Customer Reviews

Sony DSC-P50 Cyber-shot 2MP Digital Camera with 3x Optical Zoom (Silver)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The P-50 and Canon A20 were my final two choices. I decided to go with the P-50 because it used only 2AA batteries and had the MPEG and Clip Movie recording features which is very neat.

I'm glad I went with the P-50. Here is my pro and con list for the P-50:

Pros:
* 3 optical zoom (it zooms fast)
* Uses 2 AA batteries. Don't get the battery pack. Just get 6 NiMh batteries with a rating of at least 1600mha, which are inexpensive. I got 4 Energizer 1600 mha NiMh batteries and a recharger at Target for only $... NiMH batteries last twice as long as alkalines and I haven't had to worry about my batteries dying.
* MPEG and Clip (GIF) movie modes are real fun. No sound on the MPEG, but spending an extra $... for a camera with sound wasn't worth it to me. For you who design web pages, you'll love the Clip (GIF) movie mode.
* Memory Stick, although expensive, is much more compact and stores more memory. However, the 4MB stick that comes with the camera is lame unless you plan to take only lower quality resolutions. I got a 64MB stick and at FINE quality (if using STANDARD quality, double all the numbers below) can hold the following: 67 1600x1200, 174 1024 x768, 400 640x480. As you can see that's alot of pictures.
* ISO flexibility and twilight mode. This helps when shooting in low light. The AF illuminator really helps the camera to focus in low light.
* Can crop pictures and cut MPEGs.
* If you change the Power Save mode to "off", then the camera lag time (a common complaint in these reviews) after you take a picture is very minimal. It's actually fast compared to other digital cameras I've used.
* Very fast transfer rate using the USB driver. The camera becomes another drive in Windows Explorer that you just drag to your hard drive. Very fast. I have Windows ME which allows Windows Explorer to view in thumbnail mode, so I can even preview all the pictures before moving them to the hard drive.
* The video out mode is cool. Just plug in the supplied jack cord to your P-50 and to your TV or VCR and see a slide show of your pictures you just took.
* If you auto-focus by pressing the shutter button half way, then the camera takes the picture very fast with almost no lag time, unlike other digital cameras in this price range,
* 37mm threads and the fact the optical zoom stays within the camera allows you to use an UV filter for better picture quality and as a lens protector.
* You can view your pictures taken also in thumbnail mode. Also, the camera tells you your settings (i.e shutter speed, iso, EV, etc.) of the picture.
* The camera allows the option to imprint the date onto your digital photos. This is a must for me as I never remember the date of the picture without this feature.
* The lens cap comes with a lens strap so you won't lose your cap.

Cons:
* 41mm lens. If you know photography, you will realize that most SLRs and point and shoots have 35mm lens. The lower the number, the better the wide angle, which allows you to take more area from the same distance making your objects also larger. However, the above pros by far outweigh this. If you're not a camera junkie like I am, you probably won't even notice this.
* The viewfinder only shows approx 70% of the actual picture taken and is slighty "skewed" to the left. If you think you got your object centered using the viewfinder, you'll will find out that the subject will be slightly left in the actual picture. The way around this is to use the LCD, which shows 100% of the actual picture and is not skewed.

All in all, in the 2.1 megapixel range and under $... as of 9/8/01, I feel this camera is the best one.

The only thing I would like to see on AMAZON is better descriptions on items, this one has no details so ill give them to you all since I now own 3!, Sony 2.1-Megapixel Cyber-Shot Digital Camera Model: DSC-P50 3x optical and 6x digital zooms get you in close to your subject, while a high-speed, auto-focus illuminator lends sharp focus in the dark (this was really neat, sort of a night-vision option), Memory stick storage (comes with a 4-meg), LCD viewer and the older "peep-hole" style allowing you to shut the LCD off for longer battery life, on/off optional Flash, USB connections and even an mpeg video mode to let you capture and ceate your own movie shorts (no sound), Very simple to use once you get the buttons down, Only thing I didnt like was no rechargeable battery pack?? or power cord??, (they sell them seperately), a plus+ is that like I said the LCD can be shut off saving your AA batteries from drainage so fast like most camera do!, Smallest resolution 640x480 (real sharp) largest is 1600x1200, also SOLARIZE, B&W, SEPHIA & NEGATIVE ART Image modes when taking pictures// very neat, white balance controls and normal/fine picture modes, sharpness, flash level and ISO controls often ignored on other cameras are ON THIS ONE!, To me as a buyer.. WELL WORTH THE MONEY!!!

That's right! Something that Sony doesn't tell you when you read the specs on this sucker! I bought mine and tried it out right away. It came with a set of batteries that I plugged in and started shooting. As far as taking pictures, it's pretty striaghtforward and easy to use. Here's the catch.

When I went to download the pictures onto my laptop, I opened up the manual and guess what it says? "Do not use battery power to download pictures to computer. You must use the dc power supply". Hmmm... So I rummage through the box and guess what there's no power supply. You have to buy it seperately!

You'd think that for $..., Sony could throw in a stupid power cord! I mean charge me more for it or whatever but I was pretty...[mad] that it didn't come with the camera. Also, it only comes with regular batteries - which is fine but using them to download pictures drains batteries dead.

So if you want the power supply and perhaps the battery it's going to cost you another $... You can get the Starter Pack which includes battery, charger, and case for $... If you seriously want this camera order it at the same time to avoid frustration.

Lest you think I'm a Sony basher, let me tell you I have plenty of Sony Products I'm very satisfied with. This isn't one of them.

My big debate was to buy a camera from a primarily electronics manufacturer or from an established camera manufacturer. After much thought and research I went with the P50. It came down to the P50, Canon A20, or to wait for the Nikon 775 or Olympus 510 (I bought in May `01). Shoulda waited...

I'll just summarize, otherwise it'll be a 2 page review:

PROS:

-High quality images in good light (outdoors)

-Nice size

-Only 2AA's required. Decent life if you minimize LCD display time and get 1600mAh capacity Ni-MH rechargeables. I get about 20-30 pictures with flash indoors with little or no LCD use. Outdoors maybe 40-50 pictures. (From the review below - If your flash is dead after only picture you're doing something wrong!!)

-Flash exposure and ambient exposure compensation modes.

-Takes MPEG movies. (no sound though:()

-Can use infolithium pack

-Painless connection to the PC

CONS:

-POOR pictures in low light conditions - Lens is slower than the competition (F3.8 vs 2.8 for competition), Flash is pathetically weak. Even in night mode, the camera fails to let in enough light to take pictures of a lit building, even with +2ev overexposure dialed in.

-Flash recharge time when using NiMH batteries is slooooooow.

-Menu system cumbersome to use if you're fiddling with exposure and flash settings often. Direct access buttons are much faster.

-Infolithium battery and charger are big $!

-Sony memory sticks more money than the competition. (though they are a nicer form factor and more durable IMHO)

In summary, if you do alot of picture taking outdoors, you'll probably be pretty happy, but if you're using the flash and indoors, probably not. Do yourself a favor and look at the Nikon, Canon, and Olympus first.

I bought this camera about two weeks ago and I have been very happy with it. The picture quality is very good -- esp. if your using it for web purposes.

My only problems are as follows:

True, the viewfinder is only about 70% of the actual picture size.
It eats batteries like *crazy*
It doesn't handle low-light pictures very well
Twilight mode -- you have to have a very still subject and a very still hand to take a decent picture in twilight mode (although I've gotten some really cool looking blurs)

All in all it's a great camera for the price. I checked out some other more expensive cameras that werent' nearly as good as this Sony.

I recently got this camera. Here are the things I noticed
1) You must have the Rechargeable Nimh 1600 amph batteries atleast 4 at hand.(better you order the sony starter or stamina kit, comes with charger, battery and cover)
2) Duracell AA(reg) batteries lasted for 4 pictures with flash and about 7 min of playing with the menu.
3) I feel the quality of the image is good. I also feel the image is slightly darker on the right or as a whole when you take in the night time probably because the flash isn't powerful enough. To get a better picture in the night you must be within 5ft max.
4) The pictures taken at the daytime are amazing the best of the cameras so far.
5) Mpeg has no audio but can record upto your memory stick capacity.(previous models have audio but they allow you to record upto 15sec(dsc-s50))
6)I agree with one of the prev reviews saying the viewfinder only shows approx 70% of the actual picture taken
Overall I would give 8/10 and I would recommend this to others.

thanks,
Jag

This camera is actually a good camera for the price, the major complaint was that it didn't come w/ a lithium battery. But you can order a "Value-Pack" from Sony that includes a battery, charger and a nice case. So that wasn't much of a problem, I also recommend getting a 32 or 64 MB Memory stick, my 64 mb stick can hold about 66 high quality (1600x1200), and about 160 (1024 X 768), and of course about 370 (640X480) Which is a alot of pictures, and about 11 min of video (mpeg)w/o sound. I would strongly recommend buying the "Info-lithium battery" from Sony (comes in Value-pack), because it displays how many minutes of battery life you have remaining, which comes in handy. Normal AA batteries could die on you without warning! One other thing that bothered me, was the lag time of the camera after it took a picture, but all "digital" cameras that I've seen seem to do this; you take a picture w/ flash and after the picture is recorded the screen goes blank for a couple seconds, but if you take a picture w/o flash, there is no lag time. I guess the price you have to pay for getting a digital camera. Overall a really good camera, the optical zoom is nice too.

It seems that EVERYONE is having this error pop-up at some time or another using this camera.

Call $ony and they'll tell you to send it to them along with $139.00 and they'll fix it.

Well, don't do that. You can fix it for $0.10, and here's the reason it blinks that error and how to fix it:

The problem is the battery isn't making a good enough contact. After you put the battery in, place a dime on top of it and shut the battery door.

My camera works fine now.

I owned this camera for less than 5 hours. I bought it...and decided it was one of the worst purchases that I've ever made and returned it the same night!...I agree with many of the problems with this camera and here is a quick summary:

Pros:
1) Its small (but so are most of other brands)

2) It takes good pictures in WELL LIGHTED areas.

3) The software is flawless, loading pictures are extremely
fast and easy.

Cons:
1) The lens is Extremely awkward! Who was the genius that
decided to position a JUMBO sized lens off to the side!?
Hello! Where am I supposed to position my FINGERS!

2) The battry consumption is insane! I went through my
Energizer Max after only 8 pics! I guess I should go buy
the more expensive lithium batteries, or better yet some
stocks in battery companies.

3) I much prefer the sliding lens cover that comes on the
olympus D510. The dangling Sony cover is extremely annoying.

4) The constant need to use the flash. Without it, you will not
be able to take good pics in less lighted areas. Oh yeah,
when you do use the flash, have fun waiting for the slooooow
charge as the Sony is DRAINING your batteries.

I am a huge Sony fan and I've bought numerous Sony products over the years. I even have a Sony MasterCard. But this product is a major disappointment to me. For the price and the way the electronics world works you're much better off shop around and if you insist on Sony Brand, just wait for a later update (which will inevitably be better and cheaper). Good luck with your search.

The DSC P50 is an excellent digicam. Picture quality, features, price. The macro mode focuses as close as 1 inch. This is extraordinary for any camera out of the box.

I have seen many reviews complaining about the batteries and not having an included ac adapter or charger and why do I have to buy extra accessories and so on. Very few digicams come with complete power setup and accessory pack. Check the included accessories in product listings.

I recommend using NiMH AA rechargeable instead of the expensive infoLithium. Get about 8 batteries and a charger. This can be done for half the price of the and charger.

Also pick up at least a 32mb Memory Stick. 64mb if you can afford it. But shop around. Memory sticks can be found for less than some of the major outfitters charge.