Hi,

I initially loved this camera... good zoom, manual override mode, fabulous detail, etc etc.

then I started fiddling with things. This is years ago. By last week I was going a bit crazy because everything was blue- or red-tinged. It was particularly bad indoors, but increasingly also happening outdoors. I thought maybe this was sthg to do with white balance or something... was coming to the view that the camera had to be replaced.

Reading a review on this site someone mentioned that there was a reset button, next to where the memory stick goes... so I pressed it and everything's gone back to working MUCH better.

If you are puzzled with the lower quality of your pics, give it a try! I intend to reset every couple of months from now on...

Mike R

I love this Sony; I've had it 5 years and it has been all over the world with me. But nbow it's starting to show its age.

Yes, it's simple to use, robust and takes great images easily and without fuss. But there's a problem: its lens sticks way too easily and that sends the camera into spasm. It allows you to review your shots but that's of little use if the camera isn't working well.

When the fault happens (and it's a common one) all you get is an Access code error message and no more help than that. Yes, you can do the lens banging thing, but it's a shame you may have to. It spoils an otherwise excellent product.

Apart from the amazing shots this lil camera takes, its sturdy as hell. I dropped this camera in water, it was in there for a good 30 seconds, it died on me, i pulled it out a year later and it worked!!! mind u i did not attempt to dry it, this camera is a beast.

i have had this little beauty for 3.5 years now,and it goes everywhere with me.i have had some fantastic pics with it.and the great thing is you can shoot in wally mode,and can be pretty certain that the camera will do it all for you,or if like me, brought up on totally manual,you can take full control.friends with dslr's cannot believe the quality.one bad point is that very occasionally the white balance goes a bit cuckoo,mainly when in continuous shooting.not sure why,but can remember someone elsefinding the same thing.love the camera.hope this helps,simon.

Best little camera I've ever owned!!! Last year on a trip to the Bahamas, we were sitting on the beach during high tide. We thought we were back far enough but apparently not! The little Sony was in case but unzipped on the towel and suddenly a big wave came and flooded our whole area. Soaked the camera and we thought that's it...it's over. It opened but didn't close...then it closed and wouldn't open. Then it seemed to die for awhile and we hit it with low heat with blow dryer at someone's suggestion. In a couple of hours, it was back! Never another problem. No photos were ruined. No parts of the camera seemed damaged in any way. We are using it as always since and not a problem since. Amazing little camera we aren't looking to trade in until when and IF it stops working!

This camera is really a steal! price is a little high, but i am very happy with the picture i've taken. If you're going to use a digital camera i say read the manual first before you 'jump' to conclusions. The Sony Cybershot P200 is an all round winner when compared with today's top brands!

I first saw this model whilst traveling with a friend off road, in his 4x4. I took two pictures with it, and did an internet search that evening for my own. As they were no longer manufactured, and new ones could not be found, I bought a used one, from an Amazon seller - cost $225, and came with a semi hard case, and 1GB memory stick.

There was no manual, but plenty were available online, as well as many reviews, so I checked out the features and went to play with it.

Good points: Picture quality amazing - better than most I had seen, and just what I wanted. I travel a lot, riding a sidecar Ural motorcycle, and it fits into my cargo pocket, with spare battery. I record my trips, and anything else I see, and 99% of the shots are clear, in focus, and well balanced. The range of selectable menu options is vast - anything you can do with a manual SLR camera, excepting of course, changing lenses, can be done with this camera. The macro feature is very good, with accurate focus to less than 9 inches. Very useful for recording flowers and bugs - also good at photographing mechanical items on the bike.

Bad points: The camera occasionally records reflections where none can be seen by me. Not the usual sun in lens type, but reflections of light from distant objects.. I will figure it out someday, and there will be no problem anymore.

I cannot think of any other faults, in the year I have used the camera. I have taken over 2,000 pictures with it, approximately - probably more, because I discard many more than I keep.

All in all, this camera is as near perfect for the novice and keen amateur photographer who needs a compact but well featured camera. It is a shame buying new is no longer an option, but a good used one is well worth looking into.

Overall the camera has lots of nice features, but many pictures come out blurry, no matter how still you hold your hands. Would not recommend this camera to anyone.

I have had this camera for some time and all of a sudden the lense stopped working. Message comes up to switch off and on and doing it does not solve the problem!!!

I had this camera a little over a year when the lens quit working. A message came up "turn the power off and on again" which I did. The camera still doesnt work. I have read several reviews with the same problem. It must be a defect in the camera. My next camera WILL NOT be a Sony.

The Best Sony Digicam Tilldate

It has all the photo, video features. And the one picture clarity is worldclass and the best high resolution 7.2 megapixel enhances and enriches your photo to core level.

My best experience in taking the nature photographs, in day time till dwan is the best.

Guys goahead and buy this to rock your photography skills. All the best.

This little camera is perfect for the novice photographer. So easy to use and the megapixel is great for the price. Highly recommend.

I have had this camera for a little over a year and for no apparent reason the zoom lens stopped in the out position. A message came up saying, "Turn the camera off and on again". After doing so multiple times with no results, I called Sony. The tech told me to remove the battery, turn it off, wait, push a reset button, and so on several times with no result. I asked Sony since I paid almost $500,00 for this camera and the problem happened for no apparent reason would they repair it for free. They said since I owned it over a year they could not but would repair it for around $200.00 (the price of many new digital cameras). The Sony tech did care and was very blunt about it. I am very dissatisfied with Sony and this camera.

This camera is durable, excellent quality and is very easy to use. With it being compact it is easy to carry, no matter where I go. One of the best digital camera I have seen on the market.

I bought this camera the week it came out. The included MemoryStick is useless as you can only store a few photos, so I immediately upgraded to 1GB.
Since then, I've used and abused this camera, and it has never let me down. It is by far the best camera I have had. The "auto mode" picture quality is good, but on the first day (me being picky) customised the setting for my preference (P option), and the quality became excellent.
Last week I bought a 4GB memoryStick becasue at 1GB you can only record 12 minutes of high quality video - as opposed to neary an hour with the 4GB, and now my camera acts as a tiny video cam too, when needed to campure special times. In the beginning I was a bit sceptical after reading a few bad reviews regarding the zoom getting suck, but I haven't had a single issue with this. This is an awesome camera. Recommend to anyone.

I want to love this camera. But I can't because indoor pictures are terrible - 2 out of 3 are nearly black. Many are over-exposed as well. I have missed too many moments. I just had the image capture chip replaced (Best Buy extended warranty) with only slightly better results. I used to own the Sony DSC-P100 (5MP) and loved it until some slime bag stole it from my house. I wish I could give the P200 to the thief in exchange for that P100. I'm going to bring this back to Best Buy and see if they can fix it.

It is my first digital camera (after using SLR camera with film for long time). I like it very much as it is simple to use, low weight and great pictures. The quality of the picture is very high also when you zoom in, outdoor pictures are great with different weather (dark, sunny). The only drawback I found is taking pictures at nights without flash. Using high ISO doesn't solve the problem but improve it a little bit.

Although this is a good point and shoot it doesn't do well in poor lighting or action shots. In most situations it does very well. If you like to take pictures in all situations this may not be a good choice.

This camera will take good (not perfect) pictures out of doors. Forget it once you go inside, it's dark, or you're in a dimly lit restaurant trying to capture a birthday moment, etc. Would never buy another one.

Purchased this camera 2 weeks ago for the Christmas season in hopes of getting some good pics of my son and his cousins playing. It was to replace my other Sony DSC-P52, which by the way is an excellent value. The downside of my previous Sony was that you always "missed the moment" because by the time you hit the button to the time your photo was taken, you could watch a round of boxing. I was hoping this model would cure that problem, it does not. My wife wanted something compact that she could put in her pocket. I wanted something with a metal case, Carl Zeiss or Leica lens, and made in Japan or Germany. This model fit the bill and in ideal conditions it takes good pictures. I wanted something that takes very good pictures, but at least on the auto setting this is not the case. Outside photos are very good, but inside it is hit and miss. The biggest negative on this camera is the flash, followed by the delay from when you first hit the button. The LCD on my alarm clock is brighter than this flash! Almost to the point of being useless. I see only about a 10% increase in picture quality from my old 3.2mp camera, so I think 5mp is about the highest anyone using a standard printer needs. Perhaps my expectations were too high, but this camera is slightly disappointing.

I love this camera, it takes great pictures. People need to play with it to learn all the features this beauty has, it's Sony!

Every camera I have owned always had the same basic problems. The picture quality was average to poor, the battery life was short, it took forever for the camera to be ready to take a picture after it was turned on and recharge times in between shots was always long, meaning I was constantly missing good shots. This camera eliminates all of those problems completely. It is ready to go within a second after turning on, ready with a second after each shot, has excellent picture quality in average to good lighting and the battery lasts and lasts and lasts. Hundreds of shots and long intervals between uses and I always come back to a camera with battery enough to take more pictures.

The only down sides to this camera for the average user is the limited range on the flash and the optical zoom at only 3X. Not limiting enough for all of the excellent other features it has to include what I have mentioned and many others I have not mentioned... video only limited to your memory, ability to resize pics within the camera, ability to switch to 5MP, 3MP, etc... manual adjustments that exceed what the typical user would use, etc...

Excellent camera!!!

I have same problem as some of the others have stated in these reviews with indoor pictures if lighting not great. Wife used originally and I thought it was just her, she finally quit using it. I then tried all the different modes to see if can get to take a reliable picture indoors and it won't, under or over exposed. It's out of warranty, need to get another.

I purchased this camera because the instructor in a digital camera class I attended used one(and loved it) for her non-professional, personal digital camera.

My lack of patience is my problem. Can't figure out the multiple menus, so just start pushing buttons. I have so many icons now on the LCD screen that I don't know what I'm doing!

The 'troubleshooting' book that came with it isn't much help. It's not basic enough! Need advise - how to get the default LCD screen back to start over again!!

Am not sure I'm ready for the digital world...

I definitely agree that this one is a beauty to hold... as it is sleek and can slip in to your coat pocket with an ease. The clarity of the images taken during day is also really cool. However, i find it difficult with the night images. At times, you don't get the right clarity. Also, i have a 1gb mem card, as it gets heavier than 800mb, it starts getting cranky and gives an error message and shuts down.

Excellent mid size camera

This camera is excellent. It has great picture quality and is small enough to put in your pocket.

This is my first ever digital camera. I bought it for myself for christmas. It wasn't cheap either. I don't take many pics as of 8 months use at the most 100 pics and that's because I have to take every pic 10x. The first month I did not notice a problem but after that it's never worked correctly. The outside pics with perfect lighting are great, but inside with anything other than optimal lighting the pics either come out overexposed or underexposed. It's no wonder sony has pulled production of this camera along with 5 other models for quality control issues and are now offering buy backs.

Camera has had problems since the beginning. I have had three different problems and have had it in repair for 3 different times. SONY Customer Service is terrible. When questioned when is the camera determined to be a lemon, they respond as long as it can be repaired, you will not get a replacement. When questioned I have lost two months of use do to it being in repair, they respond it is a one year warranty and they can not extend it.

For someone who wants a compact camera that delivers qualified performance the psc-200 is it with its 7.2 mega pixels you get great shots and has great focus no matter what shot. Video is pretty good and i like the microphone. I also like all the settings you have to choose from such as OEV setting exposure and contrast to sharpness and also settings to control shutter speed and aperture settings. It also is very durable and keeps the LCD screen very well protected. I think this camera is worth your while for the size and the performance that it delivers.

This is a good camera, but I was very disapointed. Taking pictures outside are okay, but inside, they came out dark, blurry, or too bright. When taking pictures of my children I don't have time to fiddle with settings, one the picture comes out bad, the moment is gone. I will be buying a new camera.

dsc p200 is an excellent camera. if you are a lay user. you can start setting it in the automatic mode and start using. as you become familiar with the camera you can use it under varying condition and setting. totally it is for an lay men to use also for expert ot explore. external light is not a problem for the camera. i turnned off all lights in my home where i could n't see any body , then i took a photo, which looks as if i shot in a day light. words can descripbe the camera.

I love this little camera. it takes sharp pictures and the color is great.

The specs, manual mode and video are all great. I use this camera constantly. The only problem I ever have with this camera is when I'm out drinking. It does not take good bar pictures, or low light pictures on the auto mode. All other pictures are amazing and it is worth every penny.

This is a good compact camera for the average photographer. It's small and easy to use. Sometimes pictures turn out very well, but sometimes pictures are below average. The most annoying thing though is the dust that gets into the lens. I've had my camera at Sony Service three times this year for this problem. I also have a P120 Cybershot and that camera has the same dust in the lens problems. I am amazed that Sony has not recalled these Cybershot models because of this problem.

I love this camera. I get great pics, it's easy to use, and I got a 1G card. However somehow dust or something else got inside the lens and with through cleaning the spots remain. The frustrating thing is that some pictures have them, and some don't. It almost looks like bacteria under a microscope! It is very frustrating, especially in some beautiful sky pictures. Can anyone help me??

I reviewed many websites before choosing the P200. I bought the first one in June for my son. I played around with it for a week before giving it to him, and I really liked the size and ease of use. I bought the second one the middle of July and took 200 pictures in Alaska. The pictures turned out perfect. I took great pictures through the glass window of a train while the train was moving. The only problem was the camera froze up after an hour of taking pictures of glaciers. After it warmed up it was fine. Now I'm trying to figure out where I can buy a third one for my daughter. I went on-line and our Radio shack still has some for $229, more than the $199 I paid at SAMS. The camera has been discontinued so they are hard to find. Too bad.

After reading countless reviews on various websites and forum, I decided to invest in the Sony Cybershot DSC p200. Other than college, this was one of my biggest investments that I was going to make (being a college student), so you can be sure I looked around. I bought the camera back in October of 2005 and have been using it since.
So here's my review, upfront and honest:

The GOOD:

Ok, bottom line... if you want the highest amount of detail and color in a photo without buying a $900 Digital SLR, then get this camera. The image quality on this camera is incredible. You can take pictures from vga (email) to 7.2 megapixels. I use 3 MP as a standard. The pictures have superior color in every shot. Half of my pictures I take are in black and white or sepia, which turn out excellent. The BEST feature about this camera IS the Details. The macro feature is very nice. When you look at a picture you took on your computer, you can notice every grain of sand on the beach, and every strand of hair on a persons head. Another thing I like is the size. The camera is quite small and can fit into any pocket very easily. The battery life for this camera is surprisingly long. I charge the camera over night, and it's usually good for a week or more. However I turn it off frequently and us it almost entirely for photos and not videos, so that may be a reason.

The BAD:

The file size for the pictures are pretty big. 3MP in fine mode is about 1.5 megs a pic, and 7.2 can be almost 3 megs. This adds up after a while and can take up precious harddrive space. The built in steady feature is excellent in standard mode, but is almost non-existence in manual or preset mode. Slightest hand shake, and your pictures will come out fuzzy and blurry. The flash is pretty bright, but does not expose the background so well and can expose a little too much of the subject (ie. extreme details of your face). The zoom is pretty good, but again, very hard to steady a shot in zoom mode unless you're really good or using a tripod.

The UGLY:

Ok, here's the reason why I rate this camera as good and not excellent. After 4 months of use with not a single problem, I noticed that my pictures had a spot in it. This spot wasn't really that noticeable but after a few months, one spot turned into 3 and a thin line appeared as well. Turns out this camera can get dust bunnies stuck in the CCD and the inner lens. Some say that when the lens retracts after shutting off (esp. if from zoom), it has the tendency to suction in and trap dust particles in the inner lens and CCD. Now Believe you me when I say this, this is VERY VERY ANNOYING and IMPOSSIBLE to clean. You go from taking pro quality photos to pictures that have a black dot/line on it... everytime. This instantly ruins your picture quality and experience. I contacted Sony, and they said that they would fix the problem for me... but I have not sent in my camera to be cleaned yet.

Conclusion:

Just based on the size of the camera, the various features, the great battery life, and the incredible picture detail, I recommend anyone to purchase this camera. I paid almost $400 for it, and it was worth the money. If it wasn't for the CCD dust bunny problem, I would've rated this a perfect score. However, if incase it does happen to your camera, it can be cleaned and sony will most likely do it for free. If you are curious about sample pictures, you can search for me (mistamoni) on flickr. Many of the recent pictures, you can see the dust particles... but the older ones don't have that problem. All my pictures are using this camera.
I hope to get my camera cleaned soon so I can go back to enjoy this neat little device.

... don't try to go to Radio Shack because quantities are VERY limited! I visited 2 stores today: Edgewood and Bonney Lake in WA State; they have a camera in Spokane (6 hs from here!) and a camera in Oregon. They just want you to go to the store and shop for something else.
The camera is great, I travel a lot and I dropped several times and it is still working wonderfully, I just wanted to get another one for my daughter.

This camera has been the worst camera I have owned. The general picture mode takes great pictures outside, but inside, dear god please get this camera to work. Every picture is either under exposed or overexposed. Half my pictures come out black. At bars and restaurants this camera is the worst. I like auto, so I really dont feel like fiddling around with all the settings at every environment. The settings are confusing (and I am a tech person), and the low light pictures come out blurry. Overall I am going to give this camera to my dad and buy a Canon.

I love this camera, its easy to operate and take pictures. The settings are very easy to learn.

I love this camera!!

this camera makes peoples eyes red. the sunny background is really blinding

I was seeking out a camera before my honeymoon last summer that was not only compact, but had enough megapixels to take high quality photos. The Sony DSC-P200 delivers performance on every level. The 7.2MP make it easy to blow up pics and not lose resolution. Also the shutter-lag is much shorter than the previous digital camera I used.

This is a fairly good camera for general photography, but it falls quite short of professional standards. Dust and spots are very significant issues for outdoor shots, especially at high resolution. There is no simple way to clear the dust, as it is apparently inside the camera somewhere. Manual settings do not permit full control of depth of field, especially for close subjects. This is a great snapshot camera, and good for the easier high quality shots but it has limitations. It's a lot of fun, and fits nicely into a pocket. It is good for someone who is moderately serious about the art.

I don't know, glare is always coming when I am taking photos, inside the home..night shots also have some problem.

I think in near future everyone will owns this camera

At first I was skeptic, I knew very little about Sony's cameras (my previous was a Samsung). At first I was a little upset about switching from a SD card to a Pro and regular size batt. (which I still perfer) but from the photo stand point the good out weighed the bad.

I really like how the camera handeles in dark situations (normally the pics turned out very over exposed) however with this is was a decent balance.

All of pictures have turned out great, the battery life is going strong though I would still recommend that you purchase a back up. I have yet to dabble with the software that came with it but for the price I paid $150 it was a steal. My next purchase will be the 8.0

Thanks Sony

the only draw back was that it does not come with a image stablizer but overall well worth the money

As a freelance writer who often needs to take photos to go with articles, I have long avoided digital cameras, since the printed images always end up looking, well, digital.

But 7.1 megapix and a Carl Zeiss lens at an affordable price was too tempting to resist, and I haven't been disappointed. The prints are every bit as high quality as my Nikon SLR film camera.

The battery life is fantastic, menus are easy to figure out, light sensitivity on automatic mode is great and its so tiny you hardly know you're carrying it. The blurring is an issue, as mentioned elsewhere, but rather than blame the camera, I think I'll just buy a tripod.

I have owned this camera for one week. I bought it due to reading these and other reviews. I am not disappointed. I was in a hurry for a really good camera to take some pictures of my wife's art pieces she had to email for a show. They turned out great. I really cannot imagine after using this camera anyone even looking at another brand. The sony people care that you take good pictures, the others really do not. I make this statement after owning several digital cameras.

Blurry pictures? Rarelyy! I've had this camera since June 2005 because we really needed a digital camera + I had surgery so my dad was spoiling me! But I rarely go anywhere without it. It takes amazing pictures and I am glad I bought this camera :] I recommend it to anyone out there, if you're looking for a nice, easy to use digital camera, then purchase the CYBERSHOT P-200!

the pic quality is so high, i really like this cam.
Besides, the style of this camera is awesome! its really easy to take pic with this cam, although this cam is a little bit heavy. But that's not the problem.

I have experienced dust infiltration that got worse day by day.I would like to know if other people experienced the same problem. But for the rest it is an excellent pocket camera with multiple setting convenient for everyday picture taking.Pics at close range are excellent but the ones taken with teleconversion lens aren't quite satisfying.

This was my first digital camera purchase, although I've been using everyone else's for years. I researched for hours upon hours for weeks trying to find what I wanted and played with dozens of cameras. What I wanted was something that could take nice snaps, had a fair amount of manual settings, fast between shots, and took 30f/s video. I eventually narrowed down to the Canon SD550, A620 or the P200 and obviously went with the p200 because it's so light & quick. Everyone that uses the camera boasts how fast it takes pictures. I really like this camera a lot & the pictures are very sharp, more so than the canons.

Two problems: 1. video has trouble focusing & goes in & out of focus frequently in one shot. I believe this to be mainly on the Mutlifocus mode, so setting to spot or manual has worked so far. 2. I just noticed little smudges showing up on my pics & found that I have the common 'dust in the lens' problem. So I'll have to get that taken care of..

When I shoot, I take a lot of pics & maybe a couple videos (640 fine) and with 7.2mp, I definately can fill up a 1gb card pretty quickly. Taking pics at the highest setting will give you pictures anywhere from 2-3.5Mb per picture.

Great camera & it fits in a pocket easily!

I purchased this camera in officemax , as soon as we got it home and loaded the batteries we had a problem 3 days after .tha camera only show "turn the power off and on again" ; the camera die , bad experience

I absolutely love this camera. I was a bit put-off at first by how small it was (I thought I'd drop it and break it!) but it's been nothing but great to me. The small screen also keeps it from draining your battery life. Highly recommended!

I researched cameras in great detail prior to buying the Sony. I have owned a 35mm Minolta for years. I used the Sony camera in Guatemala while I toured the country. I carried the camera in my shirt pocket, turned it on, snapped the pic and turned it off. Got great pictures from a moving car. An exceptional camera for its size and mid range price. Would not be without it when traveling.
Only negative, I am old and cannot see the little characters indicating what function it is on. A minor problem that I can live with - just have to put on my glasses. You cannot go wrong with this camera.

This camera takes excellent pictures if you have a steady hand. You must hold the camera with both hands else the picture will come out crappy no what resolution or condition you shoot in. Besides that i like this camera a lot. The battery last forever. I took over 200 pictures and the battery is still at 2 bars. The camera point and shot features is excellent. Power up the camera and you can shoot instantly. This is the best feature compare to other models (Nikon, HP etc.) If you have big hands, don't buy this camera.

suplied with too small memory card(32mb)

This camera is the best ive seen. Excellent pictures and price/performance.

I misplaced my AV and USB cable. Sony wants $70 for this beauty. Ask what the product number is and they will offer to sell you the information for $5.00. SonyStyle also quoted me $70 for the battery charger (presumably with my AV/USB cable). To add insult to injury, they want $28 to ship this multi-ounce cable. I went back to Office Depot to see what they could do but they closed out the P200 for $165 some time back. I'm chasing my tail here. NOW, the good news is that I am very pleased with the camera which brings my overall rating up considerably.

A Good little camera for casual amature photography... 10/10

I had a DSC-P2. When it die on me (lens wouldn't fully come out), I got a DSC-P200 because I like Sony's design. It worked very well until last week. I found some dark spots on some of my picutures (with bright or white backgound). I can see dots on LCD screen when I zoom. The further you zoome the darker the dots get. I thought there must be some dust on the surface of the lens but cleaning wouldn't do any good. After searching the Internet I found out to my great horror that it's a series problem with some of the DSC P100 and P200 models: there is dust INSIDE the lens!!! From what I saw on the Internet this problem is almost impossible to fix. I think this will be my LAST Sony camera.

it's really awesome... I tired of using this camera not becoz its bad.. because everybody wants to get a picture frm this camera,,, thats why i am fed up... i bought a slave flash with guide no.14 with whch its working amazingly well...no problems wat so ever!!!

I love this camera. I've had no problems with it what so ever. I have no Idea what these other people are talking about with the blurry pictures all of mine have been cristal clear!

I need a camera with all these features for an excellent price and here it is!!!

This is my fourth Sony. I cannot find an underwater housing so I will have to go back to the P-150. So far I have not been able to find how to trim photos, it is neither in the manual nor in the menu. I sent emails to Sony customer support and I am stilll waiting a reply. The rest features are very good.

My 3rd digital.
Awesome pics
lack of speed and aperture priority

Thanks to the reviews on this site and other research, I purchased the P200 and have been very happy with it. No negatives. The other reviews do a great job discussing the camera's positive attributes. I thought it is worth adding that I have mistakenly dropped the camera twice (once on pavement) and it is working as good as new out of the box. This seems to be a very well built camera!

I have been using this camera for about 6-8 months now and am simply in love with it. A few points where it excels is that it is fast - takes just about a second to switch on and get ready. There is no noticeable shutter lag and this camera has absolutely no red-eye. There are also a whole lot of manual controls (shutter speed, aperture) which makes this better than other digital cameras. The movie quality is also excellent with clear, crisp sound. The Slow-Sync flash makes night images look soooo neat. All in all, a great camera :)

i like my dsc p200 a lot but sometimes feel the flash has a mind of its own, also i have read many reviews but am i the only person to experience massive start up lag, we went skiing and wanting to show our action shots in the bar in the afternoon found it needing 5 minutes before we could review our day, its not just the cold it does it all the time. embarrasssing to say here are my photos just wait for a while with my fab camera, it also has no trimming function like my old dsc p72 which i liked a lot. overall though,when working i love this camera, compact video is great

In Feb. 2005 I purchased a P100 camera from my local Sears store. This was the third sony camera I have had. I have had good luck with the camera in general, and meets my needs as a carpenter, using it to document my work, and for family photo's, etc. Around Thanksgiving, I noticed some of the screws were missing from the case. The camera continued to function normally, and I elected to continue to use the camera, thinking I would send it back for replacement of the screws under warranty after the holidays were over. By January, all but one of the screws were gone, and this allowed the metal case to come apart slightly. This apparently allowed dust, pocket lint, or some other foreign material to enter the camera. The camera began having problems with the zoom, and auto focus, and the lens would get stuck partly in or out, causing an error message that required the camera to be turned off, then back on. It was obvious to me that some debris had gotten inside the mechanism that moved the lens, and was causing the problems. Keep in mind, that the camera continued to take pictures, although the zoom function was useless, causing the camera to "lock up". The auto focus would usually function after a few tries. I went back to Sears, and they told me that the camera was still under the 1 year warranty, and they would have it fixed, no problem. I took the camera to the local Sears service center, and they in turn sent it to the Sony Repair Center in Texas. A few days later, I recieved a call from the repair center for an estimate for repair of the camera which was $181. The camera cost $329 new. I called the repair center, and spoke to several technicians. This is where it gets interesting. The first tech told me it was abuse and physical damage that caused the damage to the camera and that would not be covered under warranty. The camera did have significant wear, but this was only cosmetic, and absolutely did not impair the function of the camera. I told him it was my belief that the screws falling out of the camera body had caused tha camera to literally fall apart, and that in my mind that was a manufacturing defect. After debating with several technicians, such factors as corrosion (none was present in my camera, and the tech later agreed to this), physical damage (only cosmetic, and I have photo's from the camera to support its functionality) abuse (suggesting the camera had been dropped and that caused the screws to fall out), I finally was connected with the customer service supervisor. She listened to my complaint, and told me she would go and examine camera herself, and get a second opinion from some other technicians. I explained that I was taking tim off work to deal with this and would appreciate an expedient reply. She assured me that she would do this as quickly as possible and call me back immediately. I did not recieve a call back or a message from her. I called her back the next morning, and she told me that the other tech's had agreed, the camera had physical damage, and that had caused the screws to come out. I pressed her for details on what kind of evidence the techs had found to support this contention. The best answer she could come up with was that the techs had examined the threaded holes in the camera body, and could determine that the screws had not come out on their own. I expressed that the camera had been in my possesion from the time it was new, it had never been dropped or abused, and that to suggest that the screws had not fallen out on their own was tantamount to calling me a liar. I was also very curious how someone could look at a threaded plastic hole, and make a definitive determination on what forces caused the screw to come out. When I pressed this issue, it was suggested that the screw holes had split open. I asked specifically which holes had done that, since she had the camera in her hands at that moment, it seemed to me to be a straightforward question, easily answered by looking at the camera. All I got was more obfuscation, and excuses. I continued to press her and the tech department for some tangible facts, and got none. I suggested that it was a ridiculous notion to suggest that anyone could look at a screw hole and make a forensic determination as to how or why the screws came out. I recorded the 2 conversations with the Repair center, and told the customer service manager I intended for them to repair the camera under warranty, with no further delay, and if the problem was not resolved to my complete satisfaction, I would investigate alternative remedies, to include litigation, and posting my experience on camera enthusiast web sites, and consumer advocate web sites. I asked her if Sony had ever had any problems with loose screws in the past, and she replied that they had never seen the first loose screw, and furthermore, that it was impossible for the screws to come loose on their own, since the camera was assembled by robots. I offered that Sony keep my camera to use for R+D, and quality control purposes, and simply send me a new one. That did not seem like an option. After a few minutes of investigation on other digital camera web sites, it seems that Sony does in fact have a chronic problem with loose screws, even in the high end cameras costing $1000 or more. Also, there were a plethora of warranty performance issues, with similar complaints of Sony refusing to honor their warranty on any number of technicalities such as lack of sales reciept, lack of UPC code, lack of visible serial number on the product, etc. At some point in the conversation, the issue of the legibility of the serial number on my camera was suggested as a reason not to honor the warranty. The serial number is on a decal on the bottom of the camera. Fortunately, I wrote the serial number on the camera manual when it was new, so I was able to recite it back to her. In short, it seems that Sony is unwilling to honor the warranty on their products, oftentimes citing technicalities as reasons not to honor the warranty. In my case, they have offered several excuses why they won't honor the warranty on my camera. When pressed for FACTS, and specific examples of the "damage" they simply cannot offer satisfactory explanations. The suggestion that a tech can make a visual inspection of a screw hole and make a determination on how the fastener came out is totally ludicrous. I reiterated this to the customer service supervisor, and suggested that if this was their position, they may want to consider how plausible a judge, jury or mediator would find that notion. When I suggested seeking a legal remedy to my problem, I got a different tune, with the customer service rep saying something like, well since you have said that I am going to take this to another level. I am waiting to speak with them again on Monday to see what their remedy might be. In my mind all that needed to happen to fix my camera was to take it apart, and blow the debris out with some compressed air. Sony seems to think they should sell me a year old camera for $181, which I could probably find at a retailer like Sams club, or elsewhere even cheaper. Naturally, I am very disappointed with Sony especially in light of the other similar warranty performance issues. This seems to be a chronic problem not only with the camera's but PSP's, computers, Playstations, etc. It seems if you must have a Sony product, it is a wise investment to get some kind of extended warranty from a reputable retailer. Many internet retailers are not even recognized by Sony as authorized dealers, giving Sony an instant reason not to honor the warranty. I intend to pursue this until I am satisfied by Sony, and I can assure you that the administrative costs of this issue will cost Sony many times the $181 they want to fix my camera

This is my first digital camera, and what can I say? It is GREAT, though I am no expert in photography.

It is small, fits neatly on a pocket, easy to use (my father, which doesn't know much about either photography or computers, was able to use it successfully) and takes high-quality photos.

The main thing that could be improved is the flash!

Best of all time in this price range...Amazing price.. amazing video's.. awesome

It took me about 2 years of research over the net before actually buying a digital camera. This is my first digital camera and I wanted to get a good one with a long rechargeable battery life, that had at least 4 mega pixels and that was easy to use. I looked into other brands similar to the Sony P200 such as Canon and the Casio, but I didn't like their battery life (Canon) and the Casio needed it's docking station to recharge and download photos. I just thought it was too many things to carry around when you are on a 2 weeks holiday. I found the Sony P200 met my needs. I have read other reviews about the picture sometimes being blurred. That is true if you have a shaky hand. I also found it problematic when I wanted to take a night shot or a quick moving shot and I had to quickly scroll thru the right setting. But it maybe someting I just need to get use to.
Overall a very good first digital camera.

I was stunned at the performance of this little gadget. The images were very sharp i dunno why some reviews say that the images were blurry may be they are biased.... the macro mode is great.....

But can any body tell me how to take good photos in concerts..... coz ther will be heavy strobes of light.... i hav tried with twilight mode which produces the shaky image of the performr but not the stage...So can anybody tell me how to resolve the one and only problem which i am having...

I got this Camera two days ago and I have been using it like crazzzy, as a skateboarder the high speed mode works GREAT for taking in motion pictures it's so amazing. I have also noticed people complaining about how the pictures a blurry all you have to do is HOLD THE CAMERA STILL n00bs... Anyway This camera owns your face, go out and buy one.

-Andrew-

I think this camera is great,it takes awesome pictures. but ive owned it for one year and its been taken to the shop three times since .The first time it was taken in i only had owned it for 2 months before it shut down and stopped working
so overall i think this camera is satisfactory
But i don't think i would recommend it to a friend

I have onwed the DSC-P200 for 6 months and all of the sudden, the camera was not able to recognize the USB cable that connects to the camera. I mailed the camera in for repair because it was still under warranty and Sony told me the problem was corrosion on the JK Board (common problem I have found out) and it was not covered under the warranty even though there was no misuse on the camera. But I could pay $230 to get it fixed - I just paid $400 6 months ago for the camera!!! Adding to that, I also bought an additional Circuit City warranty for $90 when I bought the camera and they did not cover this malfunction either.
I have always been a Sony product fan but this is terrible service and has caused me a huge expense. I will never buy from Sony again because they have done this.
Be careful with this camera or other Sony camers since this is a common problem with their products!!@!

Pictures are great. Flash range is below average.Processing is slow.complex functions for different outdoor photography

I'm still in the fiddling and learning stages with this camera, but there's a very short learning curve when it's used in auto mode. You point and shoot and the images are positively stunning! Marco mode delivers breath-taking close-ups. Also, the infra-red dealie-bobber that allows you to focus the camera in total darkness works very well...what else...hmm...oh yeah, buy this camera, you will not find a better one in the $300 range! (I picked mine up for $274!!!) Un-friggin-believable compact camera!

I've owned this camera for 3 months and I am glad I purchased the warranty. The camera is too sensitive to movement causing too many blurry shots. I've got an earlier 3-megapixel sony that is way more reliable than this one

I do a lot of photography work. I feel this camera is easy to use for the beginner and great for the expert. You can choose many modes and play with the out come. I do love the size also. It is easy to handle and carry with you at all times. Never miss a
shot.

I love my new camera! I take lots of pics of my family and animals so when my last camera broke I had to get another fast! I had a Kodak easyshot and it was a good camera but the plastic toggle switch broke and I had only had the camera for a few months. I had owned a sony before my Kodak and it was indestructible. I used it for 2 years and I still own the camera but do not use it because of lag time between photos. I almost did not look at Sonys again because of the lag but I did it anyway and found that the new Sonys had the least amount of lag time than most. I love it!! It is a great camera! The only thing that I would change about it is the zoom. It needs more. It is easy to handle and very user friendly. I would recommend this camera to anyone.

I bought this camera for my wife for Christmas. She loves its size and picture quality. BUT, I just purchased a Sony wide angle lens and adapter for this camera for $130 and it is horrible. The lens and adapter block out part of the flash, thus leaving a large black spot in the corner of EVERY picture. I have contacted Sony and they tell me they realize this happens, but it is pretty much my "tough luck" and that I either need to live with this black spot in every picture or that I could buy a $100 auxiliary flash to possibly rectify this problem. Looks like Sony will be getting their lens, adapter, memory stick and camera back. I may even return the TV I purchased around X-mas time.

After you get this camera, you will not want to replace it. I made extensive research before buying it, and I finally opted for the Sony Cybershot P200. Excellent choice. When it comes to a digital point-and-shoot camera, there might be many factors to consider, like image quality, battery life, camera size, etc. But in the end, it's all about the pictures, and I have gotten nothing but great pictures with this camera. The auto mode is great, and you can get very good pictures in many lighting conditions, with excellent colors and image clarity, with only minor flash adjustments. Night shots do require some manual adjustments, however, but this is true to all digital cameras of this size. Read the manual and learn about all its features. If you learn how to use it (it's quite easy), you will get great image quality all the time and you can totally forget about blurry pictures. Also, battery life is quite good. And finally, I have to mention a minor detail that I also like about this camera. Fingerprint marks on the LCD can be easily cleaned, because of its smooth surface. My mom owns a Sony Cybershot DSC T5. Its LCD has a rough surface, and fingerprint marks can't be completely erased from the LCD.

So far, I have no complaints, and I'm absolutely glad that I bought it.

It's just flawless. So many features in such a compact camera! The stylish metallic body, the ease of use, easy navigation through the different menu items and not to forget the longer battery life - it's so impressive.

The sony DSC-p200 is my fourth digital camera. Before buying this one, I was using the Casio QV-5700 which I bought almost 3 years ago. It was a quite good camera though it was not a compact one and acted slow compared with the most of the fast action digital camera now days in the market. So I decided to buy a compact size fast one to replace my old camera. After reading a lot of review, I narrowed my choice between Sony DSC-P200 and Casio Z-750. Both of thew are compact 7 million pixel camera with some manual functions which is very important to me. I tried the Casio Z-750 and found some improvement over my old QV-5700. It is fast, with higher resolution, lower noise and longer battery life. My only complains were the 2.5 inch LCD had low resolution and was difficult to be seen in a bright sunlight. I also used a little bit Sony DSC-W1 before and knew Sony's LCD was much better at this point. Moreover, Sony DSC-P200 was highly recommended by some professional reviewers and the Casio Z-750 was only recommended. So I finally decided to buy the Sony DSC-200. After 2 weeks of trying, I found it was a little bit disappointing. First, the color of the photo it took was not as natural as the those taken by Casio. I felt that it was not what I seen really. Second, the auto white balance is not correct and very sensitive to what you photo. Sometime only changing a small angel of photoing view will result the whole tone change of the photo. The most disappointing thing is losing of all the details in the bright and dark part of the photo when you take a photo with both strong bright and dark shadow. To tell the truth, my old Casio QV-5700 did much better on this point. So this camera really disappointed me.

its good but when purchased you should get a larger memory card with it and a case!!!

I have owned this camera for (3) weeks and must say it is as good as the reviews claim. I first bought a Nikon Coolpix 7600 which was as slow as mollases. Returned that camera and bought the Sony. Incredible pictures, suprisingly fast, and battery life is unbelievable. You will not be disappointed with this camera.

I love this camera,it's the best

Like so many other Sony Cybershots, the lens on this model is flat out defective. It breaks for no reason, and then costs $200 to repair. Picture quality before it broke was only okay, I would have to say that the imager only delivers about 5 megapixels of resolution, even if the picture size is 7 megapixels. The autofocus, when it worked, was poor - my old Olympus digital camera had a much better autofocus. I've never taken so many out-of focus pictures. The user interface on this camera isn't too awful, about average for these kind of cameras.
Do yourself a favor and don't purchase this or any other Cybershot camera. Sony customer service is terrible.

For anyone who wants a point and shoot camera and isn't knowledgeable enough to deal with manual controls, this is by far the best camera for the money! The quality of the photos is outstanding. Start up and shot-to-shot times are extremely fast! Controls are easy to understand. Your Windows XP doesn't need any drivers to view pictures from your camera. You can edit the video right on the camera! The video quality is quite good. The battery life is amazing!! Macro mode creates incredible close ups. The only con to the camera is a zoom of only 3X. But with 7.2 MP, all you have to do is zoom in and crop the picture to get close up HQ detail. I would suggest this to anyone. I paid $394 for the black model and a 1GB memory stick and highly recommend!

I had my camera less than 2 weeks when I started having problems with the shutter opening and closing and not taking pictures. I had only used the camera twice inside for a total of 10 pictures. After sending it for repair they are trying to say it has corrosive damage not covered under the warranty. NO WAY! It would cost $386 to fix the problem. I didnt even pay that much for the camera and it was never used outside. Sony Sucks!

I love my new camera! I take lots of pics of my family and animals so when my last camera broke I had to get another fast! I had a Kodak easyshot and it was a good camera but the plastic toggle switch broke and I had only had the camera for a few months. I had owned a sony before my Kodak and it was indestructible. I used it for 2 years and I still own the camera but do not use it because of lag time between photos. I almost did not look at Sonys again because of the lag but I did it anyway and found that the new Sonys had the least amount of lag time than most. I love it!! It is a great camera! The only thing that I would change about it is the zoom. It needs more. It is easy to handle and very user friendly. I would recommend this camera to anyone.

I love this camera. My boss has one and I played with hers and I decided to get my own. The pictures are so clear when they are printed out. I just love everything about. The video is great. You can submit them into a Proshow video for someone along with the pictures. I just can't get over have small it is. It fits in your pocket and goes everywhere with you. I would recommend it to everyone that is searching for a great digital camera.

I bought the P200 to replace a stolen (or at least missing) DSC-U30. My first camera was a DSC-S70 (still have it). This camera has the compact size and FAST startup time of the U30, more features than the S70, and more resolution than both of them together for $300. I'm very happy I bought this camera.

I actually use this camera to copy books and other items. The images are so clean, it's almost as good as a scanner, yet wayyyy faster. I made a mount so the camera is very still and put books under the camera and can copy up to 100 pages in just a few minutes. It's awesome for copying large books from the library.

But when I take photos when the camera is not locked down the images are blurred. I had a Kodak that never had that problem. I'm guessing the setting are wrong, maybe the auto settings have to long of a shutter speed. I guess I need to play with it, but it is disappointing seeing blurred images the first time you use the camera out of the box.

I bought this camera just a month ago and it was giving good quality pictures for few days. But after taking some 200 pictures, the camera was not working to my satisfaction. Initially the click was very soft, I had to give it a gentle push with the clicking button and the picture was coming good enough. Even in dull lights the object focused was clear and the colors were perfect. But later, with the same settings, even after pressing the click button completely, the flash didn't work in synch with the shutter. As a matter of fact, the end picture was not clear, colors seems different (Reddish), either the flash come very early than the shutter (very black dull picture), or the flash comes while the shutter is closing (Very bright white picture). In a sequence of 10 shots I got approximately only 2 good (With the same distance from the object, same settings, same room light, same angle and above all the camera was mounted on a sturdy tripod!). Tried the troubleshooting options given in the manual (even tried the reset button), it doesn't help.

Took it to a customer service center in Hongkong. When I went to get it back after service, they gave me a report stating that there was a bad conduct in the flash unit and that has been replaced with a new unit. That means sony doesn't have a proper testing strategy. As my trust went down I didn't like to go with that defective and repaired product. I asked them to replace that camera with a new one. They simply refused to do so stating there is no such policy in Sony and asked me go with that serviced camera itself. As I have spend a big amount I do like to have a defect free product (At least for an year). If Sony couldn't do that then they should at least agree to replace the product. Now, Dear User please test your product completely before buying or at least before the expiry of the replacement period. Else you will be the looser....

Others have said it repeatedly. This is an excellent small camera with good battery life, excellent lens and good color reproduction.
Carried in a shirt pocket (enclosed in a form-fitting leather case) it is on the spot when a situation develops that demands a photograph. Bulkier cameras -my DSC-f828 for example- can be more flexible and produce slightly better photos, but they are always five or ten minutes away from the action.
I have taken several hundred photos and some of the first were blurry. The problem was the shutter release and my big fingers. When pressed to the half-way point for the focus, the release button is flush with the camera body. Force necessary to move the release further caused blur unless I was well-braced.
Problem solved - using black plastic electricians tape, I made up a three-layer stack of tape and cut a small piece to fit on the release button. That helped, but I subsequently made up a tape stack of six layers and replaced the initial three-layer piece.
Shutter actuation now requires little effort and no camera shuddering.

I am having a problem with the camera not focusing.Photos are always blurry when I zoom in for a photo. I did have a Sony DSC 85 it was only 4.0 MP but took much better photos. Also had a friend who has the same camera and had the same problem but his photo's you could live with if your not picky. He fixed his problem by getting another brand. I can't return mine so I guess I'll have to return it to the factory for repair. Hopefully I will not have a long wait.

Overall, I love this camera. However, my pictures come out blurred at times when I take pictures of my baby. I thought it was the memory stick, so I upgraded to a 1gb Ultra 2 Sandisk. This was supposed to write faster, but it didn't correct the blurred pics. I have not tried lowering the megapixels to anything less than the 7.1. I'll give that a try, but has anyone else tried or had this problem?

My husband bought this camera right before the birth of our first child. We hadn't had a lot of time to "practice" with it before she was born. Our mistake! Almost all of our photos in the hospital looked fine on the display, but were blurry when we loaded them into our photo software. The ones that weren't blurry had the black flash halo around the subjects. I have tried over the past year to adjust the settings and hold it as still as possible. I still only average about 1 good pic out of 10. The lagtime to take a shot means that my toddler is usually moving on by the time it goes off, which also causes blurriness. The only other complaint I have is that the video does not work well unless you have extremely well lit conditions. I cannot take a video in my living room, even with all of the lights on. It films too dark to see well. The salesman who sold my husband this camera told him it was the best camera for someone like us - and I disagree. We are amatuers, simply wanting to snap shots of our children, not set up a tripod and lighting to get a clear picture. I would not recommend this to anyone!

blurry pictures and bad company. i don't have blurry spots yet but i do have the blurry picture problem. look elsewhere for a better camera and costumer support.

Comments:
I am a professional photographer that uses this camera for wedding receptions. I find the pictures are excellent, it is convenient to hide in a second and the battery life is excellent.. I have read about blurry pictures and dark pictures. Those will not occur if you don't shake the camera while shooting... it is small. You can readily see what the picture will look like through the LCD.. If you are not getting good photos, it is not the camera's fault....learn how to use it.. !!! The Carl Zeiss lens is one of the finest in the world... poor photos are not the camera's problem, it's the user...

After about two years of having this camera it just stopped working. Every time I try to take a picture it has blue lines running across the screen. I can hear something inside that sounds like it is stuggling to spin... I have NEVER dropped this camera and all of a sudden it does this? Funny how my stereo, which is a Sony, just stopped working as well.

More often than note - often indoors even with flash at long distances - the images are blurry. The Canon I had never did this. I expected more from this SONY. Very Very disappointed. Will switch to the Canon S-80 and give this away.

Just a quick reveiw for people. I bought this after spending countless hours on the internet and visiting a couple of 'big name' stores. I bought it on my way to Budapest, and the photos I managed to take without even reading the instructions were excellent. Buy this, take photos, read the instructions, take better photos, then laugh at the people that don't own this camera.

Great photos across 20-30 hours worth of shooting. No complaints at all. Terrific battery life, great resolution.

My experience with the p-200 is that the pictures in daylight are excellent, better than I ever expected from a digital camera, and The issue seems to be the sensitivity to light. in lower light, in order to produce images that are bright enough, the camera auto settings force the shutter to stay open longer (hence the blurred images), or force a flash, or both. You can easily work around this by using the manual mode of the camera and setting your own shutter speed, flash mode and pretty much everything else. i can take clear pictures in even the darkest conditions with the shutter speed set above 500 and the flash set to +. if you don't like the shadows caused by the flash, you may be out of luck. also, the usb connectivity of the camera has suddenly stopped working, for no apparent reason, but i can still transfer images using the card reader in my computer.. this may be a cable issue. overall, a good camera, and well worth the price we paid for it.

I bought the P200 about 2 months ago to replace the DSC72 which I'd had for under 3 years when the lens mechanism broke. I did not drop it. I'm really pleased with the photos taken in daylight but I am just so disappointed with the night-time shots. Just back 2 days ago from Disney and all the ones of the fireworks, night-time parade etc. are absolutely terrible. I tried different settings etc. and just didn't get one decent picture. I can't believe how c..p these are for the price I paid. Was much happier with the old one and don't think I'd buy another from Sony.

My P200 was a replacement for my P150 which had been sent to Sony repair 3 times for the same reason losing pixels / bad CCD. Three great trips of pictures ruined by black dots in the photos. Now the replacement is with in 700 shots and is doing the same thing. I can't figure it out and Sony has not been able to resolve this either. I high recommend avoiding all Sony Cybershots unless you like disappointments

I can't give it 1 star because this camera was amazing when it was functioning right. I can't give it 5 stars because...it's not functioning right. The camera was great in just about every setting. The image quality was spot on, it had great features for the money, the size was perfect. But somehow the retracting lens that extends when taking pictures got damaged. I don't know how, but now it doesn't open and retract properly and it won't let me take pictures now. I haven't gotten to send it in to Sony yet, but I'm getting a little nervous seeing the complaints registered on this board. Has anyone had any success getting them to repair what seems to be a camera defect without charging the full price of the camera?

This is my second sony camera. First being Dsc p73. This one gives fantastic pictures but sometimes shots taken in dim conditions gives darker image. My cousin has similar problem with his dsc p 200 . I think sony has got a manufacturing defect and urgently needs to correct the problem, otherwise costumers will loose faith in sony

I have used this camera a few times and noticed the pictures come out very blurry tried changing the setting it does not help.

I was thrilled to see how this camera performs under low light conditions and the colour mapping is very much ok.This is a very good camera for close-ups.You can print poster size if u take images with maximum resolution. Its packed with all good features but......

here are the problems..

a) Slightest shake and pictures go blurred if you are not using flash.

b) Battery section is too weak and could be easily broken.

c) 3X optical zoom is not at all enough for capturing greater details for objects far.If you are interested in not just poster size prints go for a camera with >= 10X optical zoom (5 Mpixel should do)

d) The lens mechanical support got broken when it happened to hit a rod with little force and got misplaced.I visited nearest sony service and to my disappointment they said it will require a lens change and will cost me $300 without even opening and analyzing the damage.I had bad experiences with sony service centres earlier too. So now after six months of regular usage my camera has finally found its way to the dustbin.

Just to add my voice to those who experience focussing problems. I phoned Sony and told them this was the biggest piece of s&*! I have ever bought. When I read the internet reviews - all seemed excellent. It has everything I wanted in a camera - but that helps you zip if it doesn't focus!!! Im taking mine for the spec test tomorrow. I want my money back. My previous Kodak 4mp took much better pictures, unless my hands got shaky overnight. I wish Sony had the guts to respond openly and admit a boobey - at least then I still would buy their product in the future.

Bought this camera 1 month ago as a birthday gift for my wife. I researched it extensively before choosing one. I have long experience with Sony cameras and, admittedly, am a huge fan of most of their stuff.

PROS: quick & easy start-up & focus, and very fast shutter response. In most cases the picture color and clarity is superb! Battery lasts LONG time. TINY little bugger with loads of features.

CONS: there are quite a few lighting condition that cause blur problems for this camera that normally don't affect other cameras, and the menu's could be better laid out. The flash is a little deficient, as well.

The CONS I've experienced do NOT make me regret purchasing this camera. We are very happy with it.

The only negative I've read about the P200 is that of blurry photos. I was able to make mine take some blurry shots in Auto and Manual mode, but that was because of the ultra compact size. Having a small lens and compact flash, the camera must be held very still to take clear shots since the Auto sets the shutter to 40 or 50. To defeat this and take great shots I set it to manual and force flash and set the shutter to 125.
I have never been so pleased with a digital camera. The Scene mode is very easy and useful as well as the Program mode. The battery will last so long you will forget that it has to be charged. (I really like the info lithium)
Sony has really simplified the menu (I love my Nikons but they are somewhat hard to navigate.)
I will use this as a travel camera since it is so small and powerful. I recommend it to the serious amateur.

Love this little camera. Takes great pictures. Handy. Easy to use. Gets lots of pictures with a battery charge. Have used it so much that the battery no longer will take a charge, and a battery replacement is very difficult to find. Had the charger tested and that works, so it is a used up battery. Last 5 days of vacation, had no camera to use except a disposable 35 mm for one day. Went to 8 stores. Gave up. Came home to try to order a battery over the internet. Other complaint is that somehow some spots appear on the pictures, especially if we take a plain shot like a blue sky. No cleaning gets them off. Have no clue how they got in or on the lens or how to get them off.

I owned the camera for about 3 months. I noticed a black spot on the pictures and on the LCD screen. I sent the camera in to be repaired. First the repair company told me that it cost me $171 to repair, if in fact it could be repaired. I called them and told them that the camera was still under warranty. They told me that they never received a copy of my sales receipt even though I had included one in the box with the camera. I then sent them another copy of my sales receipt. I called them about two weeks later and they told me that they found corrosion, and that the warranty didn't cover that. They returned the camera repaired. The small spot was now a very large black spot and the camera was completely useless. This camera should have an overall rating of zero stars.

i've had my sony p-200 for alittle over 7 months now. Blurry Pic.???? Sorry but you guys must be using it wrong. Not only are my pics Sharp and clear, the camera itself is so user friendly. Not to mention i've dropped it at least 3 times and its still working like brand new.

Hi, bought this marvel with a lot of zeal and am infact quite happy but for the "Format Error" message which popped up a couple of times. I was sort of testing this and used the 32mb stick that came with the camera to shoot some. Everything was fine and no errors. Then I tried with 512mb stick which I bought together with the cam. After first shoot (with 512mb stick), when I tried to dump photos on to my pc, first four out of 40 odd shots had only a file created without a picture inside and were refusing to get copied to the pc throwing some file error. I dumped the rest and formatted the stick to go for another round of shooting. It is this time something wierd has happened. I took abt 40 odd shots and reviewed them all on LCD before attempting to dump onto pc, everything was good. I connected to pc to dump and the first pic wasnt showing up (only file with pic inside). Disconnected and reviewed the photos and I was/am pretty shocked, on LCD screen, top half is of the first pic and lower half is of the last pic. How can this happen? Its got something to do with the memory stick or the cam itself. Surprise, surprise, when I connected the cam back to pc, the first pic (half first half last) got copied to the pc, and to me its as good as a mystery.
Can anyone out there throw some light? Its hardly 2 days I bought this, should I exchange the stick or the cam itself, or both?
Thanks.

this camera is the worst camera i've ever had. all the pictures comes out blurry.

LCD lens went out after 1 year. Repair cost is $171.00 plus shipping and handling. Will buy a new camera instead and not a Sony!

i bought sony cyber-shot DSC-P200 about 2 months back in NJ (USA) and i am resident of india and now about 2 weeks back i saw a black spot on my lens and when i took it back to the service centere they told me i have to pay 8000rs as the waranty is form usa, or shio it back to them ...they asked me if i droped ..i mean how can i drop such an expencive camara ...trying to blame me for the problem. ..Now i dont know what to do ....how should i send it back us ,i really dont know what to do , i never thought i would face such a problem with sony.

I have had my DSC-W5 for only two weeks and cannot fault it. The negative reviews I have read must be from people who are not using the camera correctly or are having a go at Sony. I have had many Sony products and all have been of a very high standard. Well done Sony for delivering a great camera.

My wife and I love this camera. We have shot some incredible pictures. The only performance issue I can think of is with action pictures in very low light. Otherwise this camera is hard to beat as a compact travel camera. We have taken over 500 pictures so far and all but a handful look great.

I have owned the P200 for a number of weeks and had no preconceptions about it. Previous digital and film camera experience was extensive, and I wanted something user friendly and readily adaptable to various situations. The P200 menus are so difficult and arcane that they have rendered the camera quite useless in a pinch. I defy anyone to simply pick up the camera and use it optimally at night or with precise white balance adjusted. The photos are impressive when they are impressive, otherwise they tend to be EXTRAORDINARILY BLURRY in a most infuriating and unpredictable way. I am not convinced this is related to hand movement-even if it is, it has NEVER been an issue with any prior cameras of mine. I suspect a shutter speed problem, but have no way to verify this. Overall, very disappointing.

After 6 months the lens wouldn't retract after taking a photo the camera was sent back to sony under the guarantee. 2 weeks later they rang to say I had dropped it..I am contesting this as this was one of the carefully looked after cameras ever..if this is Sony,s standard reply to any manufacturers fault where does that leave us all.

This is my first digital camera and recently used it while on a 3 week vacation. The 1 GB stick was well worth the price. 333 pictures at the default density and still adding. The battery lasted well even though we tented for a couple of nights in Yellowstone park (No electricity for recharge) and picture quality is excellent. Some blurriness in low light but a steady hand or tripod is the fix. I took pictures with a Nikon 35 SLR too and the digital pics are just as clear.
The small size allowed me to buy a belt case that meant the camera was available all the time and was about the same as carrying a cell phone.

FABULOUSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this camera in April. In the middle of May the LCD monitor stopped working. When I sent it to Sony they said I had broken it, which I didn't. They made me pay to have my 2 month old camera fixed. When it was returned it was marked and nicked and I didn't put any marks on the camera. They initially wanted to charge me almost $300 for the repairs, I got them down to $150 to fix a 2 month old camera I didn't break. So I would recommend buying another brand based purely on this issue.

A few weeks back I went to my first ever Detroit Tigers game and I decided before I go, I'll be needing a digital camera. Now, I'm only 19, and I work at Best Buy, so of course, I naturally stopped at the Best Buy in Pontiac, Michigan and looked over a few cameras. I decided on the Sony P200 and I have to say, if you use the camera properly, it works excellently. I am not a professional photographer; and I know nothing about cameras, (I'm a computer guy) but my pictures look incredible. I'll be posting a few of them on deviantart.com under the name cody4king. Take a look and see what this camera can do, it's absolutely incredible. Such detail, ease of use, and quality; and I'm normally not a Sony supporter!

really its fine. getting nice pictures just like a professional. pictures are dull during evening shots. flash is not sufficient

Let me begin by saying that Sony definitely has a QC problem with their cameras. I tried 4 W5's and 3 W7's. Some of them had specific autofocus problems but I did manage to find one of each that worked flawlessly. Then I settled on the P200. First one I bought would not focus in daylight but did a nice job indoors. Then I tried a second unit and it performed well beyond my expectations. I have taken over 1000 photos with it and I'm still amazed by the picture quality and the battery life. Indoors and out the pictures are incredible. As a final note, this camera insists that you keep your hands absolutely steady when taking shots. When you press the shutter button half way to lock the focus you must be very gentle when pressing the button the rest of the way to complete the shot. This is absolutely essential and is the reason for so many "blurry picture" complaints. If you take the time to master the technique, you will be absolutely delighted with the P200. It is a real gem! P.S. Get a 1GB stick and the docking station.

Loved the 5MP Sony P12. P200, however, feels like a downgrade. The flash unit failed, servicing repaired it, fine. Now in very reasonable light conditions I am getting blurry pictures, like many other people have complained about. Sony have told me I can send it back a second time but that if they don't find a fault I will have to pay them £30 ($45) servicing charge. Oh and they won't replace the unit until they have repaired it 3 times. I've just got back from Taiwan (nice and sunny this time of year) 50% of the photos look, well, it's difficult to describe without swearing...

I purchased one 2 months back and used it. As I am Nikon fan this one my first Sony Camera. It takes great pictures. Video is also good. I advised my doctor friends to buy this camera. Surprisingly 6 of them purchased instantly taking my advise. All are extremely happy. Only thing is that Memory Stick card is costlier than SD card

This review is not for this particular camera but for Sony CyberShot cameras of this design. Mine is a DSC-P92 (5MP) and it was a great camera until the plastic gear wore out on the lens causing the camera to stop working. Price to repair is $108 to $139 depending on how you handle it. Sony authorized repair is the only option. I placed it on the shelf and now am looking at Canon Powershot Pro 1. Hope you have better luck if you buy one of these models.

I have up graded cameras from the old Mavica 1+ mp to this camera. It took me a few shots to get used to the camera, but have taken many great shots since then. On vacation I only had to recharge my battery once. This is quite an improvement over charging about every day.

I've owned many 35mm slr cameras and many digital cameras. That said, I am blown away by the pictures this little camera takes. I have a Konica Minolta A200 and I compared 8 by 10s. The P200 produced pictures that were as good if not superior. You can't go wrong with the P200.

I've been a solid SLR fan and have staunchly refused to switch... until I was given my P200. Wow... I haven't picked up my SLR again! It's pictures are terrific, it's so easy to use my 100 year old grandmother could use (no.. I'm not kidding) and it's so portable!! I highly recommend it!

I noticed very few negative comments with respect to performance of Sony P200. Such isolated cases are possible since it is a mass product. However for most of us P200 is a technical wonder and outstanding example of 'value for money'. As a camera buff i have a collection of cameras - from optical SLR to APS and a number of digital ones like Fuji, Nikon D100, Sony P9 etc. For convenience and quality none could rival P200. I made comparative shots with a Nikon 8800 (8 MP) and found resolution and sharpness on par but Nikon is much slower. Great job Sony!

I bought this camera on a whim, for my wife. We haven't opened it yet but based on several reviews and from various research sources we are looking forward to it. I actually test drove this camera where we bought it, and was very impressed mainly by its size and probability. I am a spoiled and avid Sony camera fan, after coming off of a winning 5 years with my last Sony Digital Camera the DCS-PI (3.34 Mega pixel). Overall I had some ups and downs with the flash (DSC-P1) and occasional graininess of the pictures, not to mention a recall on the battery, but no major complaints and rock solid performance. I am no hard core photographer but did figure out that lighting had everything to do with the graininess of the pictures. Another very big disappointment with my previous Sony was the night shots this was virtually impossible unless you liked the sixties (1960s). Every picture looked like the flower power days when tripping was the in thing. But getting back to the DSC-P200 this appears to be a keeper.

I bought this camera after my canon died on my (dreaded e-18 1 month after warranty expired). For the price, I don't think you can find a better camera. The camera body is small enough to fit in your pocket, the LCD is larger than most, and the remaining battery life is displayed on the lcd. The photos have been great so far, I like the low light capability. You get 7.2 megapixels for the same price as 5 megapixels from Canon. My favorite feature about this camera is the video capability. WOW! I've been used to choppy video from digital cameras so better video quality was something I looked for when shopping for a new one. You can choose 2 different quality settings for the MPEG video on this camera. Normal and Fine. Normal is just that, what you expect video to be from a digital camera... Fine is amazing! I can't tell the difference from my Digital camcorder, its that good.
If you want a great camera, get the Sony DSC-P200. Stop looking for a better camera, you won't find it, now just look for the best price!

I did a lot of research looking for a 5+ MP cam that can take 640x480 30fps movies and will fit in my pocket. At ~$350 plus a 1Gig Mem Stick Pro I thought this cam was a good deal. I like it in every way except there are FAR TOO MANY lighting situations that you need a tripod. For example: Middle of the day, cloudy but bright. It is impossible to get a sharp pic without a tripod. Sample pic in those conditions is 1/80s, f5.2, ISO200 (Full Auto and no flash). So blurry it is trash! My old Kodak DX6430 had no problem making crisp, bright pics in full auto mode and hand held without attention on holding steady. With many sites showing 9 out of 10 people loving the camera and the other guy saying "blurry" pics, I'm convinced there is a manufacturing and QA problem. I thought as you might that the 1 out of 10 guy must be doing something wrong. Well I was wrong and I am now the 10% guy! Sony better fix this or as myself, people will quit buying Sony Cameras.

I had a Sony P10 for 2 years - it took great pictures and was totally bullet proof.

I have recently bought a P200 and it has played up from the start. It won't turn off, reports software errors and the pictures are no where near as clear. I'll be taking it back soon, which is sad because I can't praise its forerunner the P10 highly enough.

This is the best digital camera I have ever owned. Its performance exceeded my expectations. I would recommend this camera for anyone looking for a great picture at an economical price. You will not be disappointed in this camera.

With hesitation only I bought this, but turned out to be best. My only grouse is that I have to attach a Lens adapter for additional lenses. Very handy and superb pictures.

Owned my dsc-p200 for about a month now very impressed with picture quality this is a very easy camera to get to grips with at the same time nice compact to fit into your pocket buy this camera you will not be disappointed

This camera takes beautiful pictures. Took it to DC on vacation and the pictures were perfect. Other camera owners admired the picture quality. The camera battery lasted much longer than we expected and the 7.2 MP allowed so much detail. I don't regret a thing about this camera.

I bought both cameras with the intent of returning one of them after doing a head to head comparison. The results were clear after taking 30 various photos alternating cameras. The Canon SD500 won hands down to my disappointment. I have been a huge Sony fan and have Sony mem sticks from my old T1 I sold on Ebay. The Sony in low light situations was very blurry. In addition several days shade shots were also blurred. I will be returning the Sony P200.

I have been using a P200 for a couple months now and have to say right off the bat it is by far an awesome camera. I was looking for a pocket camera with semi-pro features and the best quality I could find. I did a lot of research online and looked at many forums with other professional photographers who also considered and purchased the p200 as an upgrade to their p150 or other pocket camera. There are quite a few improvements over the P150 of last year. The main differences which the P150 lacked are a one push manual (custom) white balance, a spot focus mode, and a center-weighted metering mode. Another difference is that it has lower power consumption than its predecessor. The lower power consumption is due to the fact that the image processor is newer and more efficient. The 2 inch LCD screen is protected by a plexi-glass screen that also improves visibility in daylight by eliminating glare. Another difference and improvement from the p150 was a groove for the index finger to be able to hold the camera more firmly in the hand. The most impressive feature for me was the startup time. It takes less than a second to turn on and take a picture. This camera is so fast that you can take a handful of pictures in only a matter of seconds between shots in the highest quality as well. The movie mode is like something out of a James Bond film. You have to see the Super high quality to believe that it is coming from such an ultra compact camera. If you need a pocket size camera and are someone who just wants to turn the camera on and click away, this camera is for you. Also, if you like to control what your camera is doing in order to get the perfect shot, this camera has an excellent manual mode. Since I've been using it for a few months, I have to say I love the camera even more now since I've been able to take lots of pictures and movies since then.

We just got back from a week in Cuba. I bought the DSC-P200 the night before we left and read the manual on the plane. This is an awesome little camera. Battery life is impressive and it takes great pictures in most circumstances. It even warns you of motion so you don't screw up the shot. It is very fast and easy to use. My 10 and 13 year olds mastered it right away. I highly recommend this camera.

When I purchased the sony p200 I didn't expect to have any problems with it. boy was I surprised. when taking a picture the steady-shot feature wouldn't shot off. so a lot of my pics were blurry. Sony said it was defective and send it in for repair.hmmmmmm.. the positives: fast snap-shots, quick start ups and easy focusing. negatives: low battery power, dim LCD screen and very sensitive to the slightest bump. SHOP WISELY!!

Incredibly user-friendly...

The Sony Cybershot DSC P200 is an amazing and double the worth of the money spent on buying. Its image quality is just great. Its features are fantastic. I give Sony Corp the top most ranking for making such a great piece of product which was awaited from a long time.

PS: Its Real time imaging processor is unique in Sony.

I have owned this little jewel for about one week, and LOVE it. It is much smaller than expected, takes excellent pictures and is very easy to operate. It is truly a lot of camera for the price! I highly recommend the sony p200.

Great quality pictures. Love the design, styling of it. Compact, yet just as good as those big bulky ones. GREAT CAMERA!

I purchased my camera at Best Buy with little more than reading online reviews and a little hands on in the store. I was sold. I wish, however I could have taken a look at the user manual before I forked over $400. I love the way this camera feels. I believe the size of it attracted me, I can't stand bulky cameras. I like how this camera can accept a memory stick up to 2 GB in size, and the LCD screen is crystal clear. The one thing I don't like about this camera that I discovered after the fact is the that Sony did incorporate a feature which would allow you to select how the pictures are saved. This camera saves pictures in JPEG format when in 7 megapixel mode (which is a compressed file), and does not give you the option to save an image in an uncompressed state (or format). The reason this bothers me is mainly picture quality integrity. JPEG compresses, and you lose pixels in the compression, thus not as good of a picture. I know they did this because a 7 MP file would be very massive if uncompressed, but I believe the option should still be there.

I am a 35mm photography nut and absolutely hate the so-called "Digital Photography" due to its lack of user input. But the manual mode on this camera lets me do what ever the heck I please I will buy just about every accessory I can find. And thanks to Walmart development I don't have to haul a Palm around to show off pictures. And what pictures it makes. I thought this was going to be a cheap camera for my simple minded wife to use, well I bought her the P150 the P200 is mine

I've owned this little camera for a few weeks so far, but after seeing a lot of other digital cameras out there, this seems to be one of the most all-in-one cameras out there for the money. I was previously looking at the DSC-P150, but opted to wait for the DSC-P200 since I really wanted to have a camera with an LCD protector and sharp images (DSC-P150, supposedly has many blurry).

Did I mention how EXCELLENT the battery life on this thing is? It's surreal. You can shoot sharp and crisp photos, even with the FLASH on, for HOURS without having to recharge the battery at all.

The build quality of this camera is standard Sony quality; in other words it is VERY solid.

The range of features, options, manual controls on this camera is phenomenal. This camera is great for novice to intermediate users, and very adequate for an advanced user.

Overall, I would HIGHLY recommend anyone to go ahead and give this camera shot. You will NOT regret this purchase.

My boyfriend got me this camera for Christmas, and I use practically every day!! It takes great pictures! Plus, it is so easy to use!

How anyone can anything bad about this camera is a mystery to me ! It is SO fast, and takes incredible pictures, with great color. It's small compact design and light weight make it great for travel. I also like the fact that I can shoot incredible high quality video (MPEG) with it, and can drop on to my laptop in seconds for viewing. Thanks Sony !!

I love the Sony Cybershot series. I owned a P150 for eight days and returned it for the P200. Both cameras take excellent shots. The P200 just has those few extra features that made the camera that much better. This camera is fast and takes excellent shots. Get one today.

I sold my 150 to a friend and bought the 200. It is almost identical, except for the larger screen. However, all should know that if you have a docking station for a 150 you will need to get a new one because the 200 will not fit it. The folks at Sony did not know about that. Otherwise it is a GREAT camera.

I have had this camera since just 2 days and I just love it. I have had my hand at the sony 3.2 and 5 megapixel cybershots. dsc p200 is the sexiest cybershot and its very essential for me as I need to capture images that require extra zoom facility and this camera gives me all the more pleasure to use it! I'm happy! =)

I have a Canon S30 which I took to weddings, birthday parties and even clubs. The LCD was always bright enough for me to frame my photo. This is not the case with the P200. In a dim room, the LCD almost goes black. When you half-press the shutter the LCD lights up for a second while the camera focuses, but goes black again. For this reason I plan to return it. Otherwise the camera is fine.

I am a 35mm photography nut and absolutely hate the so-called "Digital Photography" due to its lack of user input. But the manual mode on this camera lets me do what ever the heck I please I will buy just about every accessory I can find. And thanks to Walmart development I don't have to haul a Palm around to show off pictures. And what pictures it makes. I thought this was going to be a cheap camera for my simple minded wife to use, well I bought her the P150 the P200 is mine

This is a very compact camera yet very powerful. I find the slow synch flash very effective. I get very clear and vivid pictures in my flash sessions at night. Generally the colors are vibrant which is acceptable to me. I have tried other brands that have subdued colors, these are the boring ones. I am still experimenting with the program and manual options. they look promising since I can set the many options. I like to experiment a lot that's why I like cameras with many options. One thing I'm sure of, I can now indulge with my hobby (photography) because I can now shoot whatever I find interesting and transfer it to my computer. NO MORE EXPENSIVE developing needed. I feel great with this camera.