The DSC-P73 and its near identical
twin the DCS-P93, which is a 5-megapixel version, are designed
to be economical alternatives to some of the other cameras in
Sony's line.
Aperture: f10, shutter speed: 1/100 sec.
In other areas though, the capabilities
of the P73 are quite similar to those of the more expensive models,
and the major differences are a reduced number of scene modes,
and a slightly slower operating speed.
Aperture: f7.1, shutter speed: 1/60 sec.
But, while the differences in
capabilities between the P73 and higher end models may not be
all that great, we did note some differences in terms of image
quality. For one, the Sony lens of the P73 does not seem to be
as sharp as the Carl Zeiss lenses Sony uses on the more expensive
cameras. For another, the P73 does not seem to have benefited
from the lessening in the level of compression at the highest
image quality (Fine) that we'd observed with the DSC-W1 and the
DSC-P100.
Metering, on the other hand is
completely comparable with all other Sony cameras, and the DSC-P73
consistently turns out extremely well-exposed images.
Similarly, the colour accuracy of the P73, which is generally excellent
when the camera is left to its default settings, can be tweaked with simple
adjustments to increase or decrease the colour saturation and/or the contrast,
both of which are available in the menu.
Aperture: f10, shutter speed: 1/160
sec.
The autofocus of the DSC-P73 however, is one area
that requires particular care from the user.
Aperture: f10, shutter speed: 1/100
sec.
The camera is equipped with a
multi-point AF but it seems that it will occasionally select
a focus point that may not be the one the user has in mind. Because
of this, we found that the centre focus to be more reliable.
Moreover, as the camera will take a photo even when the
autofocus hasn't completed its task, it is advisable to wait
for the audible focus confirmation beep, or the appearance of
the green dot on the monitor which indicates focus prior to pressing
the shutter release button fully.
The DSC-P73 also offers the Manual
mode that is one of the enhancements of the new P-series cameras.
The Manual mode offers a maximum exposure time of 30 seconds,
while previous Sony cameras in this series had been limited to
4 seconds or so. Indeed, with the manual mode and the built-in
noise reduction, the P73 provides the means to capture very high
quality night shots, as can be seen in the Test Photos section
of this review.
Aperture: f10, shutter speed: 1/160 sec.
Aperture: f5.2, shutter speed: 1/160 sec.
Set to a sensitivity of 100 ISO,
the P73 produces images that have a little bit of noise, most
noticeably in deep shadow areas, something that is not uncommon
and which has a similar appearance to film grain. Increasing
the CCD sensitivity, causes a commensurate increase in noise,
which can then become visible in the uniformly coloured areas
of images. Still, at the 200 ISO level the image is still useable,
and it is only at 400 ISO that the noise can lower the image
quality.
The DSC-P73 offers
an alternative to the pricier Sony cameras that have smaller
metal bodies and Carl Zeiss optics. Yet, this is a camera that
can yield good photos, albeit a tad less sharp than what these
other higher-priced models produce. And, when used at its highest
image quality and resolution, users can expect the DSC-P73 will
easily allow excellent 5 x 7 inch prints with dye sublimation
printers or with a printing service, and prints up to 8 x 10
with a good inkjet type printer.
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Image Quality
