Sony DSC-TX5 waterproof camera sprung from a leak
Think Sony would be happy with just making its latest shooter waterproof and calling it a day? Not a chance. Early information on this as yet unannounced compact indicates a 10fps burst mode, 4x optical zoom with optical image stabilization, an intriguing image stacking mode for reduced noise in high ISO shots, and full 1080p MPEG-4 movie recording. 1080i / 60fps AVCHD video is also possible, apparently, and if recent trends are continued the DSC-TX5 will also be able to store media on SD cards. Hallelujah. You'll find a couple more water-soaked images after the break, and the official launch is expected to take place at PMA 2010.




























hopefully the waterproofing actually works and doesn't trash it like some casios or pannys that we hear of.... and kinda feel bad for those who bought a TX7 already!
@afrokenjonny
panasonic ts-1 waterproof actually works
It will, i believe.
@Tiphone
link also mentions geotagging (but for the HX5V?)...now if the TX5 had it built-in, with an 8GB TransferJet card it might sound like an (expensive) awesome winner!
I hope this is at least 30 feet waterproof. I've been wanting to get a waterproof camera that takes HD video for a long time now, but the only one that did that was the Panasonic Lumix,but it was only up to 10 feet water proof. So if this is 30 or more I'm in 4 1.
@SNESimon
for snorkeling, I think 10ft is okay. for scuba diving, even without a license you can go 40ft... I would get a good enclosure for that case.
As if they couldn't fill most cameras with epoxy to seal the electronics from water. It cost more to fix a broken digital camera than it does to replace one; so it makes one wonder why these things haven't been sealed up like a space pen for longer? Come not cannon, sony, and others, can you help the people in seattle and london and start making more water friendly digital cameras? Those scuba cases are totally outrageous, so two thumbs up to sony for making a point and shoot that can get wet!
@cosmicinglewood
If you were an engineer and developer of such consumer electronics, you would understand that it's nowhere near as trivial to seal these as you make it sound.
@cosmicinglewood Downranked for being ignorant. There is a reason professional SLR cameras which have full environmental seals, not even waterproof seals, cost upwards of five grand.
@revoltracers , the reason is profit LOL: greed and profit are similar~ Downrank that concept!
@Scoopster
some people just use a waterproof plastic bag and the result isnt bad
Specs are excellent.
1080p and 1080i/60 is awesome, 10 fps photos is awesome, but SD card support is even more awesome.
welcome to year 2005 sony.
what took you so long???
@dark star
Right, 5 years ago, everyone had a waterproof point and shoot with 1080p video, 10fps shooting, and an exmor R cmos sensor. Sony is an innovator. It just takes big losses to do shit like waterproofing a camera for the 5 people that want one.
@dark star You sir, are an idiot.
@DavidF I think he was referring to SD cards, not the feature set.
I'd really love if the article (or sony) could define "waterproof". Is it waterproof as in water resistant (like, it'll survive being splashed) or is it waterproof as in, I can take pictures of bikini-clad-womens while they're under water in a pool?
Without that little detail and/or a depth to which the seal will hold, I don't have a whole lot of interest...I suspect it'll be the usual 10 foot yawner. Would love to replace my huge enclosure for scuba with a one-piece unit, but I doubt we'll ever see something like this that can handle real depth.
@geekymitch
That's true, it will probably be a long time until they can make a small, lightweight camera that can withstand 1, 2, or 3 atmospheres of pressure...that's why the scuba camera enclosures are so big and beefy. That kind of pressure would cause a little camera like this to squish like a coke can.
Nevertheless, if they can make an underwater camera that actually takes halfway decent images...I'm in! Great for Wakesurfing, Swim Lessons with the Grom, etc!
@geekymitch
While they are not scuba-depths, the Canon Poweshot D10 and the Olympus Stylus Tough 8000 both claim 33 feet or 10 meters. I've never used either, but there is a pretty good comparison here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/
Aw man, I JUST went out and got a DSC-T90.
shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit, this is great!
wish they could have included a 12x zoom though.
the waterproofness would be awesome when i'm camping / adventuring but only if it includes a nice 12 or 15x zoom.
pity but still a great camera, well done SONY!
beeautiful beeeeeeeutifuul !!
ehm why unannounced ?
on sony web is actually tx 7 !
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/dsc-t-series/dsc-tx7
My only question: How low can it go?
The lack of SD support for the plethora of existing memory cards that I already have has been a barrier to my purchase of a Sony for some time now. We have cards that we can share between our video camera, DSLR and PaS, and I don't want to have to start using 2 kinds of memory card. Also, I can plug SD right into my laptop, not memory stick.
I doubt this will take SD cards. The TX7 doesn't, and I would imagine with all the water sealing etc. the camera would have to get thicker to take an SD card. Sony also seems to have a delusion that somehow if they can tie you into something really stupid like a proprietary memory card, then you'll just run out and buy all Sony equipment in order to be compatible.
Oh yes! I really want to buy and underpowered and overpriced laptop just so I can plug a slow, flimsy, proprietary memory card into it from this camera that's actually good.
Come on Sony! Shunning the most popular standards only loses your sales. This seems like common sense.
No TransferJet? I'd have thought A combo of TransferJet and inductive charging would be a perfect combo for a waterproof camera. No need open it to get at the SD card or battery would mean it could be sealed for life and far more waterproof.
I've had a few waterproof camera - the weak point seems to be the access door. And drying it in the sun in a wet neoprene case so it gets steamed to death.