Compact range includes touch screen, high definition slideshows and advanced facial detection.
We had a closer look at Sony's DSC-T300 touchscreen compact camera at this week's Sony launch, and we were impressed.
The first thing we noticed when we picked up the unit was the large 3.5inch 16:9 LCD screen, which is stunning. There are no buttons on the back of this unit. Instead, the camera is controlled through an intuitive touch screen that supports a stylus and the ability to write or draw straight onto pictures. It feels simple to use and the touch screen actually feels normal after you get used to it.
The slim and stylish T300 comes in red, silver or black and feels light in the hand at around 149 grams (without battery). This camera also sports a couple of interesting technologies that include two very handy functions. The first is the 'intelligent scene recognition' that adjusts pictures for optimum quality from 5 different settings available. The second is Sony's updated facial detection technology that can detect up to 8 different faces in the camera frame, adjusting focus, balance and exposure to suit each person.
A music slide show feature and the ability to play HD 1080 slideshows is a bonus for home presentations. There's also plenty of zoom capacity with 5x, which works along side the meaty 10.1MP image processor.
Sony continues its tradition of building all units with the superior Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar lenses. The lens optical design allows most of the focusing power into the front element, which leads to very little movement of the lens that is needed for focusing, which means better pictures and less focal problems.
The camera and looks and feels like something you could easily fit in your pocket, take to a party or to a picnic. From what we saw demonstrated, it has a knack for taking quality pictures in a wide range of lighting and exposure conditions. Indeed, anything that helps with making dull photos appear more vibrant is a vote of confidence from us. The T300 retails for $699 and is out in stores now.
