noticeable noise. Sony is slightly worse than Canon, although much better than Panasonic FX9 which produced horrible noise. However, T200 doesn't bother me, as I have Neat Image software to filter out the noise. After filtering, Sony T200 pictures turn out to be even better than Canon unprocessed pictures, noise is completely gone.

11) Video: Sony uses MPEG codec while Canon uses motion JPEG codec. For same time duration and 640x480 fine mode, Sony video file is half size of a Canon video file, so memory card may store twice the videos on Sony because of the MPEG codec. This is Sony advantage. In outdoor environment, video quality between Sony and Canon are comparable. Indoors low light, Sony seems to automatically switch to higher ISO to keep higher shuttle speed, the good side is the higher shuttle speed the better image quality (less ghosting like on Canon), the bad side is the higher ISO the slightly more image noise than Canon. Nevertheless, none of Canon or Sony camera-based video can match to an average camcorder. They are both good for day-to-day quick life snap, for best video quality, go for a camcorder.

12) Some reviewer complains about Sony T200 auto mode performance at indoor low light shots. It is true, but this is not just Sony. Like all other cameras, including Canon, auto mode is only suitable for outdoor shots or well lite area, unless you don't care of the picture quality. Tips: for good indoors shots, use T200 program mode where there are more choices in ISO setting, white balance etc for fine tuning to get a good picture.

In summary, given that the current market price for Sony T200 and Canon SD870IS are similar, and all the points above, I consider my Sony T200 is a best buy, without regret.

82 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Packs enough b(i/y)te into everything that u shoot with it ;), September 28, 2007

By 

Ankur Verma (New Delhi, Delhi India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony Cybershot DSC-T200 8.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Black) (Electronics)

Starts up at once with no noticeable 'boot up' time. Touch screen is cool and navigation is smooth, I actually am not missing those physical buttons, not even those dials. But I wish there was a way to lock it away at times when you don't want the settings to get changed by unintended touches while shooting. You need only shutter and telly/wide buttons while shooting, right? Kids just might find it hard to operate it without disturbing the settings.

One of the things that its 3.5" screen has made possible though is that it displays a good amount of info about your shot while keeping all the setups/presets/menus available on the screen at the same time. While you are focusing, it tells you in order the shutter speed, aperture value, sensitivity and exposure value, which is cool.

Enough maneuverability with great many presets for WB (white balance), ISO (sensor sensitivity); an EV(exposure value); etc. for the professionally inclined to get the best out of this camera. In PGM mode (program mode) WB, ISO, shutter speed and aperture can be played with but they are all given in the forms of presets to choose from (with the exception of EV that's given in the form of a scale). I have a stand with me, I took some photos of far off objects using zoom to its limit, and keeping the sensitivity low (ISO 80)- a way to tell the camera to prolong the exposure, I really got good details, I think I got more that what I expected as it is not a professional camera.

Night mode worked well, but its not outstanding.

Smile shutter is an interesting feature but I found holding the shutter button pressed a bit tedious for continuous shots, if only there was a way of integrating it with timer.

Macro mode gave pretty good pictures of rather close by objects.

Back and white photographs were cool but don't expect too much. it aint flexible there as it provides no way of optimization. The grey tones are rather limited.

Sepia mode is cool so are color mode and vivid color modes.

It doubles up reasonably well as a camcorder (zooming works really well while shooting movies too), just that mic and speaker quality is a bit of an issue. It's a still camera but the length of the movie is only limited by the size of the memory and quality is great (you can choose from three quality presets, I shot the movie at Fine) which tempted me to suggest that it would actually be great if it had some sort of mic attachment provision in it. Speakers are weak too but the movie sounds well when played on TV. Its not a camcorder but the overall out come looked simply great on TV.

When you run slide show on the camera, the music is hardly audible. But you can add better quality music files to the camera from your computer.

Face detection is good, automatically focuses the faces and adjusts the exposure etc to best depict them, when multiple faces are being detected you can also touch a face to keep it on priority.

Super steady is handy but doesn't help when there is a real and unavoidable shake.

Computer and TV connectivity is painless. Movies play directly on TV or on media player.

I think the interface has been kept simple, I cribbed a bit for a while for no textual names for most of the menus but now I actually think that I would myself had turned the text names off after a while. Although the features are numerous the camera is very easy to operate just that you would need to keep the instruction manual with you for a while initially, the camera keeps you abreast of the things its doing for most purposes.

In-camera touch up software is fun. Good many frame types and clip art to chose from. You can draw on the snaps with the paint pen, but one thing that I missed while playing with a snap was `thought balloon' in the clip art. ;). Time to get creative !

With so much, the battery had to take a toll. It is sort of lagging behind. The camera promises 250 shots per charge but I don't think with so many features you would use it in a disciplined manner. I personally played a lot with it and I had to recharge it within 4 hours of fully charging it. When, however, I use it `reasonably' the battery did last long enough, there is room for improvement there still.

Overall a great camera for the price.

134 of 153 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An example of form over substance!, October 1, 2007

By 

Sinclair Cohen (San Jose, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sony Cybershot DSC-T200 8.1MP Digital Camera with 5x Optical Zoom with Super Steady Shot Image Stabilization (Red) (Electronics)

I've been using a DSC-T30 for a year, everything about this camera is just fine. But I was seduced by the beautiful look of the red DSC-T200, and its large touch screen, so bought one as soon as I could. I returned it after a couple days of playing with it.

Sony has added marginal features to the T200, but has downgraded the important basic features. The T30 has a rather large 4.4Wh battery, the T200's is a puny 2.4Wh and runs down very fast, especially with the LCD turned to its most bright setting. With the T200 you're going to have to carry spare charged batteries. This is annoying.

Worst problem is indoor 'point & shoot' photos with the camera on "Automatic," most images come out grainy and noisy. Heck, that's what an ultracompact camera is for. I don't know why this is, maybe because the flash lamp on the T200 is much smaller than the T30's flash? I open every photo I take in "Photoshop" and try to improve them, but these take too much work. Outdoor photos are better, but not totally wonderful, just OK.

The LCD on the back of the camera isn't all that great. Instead of glass (like my new iPod Touch) the T200 has a somewhat flexible plastic membrane cover which requires a pretty firm 'push' to activate. When I push it to set the focus point while taking a shot, for example, the camera moves a bit.

I've always hated having to remove the battery from the T30 to charge it, (because of the flimsy plastic cover), so was hoping the T200 might have a charging base accessory. Not. Oh, enough. I could go on. The T200 touch screen menus are very clear and simple to understand though, let me at least give Sony credit for that. And it's such a pretty camera!

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