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Sony's logo. Click here to visit the Sony website! Sony Europe announces three new Cyber-shots (UPDATED)
By Michael R. Tomkins, The Imaging Resource
(Wednesday, February 5, 2003 - 04:10 EST)

News reaches us today of three new digital cameras announced in Europe by Sony.

Our friends at the LetsGoDigital and DCViews websites have posted news items describing the cameras, and LetsGoDigital also have an image of each camera.

From the European press release, we have specifications for all three cameras. The cameras will apparently ship in Europe in March / April 2003. European pricing has not yet been disclosed, and we cannot tell readers anything about US plans for these models at this time.

DSC-P32 DSC-P52 DSC-P72
Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-P32 digital camera. Courtesy of Sony, with modifications by Michael R. Tomkins. Click for a bigger picture! Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-P72 digital camera. Courtesy of Sony, with modifications by Michael R. Tomkins. Click for a bigger picture!
LENS
Optical Zoom / Smart Zoom (VGA) 1x / up to 3.2x 2x / 6.4x 3x / 9.6x
F 2.8 3.8 2.8 - 5.6
Focal Length 5 6.3 - 12.6 6 -18
35mm conversion 33 41 - 82 39 - 117
Auto lens cover yes yes yes
Even Brightness Picture yes yes yes
CCD
CCD Type Super HAD CCD Super HAD CCD Super HAD CCD
Inch size 1/ 2.7” type 1/ 2.7” type 1/ 2.7” type
Camera
Effective pixels 3.2 Mega 3.2 Mega 3.2 Mega
DXP 14 bit 14 bit 14 bit
Clear Color NR / Clear Luminance NR yes / yes yes / yes yes / yes
Super Resolution Converter yes yes yes
Auto Focus
Multi point
Center weighted
Multi point
Center weighted
Multi point
Center weighted
Focus Preset yes yes yes
Aperture / Shutter speed auto / auto auto / auto auto / auto
Exposure control +/- 2.0EV, 1/3EV step +/- 2.0EV, 1/3EV step +/- 2.0EV, 1/3EV step
White balance yes (5 modes) yes (5 modes) yes (5 modes)
Light metering
Multi pattern
Spot meter
Multi pattern
Spot meter
Multi pattern
Spot meter
Scene selection yes (5 modes) yes (5 modes) yes (5 modes)
Picture effects yes (4 modes) yes (4 modes) yes (4 modes)
Flash mode Auto, Anti red eye auto, Forced flash, No-flash, Slow Synch Auto, Anti red eye auto, Forced flash, No-flash, Slow Synch Auto, Anti red eye auto, Forced flash, No-flash, Slow Synch
Pre-Flash yes yes yes
Self timer yes yes yes
ISO sensitivity setting yes yes yes
AF Illuminator yes yes yes
LCD viewfinder
LCD screen size 1.5 type / 61.600 dots 1.6 type / 61.600 dots 1.5 type / 123.000 dots
Optical viewfinder yes yes yes
Auto Bright Monitoring yes yes yes
Recording
Recording Media
Memory Stick™
Memory Stick™ PRO
Memory Stick™
Memory Stick™ PRO
Memory Stick™
Memory Stick™ PRO
Recording mode
Normal (JPEG)
E-Mail (JPEG)
MPEG (VX)
Clip Motion (GIF)
Normal (JPEG)
E-Mail (JPEG)
MPEG (VX)
Clip Motion (GIF)
Normal (JPEG)
E-Mail (JPEG)
MPEG (VX)
Clip Motion (GIF)
Burst mode yes (2x) yes (2x) yes (2x)
Multi burst yes yes yes
Jacks
AV Out / Digital I/O (USB) yes / yes yes / yes yes / yes
General
Dimensions (wxhxd) 101.3 x 57.7 x 32.6 mm 123.2 x 57.7 x 52 mm 119.5 x 57.7 x 32.6 mm
Weight (body / incl. accessories) 155g/217g 218/280g 197g/259g
STAMINA* time / nr. of shots 2h 40 min / 320 (NH-AA-DA) 2h 30 min / 300 (NH-AA-DA) 2h 30 min / 300 (NH-AA-DA)
.
* Still image recording: under normal shooting conditions on Memory Stick™, LCD on, shooting once every 30 seconds, zoom operation alternates between the W and T ends (for zoom models), Flash strobes once every 2 shots, power turns on and off every 10 shots

Note: Subject to error and technical changes


Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-P32 and DSC-P72 digital cameras. Courtesy of Sony, with modifications by Michael R. Tomkins. Click for a bigger picture!

UPDATED 2003-02-05 19:54ET: Added pictures of the DSC-P32 and DSC-P72 courtesy of Sony Europe.
Source: Sony Europe

Original Source Press Release:

Perfect Pictures are Easy with New Sony Cyber-shot

3 Megapixel cameras make quality digital photography more easy, more fun

Berlin, 3 February 2003 - Sony Europe has today announced three new Cyber-shot digital still cameras that will make digital photography more accessible than ever. The three new models, the DSC-P32, DSC-P52 and DSC-P72 pack in more pixels and more features than their predecessors. They all offer 3 Megapixel image quality, produce stunning images in a diverse range of conditions and are easy and fun to use. The cameras are also amongst the first Sony products to be compatible with Memory Stick PRO*, which extends their data capacity up to 1GB.

Akihiro Nishikawa, Director Sony Digital Imaging Europe, commented: "Anyone who might be nervous about making the step to digital photography should try the new Cyber-Shot range. They are 'point and shoot' cameras that allow you to be spontaneous and take shots of real quality, whatever the conditions and, when printing the quality is perfect."

Picture perfect
Picture quality, contrast and colour rendition are all superb across the range, and the cameras produce high quality prints. The 3 Megapixel resolution gives printed photographs a quality that matches analogue photography (up to standard 10 x 15cm) and allows users to zoom in tighter and crop to get the shots they want. The 14 bit DXP system plus Super HAD CCD combine to produce excellent image detail and stunningly smooth contrast and colour rendition.

The new Smart Zoom function allows users to get closer to their subjects without sacrificing image quality. The camera intelligently adjusts the ratio of zoom based on the resolution of the image, achieving zoom ratios of up to 3.2x VGA for the DSC-P32, up to 6.4x VGA for the DSC-P52 and up to 9.6x VGA for the DSC-P72.

More stamina, more features
The cameras are supplied with 2 AA rechargeable Ni-MH batteries and capacity has been increased by 30% over predecessors. For the DSC-P32, this produces stamina of up to 2 hours 40 minutes, which is equal to 320 shots under normal conditions.

The cameras are packed out with photographic features giving users everything they need to take great shots every time. New Scene Selection modes mean that perfect shots can be taken in even more types of difficult conditions without having to think about the camera set up. The new modes, "Snow", which protects white from appearing too grey and "Beach", which preserves the blue of the sea, are added to the existing "Twilight", "Twilight Portrait" and "Landscape."

Thanks to a number of improvements in the flash operation, the cameras are more intelligent in making adjustments to light conditions. A new exposure warning means you always have the right exposure. The camera will detect the exposure level before taking the shot and a warning blink appears if it is not enough. Slow Synchronized Flash operates at a slow shutter speed for shooting foreground objects in twilight backgrounds, giving clarity to the background as well as to the foreground. Auto Daylight Synchronised Flash automatically measures the exposure level for foreground objects, which have light behind them, and Flash White Balance will adjust for the correct white balance in colourful shots.

Many improvements have been made to make the cameras more easy and quick to use so that shots can be taken swiftly with minimum fuss. Start-up times have been reduced to one or two seconds and shutter time intervals are around one second. Newly designed control functions mean that the cameras can be operated by little more than the touch of a thumb.

The Burst Mode takes two shots in rapid succession, doubling the chances of acquiring those once-in-a-lifetime shots. The camera uses a buffer memory to temporarily speed up data transmission between shots and is ideal for sports, action and wildlife photography.

Movie magic
Users can capture far more than stills of their favourite moments with the MPEG Movie VX function, which makes it possible to make movies with sound in VGA quality. When used with Memory Stick PRO*, the camera has up to a staggering 1GB memory, allowing approximately 22 minutes of movie recording.

The new Sony Cyber-shot range, the DSC-P32, DSC-P52 and DSC-P72, will become available across Europe during March and April 2003.

* Memory Stick PRO Media is an optional accessory

About Sony Europe:
Sony manufactures audio, video, communications and information technology products for the global consumer and professional markets. With its music, pictures, game and online businesses, Sony is uniquely positioned to become a leading personal broadband entertainment company in the 21st century. In Europe Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of EUR 14.76 billion (yen 1,609 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2002, based on an average market exchange rate for the same period of yen 109 to the euro. Sony Europe, headquartered at the Sony Center am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, is responsible for the company's European electronics business and registered consolidated sales of EUR 9.36 billion* for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2002.

For more information on Sony Europe, please visit http://www.sony-europe.com

(* Figures for the cellular phone business from October 1, 2001 are excluded from Sony Europe's consolidated sales.)

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