Have you noticed that consumer cameras have come way down in price. It use to be over a thousand dollars just to own a 2.1 mega pixel digital camera. Now there is today 5 and 6 mega pixel cameras that is within the consumers reach. Five meg cameras some that is can be bought for under one thousand dollars. I say if you can part with spending that extra, than do it. Most general photographic shots will capture well on a 2.1 or 3 megapixel camera. The more megs the more gadgets the camera will do. Plus the pictures will contain higher amounts of data. The Sony in review here is an affordable digital camera with considerable value and sophistication. A camera which is comparative to those standards used by some professionals.

This camera is pocket portable, and size does matter. Very small and so thin that you might mistake it for your credit card. You may wonder how the zoom works in such a small space.

 Lens
* Lens construction: 11 elements in 8 groups (including 3 aspheric elements,1 prism)
* 3x Optical Zoom
* 6x Precision Digital Zoom
* Smart Zoom: 3 Mega: 3.8x, 1 Mega: 6.1x, VGA:12x
* F= 3.5-4.4
* Focal Distance f= 6.7-20.1mm
* 35mm conversion=38-114mm
* Focusing Range: Auto Focus- W: 500mm to infinity, T: 500mm to infinity
* Macro Auto Focus - W: 80mm to infinity, T: 250mm to infinity, Magnifying Glass Mode - W: 10mm to 200mm
* Lens Cover
* Even Brightness Picture
* Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens
CCD
* Super HAD CCD
* CCD: 1/2.4 type, Approx. 5,255K Gross Pixels
* CCD Scan System: Interlace scan
* CCD Primary color filter
CAMERA
* 5,090K Effective Pixels
* 14-bit DXP (Digital Extended Processor)
* Super Resolution Converter
* Clear Color NR
* Clear Luminance NR
* AF method: Single, Monitoring, Continuous
* AF Area: Multi Point (5), Center Weighted, Spot
* Focus Preset: Menu, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, 7.0, infinity
* Auto Aperture
* Auto Shutter Speed: (1/8-1/1000, Program Auto: 1"-1/1000 High-speed shutter: 1/250-1/1000)
* NR Slow Shutter: Program Auto, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Fireworks, NR 1/6"-1"
* Hand Shake Alert
* Exposure Compensation: (+/-2.0EV, 1/3EV step)
* White Balance*2: Menu, 6 modes
* Light metering: Multi Pattern, Spot
* Sharpness Setting: Menu, +/-1 step
* Saturation Setting: Menu, +/-1 step
* Contrast Setting: Menu, +/-1 step
* ISO Sensitivity Setting (Menu, Auto, 100, 200, 400)
* Exposure Mode*3: Auto/Program Auto
* Scene Selection: (Menu, 8 modes): Magnifying glass, Twilight, Twilight Portrait, Landscape, Snow, Beach, High-speed shutter, Fireworks
* Picture Effect*4: (Menu, 3 modes): Negative Art, Sepia, Solarization
* AF Illuminator
* Flash Mode: Auto, Auto Forced-Flash, No Flash, Slow Synchro
* Distance limitations using Flash: W: 0.3-1.5m, T: 0.5-1.5m
* Flash Level Setting: High, Normal, Low
* Pre-flash
* Red-eye Reduction (Set up)
* Self-Timer (10 Seconds)
LCD
* 2.5" TFT
* LCD Total Dot: 211K
* Hybrid LCD monitor
* LCD ON/OFF
* LCD Brightness Setting (Set Up)
* Auto Bright Monitoring
* LCD Field of View 100%
Recording
* Recording Media: Memory Stick® Duo/Memory Stick® PRO™ Duo
* Memory Card Slot Standard: Memory Stick® Duo PRO
* Recording Format: JPEG/MPEG1
* Memory Stick PRO Duo Parallel Interface
* DCF (Design Rule for Camera File System)
* DPOF (Digital Print Order Format)
Still Image Recording
* Recording Mode Compression Normal (JPEG), Burst mode (JPEG), Auto Bracketing (JPEG), E-Mail (JPEG), Voice memo (MPEG1)
* Still image size:
        2,592x1,944: 5 Megapixels
        2,592x1,728: 3.2 Megapixels
        2,048x1,536: 3 Megapixels
        1,280x960: 1 Megapixel
        640x480: VGA
        3.2 mode 2,592 x 1,728
* Burst Shot Number/Burst Interval:
        Speed Priority: 4 shots/0.33 sec
        Framing Priority 4shots/0.36 sec
        Quality Mode: Standard, Fine
Moving Image Recording
* VX Fine: 640x480, 30fps*5
* VX Standard: 640x480, Approx. 16.6fps*5
* Video Mail Mode: 160x112, Approx. 8.3fps*5
* Multi Burst
Microphone/Speaker
* Built-in Microphone: Electric Condenser Microphone
* Piezoelectric Speaker
* Speaker volume control
Playback/Edit
* Playback Still Image Size: under 2,592 x 1,944
* Playback Moving Image Mode: VX Fine Standard 160x112, HQX, Presentation, CV
* Index Playback (9 image/Fine - 16 image)
* Still Image Playback
* MPEG Movie/Voice Memo Playback
* Slide show Playback
* Trimming (All Sizes)
* Resize
* Playback Zoom (5x)
* Image Rotate
* Divide (MPEG)
* Cue & Review (MPEG)
* Delete (All/Select)
* Protect (All/Select)
* Print mark (Select)
* Memory Stick Duo Media
General
* File Number Setting: Reset/Series
* Multi Folder
* Multi Language Operation
* Display On/Off
* Beep/Shutter Sound: On/Shutter/Off
* Date/Time Impose
* Battery Remaining Indicator
* Histogram Indicator
* Exposure Warning Indicator
* Memory Stick Remaining Indicator
* Exif Private Tag (Ver. 2.2)
* PTP (Print Transfer Protocol)
* PRINT Image Matching (PIM2)
* Exif Print
* Shop Front Mode
* Start-up Time: Approx.: 1.3 Sec.
* Battery Full Charging time: Approx. 150 Min.
* Shutter Lag Time: Approx.: 0.24 Sec.
* Release Lag time: Approx. 0.009 Sec.
* Minimum Recording Interval:
        5M (2,592x1,944): Approx. 1.0 Sec.
        3.2M (2,592 x 1,728): Approx. 1.0 Sec.
        3M (2,048 x 1,536): Approx. 1.1 Sec.
        1M (1,280x960): Approx. 1.1 Sec.
        VGA (640x480): Approx. 1.1 Sec.
* USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
INPUTS/OUTPUTS
* AV Out: Audio, Mono (with Cradle Only)
* Digital I/O (USB) (with Cradle Only)
* DC In Terminal (with Cradle Only)
* Multi-use Terminal (with Cradle Only) ­ AV Out, USB, DC In
Power / Others
* Power Requirements: DC 3.6V with NP-FT1 battery, 4.2V with AC-LM5 Adapter
* Battery System: InfoLITHIUMTM (M-Series) NP-FT1, Power Pack, Li-ion, 25g,1 Supplied Battery
* Power Consumption
* VF (LCD Off): 1.3W
* LCD On: 1.6W
* Dimension (WxHxD): 91 x 60 x 21mm
* Weight: 155g Body (Tentative), including accessories*6: 180g
* Body Material: Metal (Stainless)/Plastic
* Operating temperature: 0 Degree - 40 Degree
Remarks
* 2. Auto/Daylight/Cloudy/Fluorescent/Incandescent/Flash
* 3. Magnifying glass,Twilight,Twilight Portrait,Landscape,Snow,Beach,High-speed shutter,Fireworks
* 4. Negative Art,Sepia,Solarization
* 5. Effective frame rate
* 6. Including NP-FT1, "Memory Stick Duo" and Wrist Strap
Supplied Accessory
* NP-FT1 Rechargeable Battery
* AC-LM5 AC Adapter
* AUDIO/VIDEO connecting cable
* USB cable
* 32MB Memory Stick Duo media
* Memory Stick Duo media adaptor
* 1 CD-ROM: PIXELA ™ ImageMixer Ver 1.5 for Sony + USB Driver
* Recommended computer environment
* USB Compatibility:
* Microsoft Windows® 98/98SE/Me/2000 Professional/ XP Home Edition/Professional
* Must be installed with the above OS at delivery.
* We do not guarantee proper operation with OS upgraded environment even if the above OS is used.CPU-MMX® Pentium® 200 MHz or faster

* Macintosh®
* Mac OS 9.1/9.2/ Mac OS X (v10.0/v10.1) standard installation

* Note-The USB terminal must be provided as standard.
* If two or more USB devices are connected to your computer, this unit may fail to operate properly depending on the USB connections being used simultaneously. We do not guarantee proper operation when connecting through a USB hub. This guarantee does not cover operation for all computers listed in the suggested operating environment.
Software contained on the CD-ROM:
* PIXELA ImageMixer Ver.1.5 for Sony & USB Driver
* Microsoft Windows® 98/98SE/Me/2000 Professional/ XP Home Edition/Professional
* Must be installed with the above OS at delivery.
* We do not guarantee proper operation with OS upgraded environment even if the above OS is used.

* Macintosh®
* Mac OS 9.1 or later (Mac OS X is not compatible) standard installation

* MPEG file playback by computer:
* Windows: Windows Media Player must be installed.
* Macintosh: QuickTime 3.0 or later must be installed.