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| Date Reviewed: 01/17/2005 |
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Strengths: Light-weight, small, a ton of features, easy to hold and operate, long battery life, manual and preset shutter speeds, adjustable flash, lots of accessories (lenses, filters), the list goes on...
Weaknesses: Price, low optical zoom
Summary: This camera falls nothing short of amazing.
Sony has taken point and shoot to a whole new level. This camera is portable, lightweight, and it's perfect for seasoned photographers or people who just want to take pictures of family and friends.
The pictures are absolutely stunning. I can't believe how crisp and clear they are. I looked at some pictures online that had been taken with this camera and I thought they were great, but when I got mine and saw it for myself, my jaw just dropped. I turned off every light in a room and took a picture; let me say, you'd have a hard time convincing anyone that the lights were out when it was taken. A friend of mine couldn't believe such crisp pictures and videos were made using this camera (keep in mind I have a 512mb PRO memory stick-- which I'd highly recomend). When I showed him he pointed and said, "Those are from that little thing?"
The zoom could be a bit higher, but that's what they make telephoto lenses for right?
The DSC-P150 is a bit expensive (which is why I used PriceGrabber), but worth every single penny spent-- I'm still in awe.
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| Date Reviewed: 02/16/2005 |
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Strengths: Fine (despite flaws) carry anywhere camera. A good pocket sized casual alternative to my Minolta Dimage 7hi and A2, with much better overall image quality than my Canon S230.
Weaknesses: See Below
Summary: Pros – Fast, Small, Solid, Good LCD (brightens briefly in low light), Usable optical viewfinder, Very fast USB 2.0 file transfer, Long battery life, All cameras should have the accurate “minutes left” counter provided by Sony’s Info-Lithium battery, Very good image quality for such a high mega pixel compact camera; sharp images with low noise and minimal loss of detail, good exposure, color and focusing accuracy, decent macro and flash (for small camera), good menu system. Some say 7mp is overkill, but Sony does it with little noise or suppression penalty, and I value the cropping and large print option that high resolution provides.
Cons – Expensive, although prices are coming down, Few accessories included, no case or separate battery charger (charges “in camera’ with supplied A/C adaptor (large and clunky), Sony branded accessories like memory, extra battery and external charger are ridiculously expensive – shop around. Sandisk 512 Ultra 2 Memory Stick Pro works well, Case Logic ESN1 neoprene case ($5 from Sears) is a nice cheap fit. Supplied software embarrassingly buggy and horrible, don’t even install it. The manual is usable, but lacks the depth, clarity and polish of the Minolta and Canon manuals. Difficult one-handed operation since zoom (only 3x) control is awkwardly placed and the off center lens exaggerates camera shake; The slow lens, especially at full telephoto, and the camera’s tendency to choose low shutter speeds add to risk of blurry pictures. Lower light shots without flash or tripod require two very steady hands. Occasional out of focus shots when shooting close-up; Using single point focus instead of multi point works best. Canon’s color is slightly more pleasing, Minolta’s is more accurate. Manual controls are limited. I’d like to see a faster lens, more zoom, aperture and shutter priority, or at least a few more aperture options (currently offers only two f-stop choices); a few more file compression choices would be nice too.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/06/2004 |
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Strengths: Takes excellent quality pictures, easy to use, compact, (telephoto lens wide angle lens, filters and external flash are available for this model) Takes great MPEG movies. Battery life is fantastic.
Weaknesses: Small, easy to lose if not careful.
Summary: The Sony DSC-P150 requires the use of a proprietary Compatible Battery: Designed for use with NP-FR1 InfoLithium® Rechargeable battery, it also requires proprietary Recording Media: Memory Stick® Media, Memory Stick PRO™ Media. I bought an extra battery that's compatible with the DSC-150 on the INTERNET for less than half of what Sony is asking for. I also bought a SanDisk 1GB Memory Stick PRO for $135. This is about one forth of what Sony sells its 1GB Memory Stick Pro for. I can fit around 268 High Res at 7 mega pixels pictures on it.
My suggestion is do your homework. When you purchase a digital camera you get what you pay for. Like anything else, you need to do your research.
Special note: I haven't had any trouble with the quality of the MPEG movies I have made with this camera. They have all been exceptionally good. In order to understand the features of this camera it might be necessary for some to read the manual that comes with the camera. The camera also comes with a CD that shows you step by step the cameras features and how to use them.
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| Date Reviewed: 11/23/2004 |
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Strengths: The size is just right. It fits in my pocket and does not feel bulky. The weight is nice and solid in your hands, but lightweight enough to be very comfortable.The screen size is just right.
Weaknesses: Overall price and the Lithium bateries will be costly to replace.
Summary: This is my first stab at digital camera ownership, but I have had experiences with them in the past, so my point of reference is somewhat limited. I will say that the speed with which it is ready to go from the time you turn it on to the time you take your first shot is remarkable. The quality of the shot and the vividness of the colors is excellent.
And being somewhat electronically challenged at times, I had absolutely no problem getting started.
I love it and if you are willing to spend the extra money, then you should get this one.
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| Date Reviewed: 11/22/2004 |
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Strengths: Extremely fast startup. Dazzlingly sharp pictures. Very easy to use.
Weaknesses: Poor photo manipulation sw included. Included AC/adapter/charger takes hours to recharge the battery
Summary: 2004-11-23 17:56:22 I did a lot of research on point & shoot cameras before deciding on the P150. Ever had one of those "quick, take a picture" moments, and by the time you got the camera out and it started up, the moment had passed? That's not going to happen with this camera. Literally, between the time you press the on button and raise the camera up to take the shot, it's ready to go.
I can't say enough good things about the quality of the pictures. The 7 Mpixel sensor used in this and other cameras has proven to be a big improvement over the current crop of 5 & 6 Mpixel sensors. Very little noise at ISO 50 & 100.
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| Date Reviewed: 10/20/2004 |
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Strengths: 7.2 megapixels, can't go wrong with that.
Its small size.
Sleek Design.
Tremendously good picture quality, it was much better than I had anticipated.
Ease of use!
Weaknesses: It uses Proprietary battery/memory. Not to mention they're more on the expensive side.
No case present, but I ended up buying a cheap Logic Case to fix that.
It came with a 32 MB memory stick? Why?
Summary: 2004-10-21 11:02:01 As I came home with my new DSC-P150 I honestly was expecting it to be bulkier after reading through many reviews (and looking at pics of it.)
It is small! I mean it in a good way, I mean I could literally hide in my side pocket. Its only been a few days but so far I'm no where near being dissapointed, even the movie mode is very good.
I also like the fact it has a 1.8" LCD screen along with a view finder,good idea sony!
If you can spare the extra money, I would highly recommend this model!
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| Date Reviewed: 11/28/2004 |
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Strengths: excellent picture quality, fast processing, small size
Weaknesses: 32 MB memory stick that comes with the camera is useless. The Memory Stick Pro is fairly expensive.
Summary: Bought this camera to replace the P-10 that I had. This camera is even slimmer than the P-10. Excellent photo quality, and faster processing then the P-10. Absolutely love it....The only down side is that if you plan on doing a lot of picture taking, expect to spend some money on the Memory Stick Pro, as they tend to cost more than other types of memory devices.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/14/2004 |
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Strengths: Very clear pictures and video on highest quality settings.
Weaknesses: When compresion is used to get 45 minutes of 640x480 30FPS video the image suffers a lot. Without compression the same resolution is great quality, but you only get 12.5 minutes on a 1Gig Memory Stick
Summary: 2005-01-16 06:53:37 Wonderful increase in still image quality over my older digital camera. The mic worked pretty well, but the speaker on the camera can barely be heard. The small controls do have a clear patern, so once you figure out some of them you can guess the rest. Many features are so automated you may never have to touch them after you set it up to your preferences. At slightly larger than the smallest cell phones you won't mind taking it with you just in case you want it. I have found that in even slightly low light it often slows the shutter speed and everything blurs.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/04/2004 |
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Strengths: nice size, good shape, cheaper than other 7mp cameras.
Weaknesses: kind of small for big hands, expensive memory card
Summary: 2004-12-06 14:33:45 good camera overall. Very easy to use but limited manual control. Best for traveler and family use. Good lens, 7mp picture and sony name make it a good choice.
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| Date Reviewed: 10/01/2004 |
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Strengths: compact, great pictures, easy to use
Weaknesses: can only use memory sticks
Summary: 2004-10-26 09:06:44 This is a great camera. I have an old Canon Digital Elph and deciding between another Canon or a Sony. The 7mb CCD has gotten great reviews so I figured I'd give it a go. I was not disappointed. Picture quality is great, menus are easy to use and it fits right in your pocket.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/07/2004 |
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Strengths: Clarity of pictures. Easy to use. Megapixels for the price. Compact Size
Weaknesses: Picture on screen is dark until photo is taken.When looking through the finder window you are not looking through the lense unlike the Sony F717
Summary: This camera is a great camera for the price. The pictures are awesome due to the megapixels. The compact size is a very convinient feature. You can put the camera in your pocket when traveling. The options that came with this camera is comparable to the Sony F717 without the bulkiness of a digital camera. I would highly recommend this camera for people who wants the maximum benefits of a digital camera without the bulkiness.
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| Date Reviewed: 11/13/2004 |
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Strengths: Sharp Carl Zeiss Lens, Compact body, Large number of compatible accessories.
Weaknesses: Limited manual controls, only 3x zoom.
Summary: Daylight images are nothing short of outstanding. So far a lot of my low light shots have been a bit on the blurry side. 7.2MP is perhaps an overkill - but when you downsize, images are sharper than regular 5MP/3MP cameras. Also, using smart zoom (almost equivalent to optical as against precision digital zoom) at lower resolutions increases the zoom range to 3.6 at 5MP and 4.5 at 3MP. This camera is truly pocketable plus sony offers a large variety of accessories. No wonder this camera has received excellent ratings on professional review sites - dpreview and stevesdigicam.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/09/2004 |
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Strengths: Very sharp 7.2 Megapixel pictures, Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lens, sharp LCD display, excellent mpeg quality for digital camera, excellent features and very long battery life!
Weaknesses: None so far...
Summary: I'm really looking forward to all the great pictures that will be taken w/ this "great digital camera" during the Holidays. This is a present, I know my wife will enjoy. The camera comes w/ plenty of literature and is very easy to use. There are plenty of accessories (not included w/ camera) that would make great future presents. I have been testing the camera for the past two days and have now complaints, yet.
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| Date Reviewed: 12/03/2004 |
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Strengths: High resolution, compact, 3x optical zoom, easy to use
Weaknesses: Must use Memory Stick
Summary: I've only had this camera for a couple days, but I'm very happy with it. I've already taken several good photos. The camera is easy to use without reading the manual. The 7.2MP resolution is really nice. The only drawback I can think of is that the Memory Stick (Pro) is more expensive, but that's a given with Sony. I would definitely recommend this to others. At this price, this is an incredible value.
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| Date Reviewed: 11/28/2004 |
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 I wanted this camera to work so badly. I desparate ... Strengths: Super fast performance. Awesome resolution. Compact size. Dazzling picture quality if you can avoid blurring.
Weaknesses: Fatal flaw: blurry pictures more than half the time on auto mode (indoor and outdoor). Unusable movie quality. Irritating ergonomics.
Summary: 2004-11-28 20:18:13 I wanted this camera to work so badly. I desparately want an ultra-compact, high resolution, point and shoot camera. The goal for me was to be able to have my wife carry it with her everywhere and snap pics of our kids. Unfortnately, the design puts the lens on the far left of the camera body amplifying camera shake (even when trying to be still). This combined with the fact that the auto-focus stubbornly insists on using 1/40th shutter speeds on most photos causes blurring in even low movement shots (poses even). Even outdoor shots in high sunlight with flash resulted in some blurring of half the shots. Yes, the manual and scene modes fixed this, but that shouldn't be required for a "point and shoot". I spent 3 days comparing this camera with the Canon SD300 using 20 different shooting conditions. The blurring of the Sony auto-focus is a deal breaker. Otherwise it is a champ. Sony should just fix its auto-focus parameters and they have winner.
The MPEG movies are useless. The lens can't focus fast enough to prevent blurring of subjects as they move and the MPEG compression blows out the colors and overexposes them. There is also a background high pitched whine in the audio.
The placement of the lens on the far left side causes it to bump into your fingers initially. It causes you to become conditioned to worry about camera startup so much that its nerve racking. I ended up holding the camera so gingerly that it was very awkward. Also, the T/W controls are in the wrong place and operate too slowly.
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