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The Imaging Resource Quick Review Sony Cybershot DSC-P8 Digital Camera
Sony Electronics Inc. is well known for its consumer camcorders, notebook computers, and other multimedia products, blazing a long trail of innovations, including the first electronic still camera -- the Sony Mavica -- released in 1981. Over the last couple of years, they've developed a dominant position in the digital still camera market, with one of the broadest product lines in the industry. In the "subcompact" camera market, Sony has developed a unique line of cameras with a thin, elongated profile. This shape lets them slide easily into small pockets, yet gives US-sized fingers plenty to grab hold of. With rugged metal cases, appealing design aesthetics, and strong feature sets, Sony's subcompacts have enjoyed wide popularity. New to the series is the P8, with a 3.2-megapixel CCD, 3x optical zoom lens,
and a wide range of seven preset Scene modes to choose from. The P8 offers a
limited number of exposure adjustments, but more than enough to adapt it to
most common shooting situations, and the 3x zoom lens (with Macro mode) is great
for recording a wide range of subjects, from close-up portraits to scenic vistas.
Overall, an impressive camera in a tiny package. The DSC-P8's tiny shape and size ranks it among the smaller Sony Cyber-Shot models, perfect for travel and leisurely outings. The camera definitely passes the "shirt pocket" test, and would even fit into a rather small handbag. The P8's compact shape isn't all the camera has to offer though. A 3.2-megapixel CCD and an all-glass, 3x zoom lens deliver sharp, clear pictures, suitable for printing as large as 8x10 inches. There's also an Email size option that creates smaller-resolution files for sending over the Internet, in addition to whatever larger image size you've chosen. Plus, the handful of preset Scene modes can tackle a wide range of common exposure situations, from beach scenes to night shots. The P8's 3x optical zoom lens has a focal length range from 6-18mm, the equivalent of a 39-117mm lens on a 35mm camera. (Most digicams with 3x zoom lenses cover a range from 35 to 105mm equivalent. The P8's lens is thus biased just slightly toward the telephoto end.) Focus ranges from 19.7 inches (50 centimeters) to infinity in normal focus mode, with a macro setting that lets you get as close as 3.9 inches (10 centimeters). Closest focus occurs only when the lens is at its wide angle setting, producing a fairly average minimum macro area of 3.33 x 2.50 inches (85 x 63 millimeters). Although the camera does not have a manual focus option, it does offer a range of specific fixed focus settings, from 0.5 meters to infinity. The three-area Multi-Point AF system bases focus on one of three areas in the center of the frame, depending on the location of your subject. Through the camera's Record menu, however, you can opt for Center AF mode, which bases focus only on the very center of the frame. Also available, through the Setup menu, are three AF operating modes: Single, Monitoring, and Continuous. In Single AF mode, focus is set whenever the Shutter button is halfway depressed. Monitoring mode continuously adjusts focus before the Shutter button is pressed, tracking any subject movement, but a half-press of the Shutter button still locks focus. Continuous AF mode continuously adjusts focus, regardless of the status of the Shutter button. The P8's AF illuminator helps the camera focus in dark conditions, and works well with the Twilight scene modes. In addition to the 3x optical zoom, the P8 also features 3.2x Smart Zoom, which digitally enlarges the center portion of the CCD. Sony's "Smart" Zoom refers to the fact that the camera limits your digital zoom range, as determined by the ratio between your currently-selected image size and the full size of the CCD sensor. Basically, this means that the P8 limits the digital zoom range to whatever it can achieve without resorting to interpolation to "stretch" the CCD's pixels to cover a larger area in the final file. Personally, this is the way I think all digital zooms should work, but few do. (Offhand, I know that this is how Fuji does their digital zoom function, but don't know of any other manufacturers who have routinely adopted this approach. The P8 has a real-image optical viewfinder and a 1.5-inch color LCD monitor for framing shots. In my testing, the optical viewfinder proved to be tighter than most, showing only about 80% of the final image area, but the LCD monitor was almost 100% accurate. An information display on the LCD monitor reports a handful of camera settings (including aperture and shutter speed) and features an optional histogram display as well. The histogram graphs the tonal distribution of the image, giving you a quick idea of any over or underexposure. Exposure is automatically controlled on the P8, great for novices and casual users looking for simplicity. An On/Off button on top of the camera powers the camera on, and an adjacent Mode dial selects between Playback, Automatic, Program, Scene, Setup, and Movie modes. The Automatic setting removes all user control, with the exception of flash, macro, and resolution. Program mode still controls the exposure automatically, but does let you control all other exposure variables. Scene mode offers a range of preset exposure options, including Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, and Fast Shutter. By presetting a range of exposure variables, the Scene modes make it easy for novices to capture good-looking photos under what would otherwise be challenging conditions. Both Twilight modes optimize the camera for low-light shooting by allowing shutter times as long as two seconds, while Landscape mode sets the camera up for shooting broad vistas. Snow mode enhances saturation to prevent loss of color in bright white snowscapes, while Beach mode ensures that blue tones are recorded accurately in lakeside or seaside photos. Fireworks mode preserves color in shots of fireworks or other night light displays, and Fast Shutter mode is for capturing fast-moving action shots. By default, the P8 employs a Multi-Metering mode to determine exposure, which reads the exposure from various sections across the frame. For higher-contrast subjects or more pinpoint accuracy, the P8 also offers a Spot metering mode through the Record menu. Exposure Compensation is adjustable from -2 to +2 exposure equivalents (EV), in one-third-step increments. You can also adjust the camera's sensitivity to 100, 200, or 400 ISO equivalents, or let the camera decide what ISO is best, via the Auto setting. The P8's adjustable White Balance option offers Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, and Flash modes, for a variety of common light sources. Under the Picture Effects menu option, you can choose to record images in black and white or sepia monotones, or select the Solarize or Negative Art options. The camera also offers sharpness, saturation, and contrast adjustments. The DSC-P72's flash operates in Forced, Suppressed, Auto, Red-Eye Reduction, and Slow-Sync modes, and an intensity adjustment controls flash output. In Movie exposure mode, the camera captures either 640 x 480-, or 160 x 112-pixel resolution moving images with sound for as long as the memory card has available storage space. (The availability of full 640 x 480 resolution recording to the limits of card capacity is a new addition to Sony's camera line this year, promoted under the MPEGMovieVX sobriquet.) The P8 also offers Clip Motion and Multi Burst modes. Clip Motion records a series of up to 10 images that are automatically saved in a single animated GIF file, and that can be played back as an animation sequence. (A feature I personally enjoyed on previous Cyber-shot digicams.) Multi Burst mode captures an extremely rapid 16-frame burst of images, at a selectable rate of 7.5, 15, or 30 frames per second. Multi Burst shots are played back as a slow-motion animation on the camera, but appear as a single large file with 16 sub-images in it when viewed on a computer. (This would be a fun way to catch someone crossing a finish line during a race, or to analyze golf and tennis swings.) A Self-Timer mode provides a 10-second delay between the time the Shutter button is pressed and the time that the camera actually takes the picture, giving the photographer time to run around and get into the picture. Also available on the P8 are Burst 2 and Voice record modes. Burst 2 records two images in quick succession (with an interval of about 0.43 seconds between them), with one press of the Shutter button. Voice mode records a short sound clip to accompany an image, useful for attaching voice captions. Images are stored on Sony's Memory Stick media (a 16MB stick is included, though higher capacity cards are available), and they can be downloaded via a speedy USB connection to a PC or Macintosh computer. (The P8's USB connection is unusually fast - I suspect it's a USB 2.0 port, although the manual I had didn't mention anything about this in the specs.) An AV cable is also provided for viewing images or slide shows on your TV. The P8 is powered by a Sony InfoLITHIUM battery pack (NP-FC10 model), and comes complete with an AC adapter and battery charger. I like the InfoLITHIUM batteries because they communicate with the camera to tell you how much running time is left on the battery pack, but I always (strongly) recommend buying a second battery, and keeping it charged and ready to go, especially when the AC adapter isn't close at hand: The P8 is pretty dependent on its LCD display (a large power drain), and you can't pick up extra batteries at the corner drug store.
The Sony DSC-P8 is compact, stylish, and ready to go anywhere, with a body style nearly identical to many of the subcompact Cyber-Shots, including the P9. Its streamlined, silvery metal body is only slightly longer than a typical business card, and nearly the same height, top to bottom. Measuring just 4.25 x 2.0 x 1.4 inches (105 x 51.5 x 35.8 millimeters) and weighing only 7.5 ounces (206 grams) with the battery and memory card installed, the P8 fits easily into small pockets or purses. When not in use, the telescoping zoom lens retracts neatly inside the body, and a small metal leaf shutter automatically closes over the lens to protect it. Outfitted with the accompanying wrist strap, it's quick on the draw and easy to hold onto.
Despite its small size, the P8's elongated shape provides plenty of room to extend two average-size fingers comfortably across the front and top of the camera, without blocking the lens or any camera controls. By making the camera thinner but longer, Sony kept the P8 very compact, and avoided the lack of finger space that plagues many ultra-small digicams. The 3x, 6-18mm zoom lens (equivalent to a 39-117mm zoom on a 35mm camera), dominates the right side of the front of panel, with a small orange lamp just above and to the right of it, to help with focusing in low-light conditions. (This lamp also blinks when the self-timer is in use, to let you know when the camera is about to snap the picture.) A slightly larger window for the optical viewfinder comes next, followed by the built-in electronic flash. A large, raised vertical ridge on the right side serves as a finger grip on the front.
The right side of the camera (as viewed from the rear) houses the battery and Memory Stick compartment, protected by an easy to open, hinged plastic door. Above it is the small eyelet for attaching the wrist strap.
The left side has no controls, only a smooth, rounded surface to accommodate the lens barrel.
The camera's top panel includes a Mode dial with five settings (Setup, Movie, Playback, Automatic, Program, and Scene modes) and a Shutter button in the middle, as well as a small Power button on the left of the Mode dial. Just to the left of the Power button is a small microphone, for recording sound clips and movie audio.
The camera's rear panel holds the remaining camera controls and function buttons, along with a 1.5-inch color LCD monitor for previewing and playing back images, and the optical viewfinder window. The LCD display reports a variety of camera and exposure settings, including the aperture and shutter speed settings (a nice bonus for people wanting automatic exposure control, but who are nonetheless interested in how the camera will expose the image). The optical viewfinder is located above the top right corner of the LCD monitor, and has three LED lamps along the right edge of the window, each of which reports the current status of various camera functions. The camera's Zoom control is in the upper right corner, conveniently located next to a series of small bumps for better thumb traction when holding the camera. In the center of the back panel is a Four-Way Arrow pad, with four small arrows pointing in opposite directions (Up, Down, Left, and Right). Each serves a dual purpose to either navigate through onscreen menus and enlarged Playback images or to activate different camera functions (Flash, Self-Timer, Quick Review, and Macro). Surrounding the Arrow pad are the LCD Display On / Off, Menu, and Image Resolution / Erase buttons. Just below these are the three connection jacks (DC In, USB, and A/V Out), all covered by a single plastic door, tethered by a flexible retention stub.
Finally, the P9's flat bottom holds the threaded (plastic) tripod screw mount
and a speaker for audio playback. |
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Camera Operation Operating the P8 is very straightforward, as the camera is under automatic exposure control at all times. The Mode dial on top of the camera controls the main operating modes, with options for Scene, Program, Automatic, Playback, Movie, and Setup. In all image capture modes, the P8 provides an onscreen LCD menu (activated by the Menu button), with a variety of options for adjusting image quality or adding special effects. The four points of the Four-Way Arrow pad are used to scroll through menu options, while the center of the pad is used as the OK button to confirm selections. The four arrow buttons also serve as external controls when the camera's menus are turned off, or they can be used to scroll through captured images in Playback mode. Starting with the Up arrow and going clockwise, the functions they control include Flash, Macro, Self-Timer, and Quick Review modes. An Image Resolution button pulls up the available resolution settings, removing this item from the menu system. The Zoom control in the top right corner of the back panel adjusts both optical and digital zoom (when activated through the Setup menu). Overall, I was impressed by Sony's judicious use of space, especially with the large number of external controls provided, and the relatively short learning curve the P8's user interface entails. Along with Sony's other recent cameras, the P8 has one of the cleanest user interfaces I've seen, and will present few challenges to even the most novice user.  Record-Mode
DisplayThree different information screens are available on the P8's LCD display in record mode, showing varying amounts of information. The default screens displays such information as remaining battery time (a unique advantage available only in cameras using Sony's InfoLITHIUM batteries), selected image size/quality, remaining Memory Stick storage space, autofocus mode, flash status, white balance, etc. A second screen ads a tiny histogram display, to help you judge overall exposure. Finally, a third option shows just the bare minimum information, providing a relatively unobstructed view of the subject.  Playback-Mode
DisplayIn playback mode, you can use the camera's zoom control to zoom in or out on an image. Zooming out from a full-frame view brings up a thumbnail display of the images on the card, letting you move quickly between them by via the arrow keys on the camera's back panel. Once in thumbnail display mode, a second press of the "W" side of the zoom control brings up a display showing detailed exposure information. When viewing images at normal size on the LCD, you can select between screens showing just the photo itself, the photo with overlaid file name and date information, and the photo with information overlay plus a small histogram display to help evaluate exposure. The screen shot at right shows the progression of playback displays, beginning with the detailed information display and ending with a zoomed view at the maximum 5x magnification. External Controls  Power Button: Located just left of the Mode dial on the camera's top panel, this button turns the camera on and off. Shutter Button: Located in the center of the Mode dial, this button sets focus and exposure when halfway pressed, and fires the shutter when fully pressed.  Mode Dial: Surrounding the Shutter button, this ribbed dial controls the camera's operating mode, offering Scene, Program, Automatic, Playback, Movie, and Setup modes. (See menus and descriptions below.)  Zoom Control: Positioned in the top right corner of the rear panel, this two-way rocker button controls the optical and digital zoom (The latter only when it's enabled via the Setup menu). In Playback mode, this button controls the digital enlargement of a captured image, which can go as high as 5x. (Very handy for checking focus or the expressions on people's faces in group shots.) Also in Playback mode, the wide-angle end of the button activates the Index Display mode, which displays as many as nine thumbnail images on the screen at one time.  Four-Way Arrow Pad: Located just to the right of center on the rear panel, this rocker control features four arrows, each pointing in a different direction (up, down, left, and right). In all settings menus, these arrow keys navigate through menu options. Pressing the center of the button confirms selections. In any Record mode, the Up button controls the Flash mode, cycling through Auto, Forced, Suppressed, and Slow-Sync modes. The Right arrow turns the Macro (close-up) mode on and off, and the Left arrow accesses the Quick Review mode, which displays the most recently captured image on the screen. The Down arrow accesses the Self-Timer mode. In Playback mode, the Right and Left arrows scroll through captured images. When Playback zoom is enabled, all four arrows scroll around within the enlarged view, while pressing the center of the button returns to the normal, 1x display.  Menu Button: Diagonally to the left, beneath the Four-Way Arrow pad, this button activates the settings menu in any camera mode (except Setup, which automatically displays the menu). The Menu button also turns off the menu display. In Playback mode, when you zoom in on the image by using the T side of the Zoom rocker control, pressing the Menu button calls up the Trimming menu. This lets you make a new copy of the image that contains just the portion of the image shown on the LCD screen. - Very handy for "cropping" your photos in-camera to improve their composition. The original image is left unaltered.  Image Resolution / Erase Button: Diagonally to the right of the Four-Way Arrow pad, this button displays the available resolutions in any record mode. Choices are 3.1M (2,048 x 1,536), 2.8M (3:2 ratio), 2.0M (1,632 x 1,224), 1.2M (1,280 x 960), and VGA (640 x 480). Movie resolutions are 640 x 480-, and 160 x 112-pixels. Clip Motion sizes are 160 x 120- and 80 x 72-pixels. In Playback mode, this button lets you erase the currently displayed image.
Playback Menu:
Test Images
NOTE: that these are big files, so be aware that (a) they'll take a while to download, and (b) they'll chew up a pretty good chunk of bandwidth on us. (Read the "support this site" blurb at the top the carrier pages, and think about it while you're waiting for the images to download. NOTE TOO: Some browsers have difficult with very wide images, and distort them a lot when they display them. (I don't know about others, but IE 5.0 on the Mac definitely does this. If the full-sized images appear to be stretched horizontally, you may need to just download them to your hard drive and view them in an imaging application, or possibly try another browser.)
See the specifications sheet here. Cycle times, shutter lag, battery life, etc can be found here.
Test Results This section has now been updated based on results obtained from a full production-level camera. See the P9's sample pictures page for a full analysis.
Conclusion
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Scene
Mode: Noted on the Mode dial as "SCN," this mode sets up the
camera for capturing photos in specific situations. By presetting a variety
of camera options, the Scene modes make it easy to snap good-looking photos
in what might otherwise be challenging situations. Seven "scenes"
are available through the Record menu, including Twilight, Twilight Portrait,
Landscape, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, and Fast Shutter. Both Twilight modes capture
images in low light, though the Twilight Portrait mode automatically enables
the Red-Eye Reduction flash mode, combining it with a slower shutter speed.
Because the camera employs a slower shutter speed in both Twilight modes,
a tripod is highly recommended to prevent any blurring from camera movement.
Landscape mode sets the focus at infinity and uses a smaller lens aperture
to capture sharp details both near and far away. Beach and Snow modes optimize
the camera for bright situations and prevent color loss from overexposure.
Fireworks mode uses a slower shutter speed to preserve color in nighttime
light displays, and Fast Shutter freezes action in fast-moving subjects.
Program
Mode: This mode is marked on the Mode dial with a black camera icon and
a "P." In this mode, the camera selects shutter speed and aperture,
while the user controls all other exposure variables.
Automatic
Mode: Indicated on the Mode dial with a green camera icon, this mode
puts the camera in control over the exposure and all variables, except for
Macro, image size and quality, zoom, flash, and the Self-Timer.
Playback
Mode: Playback mode is noted on the Mode dial with the traditional Playback
symbol (a triangle enclosed within a black rectangle outline). In this mode,
you can scroll through captured images, delete them, write-protect them, and
set them up for printing on DPOF-compatible printers. You can also copy, resize,
and rotate images.
Movie
Mode: A filmstrip icon marks this mode on the Mode dial. In Movie mode,
you can record moving images and sound, for as long as the Memory Stick has
space. Resolution and quality choices are 640 x 480-, or 160 x 112-pixels.
While recording, a timer appears in the LCD monitor to let you know how many
minutes and / or seconds are remaining on the Memory Stick, and how long you've
been recording, so you'll have some idea of how much time you have left to
go.
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