"Picky Details" for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 digital camera
(Timing, Power, and Storage Info)

Timing

When you press the shutter release on a camera, there's usually a lag time or delay before the shutter actually fires. This corresponds to the time required for the autofocus and autoexposure mechanisms time to do their work, and can amount to a fairly long delay in some situations. Since this number is rarely reported on (and even more rarely reported accurately), and can significantly affect the picture taking experience, I routinely measure both shutter delay and shot to shot cycle times for all cameras I test, using a test system I designed and built for the purpose. (Crystal-controlled, with a resolution of 0.001 second.) Here are the numbers I collected for the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200:

Really excellent battery life for a compact digicam. Thanks to Sony's InfoLithium battery technology, the P200 showed really excellent battery life compared to other compact digicams (actually, it's very good compared to any size digicam), with 202 minutes projected runtime in capture mode with the LCD on, and 402 minutes in playback mode. As always though, I still recommend purchasing a second battery along with the camera, but with the P200, this is much less of a consideration than it normally is. (Interestingly, the P200 consumes more power in its higher-quality movie modes than in lower-quality ones. Even at the highest quality movie setting though, it still provides nearly 2 hours of continuous shooting on a fully-charged battery.)

Storage Capacity

The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 stores its photos on Memory Stick memory cards, and a 32 MB card is included with the camera. (I strongly recommend buying at least a 128 MB card, preferably a 256 MB one, to give yourself extra space for extended outings.) Note too, that you need to purchase a Memory Stick Pro in order to use the P200's highest-quality movie mode. The chart below shows how many images can be stored on the included 32 MB card at each size/quality setting.