SO NEAR,YET SO FAR (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P92)

Member Name: THE_CHEMIST

Product:	Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P92
Date:	21/02/04 (387 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: GREAT PICTURES, VERSATILE, EASE OF USE

Disadvantages: SMALL MENU WRITING, QUITE HEAVY

I've had the camera for the last six months now, and in truth I can't really complain (much).
I never had a dream to become a photographer, but I wanted something a bit tasty to snap shots of my little nephew and niece whilst they were still cute.
I bought the camera for two main reasons:
1. Because it was Sony.
2. Because of the versatility it promised.

I can truthfully say that it has lived up to that promise, with great snaps and video to boot. It doesn't seem to matter where I am or what the conditions are like, the camera copes admirably. From early morning to the middle of the night, there's a setting on the menu for taking photos.

Thanks to the comprehensive, if somewhat technical and overlong, instruction manual, using the versatility of the machine is relatively easy, even for the novice, but I would recommend that anyone buy one of these sit down with the book for a couple of hours before taking the camera out of the box.

When it is quoted as a 5M pixel camera, there is no mention that this is merely one of the photo formats available on this model. In fact there are 4 photo formats, ranging from 5M pixels right down to 1.2M pixels (which is perfectly adequate/good for snapshots).

On top of that, you get two video modes, although each has its own problems. The VGA mode is the best, but you can only get a very small amount of video onto the memory stick, so if you are thinking of using video regularly I would suggest trying to find the really large sticks (up to 1gig are available according to the instructions). I would also recommend not trying to accompany your video with sound. Although the camera will do this, it comes at the cost of a lot of memory space.

The 1.5 inch screen has good resolution, the buttons seem well placed and not to fiddly, but I am not too keen on the twisty dial for changing function between viewing and taking the snapshots. The zoom control is a little fl
ick switch, which allows you to zoom in upto 3x (optical) and then 4x (digital). This gives and overall 12x zoom, although towards the top end of this, expect resolution to suffer, especially on the lower formats.

The screen bears the menu system for the camera which allows the user to choose the mode that they want to use. Although comprehensive, the main problem that I have found is the size of the lettering. At my age (34) I'm not surprised my eyesight is on the wane, but trying to read the menu more than a couple of times a day is not going to help. I suggest that the user finds the best set of parameters for their particular use, and sticks to them.

I still have to try out some of the more obscure things that the machine will do, after all there are so many, but I have come to the conclusion that, for the average user,who wants good snapshots, the best settings are Standard, Automatic shooting using 1.2M pixels.

The transfer software is acceptable, but lacks some of the professional touches that the more experienced might want, and installs easily.
Getting used to the camera is not easy, in fact it may take a few weeks before you become proficient in all the things that it can do, but persevere. It is worth it.

Summary: