Sony's Cyber-shot T900, T90, W290, W230 and H20 do the thinking for you

It's official, folks -- PMA is on. Er, almost on. At any rate, it's on enough for Sony, FujiFilm and Samsung to dole out a smattering of new cams today in their respective lineups. Today, Sony is introducing five new Cyber-shot models, all of which seek to remove the burden of taking the perfect picture from you. The DSC-T900, DSC-T90, DSC-W290 and DSC-H20 all feature an intelligent auto mode, which automatically detects scene conditions and adjusts settings to best take advantage of the situation. The whole April-bound lot sports Optical SteadyShot and Smile Sutter, while the W290, H20, T90 and T900 all feature 720p movie recording at 30fps. Here's a rundown of the specs for each:

• DSC-W230: 12.1 megapixels, 4x (30mm) Carl Zeiss optical zoom lens, 3-inch LCD; available in silver, black, blue and red for about $200.
• DSC-W290: 12.1 megapixels, 5x (28mm) Carl Zeiss optical zoom lens, 3-inch LCD; available in silver, black, blue and bronze for $250
• DSC-T90: 12.1 megapixels, 4x Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar optical zoom, 3-inch touchscreen LCD; available in silver, black, pink, blue and brown for $300
• DSC-T900: 12.1 megapixels, 4x Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar optical zoom, 3.5-inch Xtra Fine touchscreen LCD; available in silver, black, red and bronze for $380
• DSC-H20: 10.1 megapixels, 10x Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar optical zoom, 3-inch LCD; available in black for about $280

Sony's Cyber-shot T900, T90, W290, W230 and H20 do the thinking for you

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 11:12AM]

"Intelligent mode" eh? "Honey, I don't know how this pic got in here. I swear it is the camera. Looks like it has got a mind of its own"

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 11:16AM]

Perfect for my Craigslist cok shots!

[Hydraulics Posted Feb 17th 2009 11:19AM]

Great, just what we need, more T series cameras that are terrible under low-light conditions.

[Plothole Posted Feb 17th 2009 11:30AM]

Keep in mind that their target clientele probably won't have an issue with using the built-in flash. And probably won't make large enough prints for the noise reduction to be especially noticeable.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 1:02PM]

i agree. i returned my t700 immediately. not impressive at all.
now, not sure how t900 is though.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 18th 2009 7:48AM]

Cybershots T Series are terrible in low light condition (what would you expect with this tiny lens) but the W series is really some of best around (in P&S not DSLR, for sure) in low ligth condition w/ flash OFF.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 11:30AM]

Is it really a good business model to have 10 SKU's for 1 product with minor differences. Sure I can see having different colors I guess, but minor differences in hardware seems flawed. Make it easy for consumers to buy, rather than having them research the same models trying to figure out what model has what. Just make 3 models MAX and be done with it. When I bought my PS3 I ended up getting the one that didn't have backward compatibility. As I didn't do my research. My fault I know but, the guy at Best Buy told me it would play them...., I thought those guys knew everything.

[Plothole Posted Feb 17th 2009 11:36AM]

I've heard that the reason they produce all these various models is so that they can fill up the store shelves. Leaving less room for minor competitors, and giving them a greater overall presence.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 11:49AM]

Interesting, makes sense I guess. I wonder if they sell enough to justify the production cost. Doesn't seem like it with the numbers Sony's been throwing up on the board.

[pk Posted Feb 17th 2009 12:48PM]

They all look different and the Sony's targets mostly care about the design.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 11:37AM]

well, at least they have 720p now :P

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 11:51AM]

these looks so damn hot..
also Sony T900 Resources -
http://www.techreviews4u.com/2009/02/17/sonys-cyber-shot-t900/

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 12:05PM]

not bad..
but where is the upgrade to the h50?

[nac300 Posted Feb 17th 2009 12:05PM]

"smile sutter"? :(

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 12:20PM]

Sut·ter (sŭt'ər) Pronunciation Key
American pioneer, raised in Switzerland. The discovery of gold on his land led to the California gold rush (1848-1849).

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 12:54PM]

make it rain

[xValentine Posted Feb 17th 2009 1:58PM]

I hope Sony joins the premium P&S league against Canon(G9/10), Panasonic(LX3), and Nikon(P6000)

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 2:33PM]

You mean "rejoins" the premium P&S league...Sony used to have some of the best high end P&S cameras with the F707, F717, F828, and the R1. They dropped out around the time they started the Alpha DSLR series. They may have been losing money on those cameras because it certainly wasn't ineptitude -- the R1 is still considered an incredible camera with a lens that rivals SLR quality (from what I've read, I had the F717).

[Plothole Posted Feb 17th 2009 6:03PM]

The problem with the R1, as I recall, is that it was simply too close to a dSLR. In both price and size. And yet it didn't offer the same level of flexibility (eg. interchangeable lenses).

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 6:08PM]

Hell yes. I wouldn't trade my R1 for anything. A truly awesome lens on it. Its almost impossible to take a bad shot with it.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 17th 2009 4:13PM]

pretty

[dstafford72 Posted Feb 17th 2009 5:09PM]

I for one am liking Sony's products more and more. After I ordered a Dell computer and it came broken, then its replacement came broken, I went to Best Buy where I could see the computers in real life before purchase and bought a Sony Vaio FW, which I am really happy with. I admire their TVs but the price is too high for me right now so I have a pretty nice Westinghouse, but I'm sure one day I'll have a Bravia. And as for the Cybershot cameras, if I ever save up some money to replace my cracked-screen-Sanyo-cheap-cam I think I might buy either an ultra-slim one or that cam with Wifi.......... these are nice too though

[joshuaw Posted Feb 17th 2009 7:00PM]

Sony's Cyber-shot naming scheme reminds me of Terminator. Before you know it, these things will be trying to kill us.

[(Unverified) Posted Feb 18th 2009 11:07PM]

all these cams and no physical viewfinder? I had a 505 (which did take great pics) but learned i will never again even buy a PAS that doesn't have a physical viewfinder.

[(Unverified) Posted Mar 21st 2009 5:15AM]

slim and nice design come with high quality...

http://savercheaper.com/camera/cheap-sony-cybershot-dsc-t900-12mp-digital-camera-with-4x-optical-zoom-and-super-steady-shot-image-stabilization.html