The Sony DSC-P3 is a neat and very compact device with dimensions unheard of a year ago when we did our last digital camera roundup (Digital Darkroom, May 2001, p 42) especially for a 2.8 megapixel camera. As part of the Sony CyberShot range, no compromise has been made in the build quality of the camera, which feels solid and robust. The attractive brushed chrome look and elongated shape house a 1.5in LCD display, optical viewfinder and small lens augmented with 3x digital zoom.

In quality testing, the images taken of the test subject displayed strong contrast and excellent colour reproduction. With automatic settings used, the high resolution 1,920 x 1,440 pixel image did lack a little in the overall brightness of the subject. This did not overtly detract from the colours: the shades of yellow, orange and blue merely appeared under lit. The DSC-P3 came in on par with cameras such as the Canon PowerShot A40, and the Nikon Coolpix 775.
The DSC-P3 is capable of recording sound and short MPEG movies, and is easy to use, helped by a simple menu interface and manual options such as white balance and ISO levels. On the whole, a top little camera.