Watch out, GoPro… here comes Sony!

Faced with the onslaught of camera phones, the market for compact, fixed-lens cameras might have become a tough one in which to make a profit, but there are certainly some manufacturers that have identified convenient niches for their products. One such is Woodman Labs, creator of the popular GoPro action camera series.

Consumer electronics giant Sony looks set to encroach on Woodman's territory soon, though, according to an announcement from the manufacturer today.

Exhibiting at the CEA Line Show in New York today, the company has revealed development of a small, lightweight video camera aimed at the very same market as the GoPro series. With a variety of mounting attachments and rugged, waterproof housings, Sony's as-yet unnamed product will cater to the outdoors crowd seeking to film their own action.

Sony's unnamed action camera will have a stabilized Carl Zeiss lens, backside-illuminated sensor, and a waterproof housing with a variety of mounting options. Photo provided by Sony.

There will, however, be some features not yet present in GoPro's products. Sony says its wearable camera will include an Exmor R-branded, backside illuminated CMOS image sensor, and a Carl Zeiss Tessar-branded lens. It will also feature the company's SteadyShot image stabilization technology.

No further information is currently available on the new camera, but if Sony can keep size and weight down--one of the major selling points of the GoPro is its sub-100 gram weight that allows use in difficult environments such as mounted on radio-controlled models--then the GoPro might finally have a mainstream challenger on its hands. More info is expected this Fall, shortly before the camera's debut.