Sony has used its “Cyber-shot” brand for digital cameras since 1996, and from 2008 to 2009 the company also slapped the brand on its Sony Ericsson camera phones. Now, with the smartphone industry investing heavily in camera technologies, Sony may soon be reintroducing the brand to its Xperia smartphones in order to compete against other photo-focused phones.
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Sony has just announced two new 16.2-megapixel cameras that pack a lot of zoom into compact bodies. The DSC-HX100V (on left) includes a 27mm Carl Zeiss lens with 30x optical zoom, or the equivalent of a 27-810mm lens on 35mm film. The DSC-HX9V packs a smaller 24mm Sony lens with 16x optical zoom, but is still the equivalent of a 24-384mm lens.
Aside from the monstrous reach, these cameras also shoot 1080p HD video, focus at DSLR speeds, have 3-inch LCD screens, and include many of the features standard on sony CyberShots now (e.g. 3D Sweep Panorama, GPS, and Dual Recording for shooting video and stills at the same time). The cameras will be available starting in April, with the HX100V priced at $450 and the HX9V at $350.
The big camera corps are dumping a huge number of new compact cameras at CES 2011. While many are standard upgrades to bring their cameras up to par with what consumers expect nowadays, there are some that stand out for one reason or another. Some of Sony’s new compact cameras (the DSC-TX100V, DSC-TX10, DSC-HX7V, DSC-WX10 and DSC-WX9) are unique in that they can shoot 3D photographs with a single lens and sensor. The trick is that two separate photographs with different focus settings are captured and combined to produce a 3D look. The DSC-WX10 (shown above) is also the world’s first compact camera capable of 1080/60p video recording. These cameras will be available for between $220 and $380 starting in March 2011.
The first phone to use the 16 megapixel Sony CMOS sensor announced at the beginning of the month has emerged, and it’s a Sony Ericsson Cyber-shot phone. The Cyber-shot S006 cellphone has a 16.2 megapixel sensor and ISO that goes up to 12,800, but it still has a camera-phone with its tiny lens rather than the phone-camera look adopted by the new Panasonic Lumix camera. Thus, though the S006 might pack 3 more megapixels than its Lumix counterpart, the 13.2 megapixel Lumix might end up delivering superior images. We’ll no doubt see extensive image quality tests when both these phones hit the market. The S006 arrives next spring.
(via Engadget)
Whether you’re keen on it or not, Sony is adding an extra dimension to the next line of Cyber-shots. Just last week, Sony released a firmware update for NEX-3 and NEX-5 EVIL cameras to include 3D panoramic sweep. The Cyber-shot DSC-TX9 and DSC-WX5 will have the same 3D panoramic sweep mode, but the TX9 model will also have a special LCD display by which 3D still images can be viewed on the camera by tilting the screen back and forth. The 3D images from both cameras can be viewed on 3D televisions.
Available in Septemter, the TX9 will run around $400 and the WX5 model is about $300.
Both prices severely undercut the cost of Fujifilm’s competing 3D point-and-shoot, the FinePix REAL 3D W1, which still runs for $599.95.
It’s notable that Sony has a particular interest in developing and promoting the third dimension; they’ve got a hefty share in the 3D television and home entertainment market.
Country-pop darling Taylor Swift has joined the growing list of camera-toting celebrity spokespersons. Swift’s partnership with Sony hit the limelight in January during CES2010, when Swift joined in the Sony press event to announce her use of Sony 3D technology during her current tour.
In a commercial released today, Swift demos the iSweep Panorama feature on the new Sony TX7 Cyber-shot. According to a Sony press release, the ads will air tonight on NBC, FOX and CW, likely targeting a younger, primarily female demographic — though as the commercial suggests, she’s got a pretty broad fan base.
The camera boasts a number of other noteworthy features including a Carl Zeiss lens, “Exmor R” CMOS censor, HD video, and a touch screen, but Sony says Taylor Swift fans can get extra excited over the limited edition version with the singer’s signature engraved onto the camera.
However, the camera comes at a steep price of $400, which is considerably pricey for point-and-shoots. That’s nearly the cost of six tickets to see Taylor Swift in concert.
This amazing video by Romain Pergeaux and Alex Profit shows a journey around the cities of the world in 80 seconds through stop-motion. It was shot with a Sony HX5V compact camera, and shows 640 different photographs at 8 photographs per second. A special rig was also used to show a physical globe with pins in every shot, and the photographs were taken over the course of only 3 weeks. From the official website for the video, it looks like a viral promotional video for Sony’s camera, but it’s a pretty awesome effort nonetheless.
Underwater housing units for DSLR bodies can cost upwards of $1499 at most distributors. Waterproof cases for point-and-shoots already average $150. But this year, a major trend in most camera companies is the point-and-shoot designed for underwater use and toss-around durability at a competitive cost.
Around the show at PMA 2010, almost every major point-and-shoot manufacturer had a new array of cameras ready for surf, sand, snow and hard falls.
Here’s a sampling:
Scott Hennessey and the crew at Olympus let me shoot around the booth with a prototype of the Olympus Stylus Tough 8010, which is due for release this March for about $399.
This camera was particularly noteworthy because as far as I could tell, it’s got the ability to remain watertight up to 33 feet underwater, while most other brands ranged between 10-16 feet.
It is also shockproof for a drop up to 6.6. feet, freezeproof at 14 degrees Fahrenheit, and crushproof (LCD and all), able to withstand up to 220 pounds of pressure; it will take a lot to kill this camera.
And standard for a lot of point-and-shoots, this camera shoots 14 megapixel stills and 720p movies.
I took a few images with the Tough 8010 in the water at the Olympus booth. The first one is of the other Olympus waterproof camera, the Stylus Tough 3000 which is a bit more standard, waterproof up to 10 feet and shockproof to 5 feet and a price tag of $229:
Samsung’s AQ100 waterproof camera looks pretty fresh, available in black, aqua blue, and red. It’s slim with a 0.78 inch thickness, and will sell for about $199 this spring.
Sony’s stylish Cybershot TX5 has one of the cleanest designs for a shockproof (5 ft), waterproof (10ft) and freezeproof (14 F) camera. It’s also dust-resistant and has a touchscreen.
The Casio Exilim EX-G1 is also pretty heavy duty, surviving falls of up to seven feet. It’s also waterproof to 10 ft, dustproof, and freeze proof to 14 F. It’s also got software built in for easy uploads to YouTube.
Also at the show, several companies, such as Delkin Devices, showed off their new accessories to compliment waterproof, durable cameras.
The Delkin Devices Jellyfish is basically a pouch for a small point and shoot, coupled with a floating ball. It’s simple, with a little fun: the flotation device includes a little bottle opener.
For more practical use, Delkin has also released a super durable CF card called the Combat Flash:
The Combat Flash capacity ranges from 4GB to 32 GB, and boasts a fast transfer speed at 91 mb/s, 625 x. It has sealed components to protect from moisture or submersion, can last at an altitude of 80,000 feet, and can withstand temperatures from -58 degrees F to 212 degrees F. It can also handle most shock and gunfire vibration.
Prices range from $84 – $329.
No word yet on whether they’re developing an SD version (obviously, durability works much better with CF cards), but they do have a shock and weatherproof tote for 8 SD cards:
