Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P12 — 2003 slim compact, 5MP 1/1.8-inch CCD, Carl Zeiss 3x zoom
The Cyber-shot DSC-P12 was part of Sony's 2003 P-series refresh, a family of slim aluminium-bodied compacts sold at several sensor and price points; the P12 sat as a step above the entry P8 while sharing the same compact metal design.
It carries a 5-megapixel 1/1.8-inch Super HAD CCD sensor and a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens covering roughly 38-114mm equivalent at f/2.8-5.2. Framing uses a 1.5-inch LCD, and images save to Memory Stick or Memory Stick Pro media over a serial interface, typical of Sony's compacts before USB became standard.
Compared with the smaller-sensor budget compacts of its generation, the P12's 1/1.8-inch chip and Carl Zeiss lens delivered cleaner files and better subject separation, though its small 1.5-inch screen and serial data transfer feel dated next to cameras released only a year or two later.
As a used buy the P12 is a cheap way into early-2000s Sony compacts, so it is worth confirming the zoom lens moves freely without grinding, the LCD is free of dead pixels, and a working Memory Stick card and battery are supplied, since period-correct accessories are increasingly hard to source.