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I got a hold of a Sony DSC-P71 camera last week (Good Friday) and have been using it every day since then. Wow. I really like this little camera for its features, quality and price. Color and clarity are very good. I doubt you can find more bang for your buck and I've done some testing of my own to try to substantiate that claim.

I put the P71 up against the Sony F707, the Minolta DiMage 7 and just for kicks the low-end (but still useful) HP-318. My testing methods are less than scientific (we all stood in the same places and took pictures of the same things at the same time with our respective cameras in automatic mode) but the results really are evident in the output. We took an outdoor shot (parking lot, blue sky, some clouds), an indoor shot (a juice bottle machine in a lunchroom with fluorescent lights) and a low-light shot (where I work it is kept fairly dark so we can do more accurate color-corrections). We took the resulting images, placed them all on a page at about 4"x5" and then proofed them on a high-end digital proofer (Kodak Approval) at high linescreen on a smooth glossy stock. We did not tweak, crop or convert the images but let the digital proofer convert the RGB files to CMYK on the fly.

The results: The 3.2 megapixel Sony DSC-P71 at $400 more than holds its own up against the $1,000 5.2 megapixel cameras. In fact, sometimes the P71 was better in the print test than the others (the outdoor shot)! Amazing. I had anticipated it would be good and decent quality, but it really does take very excellent pictures. Now, to be fair, if you needed shots with tons of detail so you could crop to extreme portions, the F707 would take the lead with its higher resolution. The Minolta wasn't quite set up properly in my opinion so perhaps I should reserve final judgment on that camera but I would expect more from it. The HP did a serviceable job and for $200 this is a nice camera for online/web usage.

If you really want/need a camera with FULL manual controls, the P71 is not it. It also does not have a threaded mount for lenses or filters (this is a bummer). If you can live with those things missing (and I think most people could), then this camera will delight you. The only thing missing from the package is at least a cheap case -- it comes with everything else (memory stick, rechargeable batteries, a two-battery charger, video cable, USB cable, software, strap, very nice and concise manual). The batteries last a decent amount of time but you'll want at least one more set of rechargeable batteries. Do yourself a favor and just get the 128 megabyte MemoryStick as well -- you'll be glad you did.

The low-light shots this camera takes (in the SCN mode) are really fabulous and far exceed my expectations. It sucks in light like a sponge. You really should use a tripod for this situation, though! The camera turns on fast and operates fast and I only feel like I am waiting for it when it first charges the flash, otherwise everything (taking pictures, using the menus, etc) is very speedy. All menus are logical and easy to use. Playback is easy and zooming in and panning around the image after you take it is really slick and it also works when you view pictures via the video-out port. All doors and covers feel quite sturdy. The camera is very light weight and feels good in your hand. The viewfinder works well if you want to conserve battery life by turning off the LCD screen.

I feel like an evangelist for Sony, but really, this camera is an amazing package for the money. Everybody who has seen it or has seen the prints is utterly impressed and curious about where I got it and at what price. I think I may have even sold a couple this week! For the money, this is one excellent camera and highly recommended. Take a look at a sample shot showing the detail the camera can capture.

I'm sure I'll be posting more pictures over in the column on the right side of the main page!

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