Sony DSC-S950 Review

Unfortunately, detailed information was not available on the Sony S950 at press time, although we do know that the latest in the company's S-series will be based around a 1/2.33" SuperHAD CCD image sensor with 10.1 megapixel resolution, coupled to a 4x optical zoom lens. Equivalent focal lengths will range from 33 to 132mm, while the maximum aperture varies from f/2.5 to f/5.6 across the zoom range. Macro focusing will be possible down to a minimum of five centimeters. The S950 will forgo any optical viewfinder in favor of a 2.7" LCD display with 230,000 dot resolution.

The Sony Cybershot S950 will be limited to a maximum ISO sensitivity of 3,200 equivalent, and will not offer true mechanical image stabilization, instead opting only for Digital Image Stabilization which functions by raising the camera's sensitivity (and along with it, the noise levels) so as to achieve a higher shutter speed and reduce motion blurring. The Sony S950 will also include face detection capable of identifying eight faces simultaneously, and will take into account the locations of detected faces when calculating autoexposure and autofocus variables.

Other features of the Sony DSC-S950 will include six scene modes, Motion JPEG AVI video, in-camera red-eye correction and image cropping, and a multi-function terminal that will cater for both USB / video output and DC input connections. The S950's 25.9mm thick body will be available in three colors - silver, pink and black. Pricing is expected to be in the region of $130, and availability has not been disclosed at this time.