Sony DSCP71 Cyber-shot 3MP Digital Camera w/ 3x Optical Zoom

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Product Details

Product Manual [2.55mb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 1.7 x 4.9 x 2.3 inches ; 1.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000063S4J
• Item model number: DSCP71
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,732 in Camera & Photo (See Bestsellers in Camera & Photo)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 16, 2002

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Sony's DSC-P71 combines compact dimensions with a high-performance 3-megapixel sensor and affordable AA battery power. If you're looking for a take-anywhere camera that's easy to use and produces crisp, detailed images, the P71 is worth a closer look.

Optics and Resolution
The DSC-P71's 3-megapixel sensor captures ample detail for sharp prints at sizes up to 8 by 10 inches. For a serious amateur photographer, 3 megapixels is a great resolution, providing enough detail to perform some cropping and still have crisp prints.

A 3x optical zoom lens (39-117mm equivalent) helps you to capture exactly the picture you want, and an additional 2x digital zoom (6x total) further magnifies your image. Remember, however, that digital zoom tends to reduce the sharpness and detail of your image, so it's best used sparingly. In low-light situations (a particular weakness for many digital cameras), a focus-assist lamp sends out a small patterned beam to help the camera accurately determine distance.

To compose your images, either use the traditional camera viewfinder or the 1.5-inch LCD display (which is also used to review the shots you've taken). Having both types of viewfinders offers the best of both worlds: if you're used to using a film camera or want to conserve battery life, use the viewfinder; if you want to see exactly the picture you'll be capturing, use the LCD display.

More Features
The P71 is designed to be a simple point-and-shoot, so it doesn't have a huge assortment of manual settings. However, more advanced photographers will appreciate the manual focus mode, adjustable ISO, and white-balance settings, and well as the exposure compensation and the ability to shoot black-and-white, sepia, solarized, and negative images.

Power
The P71 uses two AA batteries--a pair of high-capacity nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) rechargeables and charger are included. The benefit to using standard AA batteries instead of a custom proprietary battery is that AA batteries are widely available, so missing a once-in-a-lifetime shot due to dead batteries won't be an issue. The downside is that a digital camera will kill a set of alkaline batteries extremely quickly, especially if you're using the camera's LCD display. To ensure you'll always be ready for action, we recommend getting a second pair of rechargeable batteries so you can always have one set in the camera and the other set in the charger.

Movie Mode
In movie mode, the camera captures silent video clips. Most digital cameras' movie modes are limited to 15- or 30-second clips, but the P71 can keep shooting until you've filled the memory card. The limited resolution of your movies guarantees that this feature won't replace your camcorder, but it's perfect for when you just want to capture a quick movie and e-mail it to a friend or relative.

Storage and Transfer
Images are stored on Memory Sticks, Sony's proprietary memory-card format. The included 16 MB stick holds approximately 16 images at the camera's default settings. Memory Sticks are reusable, but if you tend to take more than 16 images per outing, then you'll want a bigger card. A 128 MB stick is a great size for this camera, storing around 130 images. To transfer images to your computer, simply attach the included USB cable between your PC and your camera--your computer should automatically recognize the camera and let you move the pictures to your hard drive. If you own a Sony desktop or laptop, your computer may also have a built-in Memory Stick reader, which makes transferring as easy as reading a floppy disk.

Size
At 5 by 2.3 by 1.75 inches and 10.4 ounces fully loaded, the P71 is a very compact and portable digital camera.

Contents and Recommended Accessories
The package includes the DSC-P71 camera, two rechargeable NH-AA-D1 rechargeable batteries, BC-CS1 charger, video and USB cables, wrist strap, 16 MB Memory Stick, and software on CD.

Everything you need to get started is included in the box, but we recommend these accessories to make the most of your camera: a carrying case, a spare set of NiMH rechargeable size AA batteries, and a higher-capacity Memory Stick. Compatible accessories for this camera are listed near the top of this page. --Shane Burnett

Pros:

• 3-megapixel resolution provides ample detail for most users
• Compact dimensions make it easy to bring this camera along on outings
• Point-and-shoot operation makes it easy for even beginners to get great results

Cons:

• Movie mode lacks sound
• Proprietary Memory Stick memory card format less common and more expensive than other formats

Product Description

Pick up this digital camera and keep your friends and relatives updated on your family's current events. The 3x optical/6x precision digital zoom lens catches close up shots that are stored on an included 8MB Memory Stick«. Download shots onto your computer via the USB connector with cable and driver. The 3.21 mp effective CCD image sensor (3.34 mp gross) captures clean sharp details in every photo opportunity. The intelligent flash and high-speed scan Autofocus are other great features.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

84 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than Film and not Quite as good, May 26, 2002

By	Sage Burrows (Olalla, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Summary - the most camera I could find for [the price] in a small hanld held size. Lots of useful features. I am very satisfied with it as an artist tool. For landscapes less lens would be too far away, for blow up pics, less mega-pixels would be to grainy.

The Good.

Unlike film cameras, this camera produces all hues of the color wheel correctly. It also records a larger range of darks and lights. As an artist I have paid for professional studio shots of my watercolor paintings that are not as good as this camera. These qualities are mostly a function of digital vs. film camera. All camera films have color bias and less value range than what a painting can have. However, even among digital cameras there can be some color bias, this one has perfect balance. Also it can see into shadow areas revealing details better than most film cameras. With 3 meg Pixels it produces 4x6 inch pictures at 340 pdi on a printer, very sharp. Posters and magazine are printed at 150 dpi for this camera that would be about a 8x10 print, they still look better.

It has an amazing macro lens with a tulip icon. I took very close and very sharp pictures of tulips with it. Other subjests may work well, I don't know yet. It is packed with lots options like White Balance for cloudy days, very helpfull in Seatle. Other good features are manual focus, noise reduction, and in low contrst situations when the autofocus feature is confused it sends out a a flash to see the subject and get a fix, all cameras should have this feature.

The not so good.

Some low contrast areas have speckles in them at about the grainness level of ISO 400 film. This is very slight and most people will not notice. It also may be a factor of the "PaintShop Pro" software translation to the HP 1220 printer, because this graininess does not show up on the monitor.

Even with 3x optical zoom distant objects like Mt. Rainier show up at about 90 percent of their actual size, though this is pretty good at this price. Note 3x optical zoom cameras are not all alike. I depends on 3 times what size you start with. A Kodak 3x camera gives a much shaller or distant picture.

It comes with out a camera case and a slow battery charger, 13 hrs. But Sony gives you a $20 coupon towards buying a kit with a case, batteries and a fast charger 2hrs. for $40. You really want to have spare battieries and a charger that recharge them as fast as you can use them up.

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sony Brings Home a Winner!, July 28, 2002

By	kurlebj "kurlebj" (Hackettstown, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews

After much extensive research, I finally narrowed it down to 2 potential cameras. The P71 from Sony and the Kodak DX4900. Both selling for the same price, so it was a matter of which was the better camera/deal. The Kodak had slightly better resolution and 1 more Megapixel than the Sony, but here's why I chose the Sony:

Batteries: The Sony comes with rechargeable batteries and a charger. Kodak comes with alkalines (no charger)

The Feel: The Kodak felt cheap. The body is cheap plastic and the buttons and compartments seem easily breakable and far from durable while the Sony had a nice sleek look and a professional quality feel to it.

The Features: The Sony comes with a mpeg movie mode (no sound) where the Kodak doesn't have a movie mode at all.

So, how do I feel about my choice? Pretty Damn Good.
The Sony P71 is a quality camera. There is no question. The design is very similar to the other models from Sony but a little bit slimmer and lighter. The LCD on the back is bright and vivid and the colors look crisp and nice. The pictures I took came out very good. I took the camera into the woods and took some wilderness shots in the middle of the day and the pics came out beautifully. The trees and water, everything looked great. The movie mode is also a very cool feature. While it would have been much better with audio, it is still a very cool feature and can be used for various different things. Also, the movie size is only limited to the size of your memory. (Get a 128mb card!!! I did and it is so worth it)

The camera is very easy to use. I didn't even have to read the manual. After monkeying around with the features for about 30-45 minutes, I learned pretty much everything. It has a nice, simple interface. Kudos to Sony for that. There are various different picture effects you can use, such as black and white, Sepia etc. and you, of course, have the option of choosing your prefered resolution.

The camera also comes with red-eye reduction and a special feature found only on Sony Cameras, called the AF Illuminator. This feature is very cool because it helps you take pictures in the dark a lot better.

Overall, this is a wonderful camera that is easy to use, durable, nice looking and takes quality pictures at high resolution and megapixels with the option of several effects and features. The only reasons I gave this camera 4 stars instead of 5 is because I thought the pictures I took in very low light could have been a little brighter, no audio with the movie mode and I've only had the camera for a week, so I don't know about the test of time. But I am very pleased so far.

If you're like me, and want a dig cam to have some fun with and take some great pics, but don't want to get a second mortgage on your house to buy it...then look no further than the Sony P71. A quality camera at a quality price.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars good camera for an amateur or a more advanced photographer, June 27, 2002

By	"makaron" (Middle Village, NY United States) - See all my reviews

The first problem I noticed after buying the camera, was its hunger for battery power; I used up my batteries in less than 10 minutes (LCD screen turned on). Later on I realized that the reason for this, was the quality of the batteries I used (cheap ones). Finally, I charged up the included Ni-MH AA batteries, and was able to shoot pictures for much longer, even with the LCD screen.
As for the resolution, it is very satisfactory for a camera of that price, with that many functions. In fact, I dont even use the maximum size too often, the smaller sizes of the pics are enough for a good quality shot.
A good thing about this camera, is that you can use it as both a manual-settings, and an "idiot-machine". It has good auto-focus, even in dark areas (with the AF-Illuminator turned on). If you're using autofocus, all you need to do is press the shooting button half way, and in about 2 seconds, the lens will adjust itself, to form clear, sharp pictures. If you want to play around with the settings, you can define the distance between the camera and the object you're photographing.
The camera also offers ISO, EV, WHITE BALANCE, FLASH LEVEL, and SHARPNESS settings. So as you can see, you can get many different results with all these settings available.
Transfering the pictures to the computer is rather easy. I have WinXP pro, so as soon as I plugged in the included USB cable, the computer recognized it, and automatically installed it. I didn't even have to use the included Driver CD. I also tested it using Win98SE, works good as well, but you will need to use the drivers on the CD. In WinXP, you will be able to use a special wizard which will automatically rename the pictures for you, and put them in a certain folder. In Win98, the camera will appear as a removable-drive (it will also appear in XP) and you will have to copy the pictures manually.
One of the reasons I bought this camera, is its size. Sure there are other cameras even smaller, but this one offers great picture quality, and many manual settings (even effects like B&W, Solarize, Sepia, Invert). I often carry it in my pocket, but you might want to get the carrying case, especially if you want to avoid scratches.
A great option available in this camera, is the ability to shoot movies. It offers three resolutions: 160x112, 320x240, and 320(HQX). I dont know what HQX stands for, but it sure improves the quality of the movie. The one thing that really bothers me, is the lack of sound recording while shooting a movie. It's a big minus, but the main reason I bought it was shooting PICTURES, not MOVIES, so I won't complain much.
Sony didn't include an AC cable, but instead you will get a battery charger (the batteries they included are rechargeable, so you'll save lots of money). You will also get a cable that will let you view the pictures on a regular TV.
Another big minus, is the use of MemoryStick. The reason? It's less popular than other cards, and it's more expensive. Sony includes a 16mb card, just as most other companies. With the lowest picture quality, you will be able to get 240 pictures on this card. Using the highest quality, you will get about 15 shots.
Overall, I am very satisfied with this camera, and I recommend it to anyone else interested in more advanced photography.