Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P150

Given how much we liked Sony's 5-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-P100, we were eager to get our hands on its 7MP successor, the Cyber-shot DSC-P150. We were disappointed, because on our lab tests the 7MP camera didn't perform much better than its predecessor when it came to resolution. It's a good camera, especially for the money, but the P100 will give you more bang for your buck. Otherwise, there are better 7MP cameras out there, such as the Canon PowerShot S70. And if you want speed, consider the 6MP Fujifilm FinePix E550.

The new DSC-P150, like the P100, has a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 7.9- to 23.7-mm (35-mm equivalent: 38 to 114 mm) f/2.8-to-f/5.2 3X optical zoom lens, which retracts into the camera's body when powered down. It's also got a 1.8-inch LCD, which is as bright as the DSC-P100's and performs as well in direct sunlight. While we liked this LCD on the P100, we would have preferred to see a bigger LCD on this $500 camera.

The camera has the same body shape and controls as the P100, and it too is a pleasure to shoot and hold. It offers more scene modes (nine instead of six), spot and multipattern metering, and manual, aperture-priority, and shutter-priority modes. The P150 has slightly faster shutter speeds, ranging from 1/2000 second to 30 seconds (the P100 can shoot only as fast as 1/1000 second). It also has the same real-time semitransparent histogram that we liked in the P100. The menus are easily scannable, but finding a specific setting can be difficult if you don't happen to recall where it's located.

You can shoot JPEGs at seven resolution settings, ranging from 640-by-480 to 3,702-by-2,304. The camera also shoots impressive MPEG-VX video at up to 640-by-480 at 30 fps, until the media card is full. In burst mode, the P100 takes up to five maximum-quality shots at 1.1 fps—fewer shots at a much slower speed than the P100, which can take nine max-resolution shots at 1.6 fps. Granted, the P150's shots are larger and require more processing, but we would have liked to see the new camera keep pace with the old one.

In labs testing, the P150's results were mixed. Most notably, it scored 1,400 lines on our resolution tests. This is not much better than the P100's 1,250 lines, and it's the worst of the cameras in this roundup, with the exception of the Fujifilm FinePix E550 set to 6MP, which trails by only 25 lines of resolution. We were more impressed with the P150's 1.9 percent average pixel-transition results, but this score is actually worse than the P100's 1.7 percent, though still second best in this roundup.

Both our still-life test shots were well exposed with a very crisp focus dead center, though the edges were considerably softer. The daylight test shot showed colors that were well reproduced if somewhat warm. We saw some noise (as we did with the P100), especially in the shadows, though the levels weren't too bad for a compact camera. Our flash test shot was very well and evenly illuminated, though colors ran a bit cool. The noise we noticed in the daylight shot remained, and, more worryingly, we saw some purple fringing in the perimeter of the picture, indicating some chromatic aberration in the lens.

We were much more pleased with the camera's performance tests. The P150 booted up in a smoking 1.7 seconds, and its recycle time between flash shots was a roundup-leading 1.7 seconds. While the P150 is a good camera (especially for the price), it doesn't quite measure up to the 7MP competition. Unless speed and cost are of paramount importance, we'd recommend spending $100 more on the Canon PowerShot S70, or $100 less on the P100.

Benchmark Test
Compare the cameras in this roundup using our benchmark test results table