Amongst the digital camera announcements, the long-zoom stabilised lens Cyber-shot DSC-H1 stands out as interesting - mostly for the fact that it brings Sony into a market it has been conspicuously absent from. The camera is also noteable for another reason - it is the only model in Sony's 2005 lineup that doesn't offer a Zeiss-branded lens. In talking with representatives from the company, Sony had no official comment on the reasons for this. Regardless, we had the opportunity to get hands-on with the H1 at Sony's press event where the model was unveiled, and it looked rather promising as a rival for the likes of Panasonic's long-zoom digital cameras. We'll want to put the camera through our rigorous review process before giving a final verdict, of course, but first signs look good for this initial long-zoom entry from Sony.

The company also unveiled two new W-series digital cameras that follow in the footsteps of the DSC-W1, as well as three new S-series Cyber-shots. The Cyber-shot S60 and S90 are interesting in that Sony has chosen to differentiate them based on LCD size, rather than simply plugging in yet another higher-resolution sensor with even smaller pixel size. The megapixel race is something we'd like to see a few more manufacturers back off from - one could argue that resolutions have already reached the levels most consumers will demand, and every time we take a step forward in resolution at the same sensor size, we take a corresponding step backward in image noise. Higher resolution does not always equate to higher image quality. Kudos, Sony, for looking for other areas in which to offer improvement and differentiation.

Other Sony products on display included an interesting concept for a photo storage viewer; at Sony's press conference it was suggested that the company may soon offer a similar product with a 40GB hard disk and three inch LCD. Sony execs were also talking up two deals that will see prints ordered through the company's ImageStation service available for pickup at CVS drugstores, or camera stores belonging to the Ritz and Wolf Camera chains. This move should greatly extend the convenience of the service for US customers. The company is also planning a new slimline kiosk for March.

Other Sony products on display include a $199 portable CD burner that accepts images on Memory Stick or via USB; a Cyber-shot Station for viewing images on TV from your digicam; two compact dye-sub photo printers; and new capacity highs for the Memory Stick Pro and Memory Stick Pro Duo card lines (4GB for Memory Stick Pro, and 2GB for Memory Stick Pro Duo).

We're still finishing off our preparation of our photos to accompany this booth report; the remainder will be added shortly. Check back soon!

Sony Booth
Copyright 2005 by The Imaging Resource. All Rights Reserved.

Sony Products
Cyber-shot DSC-H1
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H1 5.1 Megapixels 12.0x Zoom 36 - 432mm (35mm equivalent) Specs
Cyber-shot DSC-P200
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P200 7.2 Megapixels 3.0x Zoom 38 - 114mm (35mm equivalent)
Cyber-shot DSC-S90
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S90 4.1 Megapixels 3.0x Zoom 39 - 117mm (35mm equivalent) Specs
Cyber-shot DSC-T33
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T33 5.1 Megapixels 3.0x Zoom 38 - 114mm (35mm equivalent)
Cyber-shot DSC-S40
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S40 4.1 Megapixels 3.0x Zoom 32 - 96mm (35mm equivalent) Specs
S60
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-S60 4.1 Megapixels 3.0x Zoom 39 - 117mm (35mm equivalent) Specs
W5
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W5 5.1 Megapixels 3.0x Zoom 38 - 114mm (35mm equivalent) Specs
W7
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W7 7.2 Megapixels 3.0x Zoom 38 - 114mm (35mm equivalent) Specs
HVL-FSL1 Cyber-shot Slave Flash
HVL-FS1 Cyber-shot Slave Flash Works with F, H, P, S and W series cameras Compatible with red-eye / pre-flash Guide number 14
Concept HDD Photo Storage Viewer
Concept HDD Photo Storage Viewer Not yet announced as an official product
HDR-FX1 HDV Handycam camcorder
HDR-FX1 HDV Handycam camcorder 1080i high definition video recording MPEG2 video compression 12x zoom Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens 3.5" swivelling LCD display
MCS1 PhotoVault Mini CD-R Station
MCS1 PhotoVault Mini CD-R Station Connects directly to digital camera Burn images to CD-R disc Video-out for TV playback
UP-DR150 Digital Photo Printer
UP-DR150 Digital Photo Printer Dye sublimation printer USB 2.0 High-speed connection 4" x 6" print in 8 seconds 6" x 8" print in 20 seconds
CSS-PHB Cyber-shot Station
CSS-PHB Cyber-shot Station Transfer images from camera to PC Charge digital camera batteries View images or video on television Compatible with DSC-P200
1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo
1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Supports MagicGate
4GB Memory Stick PRO
4GB Memory Stick PRO Support MagicGate
SPK-SA Cyber-shot Sports Pack
SPK-SA Cyber-shot Sports Pack For S-series Cyber-shot cameras
HDPS-M10 HDD Photo Storage
HDPS-M10 HDD Photo Storage Portable hard-disk storage device 40GB capacity
Copyright 2005 by The Imaging Resource. All Rights Reserved.

Related Coverage

PMA:

• Cyber-shot DSC-H1 announcement
• Cyber-shot DSC-W5 / DSC-W7 announcements
• Cyber-shot DSC-S60 / DSC-S90 announcements
• Cyber-shot DSC-S40 announcement

Pre-PMA:

• Cyber-shot DSC-P200 announcement
• Cyber-shot DSC-T33 announcement