Sony's DSC-P31 is a lower price alternative to the DSC-P71,
or the DSC-P51, and is one of 3 compact cameras the company released this
Spring.
The P31 has a single 5mm focal length autofocus lens (no zoom), which
is the equivalent of a 33 mm in 35mm format. Providing a 2-megapixel
resolution, this compact camera is slightly smaller than the other 2 models.
The
P31 fits easily into a pocket, and when turned off, a small electronically
controlled barrier protects its lens.
Basic operations for this model are generally similar to both the DSC-P51
and DSC-P71. The camera is powered on with a small button next to the
shutter release, and a green LED glows to indicate that the camera is
ready.
The P31 also provides a Mode Dial, placed just above the LCD screen on
the back of the camera, which provides 3 recording modes, a Playback,
and a Setup position:
Auto Mode:
fully automatic recording mode.
Scene
Mode: is the access for the Twilight mode, the Twilight
Portrait mode and the Landscape mode, with one of these
selected in the cameras menu as the default.
Movie/Clip
Motion/Multi Burst Mode: to record MPEGs, animated GIF files,
or image bursts.
Playback:
to review captured images.
Setup:
to set basic parameters for the camera such as date and time.
The
DCS-P31 has a Power Save Switch on the left of the Mode Dial, a
feature it shares with the P-51, but not with the P-71. When the switch
is set to OFF, the LCD screen is brighter, and the flash can be
set to Auto mode — it fires as required — even after the camera
has been turned off and then back on. With the Power Switch ON
the camera automatically cancels the flash when powering up, and reduces
the brightness of the LCD screen.
Since the DSC-P31 does not have an optical zoom, the button on the right
of the Mode Dial is labelled as a "Digital Zoom". It
provides a smooth zoom-like effect on the LCD screen, but what it really
does is to progressively magnify the central portion of the 1600 x 1200
image. This "cropped" section of the frame can be recorded,
as though the image had been optically zoomed. The captured image is then
interpolated
up to the image size selected in the menu. Like all digital zooms, the
result is a photo that is less sharp than the standard images that use
the full resolution of the CCD.
As
a secondary function, the zoom control also provides 2 additional functions
in Playback. The Telephoto side (T) magnifies an image being
displayed on the screen up to 5X. The Wide angle side (W)
displays thumbnails of the recorded images.
Pressing the W side of the digital zoom button presents 3 thumbnail
images at the top of the screen, while the centre image is framed in yellow
along with its shooting data. The camera is able to show aperture, shutter
speed, exposure compensation, ISO setting, metering mode, flash and white
Balance settings for any photo.
The
optical viewfinder is bracketed by the three little holes covering the
camera's speaker on the left, and 3 LEDs on the right. Starting at the
top, the LEDs indicate camera activity/self-timer (red); autofocus lock
(green); and flash ready or charging (orange).
The remaining controls of the DSC-P31 are on the left side of the LCD
screen. First on the left is the Menu button, with next to it the
Display/LCD button. The Display/LCD button is used to turn the
screen on or off, and to clear most of the information overlaid on it
if needed.
The Multi-Function
Control Button, directly below the other 2, is used to navigate the menu,
and activate specific camera functions:
Flash
Modes: Auto, Forced Flash, No Flash. (Red-eye reduction is engaged
in the Setup Menu.)
Spot
Metering: meters the precise centre of the scene at a point
indicated by a cross at the centre of the screen. It is an alternative
to the default Averaging" metering pattern.
Self
timer: provides a 10 second delay before the shutter release.
Quick
Review: serves to immediately display the last captured photo.
The DSC-P31
is a very responsive camera. Helped by the fact that there is no zoom
lens to deploy, the P31 is ready to shoot nearly instantly after being
turned on.
Introduction
