Ultraslim waterproof Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX200V sports 18MP CMOS sensor
Sony is following up its wimpy CES showing with a bang, announcing three CMOS-based compact shooters — most significantly, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX200V, a high-end, ultracompact point-and-shoot. (The company also announced the DSC-WX70 and DSC-WX50, which, like the TX200V, use high-resolution, backside-illuminated CMOS sensors.)
The TX200V is the latest addition to Sony’s ultracompact T series, bumping last summer’s TX55 out of the top spot and packing an amazing assortment of features in a tiny body. It’s a smidge bigger than the TX55 (measuring 3.8×2.4×0.7 inches and weighing 4.6 ounces), but that’s understandable, considering it’s also waterproof to 16 feet, freeze-proof to 14º F, and dust-proof. The new design features a sleek reinforced glass front, making it somewhat reminiscent of an iPhone 4, but not nearly as slim (in fact, it’s not really as slim as it looks in the photo above (see the birds-eye view below to get a better idea).
The flip side of the camera features a 3.3-inch, 921,000-dot OLED touch-screen, which is super sleek as well. Though 18.2 megapixels is a lot to cram onto the typically tiny (1/2.3-inch) sensor, Sony’s use of its back-lit Exmor CMOS chip should help mitigate the low-light performance. It should also help give the TX200V zippier performance (Sony claims autofocus speeds of 0.13 seconds in daylight and 0.25 in low light, and 10 fps continuous shooting speeds). In addition to a the now typical features, such as face recognition; smile, blink, and motion detection; “Soft Skin” mode; and more, the TX200V also adds a GPS receiver and compass to round out its full feature set. Other highlights include:
- Full HD video recording (1920×1080 at 60 fps)
- Image stabilization during video and still shooting
- Dual Record feature for capturing still images while shooting video
- Nine “Picture Effect” art filters
- 3D shooting modes (3D Still Image, 3D Sweep Panorama and Sweep Multi Angle)
- Silver, red, and violet color options
The DSC-TX200V is available for pre-order on the Sony website for $499.99 and should begin shipping in late March.
For more information, read the press release »
