Rating: Summary: Good price point, and a decent product overall Review: The camera has done well in the few weeks that I have had it. It has taken nice high-quality pictures, and it was simple enough that even my mother, who is horrible with technology, was able to figure out how to use it to pretty much its fullest potential. I liked the layout of the buttons and the simplicity of the interface.
For the price though, it is perfectly natural to expect some gripes. For one, in medium-low light conditions, the LCD is far too dark, and it can be quite difficult to see anything, even if it really isn't that dark out. Secondly, it is a pain not to be able to zoom in or out during filming the movies (though, with the short amount of time offered by memory cards, the movie function is not really meant for significant filming). Overall, however, the product preformed admirably, and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a camera like this in its price range.
Rating: Summary: Great camera Review: This is our first digital camera and so far we love it. It feels very solid and the pictures are really great. The camera is very easy to use for pictures and for video. I have not used any of the different picture settings but I did read the manual and they seem easy to use. The camera comes with batteries and a charger but no AC adapter. This is the only reason (no AC adapter) I gave the camera 4 stars instead of 5. I would recommend buying the AC adapter so you don't use the batteries too fast or an extra set of batteries so you always have a charged pair of batteries.
Rating: Summary: Great for pictures -- not great for videos Review: We bought this camera as an upgrade from our Canon A40. The big feature for us (after the fabulously quick shutter speed) was the ability to take unlimited videos. (Most other cameras limit the video length because they must buffer the image, whereas Sony cameras can write directly to their memory cards.)However, we've decided to return the camera. There are 3 movie modes. With a 256 MB memory stick (about $100), you get about 3 minutes of video on the best setting. On the medium setting, you get 10 minutes of video. The third setting does give you 2 hours of video, but is completely unusable. The audio is very poor and the image is blurry and pixelated. We're disappointed that Sony didn't offer a movie mode in between the terrible 160 mode and the Standard 640 mode. A friend's Sony, now over 4 years old, has such an inbetween setting, and we figured this would be an example of the quality of this Cybershot's lowest setting. Not so!
Rating: Summary: Everything you might need... and maybe more! Review: When Sony made this camera, they were thinking of people like you and me, who were looking for a good camera, with a good resolution, enough features, and of course, not to spend too much.
The camera 's 4.1 mp resolution allows you to get perfectly detailed 8" x 5.33" prints, if you want them.
Other features, like manual exposure, and scene modes, allow you to get more pro, so this isn't a simple point and shoot camera if you want to do some tweaks to yor photos. The P73 helps you to take pictures like a professional without having to be one.
The P73 takes about 1 second to power up, and for continuous shooting, you only have to wait about 1 second between pictures.
PROS
- Low price / Great features
- Easy to use
- Good battery life
- Optical Zoom
- 6 Scene modes
- 3 Additional modes: Manual / Program / Auto (point + shoot)
CONS
- LCD fonts are tiny and hard to read
- Smart zoom only works at low resolutions (1mp - 3mp)
- Included 16MB MemoryStick is not enough (only 8 pix @ 4.1mp)
- Included "Picture Package" doesn't have any edit capabilities
- Picture Package Software crashes sometimes causing damaged JPGS
Sony should give away larger MemorySticks with their cameras, but I guess that's their strategy... if you buy a camera, you will need another MS.
If you buy the CyberShot DSC-P73 consider buying at least one 128MB MemoryStick (holds 64 pix @ 4.1MP) but I'd reccomend a 512MB that holds about 242 photos @4.1MP, so you can go on vacation and take enough great pictures without having to worry for the MS capacity.
A spare set of batteries and a carrying case would be a great companion as well.
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