Read all posts matching 'sony 13.6' in Crave
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.
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.
On Sale Now: $149.00 - $179.97
View the latest prices for Sony Cyber-shot W230 (black)
On Sale Now: $149.95 - $284.95
View the latest prices for Sony Cyber-shot W230 (blue)
On Sale Now: $148.95 - $179.99
View the latest prices for Sony Cyber-shot W230 (red)
On Sale Now: $149.00 - $159.99
View the latest prices for Sony Cyber-shot W230 (silver)
On Sale Now: $179.99 - $229.99
View the latest prices for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 (black)
On Sale Now: $186.74 - $274.95
View the latest prices for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 (blue)
On Sale Now: $186.74 - $249.99
View the latest prices for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 (bronze)
On Sale Now: $197.95 - $229.99
View the latest prices for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 (silver)
(Credit:
Olympus America)
This week's news includes some camera announcements, new digital imaging technology, and even more on the future of photography.
- Casio's new EX-Z9 camera offers lots of color, little cost
- Flickr puts hold on PhotoShelter tool
- Manfrotto's new CX-series tripods
- Olympus revs its entry-level dSLR
- Micron carves out image-sensor division
- Photo industry braces for another revolution
- Print and store photos with 4GB HP portable printer, $45.99
- Kodak and Wal-Mart join forces to recycle
- Kingston plays 20 questions with Gerd Ludwig
- Start-up lets you fix focus after snapping the shutter
- CompactFlash revamp aimed at cameras
- Sony's new Cyber-shot W300 takes whopping 13.6-megapixel pictures.
- Record HD video with the Aiptek A-HD digital camcorder, $120 shipped
(Credit:
Sony)
Sony held its annual "Open House" in Las Vegas this week and, as
usual, pulled out all the stops. Here's the latest news:
Home theater
- New Sony Blu-ray players: Better than PS3?
- Sony PX-LX300USB lets you breathe new life into your old vinyl records
- Another proprietary wireless audio system: Sony S-AIR
- Sony refreshes Bravia home theater line for 2008
- Sony's new budget AV receivers packed with features
- Sony puts price tag and April launch date on new DualShock 3 wireless controller
Portable media
- Sony announces plethora of new audio accessories
- Sony's 2008 MP3 players priced for U.S.
- Sony's $500 headphones to hit U.S.
- Kids' headphones are good for parents too
Cameras
- Sony's new Cyber-shot W300 takes whopping 13.6-megapixel pictures
- Sony megazoom resolution rises, price falls
Computers
GPS
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300
(Credit: Sony Electronics)Sony bumps up its point-and-shoot cameras to a new height of resolution with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300, the company's first 13.6-megapixel snapshot camera. This follow-up to last year's 12-megapixel Cyber-shot DSC-W200 bears some of the most impressive features found in Sony's W-series of compact cameras, along with one of the line's heftiest price tags yet.
The W300 includes an impressive set of features under its shiny, titanium-coated casing. Its 35 to 105mm-equivalent f/2.8-5.8 lens seems fairly standard, but its 2.7-inch LCD screen and optical viewfinder give it surprising flexibility compared with most snapshot cameras. Like other Cyber-shot W-series cameras, the W300 includes a face detection system that Sony claims can distinguish between adult and children's faces and--using the Smile Shutter mode--automatically take pictures when subjects smile. It also lets users share their photos with an on-board slide show with customizable MP3 soundtracks, includes in-camera photo search, and can output to HDTVs.
Besides the high resolution, the W300 packs one distinguishing feature that sets it apart. Unlike virtually every other point-and-shoot camera on the market, the W300 includes an adjustable noise reduction setting. Users will be able to choose whether the camera will use "low," "standard," or "high" noise reduction, determining how much it processes each shot to reduce noise. This feature is particularly useful with the W300's 13.6 megapixel, 1/1.7-inch sensor; noise tends to increase significantly when more and more pixels are crammed onto smaller and smaller sensors. If you have a lot of noise in a picture, like when you're shooting at high sensitivity levels, you might want a more zealous noise reduction process. On the other hand, if you're shooting at a low ISO setting, you might want to scale back the noise reduction so it doesn't hurt fine details. This new setting is a welcome addition to snapshot cameras, which generally restrict you to the camera's noise reduction whims.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300 ships in May, with a suggested retail price of $350.
On Sale Now: $299.99
View the latest prices for Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W300
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