This compact Cyber-shot P200 is roughly the size of a flip-phone. It’s the second lightest camera in a reviewed lineup of compact cameras. Even with its small size, it has a 7.2 megapixel resolution, allowing you to take great pictures. The lens is also a high-quality Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens. The overall camera design is curvy, making it smooth to handle and easy to carry around. Although it has a small 2-inch LCD screen, its images are crisp and viewable outdoors. This camera may be great for snapshots, but it also has a full manual mode and can take good macro shots. The images from this camera display almost no purple fringing, and the battery life is excellent. You can also record 640x480 pixel movies, but only with a Sony MemoryStick Pro. You should definitely scan the user’s manual ,but it’s almost unnecessary since the controls are easy to figure out. The camera is reasonably priced for the image quality, making it a good choice for beginners who want a compact Sony camera.

The Cyber-shot DSC-P200's design is sleek, slim, and curvaceous but still boasts a highly viewable LCD screen and tons of details. Even so, the zoom lens can be distracting and the LCD screen is quite as large as it could be, but those features translate to lower cost for the consumer. Operating at an average speed, the camera features a small optical viewfinder, a nice addition for extreme outdoor conditions and the controls are relatively easy to use.

4 x 2 x 1 inch dimensions, 72 million pixels, 3x optical zoom and a 2-inch LCD screen packed into a stylish exterior. The Cyber-shot P200 comes with more photo options than the casual user will probably ever need, such as a live histogram, but since the icons were reported to be small and arcane, reading the manual is necessary to fully explore this capable little camera. The zoom protrudes an inch out of the case when extended, a minor quibble, but battery life is long with the included Li-ion pack, making a point in the P200's favor. As with any hi-res digicam, a high-capacity Memory Stick is a recommended option, as the included memory is never enough. Overall, a solid digital camera choice for the casual to amateur serious photographer.