PMA 2009

(Credit: Sony)

Camera manufacturers seem to have chosen megazooms as their latest battlefield--and thankfully, the fight isn't just about who's got the biggest lens. In this case, the latest player comes from Sony, whose new Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 incorporates several technologies from its Alpha DSLR products, including a 1/2.4-inch 10-megapixel Exmor CMOS sensor (for 9-megapixel images) and 20X f2.8-5.2 28-560mm-equivalent optically stabilized lens based on the company's higher-quality G series lenses.

In theory, the combination should deliver better photo quality than we're used to seeing in this class. (We haven't yet had a chance to review its primary--and also CMOS-based--competitor the Canon PowerShot SX1 IS, but it's been shipping overseas for a little while, so you can read CNET Australia's take on it).

In addition, Sony introduces several interesting continuous shooting modes: an intriguing Dynamic Ultrawide panorama mode that captures sequential images as you slowly pan across a scene and automatically stitches them into a 7,152x1,080 photo; a 10 frame-per-second 10-shot continuous shooting mode that uses a mechanical rather than electronic shutter for, the company claims, less distortion; and Handheld Twilight mode, which combines multiple exposures for a theoretically lower noise, higher detail low-light photo.

The W290 comes in a rather subdued palette of colors.

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

Joining the lower-middle middle-class W220 that Sony announced at CES are the $199 middle middle-class W230 and $249 upper-middle middle-class W290. (Sorry folks, but I'm running out of ways to describe midpriced cameras.) While the W230 only differs from the W220 by $10 and LCD size--it's 3 inches vs. 2.7--the W290 has the same resolution and LCD as the W230 but with a significantly more flexible lens and better movie capture capabilities.

Photos: Sony Cyber-shot W models for spring

In fact, based on the specifications the W290 sounds like a better deal than the W300. It's about $80 less (including Sony recent price drop on the W300 by $20). And though it's only 12 megapixels compared with the W300's 13.6, that's a pretty trivial difference compared with the nontrivial advantage the W290's 3-inch LCD, wide-angle 5x 28-140mm-equivalent lens, and 30fps 720p MPEG-4 movie capture offer over the W300's 2.7-incher, narrow angle 3x zoom lens, and VGA video. The W290 also includes Sony's latest automatic scene- and face-detection technologies, and doesn't include the hideously annoying and confusing Home menu anymore. If it's not abysmally slow and doesn't produce terrible photos, I think the W290 might be a mainstream contender for 2009. We'll get one, get going, and get back to you when it's available later this spring.

The Sony Cyber-shot S950 gets a more megapixeled brother.

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

Because the way sales channels operate forces manufacturers to create too many product SKUs, Sony has announced the Cyber-shot S980--it's identical to the S950, but costs $20 more for 12 megapixels rather than 10. Chances are the street prices will converge a month after it ships in March for $149.

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

A modest upgrade over last year's Cyber-shot DSC-H10, this spring's DSC-H20 nevertheless offers a few new nice improvements over its budget megazoom predecessor. Though it keeps the same 10x f3.5-4.4 38-380mm (35mm equivalent) lens and 3-inch LCD, the $279 camera bumps up to a 1/2.3-inch 10-megapixel CCD from 8 megapixels. We complained about the H10's lack of optical zoom in movie capture, and the H20 now supports it. Plus, it now shoots 720p MPEG-4 videos. Like many of the spring models, the H10 will include Sony's updated intelligent auto features, including more advanced automatic scene recognition and auto face detection.

(Credit: Sony Electronics, Inc.)

Last year when Sony released the Cyber-shot DSC-T500, I was initially impressed with what the camera had to offer. But since testing it, the only thing to really prove its promise was the quality of the 720p video produced by the little pocket camera.

The T900 shares the same video abilities as the T500, but improves the resolution and adds Sony's Bionz image processing. Let's hope the T900 lives up to its flagship status.

Facts about the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T900:

• 12-megapixel, 1/2.3-inch Super HAD CCD sensor.
• 4X f3.5-4.6 35-140mm-equivalent lens.
• 720p HD movie capture with stereo mic.
• Bionz processor.
• Features a 3.5-inch Xtra Fine touch-screen LCD that delivers high resolution images (921,600 dots), which is approximately four times higher than conventional LCD screens (this is the same excellent screen found on last year's T700).
• Optical image stabilization
• Multi-output dock included and features HDMI
• Intelligent scene recognition, face detection with child/adult priority, and Smile Shutter.

The T900 camera will be available for pre-order in March and shipping in April in silver, black, red, and bronze for about $380.

(Credit: Sony Electronics, Inc.)

There's very little that's different between the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T90 and the DSC-T900. The T90 has a 0.5-inch smaller screen that has a significantly lower resolution (910K to 230K dots). It also doesn't have a stereo mic or have HD output via HDMI, only component. But, that's pretty much where the feature shed ends.

Basic specs for the ultracompact include a 12-megapixel sensor, 4X optical zoom with stabilization, 3.0-inch LCD, and 720p HD movie recording. You also get Sony's intelligent scene recognition, intelligent auto mode, Smile Shutter, and face detection with child and adult priority.

The T90 model is available in silver, black, pink, blue, and bronze for about $280.

With a Thursday announcement about a flagship SLR due later this year, Sony has become the third manufacturer to bet on the full-frame camera market.

(Credit: Stephen Shankland/CNET Networks)

LAS VEGAS--The heyday of 35mm film SLR cameras is long past, but one foundation of the technology is staging something of a comeback with new help from Sony.

The vast majority of digital single-lens reflex cameras today use an image sensor that's smaller than a full frame of 35mm film, which means lenses behave somewhat differently than on a film camera. For years, only Canon sold SLRs with a full-frame sensor, but Nikon entered the market with its top-end D3 late in 2007. At the Photo Marketing Association trade show Thursday, Sony announced its forthcoming "flagship" Alpha-branded SLR will follow suit.

"We will commercialize this model by the end of this year," said Toru Katsumoto, senior general manager of Sony's digital imaging business group. "This model uses a full-frame size, 24.6 megapixel, CMOS censor with Exmor technology"--specifically, Sony's full-frame sensor, he said.

Sony hopes the company's flagship SLR will appeal to professional photographers, but Katsumoto said in an interview that's not the main thrust for the camera.

"It's not for the real professional," Katsumoto said of the flagship model. "We'd like to make this camera of course for professionals, but also for enthusiasts and high-end amateurs."

Sony's move helps the full-frame remain relevant and perhaps spread it a bit more widely. But don't expect the full-frame format to dominate the way it did in the 35mm film era.

Full-frame economics
It's much more expensive to manufacture larger image sensors. Other SLR makers--Olympus, Pentax, Panasonic, Leica, and Samsung--use smaller sensors only, and Nikon and Canon say their small-sensor camera lines are here to stay. Camera makers also have been selling lenses that are geared specifically for small sensors and that sometimes don't work on full-frame models.

Smaller-sensor SLRs are a much larger market. Of the 2007 SLR market, fully 23 percent cost $600 or less, according to data released Thursday by NPD Group. For comparison, the cheapest full-frame model today, Canon's 5D, costs about $2,100 with no lens.

And chip-manufacturing improvements that could lower the cost of full-frame sensors help with smaller sensors.

"Any advance...would apply to both large- and small-format sensors. If CMOS suddenly got less expensive, then small-format would have an even smaller cost per sensor," said Mike DeLuca, a market segment manager for Eastman Kodak's professional and applied imaging group, which designs both small and very large image sensors.

From entry-level to flagship
That Sony is willing to tackle the difficult economics of the full-frame SLR market with its new Alpha provides further evidence that Sony is serious with its SLR push.

"This year, Alpha will proceed to its main stage," Katsumoto said. "We will address the whole spectrum of digital SLR segments this year ranging from entry-level to flagship."

Full-frame cameras can offer greater sensitivity for a given megapixel count because individual pixels are larger and gather more light. Sony's flagship Alpha, just shy of 25 megapixels, puts pixel count in the driver's seat. In contrast, Nikon's 12-megapixel D3 emphasizes bigger pixels with good low-light performance.

Another advantage of full-frame cameras is that lenses owned by 35mm film buffs work the way they were designed to. Small-frame cameras crop out the outer portions of the frame, making it harder to achieve wide-angle views. That could be relevant for customers who own lenses from Konica Minolta, whose camera assets Sony purchased to jump-start its SLR push.

"Full-frame still has advantages," said InfoTrends analyst Ed Lee. "It'll get you back all the wide-angle viewing."

Sony's new full-frame sensor

(Credit: Phil Ryan)

As expected, Sony quickly followed its 24-megapixel full-frame sensor announcement by revealing that its previously alluded-to pro model will use the new chip. Since there's a Super SteadyShot housing for the new chip, we can also expect the camera to have in-body image stabilization. The camera is scheduled to "launch" by the end of this year.

Sony also said it will address "the full spectrum" of Alpha products this year, which to me foreshadows a few more product announcements. That's all Sony shared today, but we can expect more details around Photokina this fall.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A350

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

2/1/2008: Thanks to lack of sleep and rusty HTML skills, the previous table entries for the A700 were incorrect. Sorry for my own addition to the confusion. Fixed now. Lori.

I suppose it was inevitable. With its latest camera announcements, Sony brings its scorched-earth camera marketing philosophy--blanketing each price segment with multiple choices in hopes that one combination of design and features hits pay dirt--to consumer digital SLRs. Today's announcement of the Alpha DSLR-A300 and A350 brings Sony's total number of dSLRs in the $700 to $900 range to three. The models, despite some really nice feature sets, have just enough significant trade-offs to engender frustration rather than delight at the variety.

First, here's an overview of the new consumer lineup:

Sony Alpha DSLR-A350 with optional battery grip

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

All the models have Super SteadyShot sensor-shift image stabilization and support sensitivities that range from ISO 100-3200, as well as the typical array of firmware-based features, such as Advanced Dynamic Range Optimization. With the A300 and A350, Sony also introduces Live View shooting mode to its dSLRs. Sony's 2-sensor implementation harks back to the more seamless approach pioneered--and subsequently discarded--by Olympus. With a secondary sensor dedicated to receiving a preview image off the imaging sensor, there's no need to flip the mirror up for preview and focus, then flip it back down to shoot, proving a more typical snapshot-like experience when framing via the LCD. In addition, Sony incorporates a flip-up LCD, which makes the feature not just practical, but actually useful (predominantly for overhead and from-the-hip shooting). We would prefer a flip-and-twist display, like that found on the Olympus E-3, but hey--you can't have everything.

Sony Alpha DSLR-A300

(Credit: Sony Electronics)

So the extra $100 you pay to go from the A200 to A300 gets you Live View. Or Live View, plus higher resolution but minus a lens, 1 frame-per-second continuous shooting speed, and a significantly lower-magnification viewfinder (A200 to A350). Between the A300 and the A350, which have the same tiny viewfinder and Live View, for the same $799 you have to decide whether you want the lens kit, or higher resolution and slower speed. You could opt for the Canon EOS Rebel XSi, which competes directly against the A350 at that $799 body-only price, but which delivers a better combination of resolution and performance for the money.

Also debuting at PMA, Sony introduces a pair of lenses: a pricey-but-probably-yummy Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* 24-70mm f/2.8 ZA ($1,749) and a basic telephoto zoom 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3 G SSM ($799). Both will be available this spring.