With a manly shift of the megapixel gearbox, Sony have upped the ante with the news of its new 13.6 megapixel Cyber-Shot DSC W300 compact digital camera.
Looking as sleek as you like in its titanium-clad exterior, the W300 packs a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom lens, a 2.7-inch LCD screen and a good old fashioned optical viewfinder into its bijou frame.
Swivelling the camera around, there’s a 2.7″ LCD screen, the usual D Pad and function buttons, and a flat dial for selecting shooting modes which include
Sony’s clever-clogs new ‘intelligent’ technologies like ‘Smile Shutter’ and scene recognition.
As its name suggests, Smile Shutter waits until a natural smile (or forced grimace) appears before snapping, while
the scene recognition technology claims to automatically detect five different types of scenes and optimise the camera settings for those conditions for a better photo.
There’s also an ‘extra high-speed’ burst mode that can shoot three-megapixel photos at five frames per second, plus an extra high sensitivity mode (up to ISO 6400) and user-selectable noise control.
Naturally, there’s half a ton of scene modes onboard, including twilight, portrait, soft snap, landscape, beach and fireworks.
Sony have also included tools to make it easier to view and manage photos, with date and calendar views and in-camera search by face or date with the camera capable of outputting to compatible HDTV sets.
The DSC-W300 camera should be hitting the streets around May for about $350.
Sony DSC-W300 specifications
Sensor 1/1.7″ Super HAD Type CCD, 13.6 million effective pixels
Image sizes
4224 x 3168 (13MP), 3264 x 2448 (8MP), 2592 x 1944 (5MP), 2048 x 1536 (3MP), 640 x 480 (0.3MP), 4224 x 2816 (12MP, 3:2), 4224 x 2376 (10 MP, 16:9), 1920 x 1080 (2MP, 16:9)
Movie clips
640 x 480 30fps, 640 x 480 17fps, 320 x 240 8fps
File formats
JPEG (Exif 2.21), MPEG 1 movies
Lens
7.6-22.8mm (3X)
35-105mm (35mm equiv)
Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar
Image stabilisation Yes, optical
Digital zoom 2x (6x total inc optical)
Focus 9 point AF
AF area modes
Multi-point AF
Centre-weighted AF
Spot AF
Fixed distance focus (0.5m, 1m, 3m, 7m, infinity)
AF assist lamp Yes
Focus distance 5cm-8 (wide), 34cm – 8 (tele)
Metering Multi Pattern, Centre weighted, Spot
ISO sensitivity
Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600 and 3200
Exposure compensation +/- 2EV in 1/3EV steps
Exposure bracketing Yes, +/- 0.3, 0.7 or 1.0EV
Shutter speed 30 sec to 1/2000
Aperture f/2.8-5.5
Modes
Auto adjustment
Easy shooting
Program auto
Manual exposure
Movie
High sensitivity
Extra high sensitivity (3MP)
Extra high-speed burst (3MP)
Scene modes
Twilight
Twilight portrait
Soft snap
Landscape
Beach
Snow
Fireworks
Smile shutter
Underwater
White balance Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent 1 (3 modes), Incandescent, Flash, One push custom set
Self timer Yes, 2 sec, 10 sec
Continuous shooting Up to 5fps (3MP), 1.9fps at full res
Image parameters Normal, Vivid, Real, Sepia, Black and White, Colour filters (Red, Green, Blue, Warm, Cool)
Flash Range 0.2-5.5m (wide), 0.4-2.8m (tele), Auto ISO
Viewfinder Yes
LCD monitor 2.7″, 230K dots
100% field of view
Connectivity USB
AV – HD(1080i) (with optional accessory)/ SD
Print compliance PictBridge, DPOF
Storage Memory Stick Duo (inc PRO Duo, PRO Duo High Speed and PRO-HG Duo)
Power G-type InfoLithium battery, Charger included
Dimensions 94.3 x 59.0 x 26.8 mm