SONY DSC-P200 Vs NIKON COOLPIX 7900

[tallis]

They're both similarily priced with comparable specs - so just wondering if anyone can point out a deal breaker after reading my issues below :)

The cameras needs to be a bit of an all rounder shooting wise (capable of low-light/indoor shots at times and continuous/burst modes), but will mainly be used for taking photos in sunlight of landscapes and people.

any help would be greatly appreciated!

[jessie25]

The Sony P200 has limited manual controls over aperture and shutter speed, while the Nikon doesn't have them at all. The Sony also uses MPG video format. While the Nikon has in-camera redeye reduction, the Sony doesn't seem to get much at all in test shots. And the Sony seems to be a bit faster in performance than the Nikon.

However, the Sony also uses the more expensive Memory Stick format for storage. And it has that odd quirk that the shutter speed with the flash defaults to 1/40, which is - IMHO - too slow for crisp handheld shots of people. (People keep speculating that this will be fixed in a firmware upgrade, but hasn't happened yet). The LCD on the Nikon also seems like it would "gain up" more in low light, though the focusing in low light of the P200 is excellent.

Not sure if this helps with the "which is better" issue, but maybe it will.

[tallis]

...i guess there isn't going to be much in it.

i think I'm leaning towards the P200 if only because i tried it out the other day and the movie mode is fantastic - great picture quality and amazing sound (considering it has such a tiny internal microphone).

i'll pop into a camera store and compare them directly and make a decision.

any more advice/info would be helpful tho....!