Sony DSC-P100 5-megapixel digital camera

General Features
Recording Images
Viewing, Editing and Printing Images
Supplied Software

General Features

Memory Stick Compatibility: This camera is compatible with the following recording media: Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, MagicGate Memory Stick, MagicGate Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO, and Memory Stick PRO Duo. All types of Memory Stick can be used to record still pictures and moving images with audio. Although this unit is compatible with MagicGate Memory Stick and Memory Stick PRO media, it cannot be used to record or play back music protected by copyright signals. A Memory Stick Duo adapter is required to use Memory Stick Duo media with this camera. A 32MB Memory Stick is included with the camera.

Image Recording Format: The camera records still images in JPEG format. Moving images with audio (monaural) are recorded in MPEG1.

Imaging Device: For optimal image quality, the camera uses a 1/1.8" 5.1 Mega-Pixel (Effective) Super HAD color CCD imaging device with approximately 5.255 million gross pixels and 5.09 million effective pixels.

Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens: The Vario-Tessar lens is specially produced for very compact cameras. This specialized design allows quick auto-focus, appealing zoom range while still maintaining a compact design.

Analog-To-Digital Conversion: This camera uses a 14-Bit Digital Extended Processor (DXP) which captures the range between highlight and shadow with up to 16,384 values, for extended dynamic contrast and detail.

Viewfinder and LCD Screen: The DSC-P100 has a true zoom optical viewfinder for accurate framing at eye level, great for added stability and for following fast moving objects. The camera also has a 1.8" color LCD screen with 134,000 pixels and an anti-glare coating. The LCD screen allows you to view an image before taking a picture and replay images that have been stored in memory. For best viewing, you can adjust the brightness of the LCD monitor, and increase the amount of backlight in the monitor when using the camera outdoors. To increase battery life, you can turn the LCD screen off.

Lens: The lens has a 3x optical zoom and a focal length of 7.9mm to 23.7mm, which is equivalent to 38mm to 114mm in 35mm photography.

Smart Zoom: When the zoom exceeds 3x, enlargement is carried out using a "Smart" zoom, which intelligently uses the full CCD to let you zoom into the portion of interest by cropping the image size, thus avoiding the image degradation found in most digital zooms. The maximum zoom scale depends upon the image size. When the image is VGA size (640 x 480), the digital zoom is 4x, and coupled with the optical zoom gives you a total zoom of 12x. For larger images, the digital zoom (and total zoom) is less. When the image is 5M (2592 x 1944) or 3:2 (2592 x 1728), the smart (digital) zoom does not function, leaving you with only the optical zoom.

Image Size/Compression: When recording digital still images, the DSC-P100 allows you to choose from five image sizes and two compression (image quality) settings--Fine and Standard. The larger the image and the higher the image quality you choose, the better the image will be, but it also takes a larger amount of data to preserve the image. The image sizes include:

Multi-Point AF: The camera has a 5-area multi-point autofocus. The camera calculates the distance in five areas to the top, bottom, left, right and in the center of the image. This method is helpful when your subject is not centered in the frame. You can also choose Center AF, which focuses only on the subject framed in the AF range finder in the center of the image.

AF Mode: You can choose from the following AF modes:

• Single AF: This mode is useful for shooting stationary subjects.
• Monitoring AF: This mode shortens the time needed for focusing. The camera automatically adjusts the focus before you press and hold the shutter button halfway down, letting you compose images with the focus already adjusted.

AF Illuminator: The AF (auto focus) Illuminator briefly provides fill light to focus more easily on a subject in dark surroundings. Optimal focusing distance with the AF Illuminator is up to approximately 11 feet 5-3/4 inches (wide) and up to 8 feet 2-3/8 inches (tele).

Focus Presets: In addition to auto focus, you can pre-set the focal distance by choosing one of the following fixed focus settings: 0.5m, 1.0m, 3.0m, 7.0m, or infinity.

AE/AF Lock: If you have difficulty focusing on an off-center subject, you can set and lock the focus and exposure on the subject by pressing the shutter button halfway with the subject in the AF rangefinder, then recompose the shot and press the shutter button fully to take the picture. 

Macro Focus: For close-ups of small objects such as flowers and insects, this camera has macro focus capability. With the zoom set all the way to wide, the camera can focus on objects up to 2-3/8" from the lens. With the zoom set all the way to telephoto, the camera can focus on objects up to 11-7/8" from the lens.

Auto Power-Off: If you do not operate the camera for approximately 3 minutes, it will turn off automatically to conserve battery power.

Date and Time: Each time you take a picture, the camera records the date and time on the still image. The date and time do not appear on the LCD screen or in the viewfinder while you are shooting. Instead, the date and time appear when you replay the stored image. This feature can be turned off.

Battery Information: The DSC-P100 comes with the NP-FR1 lithium ion rechargeable battery. This batteries take approximately 3.3 hours to fully charge.

Battery Performance: Under normal operating conditions the batteries have the following capacity:

Recording Images

Shooting Modes: The camera features the following shooting modes:

• Auto: The camera automatically adjusts the focus, exposure and white balance.
• Program--Twilight: This mode is used for shooting a distant subject at night.
• Program--Twilight Portrait: This mode is used for shooting people in the foreground at night. 
• Program--Landscape: This mode is used for shooting landscapes at a distance.
• Program--Soft Snap: This mode lets you shoot the color of a person's skin with a bright, warm color tone.
• Program--Snow: This mode can be used when shooting snowy scenes or other places where the whole screen appears white.
• Program--Beach: This mode is for shooting at seaside or the lakeside.
• Program--High-speed Shutter: This mode lets you shoot moving subjects outdoors or in other bright places.
• Program--Fireworks: This mode lets you record fireworks.
• Program--Candle: This mode allows you to shoot a party or candlelight service without spoiling the atmosphere that is affected by the candlelight.

Picture Effects: When desired, you can select one of the following picture effects:

• Sepia: The picture is sepia-toned like an old photograph.
• B&W: The picture is black and white.

Burst Mode: You can shoot images until the maximum number of images are shot when you press and hold the shutter button. The maximum number of images shot continuously depends on the image size and image quality settings:

Multi Burst Mode: When shooting in the Multi-Burst mode, pressing the shutter once records 16 frames in a row. You can set the interval between frames at 1/7.5 second, 1/15 second, or 1/30th second. All 16 frames will be recorded as one 1M image (1280 x 960). When you play back images recorded in Multi Burst mode with this camera, the 16 frames will be played back in order, with a fixed interval between them. When the images are played back on a computer or a camera without Multi Burst, the 16 frames will all be displayed at the same time as part of one image.

MPEG Movie VX: Besides recording still images, you can also record moving images with sound. Moving images are recorded in MPEG1 format. The following image sizes are available: 640 x 480 (Fine), 640 x 480 (Standard), and 160 x 112 (Mail). You can also record movies in macro mode for excellent closeups. If you want to be in the movie, you can use the camera's self-timer feature.

Flash Modes: The flash can be set to Auto, Forced Flash, Slow Synchro, or No Flash. In Auto mode, the flash automatically strobes when the surroundings are dark. When the flash is set to Forced Flash, it strobes with every shot. In Slow Synchro, the flash is used regardless of the amount of ambient light, but the shutter speed is slower under dark conditions, allowing you to clearly shoot a background that is out of the flash-lit area. In addition, this camera has a "red-eye reduction" setting, which causes the flash to pre-strobe before shooting to reduce the red-eye phenomenon. In the Auto mode, when you shoot against a light source, the camera automatically flashes (daylight synchro), even when there is sufficient light around the subject.

Flash Range: The recommended distance using the flash is 7-7/8 inches to 11 feet 5-3/4 inches (wide) and 11-7/8 inches to 8 feet 2-3/8 inches (telephoto).

ISO Speed: The ISO speed can be set to Auto, 100, 200, or 400. When shooting under dark conditions or shooting a fast-moving subject, you should use a high number setting. When recording high-quality images, use a low number setting.

Metering Modes: You can select Multi-Pattern or Spot Metering. When multi-pattern metering is used, the image is divided into multiple regions and metering is performed in each region. The camera judges the subject position and background brightness, and determines a well-balanced exposure. Spot metering lets you adjust the exposure to the subject, even when the subject is a backlit or when there is strong contrast between the subject and the background.

White Balance: When the white balance is set to auto, the white balance is set automatically in response to the condition of the subject, and the overall color balance is adjusted. When shooting under special lighting conditions, you can select the settings manually. In addition to Auto, the white balance can be set to Incandescent, Fluorescent, Daylight, and Cloudy.

Exposure Adjustment: Besides auto exposure, you can manually adjust the exposure from +2.0EV to -2.0EV in steps of 1/3EV.

Approximate Recording Capacity of the Supplied 32MB Memory Stick:

Viewing, Editing and Printing Images

Viewing Images: Still and moving images can be played back on the camera's color LCD screen, or the images may be transferred to a computer, where they can be displayed or manipulated with the use of compatible software. In addition, the images can be played back on a television (NTSC or PAL), if the television has an RCA composite video input.

Index Mode: In addition to viewing images one-by-one in full screen, you can view multiple images at once in the index mode. This feature lets you to display nine images at a time, allowing you to easily find the image you want.

Slide Show: The Slide Show function lets you play back images one after the other. The interval between the pictures can be adjusted, allowing you to choose 3, 5, 10, and 30 seconds or 1 minute. You can select Folder play (all images in the selected folder) or All play (all images on the Memory Stick). When repeat is selected, the images are replayed in a continuous loop.

Deleting/Protecting Images: You can delete a selected image, or you can delete all the unprotected images at once. In order to avoid accidentally deleting an image, it can be protected.

Playback Zoom: You can enlarge a recorded still image up to five times the size of the original image. You can also record the enlarged item as a new file. To select the area to be enlarged, you can move the enlargement "frame" up/down/left/right with the arrow buttons, and adjust the zoom with the W/T button. You cannot enlarge movies or images recorded in multi-burst mode.

Resizing Images: After an image is captured (still images only), you can resize the picture and save it as a new file. Images can be resized to 5M, 3M, 1M and VGA. The original image is retained even after resizing. You cannot resize a picture to a 3:2-sized image, and if you resize a 3:2-sized image, black bands will appear at the top and bottom of the image.

Print Mark: You can place a print mark on still images recorded with this camera. This mark is convenient when you have images printed at a shop that conforms to the DPOF (Digital Print Order Format) standard.

Exif Print (Exif 2.2): The DSC-P100 conforms to "Exif Print", a worldwide standard. Vital camera settings (such as: exposure mode, white balance, exposure time) and scene data are recorded to the image file when it is captured. Printers compatible with "Exif Print" are able to use this information to produce high quality photographs, exactly the way they were intended at the time of capture. This intelligent communication process also allows the printer to correct for poor lighting or mistakes, resulting in photos that can be even better than the originals.

PictBridge Printing Capability: Using the supplied USB cable, you can connect this camera directly to a PictBridge compliant printer. PictBridge is a new standard that allows you to connect a PictBridge compliant camera directly to a PictBridge compliant printer and make prints, regardless of brand.

PRINT Image Matching II: PRINT Image Matching II (P.I.M. II), a technology developed--and recently updated--by Seiko Epson Corporation, ensures that P.I.M. II-enabled digital cameras and printers work together perfectly to produce the best possible prints. After an image is captured, the camera automatically tags the picture with 14 optimal image settings and includes it as part of the Exif Print header in the JPEG file. A P.I.M. II-enabled photo printer reads and utilizes the information in order to make the most accurate print.

Supplied Software

Software: The included software allows you to transfer images from a Memory Stick to a computer hard drive and view and store transferred images on a computer. The supplied CD-ROM includes:

• Picture Package (for Windows only)
• Cyber-shot Life (for Windows only)
• ImageMixer VCD2 (for Macintosh only)
• Sony USB driver

Viewing or Transferring Images to a Computer: By using the supplied USB cable, you can transfer the still digital images and MPEG movie clips stored on a Memory Stick to a computer. The computer must have these minimum system requirements: