Sony America has launched a new digital camera today for the trendy party crowd, the 7.2-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-T30.
Featuring Sony’s familiar sliding lens cover, the T30 measures a designer suit untroubling 90 x 54.8 x 20.2mm, with the 159g mass unlikely to add much bulk to the Gucci handbag.
Sony’s Super Steady Shot optical image stabilisation lets the camera keep on working late into the party, with a high ISO 1000 light sensitivity (coupled with Sony’s Clear RAW noise reduction system), allowing more natural, flash-less pics.
Introduced to the T-Series is a set of selectable colour modes allowing users to choose ‘natural mode’ for subtle colour variations or ‘vivid mode’ for more intense colours – great for reproducing the full range of hues of the pavement pizza at the end of the night.
Shutter lag with AF/AE is rated at a nippy 0.28 of a second, with the burst mode offering 5 shots at 1.1 frames per second – enough to capture a dramatic, alcohol-fuelled dance floor collapse.
Shot-to-shot interval is up on its predecessor, the T9, with the camera taking 1.4 seconds – the slower time a result of the larger files being saved.
Other features include a Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar 3x optical zoom (f3.5-4.5), a hefty 3 inch “Clear Photo LCD Plus screen” and 58MB of internal memory.
Images can be played back as a slide show option with music function, with the Memory Stick Duo offering up to two gigabytes of additional storage.
Powered by an InfoLithium battery, Sony are claiming up to 420 shots per full charge – nearly double the performance of previous T-series models.
The Cyber-shot DSC-T30 camera will be landing on store shelves in the US next month for around $500. There’s no news about the UK launch and price yet.
Specifications
Dimensions 3.7 x 2.2 x 0.9″, 95.0 x 56.5 x 23.3mm
Weight 169.0 g, 5.9 oz
Sensor Type 1/2.5″ CCD, 7.20 megapixels (effective)
Aspect Ratio 4:3, 3:2
Image Dimensions 3072 x 2304 (7.1 megapixels), 3072 x 2048 (6.3 megapixels), 2592 x 1944 (5.0 megapixels), 2048 x 1536 (3.1 megapixels), 1920 x 1080 (2.1 megapixels), 1632 x 1224 (2.0 megapixels), 640 x 480 (0.3 megapixels)
Capture Speed Continuous: 0.8 frames per second
Image Quality 2 levels
Viewfinder No
LCD 3.0″, 230,000 pixels
Playback Zoom 5.0x max
Lens Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar, 3x optical zoom
Image Stabilization Yes
Focal Length 6.3 – 19.0mm (actual), 38 – 114mm (35mm equivalent)
Aperture Range f/3.5 (wide) / f/4.3 (tele)
Focusing System 5-area Contrast detect with AF assist lamp
Manual Focus possible (5) steps
Focusing Range Normal: 20″ – infinity (50 cm – infinity)
Macro: 0.4″
ISO Sensitivity Auto, 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1000
Shutter Speed 30 – 1/1000 second
Metering Modes Multi-pattern, Center-weighted, Spot
Exposure Compensation +/- 2.0EV in 1/3EV increments
White Balance Auto, Daylight, Cloudy, Fluorescent, Incandescent, Flash
Internal Flash Modes: Auto, Auto w/ Red-Eye Reduction, On, On w/ Red-Eye Reduction, Slow Synch, Slow Synch w/ Red-Eye Reduction, Off
Range: 0.3 – 11.2 ft, (0.1 – 3.4m)
Creative Scene Modes Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Beach, Snow, Fireworks, High-Speed Shutter, Candle, Magnifying Glass (Super Macro), Soft Snap
Digital Zoom Precision 2x
Self Timer Yes, 2 or 10 seconds
Storage Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, Built-in
File Format JPEG
Connectivity USB 1.1
Battery Type Lithium Ion rechargeable, Proprietary NP-FR1 InfoLITHIUM