The Sony Cybershot P200 is one of the rare excellent ultra-compact cameras. Likewise, it has some common limitations of ultra-compact cameras: corner softness and image noise. Other than that the menu system shows it complexity when accessing advanced features, but is adequate for point-and-shoot operations. The LCD is unfortunately hard to see in low-light, but it does have an optical viewfinder, for use in such cases.

Compared to its competition, the P200 compares well to the excellent Canon Powershot SD550 which shares the same sensor. The SD550 has less battery life but features unlimited continuous shooting at 2 FPS, better low-light performance and an easier to use interface. However, both of these cameras fall behind the Fuji Finepix F10 which features an ultra-low noise 6 megapixel sensor and clearly superior battery-life capable of 500-shots per charge.