Setting
up the DSC-P51 is done by turning the camera's Mode Dial to the Setup
position which automatically shows the Setup menu. The options are generally
similar across most recent Sony cameras, with the exception of one or
two model specific options. The Setup menu is divided into 3 sections,
and the current selection is indicated by a yellow highlight.
The
first section is Camera. It serves to set 5 basic camera functions:
Moving
Image defines the type of moving
image to be recorded when the Mode Dial is turned to the Movie position:
MPEG, Clip Motion, or
Multi Burst.
Date and Time: (on/off), inserts a permanent date and time
stamp on the photos;
Digital
Zoom: (on/off) extends the optical zoom with the digital
zoom when the LCD screen is used;
Red
eye Reduction: (on/off), decides whether the flash will use pre-flashes
for red-eye reduction.
AF
Illuminator: (on/off), allows turning off the illuminator when
the light is low.
The
other two tabs in the left margin identify sections called Setup 1 and
Setup 2:
Setup
1:
Format:
is to format a Memory Stick;
File
Number: is to determine how each image file is named, either Series
[continuous], or Reset;
Language: allows the selection of either English or Japanese;
Clock Set: is to set the camera's internal date and time.
Setup
2:
LCD
Brightness:
Bright, Normal, or Dark;
Beep:
controls the sounds made by the camera, on, off, shutter sound only;
Video
Out: sets the A/V output to be either NTSC or PAL;
USB
Connect: can either be Standard USB, or PTP.
Overall,
the navigation of the DSC-P51's menus is made simple by a clear organization,
and a responsive Multi-function control.
Software
Recent Sony cameras have had Pixela Image Mixer bundled with them.
This North American market model is the same. Pixela Image Mixer
is a software suite, composed of four sections each with its own interface.
The program can be used to retrieve images from the camera when the P51
is connected via USB; organize photos into albums; and do some rudimentary
editing to both photos and movies. In addition, decorative frames and
text can be added to photos.
Installing Pixela isn't required for the installation of the USB driver.
Once
the driver is installed, the DSC-P51 can be accessed as a removable drive,
and the photos copied to the hard disk for editing in other software as
desired. With
Windows XP, all that is required is to connect the camera. The operating
system will recognize it and provide access to the content of the Memory
Stick as a mass storage device, much like a hard disk.
