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| Sony's DSC-W120. Click photo for more images of the new four Cyber-shot W-Series cameras. |
Gearing up for the 2008 PMA trade show in Las Vegas, NV, Sony has announced four new W-series Cyber-shot cameras. The group of compact point-and-shoots comprises the 7.2-megapixel DSC-W120, 8.1-megapixel DSC-W130, 8.1-megapixel DSC-W150, and 10.1-megapixel DSC-W170. All of the new models are upgrades of 2007 cameras, with the exception of the W130, which is a higher-resolution version of the W120. Those two cameras update the W55 with image stabilization and a few new features. They each provide an f/2.8-5.8, 32mm-128mm (35mm equivalent) 4x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar zoom lens and a 115,000- dot, 2.5-inch LCD. The W150 and W170 improve upon last year's W80 and W90 with longer zooms, a better LCD for the W150, and higher resolution for the W170. They share an f/3.3-5.2 5x Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar zoom lens (30-150mm for the W150 and 28-140mm for the W170, 35mm equivalent) and a 230,000-dot, 2.7-inch LCD. All of the cameras incorporate optical viewfinders, optical image stabilization, and Sony's Bionz image processing engine.
Among the new features offered in the 2008 W-series cameras are face detection that can now be set to detect only children or only adults; a new version of Sony's Smile Shutter, which automatically takes a shot when someone smiles and can now be set for child or adult priority; an Easy Shooting mode that enlarges menu text and makes only basic controls available; and a semi-manual focus mode that lets the photographer select the approximate distance to the subject then uses autofocus to finish the job. The W130 improves on the W120 by including a new Unsharp Mask filter, along with several other creative effects.
The two higher-end W cameras, the W150 and W170, supplement the regular D-Range Optimizer that all of the models provide with a Plus mode for retaining more detail in backlit shots. They also have an Intelligent Scene Recognition mode that automatically adjusts the camera settings and takes a second shot when you release the shutter if it thinks you should have used a different shooting mode than you did. In review mode, the W150 and W170 offer improved slide-show-creation tools, with more music available and an effect that zooms in on faces, as well as a Smile retouching tool that morphs serious people's expressions into smiles. The cameras also add face and smile detection information to the metadata of photographs so that they can be searched and organized by faces and smiles, in addition to dates and designated favorites.
Notable features that the latest W cameras retain from last year include automatic exposure bracketing, a top light-sensitivity setting of ISO 3200, spot and center-weighted metering modes, a live histogram, and three selectable flash output levels. All four models record smooth VGA video with sound, and are compatible with Sony's optional VMC-HD1 high-definition component cable (street: $40) for 1080i photo output to an HDTV.
The $200 DSC-W120 and $230 DSC-W130 will be available in March 2008 with pink, blue, silver, and black finishes. In April, the $250 DSC-W150 and $300 DSC-W170 will hit the stores in red, champagne gold, silver, and black.
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