Cyber Shot -- Engadget

cyber-shot posts

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX1 scores mixed reception

by Vladislav Savov posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 5:45PM

By now you should be thoroughly familiar with Sony's Party-shot-loving and almost unreasonably svelte TX1 compact shooter. Its headline features -- 720p movie mode and better low light performance courtesy of the Exmor R sensor -- have now been put to the test and we're here with the scorecard ready to spill the results. Reassuringly, all reviewers found image quality to be excellent for the camera's size class, and the TX1 even outperformed its peers by keeping noise comfortably in check all the way up to ISO 800. A 1cm (or 0.4-inches for you heretics) Macro mode was another highlight, though criticisms did rain down on issues of lens distortion, a fiddly touchscreen menu that was too prone to accidental activation, and an uncompetitive price point. Of course, your biggest draw here might still be the optional (and spendy) party dock, but the thorough reviews below at least give you the chance to pretend like you're buying this camera for the image quality alone.

Read - Photography Blog review
Read - Wired review
Read - Imaging Resource review
Read - Electric Pig review

Video hands-on: Sony's Party-shot dock knows how to par-tay, unlike Paul

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 4th 2009 at 6:44AM

Know what's awesome? Parties... and parfaits. But if we had to choose, we'd rather have Sony's Party-shot dock on hand at our next soirèe instead of a delicate ensemble of whipped confectioneries. Just set your Partyshot-enabled Cybershot into Sony's automatically swiveling and panning $150 IPT-DS1 Party-shot dock and relive up to 11-hours of battery powered magic the next morning. Assuming it's still there, of course. See it in action with your 24 hour IFA party people after the break.

Gallery: Video hands-on: Sony's Party-shot dock knows how to par-tay, unlike Paul

Continue reading Video hands-on: Sony's Party-shot dock knows how to par-tay, unlike Paul

Sony's Party-shot dock snaps incriminating Facebook photos while you drink

by Darren Murph posted Aug 6th 2009 at 1:02AM

As if your Facebook profile doesn't have enough hard evidence that you're completely unfit for any job you might strike up the courage to apply for, here's a thoughtful accessory for producing even more regret-inducing snapshots. Launched tonight alongside Sony's DSC-WX1 and DSC-TX1 Cyber-shot digicams, the $150 IPT-DS1 Party-shot (ships in September) is a newfangled camera dock that pans 360 degrees and tilts 24 degrees, automatically detects faces, adjusts composition and takes photos for you. It's like the GigaPan, sans the whole "useful panorama" aspect. The dock can churn for up to 11 hours on a pair of AA batteries (an optional AC adapter is also available), though at least for now, it only works with the aforesaid TX1 and WX1 models. Also of note, anyone with half an ounce of dignity will likely freak out and leave upon seeing this set up at your next shindig. Just sayin'.

Gallery: Sony's Party-shot dock snaps incriminating Facebook photos while you drink

Sony Ericsson's 8.1MP C905a and W518a Walkman on sale at AT&T

by Darren Murph posted Jul 19th 2009 at 1:18PM

Don't act surprised -- AT&T already told you that these two would go on sale this fine Sunday in July, and lo and behold, the carrier looks to have kept its promise. Starting today (officially, anyway), customers looking for a camera that doubles as a cellphone or a Walkman that occasionally makes calls can bring home the C905a or W518a, respectively. As expected, the C905a (which is available in silver only) will run you $179.99 after rebate and two-year agreement, while the W518a (which arrives in any color you like, so long as it's black) goes for $49.99 under the same conditions. Any takers? Or are all you SE fanboys waiting to court Rachael?

[Thanks, Jazzdoc]

Sony Ericsson hand delivers 8.1MP C905a and W518a Walkman to AT&T

by Darren Murph posted Jul 15th 2009 at 10:42AM

While one could argue that Sony Ericsson should really be focusing its efforts on getting a Rachael / Android-based handset out on the double, it's evidently content with digging up a year-old phone, slapping an "a" on the end of it and passing it along to AT&T. The 8.1 megapixel C905 that we were so jazzed about in June of 2008 has indeed been certified for AT&T as the C905a Cyber-shot (left and center), offering the same 8.1 megapixel sensor, face detection, AutoFocus, Xenon flash, GPS tagging and 3G support. In related news, SE is also offering up the 518a Walkman (shown right) on the same carrier, which features a 3.2 megapixel camera, an obsession with Facebook, Shake Control and OTA music downloads from Napster and eMusic via AT&T Music. Both sets will be available on July 19th for $179.99 and $49.99 (respectively) after mail-in rebate and a two-year agreement, which sounds "way too high" and "too high" to us (also respectively).

Sony T90 point-and-shoot gets reviewed, liked

by Vladislav Savov posted Jun 26th 2009 at 7:29AM

In an already overpopulated compact camera market, the Cyber-shot T90 solicits attention with a 16:9 touch-screen LCD and a sliding lens shield. The lads over at PC Mag grabbed one of these Sony shooters for an in-depth prodding and poking session to determine whether the external appeal of the camera is backed up by solid technology under the hood. Praise was meted out for image sharpness and 720p video recording, though battery life was found disappointing. For their full impressions, test results and an exhaustive spec sheet, hit the read link.

Sony Cyber-shot W180 and W190 cameras feature awesome digital zooms

by Thomas Ricker posted May 28th 2009 at 3:41AM

Sony just announced a pair of Cyber-shot cameras in Europe. Both offer Sony's smile shutter technology, 3x zoom stabilized with SteadyShot, 2.7-inch LCD, a claimed ISO 3200 sensitivity, and 7 automatic scene selection modes. The W180, though, has a 10.1 megapixel sensor to the 12.1 megapixels of the W190 (pictured). Oddly, Sony's pushing the 17x/18x digital zoom capabilities on these -- something we haven't seen hyped for a few years:

Pristine picture quality is further enhanced by the high-quality 3x optical zoom lens. Smart zoom boosts maximum magnification to a frame-filling 18x for W190 and 17x for W180 for even more dramatic close-ups.

In other words, these cams are targeting entry-level consumers prone to enjoying a Big Mac and tattle-rag while shopping instead of doing any real pre-purchase research. Available starting July in silver, black, and red for "an outstanding value." Backside front, after the break.

Continue reading Sony Cyber-shot W180 and W190 cameras feature awesome digital zooms

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 superzoomer reviewed

by Paul Miller posted Apr 23rd 2009 at 4:38AM

Sure, it's got that funky flip-out display, in-camera panorama stitching, HD video recording and a host of other fancy features for its $500 pricepoint, but does Sony's new Cyber-shot DSC-HX1 give DSLRs a run for their money? Digital Photography Review doesn't seem to think so. The camera has a lot in common with Canon's similarly-positioned SX1 IS, and even bests it in some departments with that 10 fps continuos shooting mode, but the actual image quality just isn't in the same ballpark as a barely more expensive DSLR, and DP Review figures that if you don't need the 20x zoom or other more gimmicky features, most folks would probably be better served by saving their pennies for the real deal.

Sony Ericsson CS8 passes FCC, looking T-Mobile bound

by Chris Ziegler posted Apr 21st 2009 at 11:27AM

If you were looking for a C905 with just a little dash of AWS 3G thrown in, look no further than this little gem. The so-called CS8 breaks from Sony Ericsson's traditional model naming convention, but they could call this thing the Behold 2 if they wanted to -- all we care is that we're getting access to an 8.1 megapixel slider with myFaves (you can clearly see the myFaves logo plastered on the back of the user manual's diagrams, and yes, it's that important). It also sports Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, and our undying love and affection, so we hope to see you soon, dearest Cyber-shot.

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

by Darren Murph posted Feb 17th 2009 at 11:08AM

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

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

Sony's GPS-CS3KA GPS image tracker coming in March

by Darren Murph posted Feb 10th 2009 at 9:34AM

Sony last upgraded its CS1 GPS image tracker around this time last year, and as PMA 2009 draws ever closer, we're seeing the outfit quietly introduce that unit's proper successor. The GPS-CS3KA takes on a slightly more modern design and promises compatibility with nearly every Cyber-shot digital still camera and Handycam camcorder out there. Essentially, the utility here is the same as before -- keep it on your person while shooting, then let the Picture Motion Browser software sync up data with the time stamps on your photos. Once done, you'll get a nifty Google Map showing where you photographed each image. This unit also sports dual MS / SD card slots and can run for almost 15 hours on a single AA cell. We're almost guaranteed a look at this early next month in Vegas, but the general public will have to wait until it ships in late March for $149.99.

[Via NaviGadget]

Gallery: Sony's GPS-CS3KA GPS image tracker coming in March

Sony Ericsson's W395 Walkman and C903 Cybershot bring more of the same

by Thomas Ricker posted Feb 10th 2009 at 3:47AM

In the run-up to Mobile World Congress we've been treated to a windfall of hot new phones and technologies. Then there's Sony Ericsson's W395 Walkman and C903 Cyber-shot. The W395 is a new Walkman slider with built-in stereo speakers meant for the "youth" market, a market that seemingly hates 3G or storage since the quad-band GSM/EDGE device ships with a measly 1GB memory card. It will, however, be affordable and feature a 2 megapixel camera when it ships in Q1. The C903 Cyber-shot slider already spotted around here a few times brings a 5 megapixel autofocus camera with sliding lens cover as we've seen -- give the cover a slide and this cameraphone's ready for duty. The camera features face detection and a Smile Shutter mode that automatically snaps the shutter when a happy face is detected. It also packs a 2.4-inch display, Memory Stick Micro (M2) expansion slot and, get this... it'll even make phone calls. This worldphone rides quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE for 10 hours of talk or 400 hours of standby with UMTS/HSPA 900/2100 (or 850/1900/2100 in the C903a configuration) frequencies bringing the 3G sometime in Q2. Beautiful devices for what they are -- guess we're just spoiled by all the MWC goods expected in Barcelona from RIM, LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Acer, Android, Palm, Microsoft... you get the idea.

Update: Details on a 5 megapixel C901 candybar were also released sans the Cyber-shot branding and any fanfare even though it's similarly spec'd to the C903.

Gallery: Sony Ericsson W395 and C903

[Via Phone Arena]

Read -- W395 Walkman
Read -- C903 Cyber-shot

Hitachi H001 with 3D display leads up KDDI au's Spring 2009 lineup

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 29th 2009 at 1:49AM

So KDDI's latest lineup of new phones features the usual array of 8.1 megapixel cameras, wide VGA displays, one-seg TV tuners, and teleporters, but one particular handset stood out: Hitachi's Wooo H001. The dual-hinge flip's claim to fame -- well, besides the bizarre color scheme -- has to be the stereoscopic IPS display that presumably uses the same parallax barrier method shown off by the carrier late last year. The phone will happily serve up 3D-ified versions of various UI elements and mobile TV content, and when you start to get woozy (or Wooozy, as it were), just flip a switch and you're back to the reassuring flatness you're used to. It'll launch in three colors in April, and naturally, you'll have to be in Japan to get it.

[Via Akihabara News]

Sony Ericsson W508 Walkman hands-on

by Sean Cooper posted Jan 8th 2009 at 2:26AM

Also on-hand -- and in -- tonight was Sony Ericsson's newest Walkman set, the W508. This clamshell, which is a bit of a departure for Walkman devices, features quad-band GSM and single-band HSDPA, and a W508a variant that has quad-band GSM and triple-band HSDPA for our shores. Other notables include a 3.2 megapixel camera, Bluetooth, video calling, and Exchange Activesync for some enterprise mail access. Engadget Mobile has a gallery up, so feel free to wander over and browse.

Sony Ericsson's C510 Cyber-shot hands-on

by Sean Cooper posted Jan 8th 2009 at 2:20AM

Sony Ericsson, while dwarfed by big brother Sony's launches at the show this year, did at least show a couple sets today. The Cyber-shot C510 will be released in a triple-band GSM single band HSDPA version for Europe, a quad-band GSM triple-band HSDPA, and a triple-band GSM version for China. Feature list includes a 3.2 megapixel camera with autofocus, Smile Shutter technology that detects a smile a immediately grabs the shot, Snapfish, and YouTube for quick video uploads. Engadget Mobile were kind enough to give it a quick once over, hit the read link for the info.