Sony Cyber-shot DSCP12

Autofocus, shown by a series of four markers on the rear display, is in fact a three-point detection system, but there's no guide inside the optical finder. The area is wide, which is great when you have to grab shots, but, occasionally, designs like this won't focus on the intended position as there's too much to choose from. In these situations, the central-detection only is a welcome override. Continuous AF adjusts its position as the subject does, but for normal, more static subjects, Single Servo AF is better. This drains the power source less and doesn't allow the camera to be tripped until focused. There are also manual steps from 50cm to infinity, but Autofocus works well.

Flash has the usual modes of operation and the results were again good: nicely exposed, little burnout, plus a subtle fill-in. My only criticism is that the flash itself is too easy to cover with a finger. White balance also performed well using tungsten, daylight and flash settings. Rounding up the main options is a Burst Mode, taking three rapid shots. This, combined with an interval timer, is intended for motion analysis, but the MPEG movie function will probably be more useful.

So where in a rapidly changing world does the DSCP12 sit? It reminded me of the 4-megapixel Samsung Digimax V4 (see issue 103, p75), but that costs significantly less - under £300, in fact. However, there are plenty of other differences too. The DSCP12 boasts an even better design, produces superior-quality images and offers lots of sensible user controls; it only lacks TIFF and RAW file formats and aperture control. But even with these omissions, I highly recommend the DSCP12.

Author: John Clements