Cybershot

Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III Specs and Pictures

by Sohrab Osati | May 22, 2014 | 1 comment

A few days ago, Sony announced the Cyber-shot RX100 III. This 3rd generation R series camera takes what made previous models so successful and updates the camera with a better lens, more video codecs, and NFC for easy sharing among other note worthy features. Our Sony RX100 III overview gives you all the details about what to expect from the compact camera when it’s released next month. If that’s not enough details however then you’ll be please to know that we’ve compiled all the technical details, including a more extensive picture gallery for your reading pleasure.

After the jump, the Sony RX100 III specs await you.

Sony Xperia Tablet Z Scoops Tablet of the Year Award at EISA 2013, Wins Four More

by Jonathan Nolan | Aug 27, 2013 | 4 comments

It’s award season – and Sony has won no less than five Product of the Year awards at the annual European Imaging and Sound Association (EISA), awards, the largest editorial multimedia organization in Europe. The seductive Xperia Tablet Z won outright in the coveted Tablet of the Year 2013-2014 category, a stunning victory in Sony’s attempt to set new standards in the rapidly expanding tablet sector. Other accolades went to two Sony cameras, a Bravia TV and a HT receiver in a thrilling night.

Sony RX100MI Leaked, Includes Tilting LCD and Wi-Fi

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 26, 2013 | 0 comments

The Sony RX100 is one amazing compact camera. In fact, we were so impressed by it that we decided to buy one, just so we could review it and in doing so, we called the Sony RX100 “nothing short of a revelation.” So how can Sony followup the 20.2 megapixel camera which features a full 1-inch image sensor with 1.8 f-stop? If you say more megapixels then you’d be wrong. Thanks to a recent leak from the devices Japanese manual, we’ve come to learn some of the tidbits that will be going into the Sony RX100MI, the next generation in the series and so far, we’re quite pleased.

Sony HX300, WX300, and TX30 High Resolution Image Gallery

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 20, 2013 | 0 comments

Last week, we reported about the upcoming Spring refresh to Sony’s Cyber-shot family which consists of the HX300, WX300, and TX30. As a recap, the HX300 offers an all new 20.4-megapixels sensor and 50X zoom zoom lens among other goodies. The more pocket friendly WX300 and TX30 opt for a smaller 18.2-megapixel sensor while the former gives you a 20X zoom lens and the latter offers a waterproof up to 33ft, dustproof, shockproof and freezeproof casing. After the jump, we’ve compiled a beautiful high resolution image gallery from these cameras.

Sony Announces Cyber-shot HX300, WX300, and TX30

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 7, 2013 | 0 comments

If you’re looking for a beefier camera to sport this Spring but you’re not looking to get into more professional gear like Sony’s NEX and Alpha series, then listen up. For the upcoming season, Sony is updating their higher-end Cyber-shot cameras, starting with the HX300. Here to replace the HX200V, the Cyber-shot HX300 offers 20.4-megapixels, 50X zoom (24-1,200mm equivalent lens) with better stabilization, and a much higher autofocus speed that can focus twice as quickly at telephoto distances than the HX200V. Other features include manual/autofocus, full 1080p recording, and HDMI out. Up next is the pocket-sized WX300 which, due to its size constraints, doesn’t pack the same punch. Still, an 18.2-megapixel sensor, 20X zoom (25-50mm equivalent), autofocus which clocks in at 3.6 times faster that the previous model and Wi-Fi sharing make it a hard unit to pass up. Up next, the even thinner and waterproof TX30.

Sony to Refresh Entire Cybershot Line at CES?

by Sohrab Osati | Jan 2, 2012 | 43 comments

Much like CES 2011 when Sony announced dozens of new Cybershot cameras, their compact line of cameras, the electronic and growing camera giant is again expected to renew the now year old camera lineup. Sony traditionally breaks down their Cybershot into three series, the W, T, and H models.

The W models tend to appeal to the casual and budget aware consumers with prices starting at $99 with 12.1 megapixel while the T series picks things up at $299 with 16.2 megapixels and considerably thinner design, perfect for slipping into your pocket without noticing its weight. For just $10 more, Sony also makes the TX10 which is certified waterproof, dustproof, shockproof and freeze-proof.

The H series tops the series off with the thicket of the three lines at $279 and 16.2 megapixels again. However, the H series comes equipped with Sony G lens with 16x optical zoom, “Exmor R” CMOS sensor, Hi-speed Linear Focus, Backlight Correction, 3D stills and 3D Sweep Panorama. For those looking to get DSLR like pictures, the H series picture quality is top notch without the headaches of a large camera body and lens.

Sony to Announce New Cybershots on July 20th?

by Sohrab Osati | Jul 12, 2011 | 55 comments

If our friends’ sources are to be believed, Sony Electronics is setting July 20th aside in order to launch a few new compact cameras. This should naturally indicate a few new models coming to their Cybershot lineup while it will still be a while longer before we see something new to the Alpha and NEX series. With the recently-announced NEX-C3 just hitting store shelves and the leaked Alpha A65 and A77, it’s not much of a surprise to not see something from those series. However, with Sony’s camera business growing with the likes of the HX9V, which has recently earned rave reviews, we are eager to see what the company brings next to the Cybershot family.

[Via SonyAlphaRumors]

Sony Cybershot DSC-HX9V Receives Rave Reviews

by Sohrab Osati | Jun 16, 2011 | 20 comments

Being a current and happy owner of the Sony Cybershot DSC-HX5V, I was curious as to what the updated version, the HX9V, would bring to the table. Judging from reviews, it seems to be a heck of a whole lot. The respected camera site the “Photography Blog” has now reviewed the HX9V and calls the camera “the best travel-zoom camera that we’ve reviewed to date.” That’s because Sony gives you a ton of features while still making sure that the camera fits in your pocket or purse, like:

16 Megapixels
1080p AVCHD Video Recording
3-inch LCD
16X Optical Zoom
Super Steady shot
2D/3D Panorama Mode
10 FPS Full-res Burst Mode
Full Manual Control
f/3.3 Wide-angle Aperture.
GPS for Geotagging
SD/Memory Stick

Hit the jump for the full story.

PogoPlug Video Unboxing and Preview (video)

by Sohrab Osati | May 31, 2011 | 3 comments

As promised in our website 2.0 post, our goal is to provide more original content for you, our readers and we’ve just achieved two more notches in our belt when it comes to that promise. You see, not only will we be attending Sony’s E3 press conference next week, but we have also received a PogoPlug Video to unbox for you.

The PogoPlug Video was brought to life between a partnership between Sony and Cloud Engines with a simple, but complex and yet complex idea at the same time. Make sharing of AVCHD video, a format that all of Sony’s Cybershot, Alpha, NEX and Handycam camcorder shoot in natively which provides superior audio and video, both simple and hassle free. With the AVCHD format, comes larger file sizes and a format that YouTube and Facebook aren’t so keen on supporting. With the PogoPlug Video and Sony’s partnership with them, you simply need to drag the video from your camera into your shared PogoPlug video folder, and the free PogoPlug app for your Mac or PC will allow you share this content for free and provide you near instant streaming capabilities. All this “cloud storage” and streaming capabilities also come to you with no monthly fees or bandwidth limits whatsoever. But before we get into our review, here is an unboxing for you.

If you have any questions about the PogoPlug, let us know about in the comments section below. Also, do you have a preferred cloud storage system setup? How about a home server? Let us know!

Thom Hogan Praises Sony’s DSLR Strategy, Warns Canon and Nikon

by Sohrab Osati | May 25, 2011 | 76 comments

It’s no secret that Sony has been making strides in the camera world. Expanding their ever growing lineup of pocket sized camera, the Cybershots and their DSLR and Hybrids with the Alpha and NEX series, Sony has gone to hold the worlds second largest camera market share while closing in on Canon for the number one spot. Now respect camera writer and Nikon fan, Thom Hogan is giving his input on the DSLR race and his got some strong words for Canon and Nikon while praising Sony.

Sony: most interesting strategies (yes plural) of the bunch. On the Alpha side went for very different technologies (e.g. pellicle mirror), which took awhile to get settled, but has clear benefits long-term. Also has been shoring up and improving dealer network here in the US, giving them a potentially significant advantage over the other players, above. Has been aggressive on price with the Alphas (some of which is happening with the dealer), and appears to be about to get more aggressive. Meanwhile, they’ve made NEX into a potentially serious mount (it currently extends from a low-end mirrorless model to a highly professional video camera). Too bad they don’t have the lenses to back it up yet. Status: making progress on all fronts, and Canon and Nikon need to be especially wary of this competitor. Forecast: one weakness is still not having all the right lenses. This blunted sales of both the full frame Alphas as well as NEX models. Even the Alpha is missing a few key lenses if it wants to tackle the high-end Canons and Nikons well. Rumors show progress on this front, but it needs to happen faster. Other weakness is in marketing. The dual strategy makes a strong cohesive “why Sony cameras matter” message very necessary.

Thom goes on to point out that Nikon and Canon continue to “pursue their old strategies: entry to pro DSLR lineups, iterated regularly, moved upscale in features and performance with each generation.” When you step back and look at my tech companies and tech sectors, he couldn’t be more right. Not many tech companies are willing or able to break the mold, instead offering an improved model the year after and the year after that. In some ways, you cannot blame them as the strategy is a safe bet for the company and investors but then you look at Sony in this case and see that they are willing to take some risks and bend some rules which is starting to pay off. Still, no one can seem to do it better then Apple.

I hate to keep using Apple as an example, but they’ve been the best available one in high tech for a long time now: strong product definition that creates new categories and quickly dominates them; effective and ubiquitous advertising and marketing; best-in-business customer support (not a very high bar); consistency in design and message; creation of ecosystems around their products. Now take that list and see how many camera companies manage any of those things. No wonder DSLR sales have peaked. No end in sight for the roller coaster ride, though we’re coming up on a big drop.

This is my exact sentiment and one that I’ve pointed out on multiple times on the site. Sony is in the perfect position to offer a cohesive product offering for the consumer, seeing how the company offers a product in almost every category and market. However, due to the size of them, the company seems to be working with multiple agencies which offers a broken down vision of the company and not a straight forward message. Throw into the mix that Sony doesn’t have a large stockpile of cash in their reservers and you can start to get a better picture why the company doesn’t advertise as much as it should. However, if the company can get their act together and start battling the likes of Apple, Nikon, and Microsoft with better advertising, Sony is really poised to gain a considerable market share in both the DSLR segment and others.

[Via Bythom]

Review: Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo vs. Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX

by Sohrab Osati | May 18, 2011 | 5 comments

Long time readers will note that this is an article that we ran almost a year and a half ago. Seeing how many hits the story still gets, I felt like I should update the article a little and brush up the links.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, holy shit Memory Stick Pro-HG Duo HX is a long name but we move on. My test was a simple one; to use the Cybershot HX5 (one of the best damn pocket sized cameras I’ve ever used) and I wanted to see, if I used a higher speed Memory Stick, would it impact my shooting experience. There have been plenty of scenarios where I’ve been wanting to take a picture but my camera was still processing the past picture which will of course cause you to miss the shot that you wanted to take. Things only gets worse when it’s a lower light situation and you think your camera is done taking the picture in which you move your hand away and in return, cause a blurry picture, seeing how your camera was still processing the shot.

3G Cell Connectivity Coming to Sony Cybershot Camera’s?

by Sohrab Osati | Mar 16, 2011 | 10 comments

The point and shoot cameras have been at an odd crossroads in the last few years. As the smartphone continues to grow in sales volume and photo features like publishing to Facebook and sending emails, the point-and-shoot cameras have been slow to offer anything new. In fact, the only major feature I can think of was the addition of GPS and out of all of Sony’s current cameras, only one offers this. For me, geo-tagging photos is a big feature, something that every iPhone has done since their launch almost 4 years ago. This has also been one of my personal reasons for skipping out the current NEX-5, in hopes of future GPS integration. Now comes news, from an anonymous friend from Engadget, that Sony is working on a Cybershot camera with a”built-in 3G modem” which would enable the device to publish photos to cloud services on the go. Those who are familiar with the Cybershot family will remember that Sony has once tried a similar approach, releasing the Cybershot DSC-G3 over a year ago with Wifi 802.11 b/g connectivity. The problem with that camera though was the fact that the UI made it hard to connect to Wi-Fi connections and there was no compression done on the camera, meaning that depending on the connection, you could enjoy a nice cup of tea while each 10.1 megapixel photo published. So with this news, I welcome some more advancements to the point-and-shoot cameras out there, but please offer more GPS functionality, Sony.

[Via Engadget]

Sony Patents New Camera Grip Concept

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 16, 2011 | 33 comments

Pocket camera’s are great little devices to take around. They can snap up fantastic pictures and videos and slide right back into our pocket. However, unless you can duel grip the camera, the shaky hand syndrome quickly comes into the picture and soon after, blurry photos are born. Sony’s new patent aims to change this by using the lens sliding cover as a means of a grip. Once slide away from the lens and the front cover extends outwards and gives the camera user a proper grip in the palm of their hands and therefor reducing the amount of shake that is transferred to the camera. As always, don’t expect a product to actually be made from a patent but I for one like the idea.

[Via USPTO]

Sony Releases Filmy App for the PlayStation 3 for HD Videos. We Provide Video Overview

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 10, 2011 | 1 comment

During this Tuesday’s regular PSN update, Sony also released a new application for the PS3 called Filmy under the Media tab. Designed to cater to those who enjoy HD videos, Filmy is specifically designed to play back AVCHD files on the PlayStation. Many of Sony’s Cybershot and Handycam camcorders record in this format, but other manufacturers have used this codec as well. The video-only application is priced at $5, and there is a 15-minute free demo available as well. Once you’ve launched the application, you will be greeted with a simple and clean menu that gives you the option to either view your video in a timeline or look at your video on a world map, great for those who own GPS enabled cameras and even more familiar for those who have used iPhoto. Other features include finding video based on favorites and face/smile detection. Now hit the jump as we provide a full video overview of the application.

Sony Introduced the CLM-V55, a 5-inch LCD for your DSLR and Camcorder

by Sohrab Osati | Feb 2, 2011 | 15 comments

Those of us who have been shooting with DSRLs like the Sony Alpha and smaller siblings like the NEX know that while they might be great for taking pictures, filming on them is not only a joy, but you also get some damn impressive quality. Still, the problem with these types of cameras, including those from the likes of Nikon, Canon and others, is that the LCD display tends to be too small to appropriately view the scene or play back what you just recorded.

Finally, there is a solution for those who take their video seriously: the CLM-V55, a 5-inch LCD video monitor that’s compatible with interchangeable lens cameras from Sony and other manufacturers that use ISO or auto-lock accessory shoes. The 5-inch LCD comes with an 800 x 480 resolution, allows for tilt, and swivels to various angles to accommodate different shooting styles and angles. Another great feature for the photographer in you is the ability to zoom in on scenes for a “pixel-perfect view” of the HD image in order to adjust parameters like colors and brightness. Though a price has not been announced yet, a date is, so mark March 2011 on your calendar and expect a price as we near it.

Hit the jump for an official press release and some additional shots.