August 29, 2008: Sony Europe has released details of the new Cyber-shot T500, the first Cyber-shot that records HD movie clips with stereo sound.
Featuring a 10.1-megapixel imager and Carl Zeiss 5x optical zoom lens, the T500 includes a new HD movie mode that provides a continuous shooting time of up to 10 minutes per clip. Movie files are recorded in 'PC-friendly' MPEG4 AVC/H.264 format. Users can easily switch between still and movie modes by touching a button on top of the camera. Still images can also be recorded at 1280 x 720 pixels without interrupting video recordings.
Front view of the Cyber-shot DSC-T500.
Rear view.
The Carl Zeiss lens features a new ring-type Zoom button that allow users to easily adjust focal length throughout the 5x range while shooting movies. The camera also has a 3.5-inch touchscreen LCD, which accesses key camera controls. Touching anywhere on the screen while you're composing a shot locks focus on that part of the scene. Touching a face turns on Face Detection, ensuring that people's faces in the scene are in sharp focus and correctly exposed. Up to eight faces can be tracked at a time, making the T500 ideal for photographing large groups.
Another handy feature is Optical SteadyShot, which is teamed with an improved High Sensitivity mode to allow faster shutter speeds. This 'Dual Anti-blur' solution is complemented by Clear RAW Noise Reduction processing. Playback options include HD slideshows with musical backing, the latter obtained from in-camera recordings or MP3 clips from a connected PC. HD movies and still images can also be played back on HD Ready TV sets.
The supplied Picture Motion Browser software makes it easy to browse and manage pictures and HD movie files on your PC, upload your favourite moments to image sharing sites - or email them to friends and family. The new model is being manufactured in black, red and silver. It is scheduled for worldwide release in October.
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